Motorcycling is a seasonal activity, or so the common wisdom says. I decided to break that rule.

I will ride a motorcycle through the Scandinavian winter. The coldest temperatures will be around -30 C (-20 F), there will be lots of snow and ice.

The original idea was to by a 50 cc moped scooter. I quickly discarded that idea since the moped is slow, limited to 45 km/h (28 mph) and I would have to keep to the bike paths where they are designated for mopeds and ride on the road and street elsewhere. Too complicated.

Then I entertained the thought of a 125 cc enduro. The problem with this approach were the high prices for such bikes. For 1 000-2 000 euros I would get a thrashed motorbike sized for children. There are some large bikes, e.g. Rieju Marathon, but the prices are too high for such toys.

The next step in my research was a full size street enduro or a super moto. The problem with these is the high price. In my winter bike budget range, 1 000-2 000 euros, I would get only an early 1990s bike. I do not want the mechanical problems of such an old vehicle.

This lead to the not-so optimal choice for winter riding: a standard 600 cc street bike.

I found a bike within my budget, a 2000 model Yamaha FZS 600 Fazer with 44 000 kms (27 000 miles), kept in like new condition. Here I got my money’s worth.

Let us begin the journey of setting up a street bike for winter and snow riding and riding it.