When other riders hide in their house, we go out!

It’s almost winter. Why would a motorcycle rider in New York be excited for winter? Two words: Ice Racing!

Ice Racing requires specialized tires as you can imagine. The idea is to create enough traction so that your body stays off the ice, but not by much. You actually have to lean the bike over and “get it sideways” in order to go fast through the corners.

Ice racing screws or “studs” are inserted into off-road tires. These screws fall into two general categories, the American style studs and the Canadian studs. The difference is that the Canadian studs have a larger head height, up to .250, producing more traction. Different racing organizations have different requirements for the studs you use, so if you plan on competing you must check with that organization on the requirements.

This year everyone that loves racing should look into the ICE series. ICE holds ice racing events in indoor arenas all over the country. The indoor format is exciting and much more comfortable for fans. The short-track format requires a ton of skill on the part of the racers.

If you have never been riding on the ice, any frozen surface will do. Some of the best riding sessions involve a group of friends, bikes, screws in the tires and a snow plow or snow blower to create a track on a lake or pond.

Some resources for getting your bike ready to ride on the ice:

Kold Kutter

Fredette Ice Tires

Ice Racing Fenders


Racer Space is a social network for powerports racers and features Motocross, dirt track, ice racing, GNCC, WORCS and Desert racers from all over the world!