Quote Originally Posted by trot View Post
Go buy a length of VBAR chain, cut it up into 6" sections, go buy some tension type straps online and long needlenose pliers. Assemble 6" sections of VBAR with comparative sections of straps. When you need them, wrap about 6 on each tire and wrap the strap around the needlenose and roll it/tighten it and you're set to go up until the point where you get high-centered.

This is what a lot of the guys who cross that pass in february do. I keep a couple bags with me in wintertime - one for my front, one for my rear. You literally can take up to about a foot of snow with that shit.

Studs suck royally in comparison, and the second you hit pavement with them its no time at all before they are a determent.

I've got a 09 KLR 650 and VBARs will clear everything depending on tires.
I've done the Elephant Ride on Guanella every year since 1996, with the exception of last year. Chains work well in the soft stuff and snowpack, ice screws work better on ice but absolutely suck on pavement, along with the wear issues on anything not snow or ice. The studs I use are the "rally" type with the carbide tips, and they work almost as well as screws on ice, without the wear issues. Chains still work better in deep stuff, but for bopping around on city streets in the snow, the studs work great.

Rally stud:


Ice screws: