The tyres law is enforcable, but not in a roadside checkpoint forty euro fine sort of way. If you crash and close the autobahn one of your early visitors in the krankhaus is going to be the public prosecutor. By deciding to ride in winter conditions with summer tyres you've turned an insured accident into a possibly uninsured willful act. The chances of loosing your house and/or your liberty increase accordingly. The Heidenaus actually work better on iced coobles and fresh snow too.

On an outfit the Elefant is pretty easy, low risk and well worth doing at least once. Get there early (no later than sunset Thursday), park on the road above the Hexe Kelle and walk in (you can leave when you like, if you ride in you'll be blocked in with tents and need dragging out of the snow by quad/lots of mates). Make sure your sleeping arrangements are comfortable at minus 15 (Arctic sleeping bag, thermarest, camp bed, straw or laminate floor foam on the tent floor), your stove is petrol (gas and solid fuel freeze) and you have ear plugs (fireworks all night every night). After that, walk round, enjoy the sights and have a or two while chatting to some really knowledgable people from at least a dozen countries (plus blokes with club badges galore and trailer strap marks on their cruisers and riders of large shiney new bikes who'll just moan about how extreme-adventury it is and how they'll never get their bike clean and will need to trade it at the dealers as soon as the new metal box catalogue is out!!). The fame of this rally attracts badge collectors, but it doesn't make it a bad experience just different to getting out in the snow with a few mates.

Andy