Summer Rider or Commuter?

BennyC

BennyC

BennyC

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Joined
25 Sep 2006
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I learnt to ride & bought my bike with the idea of nice dry rides in the summer time or whenever else the British weather suprises us.

Several of my lessons and both my Mod 1 & 2 took place in the rain, along with getting caught in a downpour in kevlar jeans & leather jacket on Saturday :( cold! :eek: I have experienced some rather harsh riding conditions which aren't pleasant. Having your heart in your mouth for the whole journey isn't good!

I sold my car last Friday and am replacing it this Friday so today is the first time I have ridden to work. I only have a short commute, just over a mile though am moving further away to be faced with a 20 mile commute.

I was just curious as to how many others are summer riders (power rangers :p) or commuters? If a mod could make a poll please :)

Thanks

BennyC
 
I'm a mix of both. I've commuted during crap weather but its not something I choose to do regularly. I'd rather take the car to work in bad weather, getting soaked/cold on a 40mile each way commute is no fun. Its not a particularly fun ride either, its 37miles of straight A-road (motorway style) on a naked bike.
 
Commuted from August to May non stop. Rain, ice, salt and the odd day of sun!

Hoping to do less of it this year, not happy with the extra work needed to keep the bike tip top and not happy putting pointless miles onto tyres, brake pads etc

This is on a zx6r
 
Souleh said:
not happy with the extra work needed to keep the bike tip top and not happy putting pointless miles onto tyres, brake pads etc
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I found the same, bought the Buell in Dec 2009, used it over the winter for commuting and it took its toll very quickly on a brand new bike.
 
Pretty much as moss. Though as I either miss or ignore the BBC weather girl in the morning I'll often end up commuting home in the rain! I think when winter appears I'll be more likely to return to lazy car, depending on the traffic jams.
 
I'll be out in anything other than Ice/Snow. Or unless I need to carry something very big/heavy.

Zip together gore tex suit + decent winter gloves mean it's not too bad . I feel I'm a better rider if I ride as much as possible, in as many conditions as possible.
 
moss said:
I'm a mix of both. I've commuted during crap weather but its not something I choose to do regularly. I'd rather take the car to work in bad weather, getting soaked/cold on a 40mile each way commute is no fun. Its not a particularly fun ride either, its 37miles of straight A-road (motorway style) on a naked bike.
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Pretty much this, except mine's 37 miles of sweeping a-road that's great fun to ride on, but I prefer to just ride in the dry.

With the right gear it's a non-issue riding in the wet/cold and I've done it many a time over the past few years, I just think being rained upon is utterly miserable and I'd rather be bored to death by some diseasel thing :p
 
AtomicBanana said:
I'll be out in anything other than Ice/Snow. Or unless I need to carry something very big/heavy.

Zip together gore tex suit + decent winter gloves mean it's not too bad . I feel I'm a better rider if I ride as much as possible, in as many conditions as possible.
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Yah, I only have my leathers and have lost the urge to spend money on waterproof kit heh. If I had wet proof stuff maybe I'd commute in more inclement weather...
 
im pretty much a all weather commuter or at least 40,000miles since september 2009 anyway:D snow and all....

best bit of advice i can give is that buy some good gear whilst your buying your bike, as you are spending anyway. because in 6 months time £400 - £1000 for gloves, jacket and trousers will seem like a lot then.

i myself went mid range with some goretex leathers from hein gericke and 40,000 miles later they are still fine but in need of some shoe polish as the colour has started to wear.
 
Formerly a all-year rider for 5 years before my break.

In the right gear the wet and cold isnt too bad but a car can be preferable.

Couldn't bring myself to have a bike just as a 'summer toy', waste of money IMHO.
 
Did a couple of years where I had no car, just a bike, and I'd ride it a 20 mile each way commute for the whole year except a month or six weeks attempt worst of winter where I'd get the train if it was bad enough.

It was ok but now I have a car as well I just use whichever makes more sense. Bikes way cheaper, car is dry!
 
Commuted all through the winter last year. -4C wasn't much fun though :p Plus the corrosion damage to the bike was shocking. So I won't be riding the colder months this year, at least not on this bike. Might buy a cheap 125 scrambler maybe...

Spring/summer months I don't set out in the wet, but if I get caught in it I'm not too bothered :)
 
Have to say, i'm a 'power ranger/been there done that merchant' :p

I commuted in all weathers years ago, but as my bikes got newer/bigger cc I ended up using them less and less. Road into work today but forecast of rain for the rest of the week I've put it away again!

The other depressing thing about all year commuting is, as someone else mentioned, how quickly the bike deteriorates in winter, no matter how much wd40 and washing off of salt and road grime my brand new (in 1999) CBR600's suspension and other bits n bobs looked like relics from the Titanic after the first winter commute and Honda's are supposed to wear well..

If I could afford something smaller to hack about on I'd be tempted but i'll keep my pride n joy warm and dry thanks :D
 
Been going 15-20 miles a day to work for the last 5 years by bike, all weathers. Can be horrible and nice. Put it this way, you'll soon not fear any form of rain, but wind and ice are things that'll never fail to scare you. :P


Edit: Rode through the snow this last year aswell. Don't do that. It's quite stupid.
 
Griffo said:
Yah, I only have my leathers and have lost the urge to spend money on waterproof kit heh. If I had wet proof stuff maybe I'd commute in more inclement weather...
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It's a completely different world. Stuff that would leave me shivering for hours afterward can be comfortable shrugged off. I only struggle with high speeds on my hands, even my chunk HG 'lobster' gloves only give me so much protection.

It helps of course that my current bike is a complete hack, and so a bit of rust here and there only adds to it's character ;)
 
Used to use the bike for everything, but have become more of a sunday rider in the last couple of years. Its partly because I live only a mile or so from work, so I tend to walk and if the weather is bad I drive. Also became obsessed by cycling which uses up a huge amount of time and is actually a more pleasurable pass time when the weather isn't great (as at least you keep warm by pedaling!) and also bought a Boxster for days out with the Mrs who refuses to go on the bike.

So yeah, I still enjoy the bike as much as ever, but there are just more distractions now so it doesn't get as much use.
 
Weekend rider only now as well. Have been for the last few years. I used to commute all year round, rain, snow , ice. The novelty of falling off on black ice soon wore off and got a car for work. Now I work from home I have now commute :cool:

Dont get to use my bike as much as I used to these days. The roads are in such a state these days, and all the good roads have these funny looking people with weird hats and flshing lights on their cars :p

I reckon within a year or 2 ill stop riding on the roads all together and just stick to the track for biking pleasure.
 
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