Motorcycle Commuters? (Harley, car rental, 4x4, convertible)

[RBucksCo]

Been riding 25 years. Most recently I commuted on every rideable day since 2012. It (traffic) totally took all the fun out of riding and the sad thing is that it took me until this summer to fully realize it. As of about mid August I quit riding the bike to work. My bike is now for fun only and....riding has become fun again.

[AverageJoeMamma]

i commute on my bike every single day. i live in SoCal where the weather is always good and lane splitting is legal. i take good advantage of both. it is literally a riders paradise every single day

enough said, i suppose

[LakeLifePA]

Originally Posted by AverageJoeMamma

i commute on my bike every single day. i live in SoCal where the weather is always good and lane splitting is legal. i take good advantage of both. it is literally a riders paradise every single day

enough said, i suppose

I miss commuting on a bike in California. Not only is it ideal year round riding, but the lane sharing perk is unbelievable. The hardest part of commuting in DC is not the weather but rather the fact that I am stuck sitting at lights behind cars that I can easily work around if it was legal.

[Roaddog]

Other than rain and fog I ride most days, I have some warm gear for when it gets in the 30's.

[alloo66]

I commute Year around here in Denver. Ice is the only thing that stops me. Got a larger windscreen, heated gear, lap apron, everything needed to commute safely. No commuting during snow storms. My commute is 20 miles one way on freeways. Of course I ride a scooter.

[FloppyRunner]

I did (back when I had a job, officially it's been about four months) here in the Phoenix area.

In the summer, I didn't bother unless I could leave at 6:30 or earlier. I'm an ATGATT rider, and I'd change into my work clothes at work. If I left later than 6:30, I'd be too sweaty when I arrived. I'd be drenched in sweat when I got home, but I didn't care.

That same gear plus liners for the jacket, pants, and gloves plus "balaclava" or whatever it's called generally was good for winter, although at that time it's tempting to say "screw it" and take the car, because the fingers definitely took a beating on my FZ6 (someday I'll invest in grip heaters).

I wouldn't leave when it's raining because the wife doesn't like it, but sometimes if the weather says it'll rain later I pretend I don't know that and go...

[thunderkat59]

Originally Posted by alloo66

I commute Year around here in Denver. Ice is the only thing that stops me. Got a larger windscreen, heated gear, lap apron, everything needed to commute safely. No commuting during snow storms. My commute is 20 miles one way on freeways. Of course I ride a scooter.

I broke my PCX out for cold, rainy commute here. Legshields n blankets =

[TurcoLoco]

Another everyday commuter here. The only real showstopper for me is rain. Mild, short showers and drizzles are OK but if it is going to rain during my commute times, I take the truck.

Temperature wise, I used to commute when it was in the high 30s, now do it mostly when it is in the high 40s or better. Going 70+ mph on the freeway when it is 45 degrees or below ain't much fun, if it ever was!


My current choice for daily commuter is DL1000 (Suzuki V-Strom) but on warmer days, I do ride my Vulcan 900 Custom too since it is such a fun bike.

[thunderkat59]

35 degrees here in KY this morning. Took the BMW due to heated grips. Thinking they were not working, though. I couldnt tell, anyway.

[Malloric]

Originally Posted by Kradmelder

My ktm is water cooled and it gets really hot just idling. Never mind me boiling over in 30+ C heat and extra heat rising up from the seat. Getting rid of stock pipes to arrows reduced heat from pipes. My air con only works when im moving lol.stop and go on a sports bike must be a killer on the wrists.

Not if you're riding properly. You shouldn't have any significant amount of weight on the handlebars to get sore wrists. Usually that happens either because people don't know how to ride or because as their core fatigues they start getting lazy and putting weight on the handlebars. For long freeway stretches, I'll brace one arm on the tank if I'm getting tired. I'm not in the shape I was six years ago so the core does begin to fatigue on me in longer rides and I get some lower back aches, hence why I'll prop myself up with one arm. You'll see that a lot with sportbike riders on the slab. Tank grips help if you're riding in pants that have a tendency to slip, plus helps keep your tank from getting all scratched up. Textiles tend to slip more than leather. Mine have leather inserts for that reason, basically built in tank grips on the pants. Rain paints without grips is an exercise in futility. Get tank grips. If riding with a pillion, have him brace his weight with one hand against the tank so it's not all just resting on you. Not as much a concern for commuters, but if you want to feel what sore feels like trying doing a decent length ride with a pillion that has to cling on for dear life with both hands the entire way. My guess is that's the kind of paint people that don't know how to ride or lack the core strength to do it feel. I didn't have the core strength to support all that dead weight and everything from my wrists up to my neck ached like a b--- for a couple days after that. I've made the same trip a couple other times with a decent pillion and while I'm not going to say it was comfortable, it wasn't actually painful.

If you've got exhaust that routes under the seat like the older Ducatis, it gets very toasty. That might have been the "cool" look five years ago but it always was a PITA.