Commuting vs Pleasure riding

Riceburner said:

1987 CBX250 ...it's not hard to twist the throttle all the way around on the highway....and I'm no heavyweight. Still had to hug the paint to get to 120. But around town it was a hoot.

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That's a really good looking 250 for back then. Looks really clean.

It's amazing how much more power and speed they can pull out of such a small engine on modern 250s. I also have a '98 Yamaha xt350 that I rarely use outside of the dirt, because it hates highway speeds - you'd be revving it really high at 100km+

Riceburner said:

Different strokes. A lousy rainy day getting soaked gloves riding.... beats the TTC anytime for me.

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I love commuting on the bike and don't mind riding in the rain. It's getting to work with soaked feet and groin that I can't stand. Guess I need to invest in some better footwear and riding pants lol. Also as some know on here the SV is notorious for dropping the front cylinder in heavy rain. There are ways to fix that but I haven't got around to it yet. I think I missed 2 or 3 days last year due to rain so it wasn't really an issue.

SVeezy said:

I love commuting on the bike and don't mind riding in the rain. It's getting to work with soaked feet and groin that I can't stand. Guess I need to invest in some better footwear and riding pants lol. Also as some know on here the SV is notorious for dropping the front cylinder in heavy rain. There are ways to fix that but I haven't got around to it yet. I think I missed 2 or 3 days last year due to rain so it wasn't really an issue.

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Leave clean underwear and socks in your drawer, and change at work.

Rain suit and waterproof boots or plastic bags over your feet inside the boots.

The CBX was repainted by me....Tremclad white. lol Got it with a purple paint job done with a brush.

Face said:

Let's face it, we all have to work and most of us have to commute to do it. How many hours do you spend commuting? For me, its about 1 hr & 15 min per day. So say 8 months (9 riding months less holidays) x 20 days a month x 1.25 hrs/day = conservatively 200 hours a year. If I enjoy my commute because I'm on a bike, that's 200 hours when I'm happy instead of miserable. If you're happy commuting in your car or on the TTC, then I'm happy for you. But if you're miserable on your commute and I'm not, I'm not sure how that's right for you. Maybe riding your motorbike isn't the answer. But grumbling about your commute and not doing anything about it isn't the answer either. Unless you're one of those people who just enjoys having something to always grumble about.

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You missed the point .... Nobody said I complain about my commute in general (who really likes it, common??). It is what it is, I live within 20-30 mins of my work all year long. I just don't enjoy it on a bike and save zero time (once you factor gear/clothes changes etc.) and very minimum of gas and zero on parking doing so. I cannot lane split the way I can when riding in Europe. So there's no upside to commute on a bike. There's definitely a comfort upside to commute in a car. That's all I am saying .....

For guys asking about rain riding:

Frogg Toggs Horny Toadz are really good (they go over your riding gear)

For gloves, there are water proof gloves like Rev It H20.

For boots, there are water proof ones like Sidi Vertigo (these don't seem to take even light crashes well, mine are no longer water proof lol)

I've done thunderstorm rides in the above and was literally bone dry. Didn't even sweat for some reason.

I commute from Port Perry to Vaughn and home pretty much every day that there isn't likely to be ice or snow on the roads. Each way is about 80 km so round trip of 160 km. I ride about 50,000 km per year between commuting, Sunday rides and trips (My wife and I did three trips on our bikes last year.)

I am very fortunate that about half my "normal" route is secondary and/or backroads, the other half is 407. I look forwards to my commute! If it is nice on the way home I might take some extra side trips. (Last year a few times my ride home was closer to 300 km than 80 km. )

Gear can make life so much easier. While initially expensive Aerostich Roadcrafter has saved me money in the long run compared to the crap I used to need to buy almost every year. I agree that Frogg Toggs are fantastic if you don't have rainproof gear but having Goretex gear means never having to worry about rain. It takes me about a minute to gear up fully and wear my regular street clothes under the suit. (When I left home this morning it was +1 in Port Perry and raining with heavy bands of rain on the way in to work. It warmed up to +3 by the time I got to work. Over my work Suit dress pants I have some fleece pants, over my shirt and tie I had a heated jacket and a soft shell. My Roadcrafter when over all that. My boots are Alpinestar "Web Goretex" boots which keep my feet totally dry. My Suit jacket goes in my topcase. I got to work warm and dry with a big smile on my face.)

What better way to start a day?

Can't wait to head home at 6!

..Tom

+1 on the web goretex. Great rain boots

If parking and mileage wasn't an issue, I'd probably take the cage on lousy days. But then again, when I worked 15 min from home and had free parking, I still took the bike unless it was absolutely pouring in the AM.