Need some input on motorcycle models | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Need some input on motorcycle models

Right now I have a Daytona. It is my dream bike and love it to death and would break my heart to sell it, however ...

It is a real pain on commuting (mostly heat and some ergonomics)

Is there anyone stupid/crazy enough to ride a SS in the winter or I am the only one contemplating it? Have you made any changes to make it winter friendly?

My other option is a naked which, if anyone is riding in the winter, can you give me some feedback?



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I rode a ninja 500 through one winter when there was no snow on the roads. Road salt will make your headers look like they have cancer.


Also...why not just get the Street Triple? Seems like a no brainer if you like the Daytona so much.
If it's the LOOK of the Daytona you love, mod it with the Daytona fairings. Blam. Best of both worlds.
 
I rode a ninja 500 through one winter when there was no snow on the roads. Road salt will make your headers look like they have cancer.


Also...why not just get the Street Triple? Seems like a no brainer if you like the Daytona so much.
If it's the LOOK of the Daytona you love, mod it with the Daytona fairings. Blam. Best of both worlds.
Love it. macgyver style.

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Forget the fact that the road is cold and your tires are cold.
Most riders put their bikes away at the end of October, so what happens, is that drivers start to see less and less bikes.
By mid Novembers drivers are not expecting to see motorcycles (hell, they don't see us in July)
I see a lot less bikes on the road now, then even a month ago.
 
If you're gonna ride in winter, make sure it's in Florida. Or further south. You cannot reliably turn any corners without walking it through here when snow comes. Don't be a BlogTO post about the guy who went to the hospital trying to ride his bike in January snow :/

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Well, Mango Rider, I took some of your advice, but not all of it, and the situation makes me smile.

From 1961 through 1988, I rode all year in Toronto, generally commuting
from Lawrence Park to King St. and later to Steeles Avenue.
Did I fall? Yeah, but not as many times as I expected.
Was I injured? No, because I do not count bruises and no-bandage cuts as injuries.
Did I get cold? You bet your sweet asterisk I did!
Did I enjoy slithering and sliding around while all around me cars were doing the same? I suppose I did.
Did people think I was crazy? Yeah, but mainly for stuff I did away from the motorcycle.

And since 1988?

Now I ride all year around in Sarasota Florida, including the occasional ride to Ontario, always in April,
for which my winter riding was damn good training.

So, in the words of Apsley Cherry-Garrard, the man who found the frozen bodies of Scott, Wilson, and Bowers in 1912,
“If you march your Winter Journeys you will have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin's egg.”

Beside me stands my bride of 1988, for whom I rode many miles in February of that year.
"She married me anyway." are her exact words this minute.
 
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Well, Mango Rider, I took some of your advice, but not all of it, and the situation makes me smile.

From 1961 through 1988, I rode all year in Toronto, generally commuting
from Lawrence Park to King St. and later to Steeles Avenue.
Did I fall? Yeah, but not as many times as I expected.
Was I injured? No, because I do not count bruises and no-bandage cuts as injuries.
Did I get cold? You bet your sweet asterisk I did!
Did I enjoy slithering and sliding around while all around me cars were doing the same? I suppose I did.
Did people think I was crazy? Yeah, but mainly for stuff I did away from the motorcycle.

And since 1988?

Now I ride all year around in Sarasota Florida, including the occasional ride to Ontario, always in April,
for which my winter riding was damn good training.

So, in the words of Apsley Cherry-Garrard, the man who found the frozen bodies of Scott, Wilson, and Bowers in 1912,
“If you march your Winter Journeys you will have your reward, so long as all you want is a penguin's egg.”

Beside me stands my bride of 1988, for whom I rode many miles in February of that year.
"She married me anyway." are her exact words this minute.
Well that's a nice chunk of story! Kudos to you and your 20 years of winter city riding experience.
If I may ask, what did you ride back then? I imagine a dualsport would be ideal in those colder temps, but clearly not the only option.
There's a Ural I always see around St Clair during the winter. I guess i forgot to mention how utilitarian and great sidecars are. I wish I could have one, reasonably priced, and not on a Ural.

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If you're looking to bookend the season's riding buy a heated vest - how can you be cold when it feels like the sun is beating down on your back and belly at the same time?
 
If I were going to commute all winter, not just go for an occasional ride (I've done that at least once a month all year before), I'd get something low to the ground, cheap, and durable. I was considering trying to find an old Honda NX250 for this.

Or a 3 wheeled thing of some kind (Ural, Spyder, etc).

I expect any 2 wheeler would take quite a beating. And be prepared to be at least slightly banged up a lot.
 
If I were going to commute all winter, not just go for an occasional ride (I've done that at least once a month all year before), I'd get something low to the ground, cheap, and durable. I was considering trying to find an old Honda NX250 for this.

Or a 3 wheeled thing of some kind (Ural, Spyder, etc).

I expect any 2 wheeler would take quite a beating. And be prepared to be at least slightly banged up a lot.

Old model 2-stroke dirt bike with full knobby tires, dig it out of the snow bank and ride, np.
 
Might want to have a beater bike, like a gs500 or something.

Let it take all the salt, and gunk, and risk of dropping it.

I usually ride till they salt the road because im too lazy to rinse it off all the time and it adds to the slip factor in a way that's as bad as sand.
 
The only bike I would ride through the winter is a Ural Gear Up. 3 wheels, 2WD and made for all season riding.
 
Might want to have a beater bike, like a gs500 ....
You'll never get it started after you dig it out of the snow bank :| and street tires are useless in snow.

... needs to be kick start, needs to start with little to no battery power available, & 2-strokes don't have a crankcase full of oil that becomes grease like in sub-zero temps.

snomobike.jpg
 
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Might want to have a beater bike, like a gs500 or something.

Let it take all the salt, and gunk, and risk of dropping it.

I usually ride till they salt the road because im too lazy to rinse it off all the time and it adds to the slip factor in a way that's as bad as sand.

It's funny that I have direct experience with this, and can say I didn't enjoy it:

-I didn't like riding the GS500... the ride was horrible and power delivery is sleepy - it definitely is stingy with all 40 horses (on stock jets anyway)
-The GS500 does NOT like road salt - mine saw salt/brine a couple times and it aged the bike about 10 years instantly
 
It's funny that I have direct experience with this, and can say I didn't enjoy it:

-I didn't like riding the GS500... the ride was horrible and power delivery is sleepy - it definitely is stingy with all 40 horses (on stock jets anyway)
-The GS500 does NOT like road salt - mine saw salt/brine a couple times and it aged the bike about 10 years instantly

Wasn't that his point entirely? lol
 
Wasn't that his point entirely? lol

I guess... but I've had other bikes deal with salt okay, way better than that
 
I guess... but I've had other bikes deal with salt okay, way better than that
Don't take a Vstrom through salt or brine -- my 2 year old bike looks battle weary. Spokes and every plated steel fitting is pitted beyond cosmetic rehab.
 

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