When your motorcycle becomes a "vehicle"

MacDoc

MacDoc

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I've been riding for 60 years and hope to have a few more but I noticed lately I'm using it far more as a vehicle for short errands and actually enjoying that as opposed to going out and riding for a few hours.

Now it's good for me as I get rusty after a couple weeks not riding so any time on the CB500F is worthwhile. This lingering wet season has been annoying.
We're moving into the dry season now and cooler temps which are welcome from the 30+ and rain of the last few months. Today is brilliant - high of 27, not humid and scattered fluffy clouds, mild winds.

Even in Uni when the SuperHawk was my only way of getting around and I rode all winter every day which was not really an issue in St Catharines - called Garden City for good reason - winter is usually very kind to riders I still loved to get out for longer rides just for fun.

Bit of that urge is missing at the moment as I really enjoy shorter rides, hit a few fav spots and sit, watch the birds or the people, catch up on line at a leisurely pace and enjoy the day.
Cairns has loads of spots for that, from the rain forest to the Esplanade/ocean to cafes on the Tablelands tho that involves somewhat longer treks.
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BTW there is a less expensive way to get here just now from Canada via Fiji Airways.
My dottor is coming in October via that route ....spending a few days in Fiji then spending a month with us.

Anyone else riding for "errands" ?
 
MacDoc said:
I've been riding for 60 years and hope to have a few more but I noticed lately I'm using it far more as a vehicle for short errands and actually enjoying that as opposed to going out and riding for a few hours.

Now it's good for me as I get rusty after a couple weeks not riding so any time on the CB500F is worthwhile. This lingering wet season has been annoying.
We're moving into the dry season now and cooler temps which are welcome from the 30+ and rain of the last few months. Today is brilliant - high of 27, not humid and scattered fluffy clouds, mild winds.

Even in Uni when the SuperHawk was my only way of getting around and I rode all winter every day which was not really an issue in St Catharines - called Garden City for good reason - winter is usually very kind to riders I still loved to get out for longer rides just for fun.

Bit of that urge is missing at the moment as I really enjoy shorter rides, hit a few fav spots and sit, watch the birds or the people, catch up on line at a leisurely pace and enjoy the day.
Cairns has loads of spots for that, from the rain forest to the Esplanade/ocean to cafes on the Tablelands tho that involves somewhat longer treks.
View attachment 74152
BTW there is a less expensive way to get here just now from Canada via Fiji Airways.
My dottor is coming in October via that route ....spending a few days in Fiji then spending a month with us.

Anyone else riding for "errands" ?
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I haven’t done that in the last few years since I stoped commuting to work with the bike. Only been riding on weekends. Now you got me thinking. Longer daylight hours. I should run the errands and take the longer way back.
 
Used it to pick up a few dozen seedlings for planting last week and for a trip to the doctors and car shopping this week. Depends on the errands for me but definitely if the roads there are fun or parking will be a challenge.
 
adri said:
I was not aware we were not supposed to be riding for errands in the first place? Guess I've been doing it wrong this whole time and never realized it.
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You are too busy making videos!
I should say great videos.
Also, riding in Italy is the best errand riding.
 
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I’ve still got a full time job and it changes over time. Presently I’ve got business meetings in the GTA and thought it would be ideal to ride. It might be a little more ambitious than I thought. I could be continuous highway speeds on a stand bike (the R80) makes it less pleasant and a bit tiresome.

The K12RS needs new rubber but fingers crossed it will be my go to and has easy removal panniers.

If I can make it happen, I try. Sometimes the effort isn’t worth it but, I need to try before deciding. lol.
 
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Sunday Rider said:
You are too busy making videos!
I should say great videos.
Also, riding in Italy is the best errand riding.
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Thanks so much! One month out of the year my riding is all touring, but the other 11 months, it's mostly just taking the bike for daily stuff. I live in Chrawno. Bike beats everything for day to day just doin' life stuff in the core.

About to go meet someone to pick up some GIVI used cases just south of Yorkdale. Definitely not taking my truck.

Doing my 5-10k km a year, about 5 to 10 km at a time lol
 
I kind of feel the opposite - for short trips I find it somewhat inconvenient - I am one of those people who is in shorts the second the weather is above +5, so in the warmer months I am never in long pants unless I'm riding. So putting on long pants and all the gear only to ride 20 minutes to grab something at a store, or something like commuting to work, only to then be uncomfortable while doing so because I'm wearing pants I'd rather not be wearing, or getting changed (and changed again for the ride home), plus needing to stow or carry all the related gear, yeah, I don't find the juice worth the squeeze a lot of the time.

I suppose I could get over my thing about not riding in shorts and just accept the added risk for the 10-15 minute around town stuff. I'm the farthest from an ATGATT guy at the best of times, the hotter the weather gets the less gear I tend to wear to be brutally honest, but long pants is one of those things that have never been on the chopping block.
 
PrivatePilot said:
I kind of feel the opposite - for short trips I find it somewhat inconvenient
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Based on your profile pic, for short trips your bike IS inconvenient. Do you have something smaller than that 18 wheeler? It might change your perspective.

Case in point, I ride my Vespa GTS 250 in flip flops and a shorts when I'm doing neighbourhood stuff.
Would I ride my Harley the same way? Nope, and that's why I'm riding the Vespa for those trips.

The law says helmet, not pants, so go ahead and get yourself a nice light, cool running bike, and let yourself enjoy a cool breeze in fun places.
 
PrivatePilot said:
I kind of feel the opposite - for short trips I find it somewhat inconvenient - I am one of those people who is in shorts the second the weather is above +5, so in the warmer months I am never in long pants unless I'm riding. So putting on long pants and all the gear only to ride 20 minutes to grab something at a store, or something like commuting to work, only to then be uncomfortable while doing so because I'm wearing pants I'd rather not be wearing, or getting changed (and changed again for the ride home), plus needing to stow or carry all the related gear, yeah, I don't find the juice worth the squeeze a lot of the time.

I suppose I could get over my thing about not riding in shorts and just accept the added risk for the 10-15 minute around town stuff. I'm the farthest from an ATGATT guy at the best of times, the hotter the weather gets the less gear I tend to wear to be brutally honest, but long pants is one of those things that have never been on the chopping block.
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Im the same, more of a convenience thing I will take the Truck. When going for a ride I need to get my jacket, riding pants, head phones etc. Go out in the garage get the headphones in, helmet snug, warm up the bike....blah blah. So much easier to get in the truck, throw a song on, have a drink, hit the sun roof and relax.
 
adri said:
Do you have something smaller than that 18 wheeler? It might change your perspective.
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It's nothing at all to do with the size. It has electric reverse (and forward creep) for that matter, you don't even need to break a sweat maneuvering it even when it's not running. I could ride it in shorts and flippy-floppies perfectly fine if I wanted.

I just don't.

I wouldn't ride a vespa in shorts and flip flops either.

I might not be an ATGATT guy, but I draw the line somewhere, and for me, that's long pants and proper riding boots at minimum. Will I come out unharmed if I go down at speed or whatever? Nope. But if someone does something dumb in city traffic that causes me to come off at low to moderate speed, I'll come out a lot better than I would wearing shorts and flippy-floppies, and that's kind of where my head is at on that topic.

Even if I felt so inclined as to claim I was a Sikh or something so I could theoretically ride without a helmet, I wouldn't, because, yeah, that line, even though I only wear a half helmet.
 
*shrug* it's not just a size/weight thing, it's a displacement thing.

My V-Rod was only 1,130cc, about 120 hp, 70ish ft lbs of torque, but the minute you let out the clutch it wants to go. Compared to a smaller, lighter bike, when you're riding a V-Rod in the city, you're just constantly pulling in the reigns. For short trip stuff, smaller bikes are way more fun.
 
MacDoc said:
Anyone else riding for "errands" ?
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Only when I am picking up stuff back in the days when I didn't have a car.

Such as and all strapped down to the back seat of a Honda XL 100.
A new 12 drawer tool chest I picked up at Canadian tire. 135 pounds.
A 4 foot wide aquarium.
A desk with drawers running down each side. Had to take curves slowly as the legs would bottom out.

And drove it all winter to and from work at Honda City in Montreal where we got real snow.
 
N234 said:
Put on all the paniers and I go to Costco. It's a good laugh. Sometimes I have to take all the ramen and granola bars out of the boxes and pour them into my storage.
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+1

My bike is my only vehicle. That is why I had a HUGE top case and then added some panniers. Still, sometimes I had to remove the protein bars from their boxes so everything could fit.PXL_20241230_195240971.jpg
 
My bike is my primary vehicle from Apr-Oct. My cars have been relegated to bulk items/passenger carrying/bad weather/car meets duties.

I think I need more bikes😂
 
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