Motorcycle as a daily driver?

[john hd]

bobby,

that would be one quick commute!

paul,

thanks!

john

[femuse]

Did I noticed only men talking about commuting with a bike ?

When I was in my 20's, I had a store about 20 miles from home. Parking situation in town was bad and expensive. (that's was in France, Bordeaux).
So I started to commute, weather permitting, using a Honda 125.
I suppose at that age, I was not afraid of much. Country roads were no problem. City traffic was awful: a few miles of 4 or 5 lanes, anything goes traffic. Some of it on cobblestones. I notice that in the States, drivers are more courteous toward bikes (in France, they will travel in the same lane as you).
I learned one thing: even if they have a stop, anything bigger than you has the right of way. An encounter one evening with a drunk, revoked licence & insurance taught me so. (never saw me, had to be chased by a witness). The cops commented :"him again".
I learned another thing: even in the summer, wear leather gear. It soften a lot the contact with the road. I ended up with a broken helmet, a broken collar bone, bad scrapes on my knees, and a very dead bike. As soon as I healed, I bought a Honda 350, and drove it to work about every day (except worse days of winter). I went on like that for years until I moved here. My sister started to ride when she was 16, 31 years later she still does (not commuting, just pleasure). She never had a very flashy bike or anything that she couln't handle. She never had an accident either.
Biking is safe if you have the right attitude (yes, I know, accidents are always possible). If you go there to play "cowboy", you better use a car.

[ipso_facto]

femuse

I suppose the right attitude entails thinking that something can go wrong, anytime, anywhere.

I think this all means that a biker pays a higher price for the mistakes of others and that problems need to be preempted before they occur.

[femuse]

Right.

More than when driving a car, it means, always be aware of everything. Do not trust that the guy who signals you to go is not going to change his mind and do something stupid, like pulling in front of you at the last minute. It means, NOT listening to music through head phones, but listening for EVERYTHING around you. Knowing that if you let your guard down, it can cost you. Thinking you HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY, can cost you. Being hard headed, can cost you.
When you are riding alone, the attitude is very different than in a "pack". You are a lot more at the mercy of people's stupidity.

In spite of all those negative remarks, commuting to work with a bike can be really fun. I would do it again....if I was young again.

[john hd]

Originally posted by Silvertwinkie
Those look cool. Are they expensive?

Eric

eric

by harley standards, no.

by everyones else, yes.

john

[Silvertwinkie]

If I hadn't priced out Harleys a few years ago, I wouldn'g have had a clue, but I see what you mean. Guess it's true, you want the good stuff...$$$$$$

Hey John, you thinkn' of going to the midwest meet maybe in June?

Eric

[davidz71]

ipso,
Great comments made by everyone on the forum. A newbie in my late teens, I started out with a Honda 350 with no one to teach me how to ride. A friend drove me 250 miles to buy the bike brand new off the showroom floor at a great cash price and then followed me back to the house. I stopped once on the way back as I pulled off the road on a grassy spot and promptly fell over. OK, I hear you laughing now. I used this bike daily while going to college and work. A year later I graduated up to a Honda 500 four cylinder and she was nice. I put a Vetter fairing on and put about 14,000 miles on her until one of the Honda store guys asked me to follow him on his 750 while he delivered a new bike. Here we go again as I bought a new 750 the next week. I guess I put at least 24,000 miles on that bike and during that time experienced some exciting times (driving to TX. and back from Nashville, TN.) as well as some hair raising experiences. I've blown a rear tube at 60 mph where two interstates converge and was all over 6 lanes before I came to a stop next to a guard rail. Man was my heart pumping. Some construction guys came over, loaded me up on a truck and took me to a nearby Honda dealer who put on a new tube and wider rear tire. I've hit an oil slick on the college campus after a rain, dropped the bike, cracked an elbow and split my pants. No real damage to the bike here. I've had an 18 wheeler come over on me at 55 mph and almost pin me up against a guard rail. Then there was the time a State of TN. vehicle pull out in front of me in a downpour just missing my leg. I've misjudged a turn and run off the road into gravel but was able to keep it up. Heart pounding again. OK, enough excitement but you get the picture. I've made a few mistakes but most of my bad experiences were due to weather conditions (wet/rainey) and people not paying attention.

I rode in the rain because I did not have any other choice. I wore an old yellow chemical exposure suit with the head cut out (purchased from an Army Surplus Store) and it kept me dry as a bone. My '70 GTO was down in TX. and I was not able to get it back up to TN. but when I did, the bike wasn't ridden during bad weather. After one of my last bad experiences, the bike seemed to be top heavy and I began to worry more than before about the other guy.

I liked my bikes, particularly the 550 and the 750 and would love to have either of them back. Be careful if you want to make the bike experience and after selecting your bike, practice, practice, practice away from traffic before you spend much time there. I couldn't afford a HD but if you like the look, how about the Honda Shadow 750. One of the guys at work has one and he really likes it. It has caught my eye and I keep telling myself NO!

[ipso_facto]

davidz71

Thanks for sharing this experience.
I am a conservative driver, always playing the "what-if" game, what happens if this, what happens if that. With bikes, I suppose this is way more applicable. If I do get it, I don't anticipate riding it in anything other than good conditions in a rural to semi-rural region.

I want to expand my horizons, do things I've never done. Which is probably the key reason why I got into this Airstream idea to begin with. I like it thus far but requires some readjustment.

It does take a certain type of a personality to do non-mainstream things like A/S.

[Photobitstream]

Being conservative on a bike is a good thing, but you need more than just the proper mental attitude - you need the experience to react immediately and properly in an emergency. If you think about what you need to do, it will be too late.

I've been riding for more than 25 years, and have put more than 250,000 miles on motorcycles. You've gotten some good advice here, but I'll add some more from my experience. Take a Motorcycle Safety Foundation riders course before you even buy a bike. You'll learn more than you think you could in a few days.

Don't start out on a Gold Wing or a Moto Guzzi. You don't have the experience to handle a bike that large. There will come a time when you hesitate a fraction of a second, and the extra mass of a large bike will send you over the edge and onto the pavement. Get something smaller, such as a Suzuki GS500E to start with.

Do not emulate the idiots who ride around wearing beanie helmets, chaps, and t-shirts. Your protective gear is the only think keeping your flesh from coming into direct contact with asphalt. Buy a Snell approved full-face helmet, a leather jacket and leather pants, and riding boots that not only cover your ankles but provide enough lateral support that you cannnot bend the boot tops left and right. This will keep your ankles from shattering in an accident. Chaps are useless if you go down. Think about it. Chaps don't cover your butt, which is the most lkely portion of your lower body to slide along the pavement. Make sure you leather pants and jacket have adequate armour, including a back protector. The full-face helmet (I have an HJC) will protect your face when you go down, as well as keeping the wind, bugs, and rocks out of your eyes as you drive.

As mentioned above, wear bright clothing. You do not want to blend in with the traffic. My motorcycle is yellow, as is my helmet, and I have a yellow/black/white Vanson jacket.

Whatever you buy, after you've taken the MSF course, sign up for a motorcycle school. Reg Pridmore's (http://www.classrides.com) school is excellent for beginning riders and travels to various locales around the United States. Don't bother with Keith Code's school or his books. He teaches some good stuff, but he also teaches too much dangerous stuff for me to recommend his schools to beginners.

[ipso_facto]

Photobitstream

Thanks. I've realized I don't want anything bigger than 600-700cc. All points are valid.