Sport commuting

[Kat-Rider]

Mretty much anytime not winter.

[J.R.]

I ride year round to work, 11 miles one way.  I think in the last year, I took the cage to work maybe 6-7 times.  5 of those times was in one week where there was ice on the ground.  I keep track of how much I spend on gas, and mileage and what not, and I saved $960 in gas last year by taking the motorcycle to work.  I come out a little ahead after maintenance on the bike.

[FJR_Jim]

I commute nearly everyday weather permitting for the gas savings and pure joy of riding. I have a nice 18 mile commute, which is just perfect when taking the bike. The bike (Ymaha FJR) gets 40+MPG, while my Ford Explorer gets 14-16MPG. Unfortunately, the gas savings are ususlly lost as I am forever tempted to take a more circuitous route to and from the office.

[vnsfxr]

12 miles one way. Short enough not to have to winter up for the mornings. Long way is 27 miles with a bunch more curves.

[Phenix_Rider]

Any time it's not raining (or snowing) in the morning.  I get caught in the rain plenty on the way home- no big deal.  Got hit with snow one morning- that was horrible.  Felt like a 10 mile long hydroplane.  Couldn't see the asphalt except for the tire tracks of the semi I was following.  

I ride about 27 miles each way, so 50-ish mpg in the big is a huge gas savings from the 12mpg in my truck.  Enough that I have money left after insurance to buy myself all kinds of books and gear.

[Zerosum]

how many of you do it?  *raises hand*

A)saves tons of gas
B)makes me look forward to going to work more
C)a good reason to get "lost" on the way home.

I'm dreading the snowey/icey weather days in the winter.

In reality, A) doesn't really apply for me.  My commute is 10 miles per day.  Cage gets 20 mpg city.  V-Strom gets 40mpg city.  At $4/gallon, 10 city miles in the car costs $2.  On the V-Strom, $1.  So I'm saving exactly $1 a day.  Whoopdee doo!  Even if I got an 80mpg scooter, I'd only be saving another 0.50 cents a day!   The fact is, gas is still a minor expense for me, even at $4/gallon.  As much as I bash living in the city, it's kind of nice to not be needing all that gas.  It's a serious standard-of-living booster.

I feel bad for people with long commutes... factor in traffic jams and you're getting city mileage.  Plus the TIME... god, I could NOT deal with spending 2hrs of each day in transit.  

[PhilBiker]

how many of you do it?  *raises hand*

A)saves tons of gas
B)makes me look forward to going to work more
C)a good reason to get "lost" on the way home.

I'm dreading the snowey/icey weather days in the winter.

I commute as well.  As a matter of fact that'spretty much all my riding the last few years, commuting.  I still tour on my bike; if I'm going on a camping trip or visiting friends or family and the weather permits.

Anyway, yeah.  Commuting is nice, depending on the route.  Where I am there's HOV so moto commuting is much safer than some other places.  Snow/Ice or rain mean I drive.

[dm_gsxr]

Oh, I'll ride IN snow, but I won't ride ON snow.  Only takes once, dropping your bike in the street, in traffic, and trying to pick the fucker up while the wheels are just sliding sideways no matter how you try to lift, so that you actually have to physically PICK THE BIKE UP and set it on its wheels (adrenaline is a marvelous thing) and having to deal with all the muscles you just pulled before riding in the snow starts to seem like a really bad idea.  

So I've heard.

That's why you ride a lighter bike. I dropped the SV and it was light enough to pick up with ease and no repercussions. I don't advocate it but it was an interesting experience

Carl

[Albie]

Not me, I hate commuting on a sport bike. I dual sport commute!  

[SpeedCostsMoney]

I commute 25-30 miles to work everyday on a 08 Ninja 250. Untill I have enough money to buy a Concours 14. The 250 is my only ride, I don't have a car.

[ctbandit]

In reality, A) doesn't really apply for me.  My commute is 10 miles per day.  Cage gets 20 mpg city.  V-Strom gets 40mpg city.  At $4/gallon, 10 city miles in the car costs $2.  On the V-Strom, $1.  So I'm saving exactly $1 a day.  Whoopdee doo!  

I also have a short commute .. about 25 miles a day, but I figure its 25 miles each day I don't use my car for, which for me was much more expensive. I figure I'm prob saving about $10 a week, X 52 will be a good chunk. Most likely a chunk big enough to pay for all of the extra mileage I take on for bike trips.  

[Giaka]

I don't have a car.

  I sold my car too. I like the feeling of being a bike only kinda guy.  

[SpeedCostsMoney]

  I sold my car too. I like the feeling of being a bike only kinda guy.  

They call me Mr. Biker at work, since I ride in everyday. The Harley guys used to make fun of me when I got my 250 but they don't say much now. Hard to say something when I ride 30 miles to work in the rain and their bikes only come out when it's 70 degrees and sunny.  

[Malks]

My commute to work is a good 180 km (about 110 miles) round trip.  However, most of it is on secondary roads that are not too heavily travelled.  Only the last bit in Toronto requires using the expressways and since I like to be at work by 6:30AM to avoid the gridlock, I can make it into the office in about an hour.  I also leave at 3PM, so I beat most of the traffic out of the city and then have the secondary roads almost to myself.

I have been sport commuting at least twice a week since March and really look forward to the ride home.  Funny how the ride home is always longer that the ride in.

Malks

[SpeedCostsMoney]

My commute to work is a good 180 km (about 110 miles) round trip.  However, most of it is on secondary roads that are not too heavily travelled.  Only the last bit in Toronto requires using the expressways and since I like to be at work by 6:30AM to avoid the gridlock, I can make it into the office in about an hour.  I also leave at 3PM, so I beat most of the traffic out of the city and then have the secondary roads almost to myself.

I have been sport commuting at least twice a week since March and really look forward to the ride home.  Funny how the ride home is always longer that the ride in.

Malks

I have a similar commute. I leave at 5am and just glide right in. However, the ride home is not as smooth.

[dm_gsxr]

They call me Mr. Biker at work, since I ride in everyday. The Harley guys used to make fun of me when I got my 250 but they don't say much now. Hard to say something when I ride 30 miles to work in the rain and their bikes only come out when it's 70 degrees and sunny.  

I'm getting folks I don't even know asking if I rode in (Thursday it was moderately rainy). I bug everyone else though, friendly of course. There are a few guys who come in when it looks like it's going to rain though.

Carl