Sport commuting

[ctbandit]

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.

[sprale]

20 miles or so one-way, every day. 75mpg. Enough luggage space to store rain gear, lunch and whatever I pick up on Craigslist on the way home.

[JoelCool]

I commute daily, rain or shine on my R1.  Sporty enough?  

[j1mmyj4m]

I live 2 miles from work so it's not even worth the time it takes to put the gear on.

[Giaka]

Im a commuter, some days are sportier than others.    Fridays are usually CBR days.

[FizDog74]

Been commuting on my FZ1 lately. Averaging around 45mpg. That certainly beats my Subaru's 18mpg.  

[bung]

My SprintST only gets a few mpg better than my Honda Fit. To save wear and tear on the bike, I usually only commute in the car.

[chilipeppernorm]

Don't know where you guys commute, but around here it's survival commuting regardless of the bike you ride. Although you could describe survival as "sporting".

[Magnarider]

I do, but it's only 8 miles tops, and there's no good roads on the way home, so it kinda sucks.  But, WAY better than the cage any day.

[phaze5]

Unfotunately my tool belt will scratch the paint. But i throw my tools in an eclipse gt is that sporty enough its a stick lol

[CJBurbank]

Fortunately/unfortunately, my commute is two flights of stair down to my office in the basement.

[JamesG]

Is this an Amish poll?  

Before it became popular or environmentally/economically "smart", I ride here there and every where rain or shine year round.

[caddydaddy]

I ride year round 7 miles each way to work.  I'd just rather be on my bike than in my car.  Except when it's 100 degrees and I'm sitting in traffic.  

[Bodhi]

Those were three good reasons to sport commute. Twenty-six miles each way - with part of the trip passing by a lake. Rain and shine? Pffft. When they forecast severe thunderstorms I take the cage. I rode home in a nasty rain squall once and that was enough for me.

Yeah, and sometimes when it's over a hundred and the traffic is bumper to bumper - then I'll take the air-conditioned Prius (which gets slightly better mileage than the Duc) - not much fun crawling at 5mph in extreme heat..

[DredheadV2.0]

"sport" commuting does not save tons of gas, at least on my Bandit.  If I go really easy on throttle, I can get decent mileage.

What it does save me is the $10 per day parking fee if I took the GF's cage, or the extra 30 minutes taking the El.

[AutoXer]

Only 11 miles to work, minor uninteresting highway, a-hole drivers, and deer always ready to die under my wheels.  Hardly "sport" commuting.  But ...

47 miles per gallon from my FZ6 beats 29 in the car and certainly beats 17 from my truck.  And no matter what, riding in on the bike starts the day better.  And then there is the long way home that finishes the day off nicely ...

jZ

[krumgrinder]

I ride year round 7 miles each way to work.  I'd just rather be on my bike than in my car.  Except when it's 100 degrees and I'm sitting in traffic.    

Works for me, too... although it's on my Connie, which I consider these days to be the 'A-10 Warthog' of sport tourers...  
Like that name you've coined for it though- I definitely get her over on the 270° on/off ramps and goose her into the flow to squeeze as much fun out of it as possible!

[et]

Amen to all three choices.
Ever since I was a teenager; motorcycle has always been my primary mode of transportation.
(25+ years now. Don't remember exactly what age I started; was it 17, 18, or 19 ?)
Other than my very first street bike; which was a Honda CL-350. I've always had some type of sport bike.
Honda CB400-four, Suzuki GS750, Honda Hurricane, '86 Suzuki GSXR-750RG Limited Edition (also my first race bike), '00 Suzuki GSXR-750.

Current commute is 50+ miles each way, previous commute was 85 miles each way, commute before that was 40 miles each way, and commute before that was 65 miles each way. Commute times ranging from 1-1/4 to 3 hours each way; ie upto 6 hours per day. With commute times like that I'm going to try to make it as enjoyable as possible; and make it as cheap as possible.

Only the 65 mile commute into NYC was mostly Interstate riding.
The 85 mile commute was from Allentown, PA to Princeton, NJ. And it was the most enjoyable.
Other than the two miles of I-78 it took to get out of Allentown; I rode nothing but twisty two lane county roads. I kinda miss it.

Leave the car (or truck) at home people; and ride !

[dm_gsxr]

Why stop for the snow?  







Carl

[DredheadV2.0]

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.

[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