Who commutes by motorcycle?

John@Outfront

Forum Moderator
Joined
Apr 30, 2021
Messages
1,356
Reaction score
1,825
what miles do you have on your bike?  how long is your commute?  tell us more, show a pic of your ride

My commute is 66 miles one way

bought my new bike 1.5 months ago and already have 2600 miles on it.  my old bike in the background is for sale, it has 40,000+ miles and runs perfect.

In the winter, i leave at 5 am.  Air temps are 35-45 degrees up the hill (2100 feet), 

I love riding my bike, rain doesn't bother me, 180HP 476 lbs but have removed cat and rear fender  38 MPG probably 460lbs

cant use 6th gear until over 90MPH!

old bike  2018 KTM super adventure S, new bike 2023 KTM Super Duke GT

IMG_6265.jpeg

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'd love to get a street bike. Have yet to adventure into one! Peace

 
This was mine.  I rode it for about 3 years, but when my son started going to school up by me I had to pick him and another person up and just didnt ride it any more.  I sold it when the selling got good. 

I was @ 17 Miles each direction, mostly crappy city freeways.  I did about a 6 or 7 half day zips up to the local mountains to knock the cob webs out & knock down the chicken strips. 

I had a "cold jacket" and a "hot jacket" & layered under the hot jacket for the cold mornings (I was in the office @ 5:30). 

VFR Aug 08 background 1.JPG

VFR Aug 08 background 2.JPG

 
Street Scares me too. Peace
JMHO, if you aint scared on CA streets, you should not be on a bike.  there are 2 kinds of bike riders, those that have gone down & those that are going down, its just a matter of time.  on the street Ive been down twice, on the dirt............  I dont have enough fingers and toes.  LOL.   and close calls............... about the same as the odds of winning the lotto.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
This was mine.  I rode it for about 3 years, but when my son started going to school up by me I had to pick him and another person up and just didnt ride it any more.  I sold it when the selling got good. 

I was @ 17 Miles each direction, mostly crappy city freeways.  I did about a 6 or 7 half day zips up to the local mountains to knock the cob webs out & knock down the chicken strips. 

I had a "cold jacket" and a "hot jacket" & layered under the hot jacket for the cold mornings (I was in the office @ 5:30). 

View attachment 66289

View attachment 66290


Beautiful bike! Like the RED. Peace

 
my first real street bike.  I rode the crap out of this thing in Florida, Philly and CA.  This is the bike I went down twice on. 

image.jpeg

 
I have never been down on the street. in the dirt and sand a lot of times.  I cut my teeth learning to dune on a 3 CR500's.  I have done Ensanada to Cabo, Fallen NV to Canada, Idaho, Colorado Etc.  on dual sports so im on a bike a lot

 
I commuted for years down in San Diego.  There was a time that I never even used my truck as I was always on a bike.  I had a couple Suzuki SVs (650 and 1000), Ducati, Harley.  I still stand by the statement that a sports bike is the best commuting bike.  Light, nimble, lots of power and for me, very comfortable.  I really miss my old Sv1000.

 
@Bobalos A VFR V4 Fan I see...one of my favorite Hondas.

The V-Twin Suzuki's were also a very nice torquey sport bike @Mac

200.gif


 
JMHO, if you aint scared on CA streets, you should not be on a bike.  there are 2 kinds of bike riders, those that have gone down & those that are going down, its just a matter of time.  on the street Ive been down twice, on the dirt............  I dont have enough fingers and toes.  LOL.   and close calls............... about the same as the odds of winning the lotto.
I found the drivers in AZ to be worse with respect to riders than they were in CA.  I could not take it any more and sold it during Covid.

 
I used to, 60 miles a day...Man I loved this bike - KTM 690 Supermoto. 

image.png

 
I found the drivers in AZ to be worse with respect to riders than they were in CA.  I could not take it any more and sold it during Covid.
w/o a doubt the worst Ive experienced............... Philly.  them Ph.u.ckers aimed for white guys on bikes..........  and the pot holes......... they would eat a wheel in the blink of an eye. 

But the street racing................. INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
and yes the irony is not lost on my having my Japanese bike in front of 2 american flags.......  It does not mean Im not still proud of my country.  I wrote that check, just glad it was not cashed. 

 
This was my first road bike, '77 RD400. I went down with it and only had some bad road rash. Gave it to my brother and he fixed it up and hit a deer right after he got done fixen it up. Cursed bike went to scrap after that.

I went to Harley's after this one and did over 80k miles on the road and never went down again.

1976_yamaha_rd400c_leftside-87051.webp

 
I used to ride my plated xr650r to work sideroads only when i had a 8 mile commute. Still had a ton of close calls, but my shop is in a shitty part of el cajo where there seems to be no traffic laws and chp had no interest in patrolling. I now have a 25 mile commute. I have a low mile 2003 vw jetta wagon with a 1.9l diesel. Im currently combined driving averaging 45mpg post manual trans swap. 
 

my old xr

E315A34A-0421-4055-AD22-02476FB121A4.jpeg

my vw

99B6B6F8-8073-40A9-A947-98E53C53A6A9.jpeg

 
I do a 4 a.m commute, 45 miles one way, 6 days/week. Riding is the only way to avoid sitting in traffic... I ride as much as possible... unless it's pouring rain. I prefer the naked style bikes for splitting lanes, avoiding mirrors and busses. Downtown L.A. traffic is a zoo in the afternoon, but those early morning rides are the best way to start the day!

Current Commuters: KTM 690 Duke    /   BUELL XB 1200

1.jpg

IMG_0703.jpg

IMG_0702.jpg

VR46.jpg

 
Back
Top