Does anyone ride a motorcycle exclusively for transportation?

flammenwurfer

flammenwurfer

New Member
I'm moving to a different state soon and I'm thinking about selling my truck to help with expenses and going motorcycle only for a while until I find a job and have the money to buy another truck.

Just wondering if anyone is, or has, gone without a car and relied on their bike exclusively and if you have any advice, tips, or want to tell me it's a horrible idea :).

Thanks
 
Your new job probably wouldn't appreciate you showing up soaking wet and cursing relatively often ;D
 
im in the same boat, im finishing my Cl350 to use it for daily commuting, since my wife and i only have one car right now, is kind of a pain when we have to go to different places at the same time.
 
Been doing it for 3 years. It"s not that bad. If its gonna rain, throw some extra clothes in a watertight bag and backpack em. And keep up with maintenane, especially is you ride an old problematic bike.
 
flammenwurfer said:
I'm moving to a different state soon and I'm thinking about selling my truck to help with expenses and going motorcycle only for a while until I find a job and have the money to buy another truck.

Just wondering if anyone is, or has, gone without a car and relied on their bike exclusively and if you have any advice, tips, or want to tell me it's a horrible idea :).

Thanks
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Yeah I've gone the last 3 years year-round. And keep in mind I'm in utah. Winters are bitter, exhausting, wet and painful. But it can be done pretty easily. Rain isn't that big of a deal, it's stop pretty quickly. Hail sucks. Night riding is fun. etc.

It's the whole "wanna go out for lunch?" "sure, let me slip on my jacket, helmet, gloves, and find my key" every. single. time. you. leave.

You also increase the chances of wrecking because you're riding more, but I live in a smaller town so traffic isn't an issue anyway.


In short, it depends on the state, your energy level, your riding abilities, and accepting the fact that you can't carry anything more than what you could put in a passenger seat.
 
I've done it. With the right gear, it can work out reasonably well. I have even commuted in the snow on a bike.

Would I do it now?

I'm too old for that shit.
 
For the past year, I've commuted 95% of the time on a motorcycle. I don't ride in the snow, ice, or epic storms. Good rain gear prevents a miserable commute.
 
I spent three years in Seattle using only a bike for transportation. Right gear helps, packing a change of clothes in a couple plastic bags, and being willing and able to understand what it takes to ride in the rain up and down hills helps. So does being willing to ride a bicycle and take the bus.
 
I did it for 3.5 years about 20 years ago.
Proper gear is a must and is tedious.
Grocery and Laundromat runs were always a treat.
I found it was a hindrance socially, fwiw.


It was cheap transport, and highly effective from a money point of view which was the main reason I chose that solution.


Never rode in snow, however...
 
Money is my main factor at the moment. I'd be willing to sell my truck and spend a little on making sure my bike is in tip top shape. I will also have my girlfriend's car to use when she isn't working once I get there. This would hopefully not be a long term plan. I plan on purchasing another truck when the money and timing is right.

What is it like exactly riding with rain gear? Do you still get a little wet? Like around the neck or ankles or anything? Or does good rain gear keep you completely dry?
 
hands, neckline and feet are usually suspect.
Wet hands at speed get *very* cold *very* quickly and can be dangerous.


I was living in the deep south when I did it, so 45f and rain was about the worse it got for me.
Still it was not fun when you factor in the 60mph wind chill...
 
Good raingear, gaiters for your boots, and good gauntlet gloves do a good job. I have been known to empty water out of my boots after three hours & about 130 miles in a downpour. That's why I have gaiters now.

Visibility is the worst part of riding in the rain. The physical discomfort is manageable with the right gear, but not being able to see pretty much sucks. After dark is much worse. When you meet an oncoming car, all you see is lots of lights, like stars.
 
I have commuted in temperatures as low as 13F, but the worst had to be 32F with wet sleet pelting me in the face.

I can tell you that just getting a motorcycle started in temperatures in the teens is a Hell of a challenge.
 
Im in Miami, so maybe it doesn't count for some since we don't get cold here (although I've ridden here in 38 degrees in 2011 which was a record low.) We get torrential rain in the summer which is not that fun. I got a rain suit from jafrum for cheap, some waterproof over the shoe boots and that's about it. It's been a while doing this, maybe three years now? I still have my car, I just prefer the bike. I now put less than 1,500 miles a year on my car. I fill up for about $7 each week for the bike. The rain isn't bad, the other drivers are though. Winter time here is riding season for most people, and it shows. It's a lot nicer when a ton of people are out on bike or scooter. The roads all seem bigger.
 
It will get colder than Miami where I'm going (Gulfport, MS), but still should be pretty mild and rideable year round.

I have gone on rides in below freezing weather, but not often and I don't think I'd want to commute day in and out in it.
 
Aside from being cold and wet, you've got to get used to how your bike handles (read: stops) in the rain. Good tires make cornering fine, but it's not the same as cornering on a bone dry road. Stopping takes longer too, and you've got to be careful about locking up the wheels and sliding for dozens of feet (or more). That said, all it takes is a little time being cautious before you figure out your (and your bike's) limits.
 
I've been doing it here in the UK for the past seven years, I'm 53 years old now. I have a VW Van which I dont tax for 6 months of the year. In winter I ride till its close to freezing 0* is that 32F in old money, sometimes lower, I only get the van out when its snowing or icy. My daily ride to my workshop is 13 miles each way so not a lot of time to get cold or soaked through, in most weather anyhows. First thing I would buy would be a pinlock visor insert doesn't matter what gear you wear if you cant see where your going. Next would be goretex suit with removable thermal liner and goretex boots and gloves, touch wood I've never had any goretex lined gear let me down. Your more likely to get wet when removing the wet gear than when riding. Oh and it can be a right PIA to put wet gear back on again. The suit I only use when it looks like rain or temp is below 8* otherwise I wear leathers and carry a lightweight rain jacket to slip over the leather jacket. I also have heated grips which are great when its below 8*.

It can be a PIA when you want to transport stuff but I've had many a wheel and large boxes strapped to the pillion seat. I do it out of choice now not necessity as I enjoy riding in all weathers and cant bear to be caught up in traffic. It will definitely make you a better rider, just relax and don't hold those bars in a death grip and you'll soon get the feel for wet roads and slippy conditions.

All this concentrating on wet and cold riding makes it sound like every day is like that, whereas in reality I'd say there are definitely way more good days than bad, even in the winter.
 
Lived in Fl. and did not even own a car for 2-3yrs. You just gotta get used to how your bike handles in the rain.
 
I don't commute everyday but I do ride a lot in all weather, except snow cause here it just isn't possible without huge mods to a bike. I Did this year throw a set of KLR hand guards on the bars and it made a huge difference for hands in rain and cold. Also a small screen helps too. Good rain gear helps too if you need to be dry when you get to work but even the best rain gear will let some water in when it is raining so hard you can't see 2 feet in front of you. Keep spare cloths at work if you can so you don't always have to carry them

Cheers
 
flammenwurfer said:
It will get colder than Miami where I'm going (Gulfport, MS), but still should be pretty mild and rideable year round.

I have gone on rides in below freezing weather, but not often and I don't think I'd want to commute day in and out in it.
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I've gotten snowed on where you are heading. I lived in Long Beach and worked in Gulfport. Rode year round, a summer jacket in most of the country is normally sufficient for coastal winters. You will need high end boots and gloves, lots of road debris and large insects. Helmet with faceshield or get yourself some goggles, a June Bug or dragonfly to the face/eyes can/will knock you off your ride.

My farmhand is 60, his only motor vehicles is a 1999 Kawi 1500 Drifter that will turn 100K miles old this month. He rode year round in western WA, including in snow up to 7" deep. Major shopping trips we'll take my mini truck, otherwise it is saddlebags and the PBR 12 pack gets bungeed to the seat.

Oh, and when he moved from Seattle to TN in 2011, he rode it the entire trip.

You should do fine on the coast year round. Be careful in the Orange Grove section of town, very poor area filled with very bad drivers... although since Katrina flattened much of the town it has gotten better. US 90 through Biloxi it is easy to get rear ended at a light, lots of blue hairs cruising the casinos. US 90 in Bay Saint Louis is beat to pieces, you'll need some decent shocks. Oh, Cruisin the Coast in October is well worth it, I'd move back year round for that alone.
 
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