Author Topic: What's your reaction to a 20 min./week fair weather guy? (Read 5310 times)

jbrough7 · « **on:** May 25, 2006, 07:16:54 AM »

Talking to a friend who rides a Shadow (I'm really starting to dislike that bike!) and I was yakking about getting around the problems of riding in the cold and/or the rain. He says, "What's the problem? You just don't ride in the cold or the rain."

Goes on to say he only rides for a few minutes every Saturday. Actually, he rides to the coffee shop and then sits there for an hour and looks at his 'cool' bike....

I wanted to slap him right away for some reason. Why spend $8000 just to have it sit in the garage under a Honda wrap 99% of the time? What's the sense in waiting till Saturday and then if there is a cloud in the sky, playing peaknuckle instead?

Then I thought, hey, different strokes for different folks, right? At least he's a rider...or is he??

Any thoughts?

Sven · « **Reply #1 on:** May 25, 2006, 08:26:05 AM »

It seems like a waste of money, but if he can afford such an expensive toy and wants to claim he's a rider, no skin off my back. Plus one day someone will get a good deal of a very low milage older bike.

Desolation Angel · « **Reply #2 on:** May 25, 2006, 10:07:17 AM »

I guess the relevant question is...

Has he dropped it, knocked it over, let it fall over, or run into it?

All while it was brand new.

I'm just sayin'.

Sven · « **Reply #3 on:** May 25, 2006, 10:50:38 AM »

Quote from: Desolation Angel

Has he dropped it, knocked it over, let it fall over, or run into it? All while it was brand new.

And you people say *I'm* mean to the poor guy!?

(Plus, I did two out those four to mine when it was new, so you're steppin' on some toes there, bud.)

txbanditrydr · « **Reply #4 on:** May 25, 2006, 10:55:22 AM »

Quote

jbrough7 said ... I was yakking about getting around the problems of riding in the cold and/or the rain. He says, "What's the problem? You just don't ride in the cold or the rain."

Funny how we get ticked off when someone offers a simple solution to a current gripe - Your friend actually nailed it on the head.

Their riding philosophy might not jibe with yours but at he's not trying to change it either. There's an opportunity here to 1) Offer to lead a ride somewhere - not long but longer than the coffee shop or 2) Go to the coffee shop and talk bikes, hang out and chill.

If a couple of invites for a ride don't work out just forgetaboutit and go ride your own plan. Some days while riding with friends it seems like we stop way too many times - getting into serious road time and it gets irritating. At the end of the day I look back and remember all the funny stuff thrown around during those stops and it makes it all worthwhile.

FWIW.... I hate the cold and rain too.

PaulVS · « **Reply #5 on:** May 25, 2006, 11:02:59 AM »

I'm a fair weather rider.

Getting all rain-geared up at 6:30am... for a 30 minute stop-n-go commute to work in the cold rain... just so my bike can sit in said rain all day in a high school parking lot... subject to devious teenage pranks... is not my idea of a good time.

I still put about 2500-3000 miles on my bike per year... which is about 1/4 of the total miles I drive annually. Considering the weather here in Chicago, that's not too bad.

GaryB12VA · « **Reply #6 on:** May 25, 2006, 11:19:44 AM »

A friend of mine who is new to biking just bought an '02 Honda Shadow with 2400 miles on it.

According to the Dept of Transportation, the average motorcycle is ridden about 1800 miles per year. Hell, I did that much in 4 days during BOSS 2 weeks ago

I guess the miles don't add up very fast when you ride your Hardley Dangerous to the local watering hole and back

amboman · « **Reply #7 on:** May 25, 2006, 12:30:27 PM »

I ride a scooter now for daily commuting but on past averages I was clocking up over 15,000 kms on my real bike annually. Probably expect about half of that now as the scooter is going to get a thrashing because of the always increasing fuel costs. Scooter travels 160kms on about $10

Desolation Angel · « **Reply #8 on:** May 25, 2006, 12:59:12 PM »

Sometimes I don't ride at all for 3-4 weeks, then I'll do a couple of Saturdays for an hour or two or even three last weekend. Then I'll be more interested in the satellite a couple of weekends or have some family thing to do or maybe just not feel like it.

I do find myself thinking of the bike and riding way more than actually riding. In my teens and early 20's I rode a gob, whether in the rain or not, but now you can keep the bad weather riding. That just increases the odds against me by an amount I am not comfortable with. Maybe if I knew of someone somewhat close to my age and close to me geographically, I would ride more. I've seen several Harley guys in my neighborhood, upper crust Harley guys

, but I don't know them. One of them lives three houses down from me, but to my knowledge I've never seen the guy. Just his bike in the driveway.

Tundrahog · « **Reply #9 on:** May 25, 2006, 01:21:40 PM »

if it's over 35*F and not raining in the morning-I ride to work. It's only about 10 mins for me, so if it's raining in the afternoon no big deal. I'll usually ride for at least a little while on the weekend if the weather is nice. I rode about 6,000 miles last year, it'll probably be more this year.

Sven · « **Reply #10 on:** May 25, 2006, 01:48:05 PM »

Quote from: Desolation Angel

Sometimes I don't ride at all for 3-4 weeks, then I'll do a couple of Saturdays for an hour or two or even three last weekend. Then I'll be more interested in the satellite a couple of weekends...

Wow, what kind of satellite do you have?

Sven · « **Reply #11 on:** May 25, 2006, 01:52:29 PM »

Since this has turned into a "how much do you ride?" thread:

As long as the weather is above the low 50s and not raining, I commute on two wheels. I'm not afraid to commute in rain, but why should I put up with the annoyance of the extra gear (which has to lay on the carpet by my desk once I get to work), the slop* all over the bike, etc.? That's why god gave us cars.

*Funny, I don't want a muddy bike, but I'm not that picky about the layers of bugs that are all over it right now.

In warm weather, I do as much of my other running around on two wheels as practical...trips to Costco still require a car.

Winter, my riding is mostly on the weekends when I can layer up and stay that way until I get home. Since we have very little ice/snow, the rain is again more likely to be a deterrant than anything else.

Regarding rain: If I am out and caught in the rain, that's fine. I just dont go looking for it.

stormi · « **Reply #12 on:** May 25, 2006, 02:17:22 PM »

Quote

Scooter travels 160kms on about $10

Ok,.. I gotta ask,.. how many liters or gallons does 10 NZ dollars get you? cos I get 160m to less than $10cdn of gas, on a traditional "gas sucker", with the exception of the last tank. But then neither bike got any gas milage to speak of on that tank, so I won't be filling up at that station again.

stormi · « **Reply #13 on:** May 25, 2006, 02:23:18 PM »

Quote

According to the Dept of Transportation, the average motorcycle is ridden about 1800 miles per year.

I put about 5000kms ( about 3200 miles) on the B4 last year, but put it to sleep early to do engine work. This year, Both bikes are already close to 1500kms (what,.. 900 miles?) since the beginning of April.

The one thing I can't figure out? The insurance co said, so,.. you're going to put less than 5000kms on the bike this year right? Apparently it affected the quote. Uhm... unless you ask me the current milage, how you gonna enforce that?

Funnier still was when they asked me the same question about the KTM.

Uhm,.. yeah,.. less than 5000 k...

Bob Holland · « **Reply #14 on:** May 25, 2006, 03:12:44 PM »

I ride my bike 1/4 mile at top speed, 1/4 mile coasting, then slow 1/2 mile back to the pits, then I let it cool for 30 mins, just to do it all over agin.
To each his own