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Practicality

3K views 24 replies 18 participants last post by  deadheadawakened 
#1 ·
I ride my bike everyday. Yesterday it was pissing down on my way to work; I put my waterproofs on and got on with it. I parked my bike in the garage at work and did my 8.5 hour shift. I do this everyday, sometimes it rains. When I get home during the week I don't have time for and "after rain routine" plus I'm freaking worn out from the stresses of the day. I want my dinner, a shower and to chill out. If I do ride in rain during the week I make a point to clean and lube the chain and usually wipe the whole bike down once the weekend arrives and I have some time and energy. Some people claim that you should lube your chain every time you run through a puddle... That is ridiculous and not practical for most people. Your bike is made to be outdoors. I'm probably being OCD and obsessive with my once a week routine!


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#2 ·
I ride daily too and in nearly all weather.

Per V-Tom's (?) advice I lube the chain (gear oil) at each fuel fill-up. I don't lube the chain otherwise - even after rain.

Not enough miles yet to know if that works OK, but the chain seems fine now at ~13,500 miles.
 
#3 · (Edited)
I ride in all weather. Period. I try to lube my chain twice a week, once minimum, as I ride roughly 90 miles a day. The amount of money I saved by getting this bike since August is in the thousands. Maintenance, fuel, accessories, all toned down with my bike. I used much of the money I've been saving to restore my car for fun drives, shows, and longer trips. We (my wife and I) like taking trips on the bike, but it's not practical for us to trip for many days on this bike due to cases and other farkles I would have to purchase to make it possible. She also cannot sit on a bike all day for days on end yet.

I just love to ride, it's saves time, it saves money, it's enjoyable as opposed to sitting in traffic and worrying about fuel economy instead of passing slow vehicles.

Call me corny, but I feel dangerous riding in rainstorms, fog, snow, cold, and even 100 degree heat! I like knowing that some people are thinking "oh my gosh, look at that idiot riding a motorcycle in this rain, and it's freezing outside!" They secretly envy me though, especially husband types in their minivan or SUV, kids crying in the backseat, stuck in traffic trying to find a gas station that's 3 cents cheaper. Not to be sexist but many men dream of riding a motorcycle everywhere, something that most practical women don't understand.

I'm very lucky my wife was raised around motorcycles and values the benefits that outweigh the risks of riding. She loves that I ride no matter what, even if I do look weird and goofy in four jackets and plastic-wrapped boots, she thinks its very manly and (before I had waterproof boots) wrapped my boots before I left at 430 in the morning. I had to convince her to get a top case because she doesn't really like how thy look, but after seeing how much more we can take on day trips, and locking it in a waterproof container, she was sold.

I'm not really a typical motorcyclist, well, none of us are, but I'm not even a 'typical' adventure touring rider either. I like my loud, open vtwin, I like my red engine lights, i like wearing all black gear, I like to go fast and corner hard. but I also like cruising with my wife, riding in the dirt, getting my bike dirty, strapping ridiculous amounts of gear and luggage on my bike. I like wearing ATGATT, I like that mostly sport-tourers wave at me, that noone knows what kind of bike i have, and I like ugly, but useful gadgets, proudly displayed on my handlebars and behind my windshield.

I'm a strange breed, especially for a young person, but I enjoy my individuality and I believe my bike is quite an accurate expression of myself. That is the real reason I ride in all weather.



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#6 ·
I like ugly, but useful gadgets, proudly displayed on my handlebars and behind my windshield.
Good thing your wife likes ugly useful gadgets behind your bike's windshield.

The typical motorcyclist thinks that every other motorcyclist is typical.
 
#5 ·
I just shake my head at people who spend more time cleaning their bike than riding it. I bought my Vstrom for transportation, not to look at. Why should I clean and lube after a rain when in Houston, Texas, if you don't like the weather, stick around 5 minutes... It will change. I would just be wasting time and money if I lubed the chain after every rain because it might and probably will rain again the next day. Once a week if its been raining like I said or every few hundred miles (tank of fuel).


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#7 ·
I just shake my head at people who spend more time cleaning their bike than riding it.
I used to feel that way.

Now I appreciate the time they spend makin' they bikes perty.

Each hour they spend polishing is an hour they are not riding ten below the speed limit in front of me on my favorite twisty roads.
 
#8 ·
I lube my chain after every tank of gas and after every ride in the rain (or after every ride when there has been wet salt brine on my roads.) I never clean my chain as there is simply nothing useful done in cleaning the chain.

Lubing takes about 10 or 15 seconds on a centerstand.

..Tom
 
#10 ·
Rain = free bike wash.






Why yes, that is last year's bird shit... :mrgreen:
 
#11 ·
my rule for practicality is

if it takes longer to get dressed than the ride, I hop in the cage

in summer, I hop on my bike to run 5-10 minute errands, in winter when it takes 20 minutes to get geared up, I won't ride unless I'm going 25 miles or more



 
#14 ·
I agree with the sentiment - I'm a moto commuter and my bike gets dirty.

Having said that, I was appalled to find rust on my chain within a month or two of buying my bike brand new.

At some point after 600 mi, I cleaned the chain, which removed the the factory-applied goop. Whatever I used must not have worked well, because a few commutes in the rain later, I had a some orange on my chain.
 
#15 ·
Rust on my cbr250r, but I don't lube that chain. No spools to put it up with.

As for vstrom, I spray down chain every 500 miles. Easy to remember and has worked so far (8200 miles). Chain looks fine. Don't know how much I'll get out of it, but I'm not too worried.

Alexi
 
#19 ·
Like wearing clean clothes, I like a clean bike. Just last week I found my rear fender hanging by one bolt while cleaning it, better than having it fall off. Before that I found a rear brake line clamp without its mounting screw. I guess one could just watch for parts flying off or laying on the garage floor.

To me cleaning is the time for checking her out. My clean bike doesn't slow me down and in between clean ups I have managed to log about 82,000 miles since 2007.

It gets ridden all winter long, road salt or not. But it gets cleaned.
 
#20 ·
... I found a rear brake line clamp without its mounting screw. ....
That was a great find!!!

Rear brake line clamp screw got loose on my Vee, which allowed the line to rotate into the rear cylinder exhaust pipe, which melted/ burned thru the hose, which cause me to lose back brake and catch on fire - all within 45 minutes of leaving for a weekend moto camping trip.
 
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