How many of you guys ride 365?

[Kit]

How many of you guys ride your bike 365 days a year or as close as for primary transport and what are your experiences like in terms of winter and summer.

And is it dangerous, since i've got the gf and other people in my ear telling me i'm going to hurt myself but the same sort of people said the same stuff when I started doing motorcross, admittedly i've hurt my wrists & ribs but nothing more which is what I expected anyway and never broken anything.

[KevTM]

i've ridden bikes throughout winter etc, no much difference to be honest apart from you can't ride fast most of the time .. had 125's in all sorts of conditions, snow, ice, floods, gale force winds etc..

Only thing was my last bike didn't like winter too much, pivot points on the footrests started playing up i.e. hard to change gear/not changing , sticky rear brake etc.. just needs more cleaning/maintenance to keep them tip top.

I just can't stand it when people say bikes are dangerous, they're only dangerous if you ride like a twat, have an unhealthy machine or you come across a blind cager or the likes.

[White Noise]

[Klause]

I don't have a car. I only have my monster, tried other bikes but they either can't handle me or I get bored with them.
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Current bikes: 1960 Triumph 5ta x2, TTR600RE, KTM200EXC, Cagiva Elephant 900ie.

[ncrn]

i ride every day, only way i can get to work/college.

in the winter its not to bad, for me anyway i dont got more thn 20 miles. however you have to be careful, remember to try use your back break more in icy conditions, when i over used my front i had an off, i got up and walked away fine, but i was annoyed and a bit shaken. (investing in some good gear gets rid of cold weather problems)

and summer is the best time in my opinion, i love it, it can just get a little hot when your going slow.

[strag]

I only ride on Fridays, and I don't care if it rains.
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carbon bling

[kawakid]

We have a family car and I normaly use it in winter, but now the wife has passed her car test and she drives it during the week, so this year I will buy another car for November and sell in March. (nothing special, just a mondeo with 4 or 5 months MOT).

I do ride at least once a week through the winter, but thats just to keep the bike running. Start her up then do a 10 mile run, then spend about 10 minutes rinsing all the salt off and spraying over with WD40.

The winter crash threads on this forum are too scary to contemplate riding daily through winter, they all read, "I turned the corner and hit some untreated ice".
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I've a twin and a 4.

[phk6]

i ride 365 although it has been pon scooters which i found fine as i dont have to travel far in bad wether if i have to travel at all, but wen ive been caught out by the rain ive got fucking soaked lol, ill let u know how it goes on my new bike wne i collect it
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Current .. 2008 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure ..
Before .. 2003 Yamaha Fazer 1000 .. 2004 Kawazaki Z1000 .. 2003 Suzuki Sv1000s .. 1999 zx6r Track Bike .. 1999 CB 500 Cup ..
/Phil

[TheDonUK]

I ride every day without fail, unless the bike is broken, in which case i am begging around for money/help to fix it. Winter is fine, just always take waterproofs with you and as others have said you cant have as much fun, however you do get that odd lovely winter day when the roads are clear of FWB and power rangers and cars for the most part...

Either way my bike is all i have. The only thing i hate about winter is when you go out for a quick trip somewhere (mates house, shop etc...) and you look up at the sky and tell yourself, "nah the rain will hold off for 10 mins...." and then bugger me you get 100 meters down the road without waterproofs and the heavens open...

Either way i think i have better machine control from riding in the winter...

[martin young]

No chance. Got a nice big comfy car for that and I'm too old for this winter riding bollocks.

[MRX Steve]

Iv commuted atleast twice a week almost every week since i got my bike. I dont mind riding in the rain, its just riding when its freezing cold and icy which i cant stand. Its probably not so bad if you spend a large amount on gear, inc some decent gloves, but with my gear i just end up freezing. Plus i dropped my bike last year when it was icy, was only doing about 10mph at the time but was enough to crack my plastic, so its kind of put me off riding when its icy as its so easy to go over.
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Rieju MRX 50 Castrol Edition

[berto46]

365 for me too although I do have a family car too to ship the kids around. I always use my scooter for work.

I will be getting my VFR in November as a birthday present to myself and will also be on that 365 with 3-5 trips to foreign lands lined up!

[Mister James]

I've ridden 15 miles to work 5/6 days a week for well over 2 years. Aside from salt damage to fasteners etc, commuting probably puts less stress on the bike per mile than a 'normal' biking pattern would, as most of the time you won't be pushing the bike anywhere near its limits.

Some people seem to think that using the bike everyday will make them lose interest in riding. Personally, I find it stops me losing interest in getting up for work. No matter how shit the day ahead (or behind) the ride is always enjoyable, whatever the weather/traffic/etc.

I've had 2 offs, one of which was entirely my fault, simply highsiding the bike by giving it far too many berries while turning across a wet, slippery, piece of banding on the road.
The second was a pretty serious crash, cager pulled out in front of me and blocked both lanes too quickly for me to react. I went over the top and broke my pelvis in 4 places, with police at the scene telling me later that they were surprised I survived.

A little off-putting, but I'm convinced I would have suffered similarly horrific injuries if I had been in a car, as I would probably have had to be cut out of the wreckage, rather than scooped up off the road.

If you wanna do it, do it! Just make sure you ride defensively and cover your own arse - most cagers won't bother doing it for you!
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>Soultrader Mister James, I bet you are a copper
>Bazza Wow. Eyes like a shithouse rat, you...

[Method]

I ride 365 days a year or as close as physically possible.

If the bike runs - i will ride it. Have ridden through 3 winters now, 2 with snow.

The winter just past was the worst, roads totaly full with untouched and slushy snow all over, awful to ride in but took the g/f to and from work on the back as per usual. The bike actually held up quite well.

It is dangerous, you realy have to take care because its not that easy... but be sensible and you should be allright.

Wear lots of layers, with the outside layer being super waterproof Always make sure that your outter layers are dried out before you go out next time though

Put your socks / gloves on the radiator about 15/20minutes before you plan to set off, that way your hands stay nice and warm as the heat is kept in.

Wear long shorts aswell, over the top of your boxes - youll be supprised how cold your thighs get, and what affet that has on the rest of you.

Get a neck warmer for yourself, mine served me very well last winter! You can also put that on the radiator with your gloves aswell - thats a nice lovely thing.

But by far the best thing ive ever done during the colder months is this:

Converted a flask with a screw cap to have a straw through the top and make sure its leak proof, where the straw enters the top of the flask. Then run down to mcdonalds and pike about 15-20 straws. Have fun whilst doing the old "blow down the straw" trick to fire the paper covers down the road, and stick one straw inside the otherone a little and tape them up to seal them. Do this until you have a straw long enough to reach from your hip to your mouth.

Then simply fill 3/4 with hot chocolate / coffee, seat the flask upright in tank bag / rucksack... what ever you have available, jsut make sure its seated upright, and run the looong straw up your jacket and into your helmet from the bottom, attatch it in the helmet with a bit of tape and tip the end towards your mouth.

SOrted

(I found of course your visor would steam up, but the FoggyGuard soon eliminated this!)
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CBT Aug '03 ... Gilera GSM 50 ... Honda NSR 125 Aug '04 ...
Full Test Dec 04... Suzuki GS500 Jan 05... Suzuki SV650 Mar 07... Gixxer 6 K5 May 08... Oh and my 'Rado
My Bikepics.com - No Brakes, No Gears... No Fear.

[ncrn]

[TheDonUK]

Sorry i forgot to add, if you dont have insulated trousers, and ride in jeans/draggin jeans or anything else suitably inappropriate THERMAL LONGJOHNS, omg how i love those during winter, fuck the neck warmers, thermals all the way!

[GearboxGeezer]

Been riding non stop since I got me ped back in early 2005. Heated grips rule in the winter.

[colezxr]

i ride all year round, it is dangerous, but so is just about every thing else in life.

i just have adujusted my riding style. in summer i hack about every where not worrying about wet roads and ice. but in the winter i ride like a sunday driver! slow pullaways up into second and third very quickly avoiding wheelspin.
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Its better to live your life for one hour as a tiger, Than it is to live your whole life like a worm.
past: gilera dna125. kawasaki zxr400h1, honda cbr 900rrr fireblade (currently being sold for parts). present honda hornet 900

[jok]

I've had lessons all through winter (except December), which meant going out at least once per week. Since about early April, I've been riding to work 5 days a week, come rain or shine. Not massive experience, admittably, but good enough I think.

If your gear is waterproof and warm enough, there are no serious issues with riding all year 'round, I found. Decent gloves, heated grips, muffs, a combination there-off or some other contraption to keep your hands warm are advisable, though. Safety wise, it's just common sense, e.g. if it's below or near freezing, assume the road is slippery so increase your following distance and take corners a bit slower. If it's stormy or windy, prepare for your bike to be blown about a bit and ride accordingly (especially if you're on light 125) -- that sort of thing.

[veeeffarr]

I ride 365.

I loathe the idea of only biking when the weather's nice. Not bothered about other people doing it but I feel that only riding in nice weather would make biking seem just a hobby to me, when it's much more than that.

[craigs23]

Apparently, 37% of BCFers ride 365 days a yeah. I'm not one of them.

[crazymotorbik...]

I ride every single day of the year, in any type of weather. Snow, Ice, Wind, Rain, but i especially like the Sun. However i do tend to get terriblly bad knees in the winter, due to not wearing proper warm trousers.

If you get a really nice bike and don't want to fuck it woth road salt, or drop it and crack your fairings, then invest in a winter hack.
I've got my old GS250. Cost me £150 and its never missed a beat

[Type_Mo]

i ride day / night / rain / shine / snow / ice as long as i have a working bike
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- Typhoon ?0 - Yamaha DT125R - Aprilia SR125 - Yamaha DT125R - Honda Hornet 600 -

[_Will_]

Bike is main form of transport and not long ago was my only form of transport, all weather rider me and only had one accident - on *cough* black ice so i would advise on not trying to go uphill on a lefthand bend over the stuff
even though i can use the car i prefer using the bike even in heavy rain - if its your only form of transport you will soon become acustomed to all weather.
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Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[Kickstart]

Hi

Ride most of the year. Rain and cold don't really bother me (but when there is a fair chance of ice I use the main roads to get to work, rather than the back lanes that have probably not seen a gritter in years). Unless I really have to I avoid riding in the snow.

However, there are other reasons to take the car. If I need to carry a load of stuff then I will take the cars. Same for when I got an eye infection and didn't fancy putting a crash helmet on.

All the best

Keith
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