riding a motorcycle all year round in the uk?

[colin93]

I am seriously thinking of getting a harley davidson iron 883, the only thing is it would be my only form of transport which i am fine with, but is it a good or bad idea living with just a motorcycle?

[Skudd]

Again!!!!!!
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[colin93]

What?

[doggone]

It depends where you are but anywhere in the UK will have several days when riding a bike will be bordering on insane due to ice, snow, wind or lashing rain.
Your suggested bike is possibly one of the least likely to carry on functioning through weeks of being soaked in salty water most days.

[arry]

Nobody born in 93 is called Colin

And even then no 23 year old is riding a pig iron POS.

I call BS - there I've done it. Suckerz

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Can't imagine the salt will be good for all that chrome. You'll have to spend 10 hours polishing it after each ride, or it'll turn into a 1980's Lancia.
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[arry]

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

[ADSrox0r]

Two British winters and that thing will look like the Titanic.

That and riding a naked bike in the middle of winter isn't pleasant, heated grips and muffs would look pretty fucking stupid on a tassletractor.
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[Itchy]

You won't be able to ride all year, round there will be a week or so every now and again where it snows or is icy.

Granted in my younger stupid days I did ride my CBR in the snow and I didn't fall off either. In hind sight it was incredibly stupid and the boss I worked for wasn't worth it either. I even had a photo of me being the only one in the carpark.
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[colin93]

so excluding winter when it is snowing/frosty when it would be in my dads garage, would I be able to ride the rest of the year?

[Itchy]

[colin93]

okay thank you, I will be cleaning it most weekends anyway with the price of it, probably avoid rain too. thanks for the advice Itchy! is there anything else I should know before I go for it?

[Kaya75]

Depends where you are, I'm originally from staffs moorland, answer there no, resounding. Now I'm down the south east, down here on a mild winter yeah no worries..

One thing you need to know tho, cleaning every weekend isn't often enough, they are nice bikes really, guy at works got one, nice style but they look the bike that need cleaning after every ride..

Although' This you much research, you must: ACF50

(READ THIS:) https://www.acf-50.co.uk/

To stand a chance of getting through the third year..

Gl

[colin93]

im in north yorkshire

[Kaya75]

If you keep it relatively dry by way of a garage, you can have some amazing rides on dry days in winter.. So long as it's not iced.. Go for it

[colin93]

Thank you Kaya75 and itchy! I think ill go for it, I know its a lot of maintenance but it is worth it for such a good looking motorcycle! ill avoid snow and ica and ill do my best to avoid rain too!

[Val]

[talkToTheHat]

Ride some bikes.

It is likely the training mules you'll find yourself on are better bikes for all year round use, faster, handle better and are more reliable than an 883. Bandit, fazer, er6, that kind of thing.

You'll want a screen, muffs, heated grips and all that in the winter.

You'll need to consider luggage. A backpack ain't particularly comfortable, and luggage options for an 883 are awkward as givi boxes don't fit the style, and harley would rather you bought a big bagger. Leather panniers will get your kit soaked and will need careful maintenance to survive British winters.

I went down the cruiser route, but mine's an old shaft drive and every time I get the tools out it gets uglier and more practical. Big luggage does enough food shopping to fill my freezer, small luggage is plenty for tools, laptop, change of clothes and overnight stuff and is narrow enough to not cause problems filtering. Garish stickers because otherwise the bike appears to be the width of the back wheel. I won't say don't do it, but I will say consider how you're going to everything you intend to do.

I lose a week or two each year of riding to snow and ice. I'd lose a lot more in hospital if I rode in such conditions.
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[doggone]

[grr666]

Iron 883.
Unfortunate rhyming slang connotations with that particular bike.
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[Rogerborg]

Of course you can ride a bike most of the year. Just get decent gear and apply lots of ACF-50 (ideally to the bike).

What many people do is to get a summer bike and a cheap winter hack. I can tell you from experience that you'll soon start to associate the winter slog with the bike itself, even if it's a perfectly decent machine.

[rubyhorse2]

I used to ride through winter but mostly when i had shitty old bikes. then when i could afford nice bikes i used to buy a winter hack and ride that. But to be honest i just drive the car or use the mountain bike now.

Winter roads near me can get bad and it usually isnt that much fun.

No way i would risk riding my only nice bike in winter these days.

[andyscooter]

you ask if you can ride all year then say you wont ride in snow ice or rain


that will be about a month every year then
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