115 mile commute

Originally Posted by Carsick

Heavier bar end weights can help, but they might not.
Relaxing your grip is the best advice.

My commute is a 90 mile round trip through some nice twisty Wiltshire roads. I've only seen one unmarked car so far and no speed cameras.
I even go past the Red Lion in Avebury.

is that where you got dropsy??

Originally Posted by Quiff Wichard

is that where you got dropsy??

dropsy?

dropped yer beer glass on the rideout all over the floor near the pool table..

Ahh, I see.
No, I got that by drinking all the beer I bought from the supermarket, then going to the pub and drinking a few of the ones I bought there.

It was definitely a long Sunday for me.

Hmm I thought tight grip might be a problem, but I assessed myself and I think I am gripping quite lightly and sitting quite relaxed. Maybe its clothing touching pressure points. I tried riding at sub-84 mph all the way home just now, but still got it a little bit. It also might be my nupty hunched up position cutting off blood flow or something.

[Biker Biggles]

If all else fails I found that a set of thicker more rubbery grips helps.I use some wrap round Hot Grips on my Kwak and they seem to act as insulation against vibes.They also increase the cicumference of the grip which possibly helps prevent a tight handhold?

Sorry if that all sounds a bit rude.

When you do a straight cost of petrol to ticket, more often than not the bike will be cheaper.

However, you do have to factor in the additional consumables you use [chain/sprox/tyres/oil etc], the added services [unless you do your own but you still have to buy the stuff to replace], and the added wear and tear and depreciation on the bike.

Plus youre in traffic more often so statistically your odds of an accident will increase somewhat.

Where I was before, bike was quicker, easier and marginally cheaper. It avoided the Northern line in the morning which was horrendous. When I added back in all the consumables over a year plus petrol comparing it to a train ticket the difference came out at about £2-3 per day. At that point the fact the journey was quicker and easier most of the time was the deciding factor.

Now where I am, the time is negatable. The train gets directly into Charing Cross in under what the bike would do. Theres no parking where I am for bikes [well not without it running the risk of it getting blown up because some security bod becomes paranoid about the top box :P ].

And to top it all, the bike is £10.50/day petrol + consumables. My train ticket is £9/day. So tbh, no contest really. It also means Im not permanently knackered from my commute, and I dont have to put up with the really ****ty driving in London.

Warthog I will say this. Distance is fine in summer, but it takes its toll in crap winter weather. Grinch summed it up perfectly in Mr Toads would you do this commute thread in soho massive. 100 miles in snow/heavy rain is not fun [unless youre Rictus :P ]

If youre seriously going to do this day in day out, expect it to get tiring. Even if you vary your route and go the fun way back in summer it will tire you if you ride in traffic and having to be hyper alert to everything.

If youre going to do it in winter or bad weather, consider heated grips and a heated waistcoat. It makes one hell of a difference. And dont expect it to work out as cheap as you think it is because those consumables add up, especially if things go from wear and tear.

HTH

check your bar weights are tightened up and correctly positioned - can help vibration, some bastid nicked my right one so i took the left one off also and at high speeds the handle bars do vibrate. As for the wind i had an indicated ton on the speedo on the m25 on saturday and didnt have much problems. May sound silly but i find wearing ear plugs can help with the wind alot, it makes me feel far more comfortable on the bike and doesnt sound as if im going that fast... if ya see what i mean

well i only do 70 miles aday! and i do it fine on my nekked sv! i really doint think its that windy at 85mph! well tomorrow i can try 120! as i get FULL POWER! Muhahahahahahaha

Originally Posted by lynw

Warthog I will say this. Distance is fine in summer, but it takes its toll in crap winter weather. Grinch summed it up perfectly in Mr Toads would you do this commute thread in soho massive. 100 miles in snow/heavy rain is not fun [unless youre Rictus :P ]

If youre seriously going to do this day in day out, expect it to get tiring. Even if you vary your route and go the fun way back in summer it will tire you if you ride in traffic and having to be hyper alert to everything.

HTH

Snipped out lots of excellent advice...

The other thing you'll need to bear in mind is that if you use the bike that extensively for commuting, you won't feel like going out on a rideout or even just pottering about for fun on a warm Sunday. Seriously. Doing any pleasurable hobby (well, almost any!! ) continuously will take the fun out of it in no time...

Mike