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Perfect bike:-Next best thing???
- Thread starter matt365
- Start date
Same here. My one buddy says that SWO lives under the curse of the British surveyor (all the roads are straight). I joke that if you come for an hour long ride with me I can show you BOTH the curves.
The KLR changed this though. Gravel is the new interest. You never know what you'll find. That and NO cops.
Agreed.
I have a number of favorite roads/routes out here around Northumberland County. I've ridden all of them multiple times, though can always take an unfamiliar side road on occasion. A number of assorted places for coffee/snack or lunch, different places to stop and sit and relax.
No matter how many times I've ridden them, I always enjoy time on the bike and feel mentally refreshed afterwards.
You lost me. Are you saying it's different because commuting is going to the same place every day, but I'm talking about taking your bike to different places in the same part of town every day?
Either way, same or different, I think you're missing my point:
Someone wrote that because the roads are boring, they were unmotivated to ride.
My point was, that while I understand the appeal of fun roads, it's the riding that makes the ride fun, not the roads. And lucky for us, there's an infinite list of reasons to take the bike out every season.
As long as we're healthy we'll have errands to run, people to see, things to do, and places to be, right? So what other motivation would we need to get out on a motorcycle?
Here's a pic of my Vespa from last summer. I was out buying some Bonneville exhaust pipes...
What was I going to do? Take the truck like a chump and then cry about Toronto traffic afterwards? And miss out on all the fun to be had?! No sir! Small carry on luggage, a ratchet strap, two minutes of setup, and let the games begin.
Zoomed past a million gridlocked vehicles looking like I was running late to catch a plane back to the old country.
If you ever need proof that it's the riding that makes the ride fun, not the road, try to keep up with an Italian on a Vespa zipping through the downtown of the city he's spent his whole life in. You'll have a blast, maybe **** your pants a little bit, but I promise we'll have fun either way.
I think that depends greatly on how many miles one rides every year.
Somebody who averages a few thousand kilometres a season is going to get bored riding the same roads repeatedly a lot slower than somebody who rides 10,000–20,000+km. Commuters aside who are often with bored or numb to it to begin with.
The first summer of Covid where we basically couldn’t leave the province was one of the most boring seasons ever because it was the same roads on repeat all summer. Heck, a buddy and I went to Pickle Lake that year in an attempt to see something new and go as far away from any roads we’d ridden before as was physically possible lol.
Commuting on a motorcycle? Hard pass from me.
403/Mavis -> 401/Kennedy….no interest in that.
Been there done that to Yonge only and hated every km of it. Stopped riding for a bit because of it.
403/Mavis -> 401/Kennedy….no interest in that.
Been there done that to Yonge only and hated every km of it. Stopped riding for a bit because of it.
I'm fine with commuting on the bike but I have to get up earlier to account for gear on/off and getting the bike out of the garage.
My first summer job had me commuting from the Dagmar ski hills to the Toronto airport Hilton on a CB360.
Agreed. I would be OK with commuting if it didn't include 95% of the ride being the 403/401. The amount of idiots on the roads and the construction...
There is no way to make that enjoyable. Until I lane split or take the shoulder to/from my destination. Leaving the house at 6am it's ... tolerable.
Leaving the office to go home...not so much.
matt365
Well-known member
I'd argue the opposite.
"Its the road that makes the riding fun".
The twistier the better.
I will agree that cutting through traffic on a small bike is fun. My wr250x is great for this.
I'm lucky enough to live outside of the city... I hate heavily congested traffic.
As for the Bonneville exhaust pipes,
I've done that twice. Both times in a backpack.
Once with stock bazookas (2 of them), from a vtr1000f, poking out the top like a pair of swords...
Once with a stock pipe for my street triple.
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cruiserider
Well-known member
During my daily summer commute, I see at least 10 bikes lane splitting every trip. Sometimes they pass Toronto Police cruisers stuck in traffic, few OPP cars - not even one bike was stopped for splitting . Looks like it became a norm and now even cars move away to make extra room. I don't see a point of riding motorcycle, if you have to be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.
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Agreed. I'm one of the dumb dumbs that actually follows the rules as with my luck, I'll get an OPP or TP pull me over and charge me with HTA172.
I can't afford that and risk my license for a 30min time saving.
I'm jealous of those that do...but me following the rules caused my bike to overheat last summer and I had to stay on the shoulder for 10+ minutes while it cooled off enough to let me ride again.
I tend to agree with Adri.
There's more to enjoying the ride than the actual road, though it can be one of the reasons.
Toolin' along lightly travelled dead strait concession roads that are part of the surveyed grid throughout Ontario on a bright summer day makes for a good ride because of the scenery and environment, and is as enjoyable as a couple hours in single track trails but in a different way and on a different bike.
Urban roads, traffic lights and traffic? I'll either avoid or take the truck.
Sure, but is that relevant? Because if we start comparing those two very different riders, we aren't talking apples to apples or pound for pound anymore. We're talking about taking a superfeatherweight and comparing them to a heavyweight and saying "that depends" - like, yeah, duh, of course! lol. People at different ends of the spectrum are obviously going to feel things differently. It's not a discovery, it's a given.
But if the sky opened up and whatever God you believe in came down and said, "Go pick me up 6 burger buns, do it quickly in the funnest way possible." I bet you 9 out of 10 riders jump on their motorcycles to get the buns, even if all ten of them do 10k-20k km per year.
So, while I totally appreciate the law of diminishing returns, I think no matter how much you do or don't ride, there are always things that just need be done, and bikes will often be the funnest way to go and do them. That sounds like endless motivation to me.
My buddy has a saying: "I'm the character - not the road!"
I like both old and new roads.
If I know the twists and turns on a road or trail I've done countless times before, I can push it a bit more and have fun doing it. Either swing the rear out super-wide on gravel, or get a nice and low lean angle on pavement.
I also like new roads/trails and the scenery that comes with.
POWERMAN
Well-known member
I swear - sometimes the things you state gives me the impression that we share the same stroke of luck
I swear - sometimes the things you state gives me the impression that we share the same stroke of luck
@mods, please change this user's handle to @mimico_Polakman.
kthxbye
matt365
Well-known member
Did that once, during the "Cafe racer" craze back in 2012 or so.
1978 cb750ss.
My problem was, once it was fixed, I was trying to ride it like a modern bike... spaghetti frame. Thin tires. I was scraping the wolf 4-1 exhaust around corners.
Bike had to go, before I wrecked it.
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