Motorcycles BS Thread 2.0

I made the mistake of taking my truck to work one of the days this week. What is normally a 20-25 minute commute turned into an hour with traffic.

Weather's been pretty nice though, mid-60's mostly and sunny

 

I've been using these ones ever since the windchill got to be a bit too much for my summer gloves. even though I have heated grips lol.

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/alpinestars-sp-365-gloves

They're very warm, usually my hands are a little sweaty inside them by the time I get home, since it isn't all that cold out. Also waterproof, and the lower gauntlet part that wraps around your wrist is not as bulky as usual gauntlet gloves, so it can easily slide under a sleeve or over.

 

Where do you commute in SD?
My grandma lives in Point Loma, two cousins live in Ocean Beach (one of them has the house I grew up in), and my aunt and uncle live up in poway.
My dad commutes from Point Loma down to the port when he works out there.

 

I live down in Pacific Beach, work up in Encinitas. I'll probably skip the freeway today and take La Jolla down into PB, since thursday southbound traffic is for some reason the worst.

I get all around the county though, I'm a notary public so I so signings everywhere

 

I’ve never had much to do with Encinitas, spent most of my time in OB/PL, and then when I was a teen I lived out in lakeside, beautiful areas but way too many people for me (not to mention the laws).

Are company’s out there still doing “work from home” certain days of the week? I know the one time I visited during COVID the traffic was crazy light!

 

Encinitas is your classic beach town, with a hint of bougie lol. Grew up there and love it, but as a young adult who doesn't have a family and likes to go out and do things other than surf and eat burritos, there isn't much to do up there. Certainly more family and surf oriented.

Really depends on the company and industry. Many people are still doing work from home Monday through Friday, some companies are starting to transition to partial WFH, other's like mine we never stopped coming into the office during all of COVID lol. Yeah traffic during COVID was great. i started riding in June of last year and it was probably the best time to do so, as there was barely anyone on the road that summer. It definitely seems like a lot more people are going into the office though, if traffic is any basis for it. Only really started getting bad again a few months ago.

 

That makes sense, I’m not too surprised that we never really went up to Encinitas after hearing that description of it.

That would definitely be the time to start riding, I don’t know that I would ride out there, I don’t think I would be comfortable coming further into the city than El Cajon or so, but it would be fun to ride up in Julian.

My dad rode a Honda shadow for a little bit when I was in my early teens and he rode it a few times over about a year period and then it sat until he sold it and we moved out here.

That’s interesting that some companies are still doing it, I don’t know of any companies out here that moved to work from home or partial work from home.

 

I ordered a pair of RevIt Cassinis yesterday, but if they dont work out, ill def take a look at these. I almost bought a set of summer gloves from A-Stars but the finger splint thing between ring and pinky finger annoyed me for some reason.

 

yeah a lot of the tech companies out here switched to WFH at covid, and found it was much cheaper to keep people WFH. I work in real estate, primarily residential, but have a couple buddies who work in commercial leasing and have been hearing from them how up in the air it is because a lot of the clients are not renewing leases or looking for new ones now that they've realized how much cheaper it is to just let entire offices WFH.

 

Hm those ones also have the bridge to tie together the ring/pinky fingers, I believe it's to prevent your pinky getting absolutely destroyed if you go down but not sure how well it'd work. Never bothered me though, tbh I like it better than Dainese's DCP system which is just a few small TPU plates on the pinky knuckle and along the length of the finger.

 

Cassinis look to be 5 seperate digits in every photo Ive seen. "Connect finger system" is their touch screen compatible term if youre reading from the features.

 

Sorry, I meant the Alpinestars I linked also still have that finger bridge system, not the Cassinis

 

i wont even go out when its 40! you think ill ride in that lmao

 

Question for you guys, what stops you from riding in cold weather, assuming there isn't snow on the ground/isn't raining?

I'll ride in pretty much anything, rain included. Is it discomfort from the cold? Inability to heat up tires as quick? Or? Just curious really

 

I don’t ride if there is snow or ice on the streets. Snow in the yard but clear streets, I will ride to work. The coldest I’ve ridden is about 5 or 6 degrees in the morning, and I have ridden home in falling snow before….. but I have about a mile and a half to work.

 

sooo i hate cold i can put up with it if its sunny outside and 40 but if its dark out and 40 no thanks plus old injuries like to cause issues in the cold. plus my accident was when it was cold and wet ish out soooo i kinda stay out of that haha

but it also has to do with improper gear.. atm i have a summer jacket and some gloves and two helmets one dirt one street so when its cold i wear a hoodie and a wind breaker underneath to help but my legs freeze and my hands get cold and my head sadly.. my street helmet lets air in a odd spot and it hits me on my forehead pretty good haha

 

Here in Mississippi I don’t see cold weather like some of the other guys here but with halfway decent weather there hasn’t been anything that kept me from riding once I got over pants, a heavier jacket, and leather gauntlet gloves.
I’ll ride in the rain, fog, sunshine, dark, the only two things I get concerned about are ice and heavy fog.
I find i tend to ride a little slower and do more weaving in my lane (to help keep the heat up a bit on the outer edges of the tires) but weather has little impact on my rides.
@AR15xAR10 says I’m a “mad lad” for some of the weather I ride in.

 

Yeah that all makes sense lol. Little dose of PTSD and discomfort, I can totally get that. I try not to ride at night simply because there's less visibility both for me and other people to see me, but it won't stop me if I need to. I too don't really like the cold, but I think my excitement is so high whenever I'm on a bike I either don't notice or my body heats up enough to compensate lol. Also helps my bike runs pretty hot in anything but highway speeds so that helps keep me warm too lol. Radiator fan blows hot air onto my ankles, while the engine heats up the frame enough to warm my legs and hands if needed.

One of the first things I did when preparing to use my bike as a daily commuter was get some solid winter gear. No regrets whatsoever even if it barely gets used here in San Diego lol.

lol now imagine me in SD. our "cold" weather is what, mid to high 40's usually.

I have a pair of dainese rain pants, and one of their waterproof jackets. Does splendidly to keep rain out, except for right on my stomach where the wind blows the water up my pants and under the jacket lol. All my friends call me crazy for riding in even a sprinkle, let alone the very few torrential downpours we get here in SD. Sometimes I will hold off on riding when it's the first rain in a long time due to oil buildup on the roads, but it hasn't always stopped me. Definitely ride slower in any inclement weather though.

 

I hate cold. I love motorcycling.

I realized fairly early in my riding career that having the right gear was key to being comfortable and being safe. I always wear riding boots, jacket, gloves, and helmet no matter how hot it is out. I will ride in jeans when it's hot without riding pants over them but only shorter rides. Any long ride or travel means proper riding pants. For cold weather layers and/or heated gear is the way to go. Initially my heated gear was limited to my gloves but later when budget allowed I bought a heated jacket liner. Expensive but more of an investment in my comfort. With the liner and gloves and my other cold weather pants and coat I'm good into single digits so long as the roads are clear.

 

yuuuup if its a bit cold and wet outside im normally not on my bike id rather not go down again haha i know i gotta get past it to be a better rider buuut it hasnt even been a year since my accident so ill chill haha. riding at night has its challenges but since i work 2nd shift i kinda have to deal with it but i have a led light bar on the front of mine and its bright af now my tail light not so much haha but other cars normally dont bother me its deer tbh... or oddly enough the random stray cat! little shits i swear! ya i can ride a bit in the cold like a quick run around town but i dont go to the local coffee place we go to on sundays unless its in the truck atm lol. i do want better winter gear but its pricey! hell the boots i want are 400 something! so no extra cash for more gear and winter setup gear! plus my little 400 dont get that hot haha the exhaust works as a great hand warmer i found out thou!

plus as many as my friends say " you have that brand new truck just drive the damn thing!"