New guy here!

[tt_four]

How much do you motorcycle vs. cycle for short trips around town? 

I've been wondering if my bicycle is just gonna collect dust once my bike is good out of the shop.

I actually came at it from the opposite direction you did. I lived in the suburbs and rode a motorcycle everywhere for transportation. Then when I moved to the city I just parked my motorcycle and let it collect dust. As fun as it was, there's no easier way to get around the city, not to mention the absolute freedom that comes from never having to worry about stop lights, traffic, speed limits, tickets, 20lbs of riding gear, oil changes, gas, insurance, not to mention how nice it feels to ride down an open road at the end of the evening wearing shorts and a t shirt. So my motorcycle got parked, spent about 2 years in my parents garage, then a year next to my apartment when I thought I might use it, then eventually ended up selling it. I went for about 2 years perfectly fine without one, then all of a sudden it got to me and I decided I need another one. I pulled my wife's GS out of storage, which had also been parked for about 4 years at that point and spent this past summer fixing it up. Took so long I didn't even get to start riding it, so I'm gonna get a fresh start this next spring.

I'm sure your experience will be different, since the motorcycle will be the new one, and it'll be exciting, but once you spend some time sitting in rush hour traffic with a 200 degree engine burning up your legs, I'm sure you'll pull your bicycle back out for trips that are no more than a couple miles.

This time around I also just plan on using the bike for joy rides outside of town. I think I'll enjoy that more instead of using it specifically for transportation like I did last time.

[gregvhen]

theres still no pics on this thread. im too lazy to read all these posts to find out if you are getting to it or not. all i know is, theres no pics, and there should be.

[Bluesmudge]

I'm kinda with tt_four on this one. I bought my GS last August, and for 13 months I rode it everywhere, rain or shine. Didn't matter if it was 2 miles, 20 or 200. I just recently bought a used road bicycle and I am absolutely LOVING IT. Now I take my bicycle everywhere within ~7 miles unless I am really in a hurry. My GS now only get used once or twice a week, maybe only 150 miles per month.

Its awesome to have multiple forms of transportation. Bicycle gets used for all around-town personal transportation. Motorcycle gets used if medium amount of stuff is needed to be carried or if destination is beyond biking distance but within 500 miles (long motorcycle trips being a notable exception). Then I have a van, it gets used when I need to cary many bulky items or anything that won't fit on the bike, or if I am going on a road trip where time/people carrying capacity is a factor.

Nothing is perfect, I just try to avoid 4-wheels when they are not needed. The world would be a better place if everyone did the same.

[Toogoofy317]

Soo TT bikes don't have to obey traffic laws? Here in Florida you have to stop at traffic lights, stop signs, etc.... I saw a dude get pulled over for flying through an intersection the other day. Of course they were pulling over everything with two wheels that evening! No one is safe from the revenue officers I mean  ! Around here everthing is just far enough away that riding bicycles are not practical and public transportation is spotty at best. Maybe in the next ten years we will get the sun rail up but I'm not holding my breath!

Mary

[Island3r]

theres still no pics on this thread. im too lazy to read all these posts to find out if you are getting to it or not. all i know is, theres no pics, and there should be.

Ill post pics soon.   If there's no sun tomorrow, you'll have to be satisfied with pics of the bike in my garage.

Finally was able to ride it today after getting it from my mechanic.  Apparently it was only running on one cylinder when I test drove it.  It was nice having twice the power.

I'll have to look for some threads on winter riding, I don't think I'll be able to stay off of this thing.

[tt_four]

Soo TT bikes don't have to obey traffic laws? Here in Florida you have to stop at traffic lights, stop signs, etc....

We're supposed to follow pretty much all the same laws that cars do, but that's one of those things that sounds better on paper than it does on the street. Just about every law for a bicycle will get you killed due to the way car drivers treat you when you're on the road, and it's pretty obvious all the laws were written by overweight rich politicians who have never even tried to ride a bicycle in traffic. The other reason most people on bikes just don't care is because most of the traffic laws were written to keep car drivers from killing people, and considering there's absolutely no chance of me killing anyone, there's no reason I'm going to sit at a red light when no one's coming the other direction with a line of homicidal road rage wrapped up in 2 tons of steel each lined up behind me.

Any time I try to be nice and stick to the right side of the road, I get nothing but people flying by 1 inch from my shoulder, so next time there's someone on a bike taking the entire lane, and you think they're a jerk for making you go around, you'll know why. I've gotten rear ended more than once, and had the car driver stop to scream at me. I've had someone pass me, get out of their car to knock me off my bike and hold me up by my neck, and the cops could have cared less, I called them after it happened, gave them the drivers car and license plate number, and never heard from them again. I've also had plenty of people nearly run me off the road right in front of the cops, and they didn't get so much as a second look. Pretty much you're on your own, and it's a shame how miserable some people have managed to make something that's supposed to be as nice as a bicycle ride should be.

[mister]

When all else fails on a deadly treadly you can always do as Danny MacAskill does http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o

Michael

[tt_four]

When all else fails on a deadly treadly you can always do as Danny MacAskill does http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o

Michael

I've thought about how amusing it would be to have a bmx bike downtown, and next time everyone gridlocks and pulls straight into an intersection they know they're not going to get through, you could just grind straight across their hood or bumper, or just bunny hop right onto their hood and right off the other side once the light turns and they're just sitting right in your right of way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppVfcoQlLJE&feature=related

[Toogoofy317]

Yup, here in Kissimme you can get busted for it. KPD has to pay for their new Can Am Spyders! What are they $32,000 base? We are the only city in the nation to sport them!

I used to ride alot but due to knee surgery I've slacked off so I know how it is. When I drive if I can't give at least half of the road when I pass I stay behind them other idiots blow their horns alot at me but better at me then taking it out on the cyclist. Of course in Kissimmee I've had people try to pass me on my motorcyle like I'm a bicycle going 5 over the speed limit on 192!

Of course here I get to deal with stupid cagers from all over the world!

Mary

[tt_four]

I'm always trying to transfer to the other office that's on the other side of my neighorhood, where everyone around is a driver from in town. There's nothing worse than having to go downtown and fight your way through intersections full of commuters from the suburbs with no idea how to drive in the city. They're not from other parts of the world like the people you have to deal with, but they might as well be. They still haven't gone for my suggestion of putting giant cement barriers on all the roads in and out of town to completely keep the cars out.

[mister]

. They still haven't gone for my suggestion of putting giant cement barriers on all the roads in and out of town to completely keep the cars out.

Wouldn't work.

There's road works on a Major thoroughfare in our city. Maybe 20 clicks of road widening. Extra lanes. Extra Signage. Resurfacing. Big big deal. Been going nearly 2 years now and maybe one more year to go - there is more to do but that is being postponed by the govt.

Anyway. Between two site locations is a small railway bridge with access underneath. It isn't surfaced. Just bare dirt. And it is used by the company doing the roadwork. It's not an official access way for the public. So on weekends, the roadwork crew place large boulders on the access way to prevent people using it - during the week the access way is controlled by traffic controllers. So come Friday afternoon, the boulders are in place. Maybe a half dozen of them. By Monday morning the roadworkers do not have to remove the boulders because the public have removed them themselves sometime over the weekend.

Another nearby road has bollards installed into the road and a large Road Closed black/white sign thing in the middle. The sign thing is still there. ALL the bollards have been ripped out so people can still use it as a throughway.

The only way to stop people is to physically remove the road.

Ever notice how a lot of the Laws which relate to driving - seatbelt, elbow on window, no talking on cell while driving, etc., seem to benefit big insurance companies? That is.... reduce the $$$ they need to pay out.

Michael

[tt_four]

I think people where you live must be a little more rowdy than the people here. People wouldn't be happy, but I don't picture too many people just crushing cement barriers out of the way.

It's a shame that the majority of traffic laws passed aren't actually there to protect the general public from other people in cars. They've been trying here for years to make driving while on your cell phone illegal, and they've had no luck. Not much hope for a city who doesn't even have the common sense to realize it's a bad idea. They haven't even made much progress with people text messaging while driving, and a move like that is just sticking-dynamite-up-your-ass-stupid. What a mess.