Describe your driving experience
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aznspectre
- Rookie
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- Joined: Mon Sep 25, 2006 5:34 am
Describe your driving experience
Can someone who lives in the upstate area of New York describe about their experiences? Preferably when winter comes? I'm thinking about getting a bike for commuting to and from campus which is about 2-4 miles away. What is your thoughts or opinion on this? I'm really looking into purchasing a Ninja 250 but I'm worried that the bike can not handle the weather. Safety is also a very important issue for me.
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safety-boy
- Legendary 300
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- Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2005 8:43 am
- Sex: Male
- Location: North Carolina
Cold weather riding
I am not from your neck of the woods, but ride all winter.
Best thing to do is have good gear, jacket/pant combo or a riding suit. Layers help on long rides, but in 2 to 4 miles, you are not stopping to change clothes/lose layers.
I typically do not get leather, but the textile gloves I have tried are not worth snot on a bike, and unless your hands will be behind a fairing, they will take the brunt of the cold. Mine have been so cold that I tried warming them near the engine block, only to find I had been touching it and melted the gloves
You might look into getting some gaiters for wet weather. They typically go from below the knee to your boot and make a better water shield. Once water finds its way into your boots, it will just keep coming.
I don't necessarily recommend this, but it helped me when buying gear was too expensive - I got some heavy working overalls from Wal-Mart for about $30. They were designed for cold weather, and were extremely warm, but the zippers did not stand up to the riding position. I had to replace a leg zipper, and it was to treat to do so (somehow, I learned to sew long ago
).
Cold can be dangerous, but if you are talking short rides, preferably not at highway speeds, you can go alright. The faster you go, the colder it is. If you get a cruiser, get a windshield - the wider the better. Memphis Shades makes some good kits, so does National Cycle:
http://www.memphisshades.com/
http://www.nationalcycle.com/
--Dave
Best thing to do is have good gear, jacket/pant combo or a riding suit. Layers help on long rides, but in 2 to 4 miles, you are not stopping to change clothes/lose layers.
I typically do not get leather, but the textile gloves I have tried are not worth snot on a bike, and unless your hands will be behind a fairing, they will take the brunt of the cold. Mine have been so cold that I tried warming them near the engine block, only to find I had been touching it and melted the gloves
You might look into getting some gaiters for wet weather. They typically go from below the knee to your boot and make a better water shield. Once water finds its way into your boots, it will just keep coming.
I don't necessarily recommend this, but it helped me when buying gear was too expensive - I got some heavy working overalls from Wal-Mart for about $30. They were designed for cold weather, and were extremely warm, but the zippers did not stand up to the riding position. I had to replace a leg zipper, and it was to treat to do so (somehow, I learned to sew long ago
).Cold can be dangerous, but if you are talking short rides, preferably not at highway speeds, you can go alright. The faster you go, the colder it is. If you get a cruiser, get a windshield - the wider the better. Memphis Shades makes some good kits, so does National Cycle:
http://www.memphisshades.com/
http://www.nationalcycle.com/
--Dave
Don't think of it as a stop light. Think of it as a chance-to-show-off light.
Vulcan 900 Classic LT (2007)
Ninja ZX-6R (2006)
Ninja 500-R (2004)
454 Ltd. (1986)
Boulevard S-40 (2005)
Vulcan 900 Classic LT (2007)
Ninja ZX-6R (2006)
Ninja 500-R (2004)
454 Ltd. (1986)
Boulevard S-40 (2005)
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aznspectre
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Koss
- Site Supporter - Silver
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- Location: El Paso, TX (Help me!)
As well as the rider can handle the adverse conditions of the road. In the book proficient motorcycling, there are some good tips to riding in the snow/ice mixtures.
The book is the most enjoyable read on motorcycling ive had yet(though this forum rocks my socks), but also has been the most informative as well when it comes to street survival. Ive been practicing alot of what was included in the book, and the MSF practices as well, many are the same... but the book goes WELL more in depth in every field and then some.
I suggest picking up Proficient Motorcycling and More Proficient Motorcycling. And im sure other, more experienced, riders can chime in on other reading material.
The book is the most enjoyable read on motorcycling ive had yet(though this forum rocks my socks), but also has been the most informative as well when it comes to street survival. Ive been practicing alot of what was included in the book, and the MSF practices as well, many are the same... but the book goes WELL more in depth in every field and then some.
I suggest picking up Proficient Motorcycling and More Proficient Motorcycling. And im sure other, more experienced, riders can chime in on other reading material.
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safety-boy
- Legendary 300
- Posts: 378
- Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2005 8:43 am
- Sex: Male
- Location: North Carolina
Now, snow is another thing all together :-)
I imagine your roads get plowed when it snows, but I would not be comfortable riding. I have hit ice patches, and they will tighten your o-ring faster than anything.
Cars are one thing when it is slick - they are more stable, and if the slick patch is rather small, you will have two-to three stable wheels. On a bike, you really have no stable wheels, unless you have two - they depend on each other for stability, and once one goes, the other will follow.
There are things you can do when you hit a slick, but while you might save the bike, you can hurt yourself righting the bike. I saved a fall on an ice patch once with the "foot stomp" (kicking down hard on the side the bike was falling to), which oddly enough hurt my opposite knee. I also pinched a nerve in my hip (likely, undiagnosed) catching a bike in a non-slide related fall.
I would not discourage you from riding. Chances are, when it is really bad you could take the bus, and if they keep the roads cleared you might not miss much riding time. You might consider a dual-purpose bike like the Suzuki DR 200 or 400, which would have knobby tires - that might help. With a little extra cash, you could get a second set of wheels with street slicks, making it a pretty cool super-moto bike.
See the "Dual Sport" section at: http://www.suzukicycles.com/Default.aspx?
--Dave
Cars are one thing when it is slick - they are more stable, and if the slick patch is rather small, you will have two-to three stable wheels. On a bike, you really have no stable wheels, unless you have two - they depend on each other for stability, and once one goes, the other will follow.
There are things you can do when you hit a slick, but while you might save the bike, you can hurt yourself righting the bike. I saved a fall on an ice patch once with the "foot stomp" (kicking down hard on the side the bike was falling to), which oddly enough hurt my opposite knee. I also pinched a nerve in my hip (likely, undiagnosed) catching a bike in a non-slide related fall.
I would not discourage you from riding. Chances are, when it is really bad you could take the bus, and if they keep the roads cleared you might not miss much riding time. You might consider a dual-purpose bike like the Suzuki DR 200 or 400, which would have knobby tires - that might help. With a little extra cash, you could get a second set of wheels with street slicks, making it a pretty cool super-moto bike.
See the "Dual Sport" section at: http://www.suzukicycles.com/Default.aspx?
--Dave
Don't think of it as a stop light. Think of it as a chance-to-show-off light.
Vulcan 900 Classic LT (2007)
Ninja ZX-6R (2006)
Ninja 500-R (2004)
454 Ltd. (1986)
Boulevard S-40 (2005)
Vulcan 900 Classic LT (2007)
Ninja ZX-6R (2006)
Ninja 500-R (2004)
454 Ltd. (1986)
Boulevard S-40 (2005)
I live in Galway, NY, which is about 20 minutes west of Saratoga, about an hour north of Albany. Our temperature is about 8-10 degrees colder than Albany all year - HOWEVER, oddly, the past two winters, it seems south of me had gotten FAR more snow. There are the Catskill Mountains, then the Mohawk River Valley, Kaydeross Mountains, several HUGE lakes then the Adirondack Mountains. Weather patterns can be very very different 20 minutes one way or the other. You may have heard that during our Spring, you can have all four season in one week!
For the temperature - it can get down to 20 below zero in January, February and March. It can snow several feet in a few hours. Even once the roads are clear, the wind can blow pretty hard, and the snow comes in sideways, and freezes on the road.
If it warms during the day, and rains, at night it freezes solid - and everything is encased, and the roads are sheets of ice. We have had several incidences where they issue warnings NOT to travel within Saratoga County.
So, I would plan to have a back up plan. The thought is often that "once the roads are plowed" they will be safe to ride on. But the snow blows back on to the road, and I have spun out on those patches more than once.
Where are you going to go to school? Oneonta, Buffalo, Oswego - their weather is worse than mine! Colder and more snow.
I went to school for 2 years in Saranac Lake. They are generally the coldest point on the map during any time of the year. I know it got cold enough that you could spit, and it would freeze before it hit the ground.
I could not imagine riding when the temp is below 35 - so far, that is my limit! That ride was just to bring the bike home, and it was the beginning of April!
I had to give up my Seabring Convertible for a Jeep Cherokee to handle the winters here!
For the temperature - it can get down to 20 below zero in January, February and March. It can snow several feet in a few hours. Even once the roads are clear, the wind can blow pretty hard, and the snow comes in sideways, and freezes on the road.
If it warms during the day, and rains, at night it freezes solid - and everything is encased, and the roads are sheets of ice. We have had several incidences where they issue warnings NOT to travel within Saratoga County.
So, I would plan to have a back up plan. The thought is often that "once the roads are plowed" they will be safe to ride on. But the snow blows back on to the road, and I have spun out on those patches more than once.
Where are you going to go to school? Oneonta, Buffalo, Oswego - their weather is worse than mine! Colder and more snow.
I went to school for 2 years in Saranac Lake. They are generally the coldest point on the map during any time of the year. I know it got cold enough that you could spit, and it would freeze before it hit the ground.
I could not imagine riding when the temp is below 35 - so far, that is my limit! That ride was just to bring the bike home, and it was the beginning of April!
I had to give up my Seabring Convertible for a Jeep Cherokee to handle the winters here!
Candy 750
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aznspectre
- Rookie
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