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Screw it, let's ride!!

ANDYVH

New member
It's a balmy low 40's in Green Bay in Sunday. Since there is no snow to speak of, and the roads have been clean for over three days, I got the 94 RS out for a ride. Boy did it feel good!

Since I keep the bike on a Battery Tender all winter, it fired up like I had just ridden it two days ago. A short ride, only about 40 miles since it was getting toward late afternoon. Migth get it out tomorrow too, since the forecast is calling for 46 degrees, practically spring time!
 
Since it's a balmy 50's down here in Marion, Arkansas and no snow maybe I'll get my '94 R1100RS out and join you. :wave:groovy:thumb:)
 
Been riding last week already, and most of last month, too. Came out of work one morning (6am) and it was a balmy 12F. Still get strange looks from people in cages this time of year. But it makes 30 out of 31 years that my bike has been the last one on the lot at year's end, and the first one back.
 
Where I live (Okanagan valley of B.C. Canada) it has been my practice for many years to license the bike in either March or April to early or mid November. Though there are certainly winter days with clear roads every winter, I can count on ice on my sloped driveway EVERY day after the first snowfall. Except this year.

Today, no snow on the ground, no ice on the driveway, 43 F. Could easily and happily go for a ride if the bike was licensed. We should have two feet of snow and very cold temps at this time of year. If it never comes, may just license the bike year round next spring. Global warming MAY be real and have a few short term benefits.
 
I remember last winter, when my last ride was the end of November. We had a couple feet of snow on the ground by the Solstice, and the streets near my house were iced and rutted until end of February. I'll take any riding I can get.
 
Got out yesterday here in Chicago where it was bright sun and in the upper 40s.
Today will be even better with it again being bright sun and in the mid to upper 50s so plan to get in a few more last hours of riding.

After today the temps are going to drop down into the single digits so I think this is it, the end of the season for me. But I am not sad about it because I will now start having some mechanical things done, get my 3 hard bags painted the color of the body of my bike, get my new GPS installed along with a new windshield and some driving lights.

This is going to be a fun "off season".
 
Two separate 30 mile loops last Sat, two more on Sunday, then a very quick ride yesterday after work. I only half-kiddingly say it took me as long to suit up and get ready as I spent riding, but riding is better than not riding. mid 40's isn't bad at all.
 
Unfortunately they use huge quantities of pure salt on the roads locally. There is a large salt mine in the county and at the sight of the first snow flurry they coat the roads in salt to the extent that cars stir up white clouds of salt dust on a dry day.

As tempting as a warm day is, I won't expose the bikes to the stuff. It wafts into every nook and cranny and regardless to how good a cleaning you give, it eats a bike up. I'm definitely a rider, not a polisher, but it will make a year old bike look like it is ten.

My rule is the bikes get put away when the salt goes down and spring riding starts after a couple of heavy rains have washed off the salt dust. :violin
 
Unfortunately they use huge quantities of pure salt on the roads locally. There is a large salt mine in the county and at the sight of the first snow flurry they coat the roads in salt to the extent that cars stir up white clouds of salt dust on a dry day.

As tempting as a warm day is, I won't expose the bikes to the stuff. It wafts into every nook and cranny and regardless to how good a cleaning you give, it eats a bike up. I'm definitely a rider, not a polisher, but it will make a year old bike look like it is ten.

My rule is the bikes get put away when the salt goes down and spring riding starts after a couple of heavy rains have washed off the salt dust. :violin


Yup must be in Ontario as I'm in the same boat.
 
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Two days of beautiful riding for me last week in SW Montana, very out of the norm for this time of year here.

Came out of storage with a tended battery that read only 12.38 v. Had a charged one on the bench in the shop, hated to do it..grabbed the jump cables and like the man said on the thread title:

..,..!!
 
The last 2 weeks here in western Colorado have been fairly balmy and coupled with dry roads and temps out in Moab Ut. and Gateway Colorado in the 40's and low 50's, it has nice winter riding condition. My house sits on the sunnyside high above Telluride at 9800'. But with no snow for 2.5 weeks and warm temps the roads went dry and I enjoyed some real nice riding for this time of year. Took both my 1990 K75 RT and my 1978 R80/7 for blasts to the desert to the west of us. Fun Stuff.
Nick Kennedy
1978 R 80/7
1990 K75 RT
1978 633 CSI
 
Road a little over 700 miles last weekend- SW Wisconsin and NE Iowa. It was so nice to be on the road in January! Six inches of snow tonight here in the Madsion area.
Randy
 
My Story from a week ago

I worked at home this morning while thinking about the weather warming up to the mid forties in the first week of January. Back of my mind is "if I get over the ice in the driveway I could take the bike today". By eleven am my work is complete as the ice is melting. I walk out to get the mail and check the condition of the street and ice. Ahhhhh. It's melting nicely. All I have to do is gear up and shoot over the little bit of ice that's left. I rush back into the house with excitement. I take my computer and work stuff to the garage to pack the bike. Man I can already feel the sunshine warming me as I ride and I haven't even started the bike yet. Now, the bike is not in it's usual summer sleeping place. I have it sideways in the front of the garage so I can get the Avalanche inside for the winter. You know how much I hate the cold and scraping windows sucks. Cold weather is never pleasant unless it's during a winter motorcycle ride,Then it's just a little chilly. I sit on the bike with great anticipation of this first ride of the new year. I turn on the key. Good, I still have enough gas for todays pleasure ride. I push the starter button and it cranks, only one revolution and goes dead. Noooooooooo I scream. Damn it!! The battery tender cord didn't reach last time I parked it so it didn't get hooked to its life support. All my excitement is dashed with the push of a button. At this moment you might as well have pushed the launch button of a nuclear missile. Same devastation in my mind at that moment. But, I always look on the bright side. At least I didn't have all my gear on yet. I gotta go now, time to go buy that new battery I've been meaning to get. Now, where's the keys to the truck?
>
>Hope you're enjoying today's warm up.
 
Unbelievable here too. Usually snow comes at Thanksgiving, then we get into a season of runoff and black ice. Have continued to bike commute all winter so far. Very nice in the face of the ongoing Mideast turmoil and attendant gas prices.
 
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