Anybody else ride year 'round?

[kingoffleece]

I refuse to subject the machines that are so good to me to the horror of a western NY winter.  SO much salt and brine.............. ..............

[Mayor_of_BBQ]

I mostly do... 
I think motorcycling is supposed to be fun, so I dont ride if it's colder than mid- 40's outside
I dont ride in the winter if it is raining/ sleet/ ice/ snow or if the roads are wet- cause I dont want to wash them in cold temps after I get home from a cold ride


Luckily we have a couple 50+ sunny days almost every month here, except maybe jan/feb..   Most years I get in a ride or three in November/December..  I am lucky to get out once or twice in Jan/Feb.. By March I can ride a few days, and in april we are begging for spring, even though it's still cold and dreary at least the first 2/3rd of the month.

So I'll ride 'year round' but it probably works out to just 5-10 rides from October until late April depending on the severity of winter. Better than nothing I guess.  I don't winterize my bikes for this reason. I just give them a real good wash after the 'last ride of the season' while the weather is still nice, fill the tank with fresh non-ethanol fuel with a dash of stay-bil and try to remember to run the battery tenders when it's above 40deg in the garage.

I think today (11/1) is going to be that 'last ride of the season' day...  should be over 60 for the last time for a while. I will take two bikes out and run them hard for a half hour each, fill them up with gas & stabilizer, then wash them and blow 'em off with the leaf blower.

I do believe I'm actually going to drain the fuel out of the ambo tank and carbs and disconnect the battery, I dont think I will ride it again until May.

[Wayne Orwig]

Sure.

[jrt]

I still do- but I can see that ending sometime as I am starting to get some Reynaud's syndrome in my fingers. 

[motogoro]

A lifetime ago I rode year 'round.  Used a beater CB650 to ride to work. 

Worked 2nd shift twenty years ago.  We had a period of sparse snow winters for several years.  If the temp was 32f, or above, at 3pm and little chance of heavy precipitation I rode.  Usually had to bump start the bike for the ride home after midnight. 

Once the salt washed off the roads in late winter/early spring I was back on my Cal III.  I realized how "tractor" like the old Guzzi is after riding the CB all winter. 

[kellercycle]

Yep Year Round rider

[eldoroddo]

I do, but MUCH less than I used to in the summers. It’s SO hot here that’s it’s genuinely exhausting and dehydrating, not to mention somewhere between unpleasant and just plain miserable.

Same here, and I live in SoCal. The past few summers have been brutal. 90F and high humidity from the monsoons shifting over from Arizona to Socal.
I just can't handle humidity, plus the Eldo doesn't like overly hot days.
This is the perfect time of year to ride. Sometimes it would be 35F or so Saturday mornings at 6:45AM when I ride up to Huntington Beach for Cars n Coffee.

[slowmover]

Yes. Nothing better for the soul in the middle of winter than to get out on a clear, dry day and ride between snow filled farm fields.

[Tom]

All year here!     land of perpetual summer.     Hawaii.  Ocean temp today 80F.

[JoeKirby]

In the 80s when I was young and invincible, ie stupid, my only transportation was a '62 Triumph TR4 without a top and a '78 Bonneville T140.  One winter the car wasn't running (not that it mattered without a top, and I rode the bike all winter.  Only to school and work so not more than 5-6 miles one way but Ohio winters were cold with a lot of snow then.  Now, I usually don't ride below 50deg.

[LowRyter]

yes

[GeorgiaGuzzi]

Yes, I do. Although as has been mentioned my cut off temp has been rising with my age. I really don’t get out if it’s under 40f. But here in GA I get to ride 12 months out of 12.

[larrys]

Nope. After fifty years of riding I have done all of the cold, crummy weather riding that I will ever do. Has to be a nice day, above 60 degrees F.
Larry

[sdcr]

I try to get out at least once or twice a month in the winter. Barring ice, snow over a few inches, I’ve been able to do this. Since I’ve had a heated vest and heated grips, it’s been much more comfortable.

[Tom H]

Yes!

Tom

[ScepticalScotty]

Yes I do, but I pick and choose my days for sure. No need to be a masochist about it. Give me a dry cool day in winter in South West England and it can be magnificent. To be fair, instead of an all day ride around Devon and Cornwall I'll do 60 miles in the South Hams to my favourite greasy spoon and be a happy chappy.

[JJ]

Yes...for sure down south in the "Valley of the Sun"...but even in northern AZ, one can ride "year round!"

[Guzzi Gal]

Beautiful pic.   Where in AZ did you find a puddle?   

The night before, we'd had a "good storm," AKA it rained for more than 10 minutes. It always floods in a dip in the road near our home, creating a small lake.

The summer here makes for miserable riding. The hottest we've ridden in was 120°, and we wouldn't do it again willingly.

[nwguy]

I ride year round. We get some beautiful days here in the Pacific NW in January. Don't like riding below 40 degrees though. I used to commute and bought "Winterhands" long ago which were a copy of Hippo Hands:

http://nwguy.fun/mc/winterHands/index.html

They worked well until you got above 90mph. Then they depressed the clutch and brake levers.

I used to wear a heated vest but sold it. Now I wear a goose down parka under my leather riding jacket and quilted liner. I find I'm actually warmer with that since it fills all the voids, even in the arms. No need for heated gloves since I have heated grips.

[Moparnut72]

I do but pick my days. Don't go very far if it is cold.
kk

[Hacksaw]

Yes, yes I do.
Nebraska weather is a fickle beast at times but the cold/wet/ugly days are just part of doing what I love.

[AH Fan]

I go for coffee once a week all year round, it was 1C this morning and I still haven't thawed out.
I ride with Gerbing heated gloves and a vest.

Good on ya Roy............. Your a tougher guy than me.
I go out on day permits weather permitting.   

[Scott of the Sahara]

Since I bought the Norge in July of 2010, I think I have ridden it almost every month. There are some months where it rains every day or it is cold and icy, and I keep the Norge in the garage.
I also have a Ural, that can be really fun in the snow....

[moto-uno]

This has become close enough for me , and this was in late April :( . Peter
The pic would've been clearer if not for my shivering !

[willowstreetguzziguy]

If it’s above freezing and sunny, I do.

[Darren Williams]

I ride year round.

How many have seen the temp on a CARC dash go to dashes? Seen it plenty, and my R1200GS did it too.

[Stretch]

Most of the time I'll get 11 months or so in up here in central Maine.

I can't get the bikes up or down the luge run that serves as my driveway when it's icy.

And I won't subject a nice bike to salt. I did that one winter and the bike was
never the same cosmetically. I oughta buy a Ural or a winter beater.......

                                                 -Stretch

[LongRanger]

I rode year ‘round when I lived in San Diego, but around here, there’s no way. We typically have snow on the ground from October to April (although it’s been dry this year so far).

[bobbyfromnc]

I ride year round. Here in NC (Winston Salem area) during cooler months if it's 45 and up (no heated gear) sunny, mostly sunny, low wind I like to get the 97 1100 and the 2014 1400 out at least a couple times a month and tool around on mostly secondary roads with little traffic to charge the batteries get things lubed up and of course my juices flowing too.   

[rustygman]

All year rider here in the UK, no garage to put the bikes away so I just ride them to keep things going. Did 100 miles on the Cali today on dry roads so an enjoyable ride. Was very cold when I got home so sat by a log fire for a few hours. Life could be worse.