mckitterick | motorcycle-commute thing

Things about commuting on a motorcycle that suck:

1) Wind blast at 75-80 mph is seriously un-fun. There's no way to ride the Johnson County Speedway (aka Highway 10) slower than that without getting rear-ended. Crosswinds add excitement, too.
2) Handlebar vibration at 4500-5000 RPM on a Suzuki Bandit is like getting one's hands massaged with a jackhammer.
3) The stock seat on a Bandit was designed by the Marquis de Sade to torture boy-bits. It has a grippy surface and leans down-and-forward, making one's weight roll onto one's... well, one's 'nads. Un-fun.
4) And then I have to do it again, commuting home after class (students are doing an in-class exercise now).

The good news is that my gel modification worked: The foot isn't any more sore than if I'd driven a car. However, time to buy a car, methinks. Or stop teaching at the Edwards campus... though this campus' desire for a tech-writing program is a big reason I came to KU. Sigh.

Anyone want to trade an equivalent-value car for the Bandit? I suppose I could just sell it; after all, the Aprilia scooter is technically a motorcycle, which makes me still technically a motorcyclist, right?

Back to teachin'.

Chris

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Date: 2005-07-19 10:19 pm (UTC)

From:

roya-spirit.livejournal.com

no subject

Is there no one you could co-commute with to that campus?
Seems a shame that there wouldn't be at least *someone* headed that way each day.

Date: 2005-07-20 03:47 pm (UTC)

mckitterick.livejournal.com

Well, it'd be a little weird riding with my students (Adam notwithstanding)....

Date: 2005-07-20 10:24 pm (UTC)

I was thinking more in terms of other teachers.
Is there a board you could post for rides? I'd suggest larryville once it's back up tomorrow, lots of commuters post/read there.

Date: 2005-07-20 01:23 am (UTC)

nous-athanatos.livejournal.com

Things about commuting on a motorcycle that suck:

5) Rain feels like big cold bullets.

6) Snowstorms.

7) Right turn. Left lane. Wrong turn signal.*

This from several months of doing it while living in Santa Fé. Hope your transportation needs work out soon.

* From a little old lady who hit her right turn signal, moved into the left lane, and then indeed proceded to make a right turn from there into a business driveway and directly into my path. She couldn't make the turn sharp enough from the right lane. Cracked fairing, but no other damage to either my faithful Honda Hawk or to me.

Date: 2005-07-20 01:51 pm (UTC)

chernobylred.livejournal.com

Oh! You have a Nighthawk? What year? That's one of my favorite bikes. Have you seen the 2005 ones? They're tiny, but so pretty.

Date: 2005-07-20 04:35 pm (UTC)

Not a Nighthawk...

I went and saw the 2005 on the Honda website. It does look like a fun little bike.

I wish that my bike had been one of these (http://www.mid-citieshonda.com/html/cb750.htm) like my friend Brooks had, or the ever so droolicious Hawk GT (http://nsd.dyndns.org/MC/Honda%20Hawk%20GT.jpg) with the one sided swingarm in the back.

But what I had was a 1981 CB400T (http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/CB400T.htm) with a Vetter Quicksilver fairing. The bike was absolutely bulletproof mechanically, but had an electrical problem I never did manage to fix which would occasionally make the lights stop working or make me have to kick start the bike.

Date: 2005-07-20 04:41 pm (UTC)

Re: Not a Nighthawk...

Your friend Brooks was a lucky guy. That's sweet. I used to co-own one of these. Ah, memories.

Date: 2005-07-20 05:43 pm (UTC)

Heh. I thought those Nighthawks were dead sexy when they first came out.

Date: 2005-07-20 05:25 pm (UTC)

That Hawk is a thing of beauty. It was tiny, right? 400cc or something?

Chris

Date: 2005-07-20 05:41 pm (UTC)

Yep. 400 twin. I got tired of riding my mountain bike across Santa Fé every day to get to college, since it was uphill the whole way there. So I sold the mountain bike and got the Honda for $350. It had been in the paper for 3 weeks and wouldn't sell because of the electrical problem and a sticky throttle.

It was my sole source of transportation for my sophomore year. I rode that thing through two blizzards and the aftermath of an ice storm. Great little bike.

Date: 2005-07-20 06:28 pm (UTC)

...and then you got rid of it, didn't you? And regretted doing so ever since.

I know that story!

Chris

Date: 2005-07-20 03:53 pm (UTC)

Oh, yeah. Did I mention how much I don't miss motorcycle-commuting in Seattle during the winter? Yeah.

Ouch! I had an unlicensed, uninsured, old-lady driver pull out from a parallel-parking spot beside a 45-mph road directly in front of me once. Then she saw me and panicked, just stopped. I had to lay it down to avoid going over the roof. About the time I came to a stop, tires pretty much against the side of her car, she took off. Mind you, this took place right outside a biker bar in a bad part of St. Paul Minnesota (yes, they have bad parts). About half a dozen Harley guys hopped on their bob-jobs and chased her down. It was all to no avail, though, because the license and insurance info - even her car plate - was all lies. Wish the cops had shown up before she left.

It was my dad's old Honda 450 twin, a piece of crap, but after that it wasn't really usable any more. And I'd just wrecked my prized 150-hp racing bike, a Kawasaki H1 that was all blacked-out and maroon with unsilenced chambers and 15:1 compression, wouldn't idle below 3000 rpms. Dunstall fairing, single seat. H1R replica. Sigh. The dealer from whom I bought it knew the front brake had a problem but refused to replace it. Locked at over 80 mph. Scary stuff. No bike left after that. I was wearing a cast when I put down the Honda.

Ah, the joys of motorcycling, eh?

Chris

Date: 2005-07-20 04:58 pm (UTC)

Oh, gods yes. Every motorcyclist I know has at least one crash story. Mine is one of the more mundane--for which I am most thankful.

Would love an H1--at least with a working brake. Other bikes I remember with fondness are my brother's '74 TZ250 and his '82 GPz550.

Not that I'm getting another bike any time soon.

Date: 2005-07-20 02:08 am (UTC)

kalimeg.livejournal.com

Windscreen?

That picture was of a bike without a windscreen -- ick!ick!eatingbugs! Do you have a windscreen?

Date: 2005-07-20 03:59 pm (UTC)

Re: Windscreen?

Sorry to confuse; I edited the entry with the appropriate links to pics of the bikes mentioned. The silver motorcycle in the entry icon is a 1972 Kawasaki H2 cafe racer, another previous bike of mine. It has a fairing - the best of any bike I've ever owned - but most of it is clear windscreen, hence difficult to see in low-res.

Yeah, I need to get a bigger windscreen on my Bandit if I'm going to keep commuting on it. And a more-comfy seat, and fill the handlebars, and thicker grips....

Chris

PS: I wear a full-face helmet on the highway - would be crazy not to - which prevents bug-induced facial craters.

Date: 2005-07-20 10:19 am (UTC)

kansas-dave.livejournal.com

Riding

What kind of a helmet are you wearing? How big is your bike? I ride a 750cc Honda Shadow Spirit & wear a full helmet with the visor down when I'm on the highway, and haven't been having any problems. Since your stock seat isn't comfy, maybe consider a Corbin or some other replacement?

Date: 2005-07-20 04:01 pm (UTC)

Re: Riding

It's the best helmet ever, a Simpson Darth-Vader model. Wish I had a photo.

The Bandit is a 1200 cc standard-type bike. You must have a better windscreen than I do! On the way home, I kept it between 70-74 mph, which was much better, but still loud and buffety. Not fun.

If I keep doing this, I'll definitely get a Corbin!

Chris