smokinjoe73

So came out of the Manhattan pool hall to find it snowing on the SH. Not a blizzard but enough to make a headlight beam and get your attention. Got to ride through Brooklyn into Queens feeling like a sled rider. Biking; always fun.

Tormoz

How do you keep your machine so damn clean? You're a braver man than I am.

smokinjoe73

This one isn't that clean. Its only sorta clean due to a motor swap I just did so scoured it then. I found this british stuff "muc-off" that is an amazing cleaner and then you spray the protector on so grime doesn't stick.

nothing

from my point of view that is crazy..I would have caught a cage ride home from someone.

lumpyv.uk

oo err ! i like nice dry grippy roads cos i like tonking round corners and i just dont feel happy with less traction.
also the cost of even a minor off is pricey and injury is of course even worse.
but if you like it go for it!

cheers

Tweety

Nah, light snowfall is no problem... It's when it's icy and slushy it gets interesting...

smokinjoe73

My first snow ride was similar many yrs ago. Came out of a pool hall then too but it was an actual blizzard that hit early. 5 inches of snow on the ground & I rode over the Brooklyn bridge in whiteout conditions in rush hour.

Couldn't see the car right in front of you and had to stay in the tire tracks but totally white road.

I do not recommend trying that at home but I really had to get the bike home before the storm hit. Sure am happy to have a van now just in case.

nath981

birthday ride on the xr650l...........great and not so great! SH is resting and waiting.

Have ridden 6 days since xmas, unbelievable! I turned 69yrs(1-11) and wanted to ride at least 69 miles to celebrate for some dumbass reason i don't know. Started out great at 44 deg, semi-dry roads, and rockin and rollin up one of my favorite mtn roads. Sputter sputter, onto reserve 10 miles earlier than normal. I usually go 150 mi before reserve with this 4.7gal Clark. Reserve is good for about 6-7miles and i'm 15miles from gas, rot ro!

Continued to the top of the mountain and started across the dips to the downside and she sputters to a stop. Now its time to tilt the bike on its side to get the gas to run over to the petcock side.....don't buy a Clarke for a dualsport, get the Acerbis with dual ***** is what I found out too late.

Anyway, made it across the dips, shut it off and coasted 5 miles down the mountain, started it up and made it to the gas station........took 4.589 gal. hahahappy birthday now for sure.

Back up the the mountain to work on my 69 mile goal, I'm mean it's not like real work. Now we're cooking, Hot Grips and ATV mits to keep me warm. 15 miles later and it starts to rain. No problem, I'm on a mission and having fun doin it, maybe a little too much fun?

Sputter sputter, then sputter to a dead stop. ****, thought I solved this problem years ago, the last time I got into a serious rain and the same thing happened. I found that the wire to the coil was acting as a water slide right into the coil connection so i took the little rubber off, cleaned the contact up and greased it good. Problem solved........wrong!

Here's the birthday drill for today: ride for a few minutes in the rain, sputter to a stop, starts up. Few miles later, same thing, but this time I'm killing the battery. Wait five minutes, starts up again, go another few miles and stops again, wait 5 and we're off again. 6 times till i finally made it home where I had to push it the last 50 yards. Friggin freezin soaked. Happy Birthday. Hey, we made it home anyway and with 71 miles on the clock too.

Later tests revealed a small breach in the rubber plug cap that only manifested itself after several minutes of water hose directly on spark plug. Rode yesterday in the rain and guess what....no stall, my belated birthday gift.

nath981

daamm Joe, to call that jacket visible, conspicuous, and blinding as the sun is an understatement at best. Someone would have to be functionally blind or have a contract on you to not notice you.


I don't blame you for that though because anyone who has driven around NYC knows that if you as much as blink, 3 people will try to run you over and probably at least 2 of them will succeed because they're good. This is where i learned that unfettered aggression is a good thing, and that anything less will result in getting smashed into the curb and being beaten till there is nothing left but a few hairs on your ***.

Put your turn signal on to change lanes and wait for someone to let you over......... haha, that's a freakin joke. Your turn signal will burn out, your vehicle will rust away, and you'll die of old age before someone will hesitate enough to let you move over. A turn signals only purpose in NYC is to show a determined conviction that you are definitely changing the lanes and that you neither intend to ask permission nor let anyone else affect that decision regardless of how much of a hurry they're in.

You got big ***** and a lot of skill to have been riding a motorcycle in the big apple for as long as you have.

smokinjoe73

Yeah that sums it up. After like 200K miles its autopilot. The cagers get more aggressive in the rain & snow. I now have lots of lights on the bike. I may blind people but they will notice me & I'll live. Fair trade for me.

mikstr

I had my first snow ride of the season last week also, expect mine was aboard a spanking new Ski-Doo GSX SE 800 E-TEC direct-injected two-stroke snowmobile (putting out a measly 160+ hp). Yeah, I loved it........