My 100 mile commute - 1 week in

[ZesPak]

So, I accepted a project some 100 miles from where I live (abroad).
There are some limitations, cars are a no-go, as it's a very crowded city and not possible to place a car there in any reasonable manner.
Public transport is great there, but from where I live it would take - and I kid you not - 6 hours. (I live next to the train station!)
So there were a couple of alternatives:

1. Drive to a place where it'll be easier to access public transport and have a good line towards the customer. This would cut time to 2,5h if traffic is ok.
2. Take the bike and do between 1,5 and 2h.

So, being used to commuting (usually less than half the distance though) by bike, I went for it.

The first day was pretty bad. Because of the rain, I thought putting my cell phone away (gps) and try it by spoken instructions. Missed an exit and did a 15 minute detour. All this while there was a constant rain and loads of wind. On the other hand, when mounted on my dash, CoPilot (Android/iOS) has been utterly brilliant, especially in "bike" mode.

The rest of the days however, being 11-13°C and dry, were surprisingly easy. Main thing I know from commuting is dressing up for the cold (Buff/scarf, good gloves, decent boots,...).
The VFR is a monster in this, eating up the miles like it's nobodies business. For the occasion I did attach the panniers. They work fine at ~100 but at ~130 they start to develop a very noticeable resistance, which in all fairness is plenty fast so no real problems. My two year old bike is now well past 30k miles as well .
A tank of gas barely gets me home, but even on the fastest day I didn't have to push the bike -yet-, so that's a bonus. Don't think it needs another 10 miles though.

In the end, if the weather is bad I'm going to have a problem. I wouldn't want to do it but I've got no real alternative. I dread the day it's going to be really bad weather.

As for the bike, the VFR maybe isn't "relaxed" enough to do this day in day out.
I know this is only temporary (a month, tops), if it wasn't I would be looking at either a full-on tourer (Pan or the like) or a ~600cc Maxi scooter . I have to say, I've yet to have a neck/back/arse ache on the VFR so it's been brilliant, but the riding position just doesn't make it the sofa you would want on a 2h trip on the bike. On top of that, the other two will probably be a lot better on fuel/tires.

Anyway, any of you do similar commutes? Out of necessity for traffic/parking? What machine are you using or what would you get?

Edited by ZesPak on Friday 24th October 09:09

[creampuff]

Where are you?

[ZesPak]

creampuff said:

Where are you?

I'm from Belgium. So 100 miles in any direction would get me out of the country to be fair .

[Tyre Tread]

ZesPak said:

I'm from Belgium. So 100 miles in any direction would get me out of the country to be fair .

My closest friend is from Belgium and has always said that if you fall out of bed in Belgium, you're in France.

[anonymous-user]

I do Bristol to central London and back 3 times a week. 240 miles a day 12 hours commuting a week is worth living where I want!

[black-k1]

I currently commute 75 miles each way each day from Suffolk to central London. This involves a mixture of motorway, country roads and busy town roads. The K1300S (like the VFR) is the perfect tool for such a task. Comfortable and quick enough for the faster road work yet not too difficult to filter through the congested city streets. While I don’t use the bike over the winter months (I’m still using it at the moment but will stop soon) it is so much better riding to and from the office when compared to using the train. Surprisingly, the bike is not significantly quicker than the train, only reducing journey times by about 10 minutes, but it’s significantly more flexible and, when the weather isn’t terrible, considerably more fun. (See the commuting stress relief thread.)

I fill up once a day and most of the time the low fuel light hasn’t come on. (I can tell when I’ve had an enthusiastic run home the evening before!

I don’t fit my panniers in order to make filtering as easy as possible and instead I use a waterproof bag on the pillion seat to transport anything I need. The one expense I did incur was to purchase a Garmin 660 to give me clear directions, even in heavy rain, and to act as a management point for my phone. It was expensive but has proved its worth over the last two years/36k miles.

[ZesPak]

black-k1 said:

I don’t fit my panniers in order to make filtering as easy as possible and instead I use a waterproof bag on the pillion seat to transport anything I need. The one expense I did incur was to purchase a Garmin 660 to give me clear directions, even in heavy rain, and to act as a management point for my phone. It was expensive but has proved its worth over the last two years/36k miles.

I've fitted the panniers to be able to put in my helmets/boots/trousers. At this particular customer it would be very cumbersome having to take them inside :/.

Yeah, these gps's are quite costly and I can see their benefits. With my summer gloves, I can still operate the phone but otherwise I can't.
I've got a small waterproof bag here somewhere as well though to put the phone in . Anyway, I didn't really need it anymore this morning as I knew my way by now.

[anonymous-user]

To Add more info like black-k1. I also commute right into the city so don't have side panniers fitted to aid speedy filtering - i do have my top box fitted for my laptop and clean shirt. I use a CB500x for commuting. The little 500 motor is not the fastest but some evenings I want to get home and if I was on my R1 I would end up driving far too fast, so it stops this!

I use Goretex textiles and add layers underneath as the weather gets worse! Currently using some Dainese D-dry gloves but will be upgrading these as the weather gets worse to something with a windcuff! Costs me £20 a day to commute + tyres, sprockets and servicing every couple of months.

I hated the commute to start with as I kept getting lost and it was stressing me out. Now its a breeze and I do quite enjoy it!

[LeadFarmer]

zespak, get a Gaucho and a pair of muffs fitted to your VFR (made by Tucano Urbano). You will look a complete idiot, but you will arrive at work warm & dry even on a cold wet rain day. Ive been using them already for winter....

http://scooter-wear.com/tucano-urbano-gaucho-motor...

[abarber]

Assuming it's a 750/800 VFR, you can add ~3cm bar risers very cheaply and easily. I put some on my father's VFR800, you just fit them under the existing clipons as they mount onto the yokes, 5 mins each side.

On longer trips, it makes quite a difference together with a taller screen.

[Slohmo]

I used to commute 60 miles from the Sussex coast to Central London (and, obviously, the 60 miles back again)

It took 45 minutes to the M25 (42 miles) and 45 minutes to Mayfair (18 miles) - often longer.


I found it too tiring, especially in bad weather.

Also, bikes a very expensive to run.

You'll soon get bored at the expense of having to change your rear tyre every month or so.....

And servicing the bike every 3 or 4 months.

I would say an absolute maximum of an hour each way on a bike commute is just about tolerable - more that that and it's a chore.

Edited by Slohmo on Saturday 25th October 21:54

[Playsatan]

yammyfan said:

I use a CB500x for commuting.

How do you find it?

I use a v strom 650 and it's great but the 500x looks like it could do it every bit a good but for less cash when I come to replace it. What sort of mileage and range do you get in commuting mode?

[Hooli]

Slohmo said:

You'll soon get bored at the expense of having to change your rear tyre every month or so.....

And servicing the bike every 3 or 4 months.

Sounds like the wrong tyres. For commuting you want sports touring rubber & they should last longer than the service interval at minimum.

[terry tibbs]

i've got nearly 8000 out of my rear Bridgestone T30 on a z1000 sx that i use for work though i agree servicing every 3500 is a pain as that is every other month

[anonymous-user]

Playsatan said:

How do you find it?

I use a v strom 650 and it's great but the 500x looks like it could do it every bit a good but for less cash when I come to replace it. What sort of mileage and range do you get in commuting mode?

Sorry I missed this. I have a 2014 model with the 'adventure pack' which consists of higher screen, full pannier set, heated grips and a few other bits. I have had a few issues but now resolved I am much happier (the factory sprockets and chain are made of cheese, absolutely awful. Replaced with good quality sprockets and a top quality x ring chain).

Fuel wise, It really depends on the riding style to be honest. My commute consists of 30 miles on open country roads at a steady 85 and then the section of the M4 at 90mph for the remaining 80 miles. Probably a bit quick for the little engine and it does spend a lot of time at high revs. Nevertheless it gets me 200 miles to £18 of fuel (I think its about £1.29 a litre at my local) - trip metre says 56mpg average. If you drop the speed down the economy grows in massive amounts. 70-80mpg is achievable at 65-75mph

[ZesPak]

LeadFarmer said:

zespak, get a Gaucho and a pair of muffs fitted to your VFR (made by Tucano Urbano). You will look a complete idiot, but you will arrive at work warm & dry even on a cold wet rain day. Ive been using them already for winter....

http://scooter-wear.com/tucano-urbano-gaucho-motor...

Thanks but no thanks, if I go that way I'll go all out and get a maxi scooter

abarber said:

Assuming it's a 750/800 VFR, you can add ~3cm bar risers very cheaply and easily. I put some on my father's VFR800, you just fit them under the existing clipons as they mount onto the yokes, 5 mins each side.

It's a VFR1200F.

abarber said:

On longer trips, it makes quite a difference together with a taller screen.

I've got the optional double screen, got no neck pains and minimal wind on my helmet so it's all fine and dandy in that aspect .

Slohmo said:

I found it too tiring, especially in bad weather.

Also, bikes a very expensive to run.

You'll soon get bored at the expense of having to change your rear tyre every month or so.....

And servicing the bike every 3 or 4 months.

I would say an absolute maximum of an hour each way on a bike commute is just about tolerable - more that that and it's a chore.

I agree on the last part, though my last rear (PR2) has lasted over 11k miles, and my PR3 is well past that with little show of wear.

As for the last part, it's a temporary situation and I'm glad I've got the experience. The bike is the lesser of the evils to face (staying overnight, having a 3h commute) so again, glad to have the option even though it's not the most comfortable thing I've ever done.

Again, would love to have the opportunity to do this commute on a big maxi scooter (eg Burgman 650) just to see how much better/worse it is, would the relative lack of power be offset by the comfort?

[LeadFarmer]

ZesPak said:

Again, would love to have the opportunity to do this commute on a big maxi scooter (eg Burgman 650)

Nice. But the headrests look a bit low...

Edited by LeadFarmer on Monday 27th October 20:57