Buying a sportsbike for winter commute

Buying a sportsbike for winter commute

Author
Discussion

Gareth9702

370 posts

131 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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I commute daily on a 1986 VFR 750. It has survived very well due to stainless steel down pipes and generally high quality finish. Only when the roads are icy ( not often) does it stay at home.

Mr OCD

6,388 posts

210 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Dr Jekyll said:
Why doesn't everyone just get a Deauville?
... Because they are st. HTH smile

Iang84

962 posts

165 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Mr OCD said:
The exhausts on the R1's and the Blade have all been titanium... so washing once a week and a clean / polish with 00 grade wire wool and WD40 a couple times a year is all they need... ACF burns off yes but leaves residue behind on the pipes (they go brown) but easily cleaned off during Summer. smile
Any tips on cleaning off the ACF50 it will be first year I'm using it on the bike and just wondering if normal soap and water will work on the cleanup

ZesPak

24,421 posts

195 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Mr OCD said:
Dr Jekyll said:
Why doesn't everyone just get a Deauville?
... Because they are st. HTH smile
Are they? From what I understand I thought they were a big pile of "meh", but far from st?

Mr OCD

6,388 posts

210 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Iang84 said:
Any tips on cleaning off the ACF50 it will be first year I'm using it on the bike and just wondering if normal soap and water will work on the cleanup
It won't... you will need a good water based degreaser to shift it all properly if you've let all the dirt build up. I wash the bike every week so it never gets a chance to build up but it does mean I have to reapply to the external bits (fork bottoms, calipers, swing arm, bolts, etc) but this only takes a few mins with a cloth... but some people prefer to leave it all winter and wash the bike in Spring... for that you will definately need a good degreaser and a few hours for the clean up.

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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You can commute on a sportsbike of course - but something more appropriate will be far better for the job and make your commute that much more pleasant.

(I've just switched from commuting on a Falco to an RT). I've been round Europe on the Falco many times so have eaten big miles on it, but the difference is night and day for the day to day daily grind.

jcelee

1,039 posts

243 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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I guess its considered a sports tourer and doesn't have modern gizmos like ABS but I'm really enjoying commuting on my 2003 CBR600F. Its light, small-ish, well weather protected with double bubble screen and fairings, seems very flexible, carries a tail bag with rok-straps, with ACF-50 etc doesn't seem to rot too much and was cheap. The riding position is not too crouched but there is loads of performance as and when you get the opportunity to open it up.

Hooli

32,278 posts

199 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Playsatan said:
Tyre choice is everything, I know because I chose badly going for a duel compound BT21's. It was impossible to pull away from the line in sub zero temperatures in the wet without spinning up.
BT021s are the worst tyre I've ever ridden on, hateful ste things.

Joey Ramone

2,150 posts

124 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Did 8 winters in a row commuting on a Blackbird. Absolutely fine as long as I was careful on icy mornings and went gentle on the throttle. Heated grips are a must.

Crashed once though. Compacted snow and a CBR 1100XX just don't mix.

In fact, new job means that I'll be back to winter commuting on the old beast as of January. Looking forward to it actually!

srob

11,566 posts

237 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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ZesPak said:
Mr OCD said:
Dr Jekyll said:
Why doesn't everyone just get a Deauville?
... Because they are st. HTH smile
Are they? From what I understand I thought they were a big pile of "meh", but far from st?
No, they're not st at all. They do exactly what they're designed to do, yet people seem to struggle to understand this.

The only thing 'st' about them is the questionable finish of some of the bits on the later ones.

Mastodon2

13,818 posts

164 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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ZesPak said:
Are they? From what I understand I thought they were a big pile of "meh", but far from st?
My instructors rode Deauvilles when they were teaching, they had their own nice bikes for fun riding outside of work, but swore by the Deauville for comfort, ease of maintenance, economy etc. I suppose when you're doing 6+ hours of mostly urban riding and instruction, comfort is what you want, so I can see why they'd make great commuters.

Iang84

962 posts

165 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Mr OCD said:
Iang84 said:
Any tips on cleaning off the ACF50 it will be first year I'm using it on the bike and just wondering if normal soap and water will work on the cleanup
It won't... you will need a good water based degreaser to shift it all properly if you've let all the dirt build up. I wash the bike every week so it never gets a chance to build up but it does mean I have to reapply to the external bits (fork bottoms, calipers, swing arm, bolts, etc) but this only takes a few mins with a cloth... but some people prefer to leave it all winter and wash the bike in Spring... for that you will definately need a good degreaser and a few hours for the clean up.
Thanks for the info I only clean the bike every 4-6 weeks so will get myself some jizer/gunk to be able to cut through the acf50 properly

upsidedownmark

2,120 posts

134 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Hooli said:
Playsatan said:
Tyre choice is everything, I know because I chose badly going for a duel compound BT21's. It was impossible to pull away from the line in sub zero temperatures in the wet without spinning up.
BT021s are the worst tyre I've ever ridden on, hateful ste things.
Seconded. Mine came with an 021 on the front, 023 on the rear. Had to use my foot to avoid falling over on roundabouts a couple of times before I got rid and put an 023 on the front. Great since.

HertsBiker

6,300 posts

270 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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Sorry, I think you are mad. A low powered bike with skinny tyres and lots of tread would be best. With ABS. A thou, is just an accident waiting to happen unless you have TC on it. Good luck though, and let us know where to send the get well cards.

EvoBarry

1,903 posts

264 months

Wednesday 26th November 2014
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I'll be riding my old FZS600 through winter as much as is sensible, for the fourth year on the trot. ACF50 treatment last month, with Scottoiler spray after most rides to keep the salt ph down, washed most weekends and a more ACF if needed.

As above, keeping the calipers and chain working nicely is the biggest issue, and getting the salt/muck off ASAP.

Matters not whether you're on a 600 or a 1000 when its freezing though, ice is ice.. I find the 600s smaller physical size less intimidating when the roads get slippy though.

HertsBiker

6,300 posts

270 months

Thursday 27th November 2014
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Btw, my last comment was referring to sub zero or close to zero temps, not a wet road at 8c.

Mr OCD

6,388 posts

210 months

Thursday 27th November 2014
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HertsBiker said:
Btw, my last comment was referring to sub zero or close to zero temps, not a wet road at 8c.
Nonsense. I've done over 100,000 miles over the last five years on superbikes in all conditions including those you mention above. The throttle goes both ways.

dapearson

4,252 posts

223 months

Thursday 27th November 2014
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EvoBarry said:
I'll be riding my old FZS600 through winter as much as is sensible, for the fourth year on the trot. ACF50 treatment last month, with Scottoiler spray after most rides to keep the salt ph down, washed most weekends and a more ACF if needed.

As above, keeping the calipers and chain working nicely is the biggest issue, and getting the salt/muck off ASAP.

Matters not whether you're on a 600 or a 1000 when its freezing though, ice is ice.. I find the 600s smaller physical size less intimidating when the roads get slippy though.
One of the best winter commuter i had was an old square headlight FZS600 Fazer. Predictable handling, easy to throw around/manoeuvre , just enough grunt to be interesting but without too much torque. Not much weather protection though, and the downpipes rusted, the paint fell off the engine.

Probably the best i've had was a blackbird. Good, predictable power delivery. Excellent fairing for keeping light rain off as long as moving. Big chunk of plastic that takes the crap from the front wheel, rather than downpipes/rad/oil cooler that most bikes seem to have. A few brackets/fasteners looked a little crusty after two winters, the fork legs looked rough, and the calipers needed a rebuild, but otherwise it was fine.


Mr OCD

6,388 posts

210 months

Thursday 27th November 2014
quotequote all
dapearson said:
One of the best winter commuter i had was an old square headlight FZS600 Fazer. Predictable handling, easy to throw around/manoeuvre , just enough grunt to be interesting but without too much torque. Not much weather protection though, and the downpipes rusted, the paint fell off the engine.
I thought my Thundercat (same engine?) was the perfect commuter ... in fact if I could find a decent one for sensible money I'd seriously consider it and take the blade off the road for winter. I may well be anyway and using the car... but the majority of Thundercats are overpriced now.

Hooli

32,278 posts

199 months

Thursday 27th November 2014
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EvoBarry said:
Matters not whether you're on a 600 or a 1000 when its freezing though, ice is ice.. I find the 600s smaller physical size less intimidating when the roads get slippy though.
It's the weight that I think becomes a problem. The heavier the bike the quicker it'll fall to far for you to catch over slippery bits. Hence why my ST1100 Pan was harder to ride on frosty roads than my 14 even though everything else says a big fairing, smaller tyres & less power should have made it better.