4 days of work commuting 85 miles

[Speed serpent]

With the great weather this past week I decided to ride into work at Logan Airport. I usually drive to the Logan express bus in Braintree but because the bike doesn't use a parking spot at the hangar I don't need a pass so I decided to ride the 85 miles from Dennis to Logan.

Everyone thought I was crazy doing it on my R6 but I had a blast. Staying at 80-85 for like 40 miles straight was a new experience and screaming through the tunnels at night, man, my next house will have a tunnel of its own.

Averaged 52 Mpg so a round trip cost less than $10. That less than half of what my truck takes just to get to Braintree. And it was much easier to pay attention on the way home after a 10-12 hour shift. Figured out how to uncramp/ wake my hand up on the long highway stretches and experimented different seating positions.

Traffic last night was a nightmare. Apparently everyone took their dads to the cape so it took 3 hours to make the trek. The other days I managed it in about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

A nice learning experience that I can look back on now that I'm on my days off. This week it's my turn to drive my Lil commute group so back into the steel cage I go while the bike gets a nice wash and lube and some rest.

[Swizz]

Sometimes I wish I had a longer commute. Maybe not that long, but I'm only 5 minutes from my work. It's almost pointless to pull the bike out and gear up. By the time I throw my helmet, jacket, and gloves on I'd be halfway to work in my truck.

[jwm2k3]

Im about 8 miles from work, but there are 90 bajillion pot holes between home and work, so taking the bike is a rarity....

[OneCheekRider]

52mpg on an R6 doing 80-85?? Stock gearing? I never saw that on the street no matter how much I babied it. There's an inexpensive throttle lock you can get if you need to rest your throttle hand. At least that's what I used until I got a bike with cruise control.

[nhbubba]

85 miles? That's it?

[Speed serpent]

52mpg on an R6 doing 80-85?? Stock gearing? I never saw that on the street no matter how much I babied it. There's an inexpensive throttle lock you can get if you need to rest your throttle hand. At least that's what I used until I got a bike with cruise control.

I believe it's stock gearing. Just got it 2 months ago and it had some cosmetic stuff done (lights, windscreen, levers, the usual). I fill it up at the beginning then just as I get off the highway on the way home the low fuel light comes on, 3-3.25 gallons used.

[aldend123]

Tank grip pads might make it easier to hold your body up with your thighs instead of on your hands/wrist. If you're gonna keep the mileage up, stay on top of air pressure (and aim high). Might want to consider a sport touring tire after this one.

Commuting on the bike is an experience. One day is just another ride, but continually is just... different. It's more like you get to play with your toy every day, and experience the weather as it changes. You will also become very good at deciding if you believe the weather forecast.

Sometimes I wish I had a longer commute. Maybe not that long, but I'm only 5 minutes from my work. It's almost pointless to pull the bike out and gear up. By the time I throw my helmet, jacket, and gloves on I'd be halfway to work in my truck.

The grass is always greener isn't it? Most people would love a 5 minute commute. Use a bicycle - still fun to ride, wheelie the whole way to work, and get your exercise in.

[Speed serpent]

I commute with another guy, switching off week to week for driving duties so a week like this will be a rare event. More of a confidence booster than anything. My longest ride prior to this was a 50 mile tour of the cape ice cream shops with my fiance, at a much less brisk pace. My friend invited me to join him out to lake George a couple weeks ago and I declined primarily due to me knowing my limits as a new rider. After this week, I feel I could join next time him if we agree to keep shenanigans to a minimum lol.

[RandyO]

there are 90 bajillion pot holes ..so taking the bike is a rarity....

one of the reasons I like to take my bike, it has a better suspension and ride over that crap

[RandyO]

Averaged 52 Mpg so a round trip cost less than $10.

more to riding a bike than gas, wait till ya figure out that you spend more money on tires, chains, sprockets, etc than gasoline

[Speed serpent]

more to riding a bike than gas, wait till ya figure out that you spend more money on tires, chains, sprockets, etc than gasoline

Well yeah, but I was only comparing that to my truck. Even if it cost more it's worth it just in fun factor.

[breakdirt916]

...And it was much easier to pay attention on the way home after a 10-12 hour shift.

dunno if this is true or even safe, but I feel the same way...sure AF wakes me the F up and fun way home too

normally I'd throw in the "move to CA and this is your year round commute!" but it was 108 today

[Speed serpent]

dunno if this is true or even safe, but I feel the same way...sure AF wakes me the F up and fun way home too

normally I'd throw in the "move to CA and this is your year round commute!" but it was 108 today

My Avalanche rides like an old Cadillac, glides over all the bumps and has wicked comfy seats that suck you in during the monotonous ride. I love the truck and all its ulitityness (I'm making that word up) but damn it's boring.

I've never been a big fan of Cali, but I told my future miss that if a job opens up in Oregon we're going. Course it's a constant drizzle on the coast and hot as hell in the eastern desert but I been there 4-5 times and fell in love. It's never going to happen so we don't have to actually worry about that.

[Kenn157]

I do about 85 miles round trip from Salisbury to Boston (Govt Ctr.) free parking so far. Traffic everyday heading home starting in Revere through Lynnfield... Retirement is around corner. AZ, can't wait.

[Speed serpent]

I do about 85 miles round trip from Salisbury to Boston (Govt Ctr.) free parking so far. Traffic everyday heading home starting in Revere through Lynnfield... Retirement is around corner. AZ, can't wait.

Good on ya dude. I couldn't handle working in Boston during the day. I'm stuck on midnights for most of my career anyways so it's not like I really have a choice anyways. But Congrats on making it this far. Retirement is well deserved

[Falko]

I used to do the 84mi round up to North Andover. I had a back way to avoid some of the highway, but still had to go through the 495/3 interchange area. After sitting still for half an hour in the afternoon sun at 90+ in full gear a few times I chose my days better. That is one place the FJR really shined, it was a slab land rocket.

[scubasteveRR]

Figured out how to uncramp/ wake my hand up on the long highway stretches and experimented different seating positions..

i use a cramp buster Original Motorcycle Cruise Control - Crampbuster

[Tekime]

I don't commute for work but often visit clients/family and do extended camping trips up north within 100mi or so. I enjoy the rides even in crappy weather, each day has its own unique challenges. I've found my heavy FJ to be a great highway cruiser, where my lighter GS gets tossed around quite a bit. Have developed a weird habit with my fingers over the last year, it helps me remember to keep my hands relaxed and my weight off the bars. Early on I would find myself with a death grip on the bars and all my weight leaned forward, but after many trips it's starting to become more of a habit to stay relaxed.

I feel like almost every ride is educational for me, dealing with new challenges is always fun. Absolutely loathe sitting in traffic, probably my worst pet peeve, but I guess it teaches me patience... or should be anyway

[Stromper]

I used to commute from Mamaroneck, Ny to Bridgeport, Ct on a 250CC Suzuki 2 smoke

Lots of good training , one time a semi dropped a load of BLACK empty drums at night, another a VW beetle got crossed up
and flipped onto its roof in front of me.

Only for 2 years over a 50 year career I was 4 miles from work at a place that cleared out at 4:30 PM. bike , even bicycle to work
Usually home at 4:45 like a whole day left

[db79]

For several years I commuted 125 miles rnd/trip on a GSXR. My car actually gets better mpg's than the bike but I wasn't riding for fuel savings. Only reason I stopped is because traffic in lower Fairfield county has grown so bad and the horrible driver's made it not worth it for me.

[WokDisWey]

I was commuting 22 miles 4 days a week from Quincy but now I have moved to Dartmouth and commute 120 miles on the bike round trip. Really hope lane splitting or filtering gets some traction in the near future. 2 hour commute home on Fridays are brutal...

[PhilB]

I have been commuting/daily riding on my Monster since I bought it 23 years ago. Anywhere from 5 mi to 75 mi each way, depending on the work project. I generally like it best to commute between 15 mi and 30 mi each way; when I got the project in St. Louis I have now, I got a map and drew a 15 mi and a 30 mi circle around the jobsite, and looked for lodging between the two circles. Ended up at 17 mi.

If the ride is too short, as someone noted above, it becomes more of a PITA for the gear than the ride is worth. Also the bike doesn't get up to operating temp, and that's hard on the machinery.

I would *love* to see lanesplitting implemented. There's no rational reason not to. That's one of the two things I miss about CA.

PhilB

[KawiSmurf]

My commute used to be 3 miles (~6 mins). Like Swizz said, barely long enough to even make it worth it. Certainly not long enough for a ZX-10R to stretch its legs. On the other hand, my current commute is 20 miles (50+ minutes). I assumed that would be so much better, but with the sheer amount of traffic I hit now, it's almost just as bad. Plus 30-35 mph speed limits almost the whole way are a real bitch, too.

I'm honestly pondering whether switching to a naked/standard would make it any better.

[jwm2k3]

I would *love* to see lanesplitting implemented. There's no rational reason not to. That's one of the two things I miss about CA.

PhilB

Phil, if you say burritos Im gonna take hostages....

[PhilB]

I would *love* to see lanesplitting implemented. There's no rational reason not to. That's one of the two things I miss about CA.

PhilB

Phil, if you say burritos Im gonna take hostages....

lol. You're almost exactly right. Ethnic foods in general, and cheap tasty 24-hr Mexican food in particular. NH needs more Mexicans.

PhilB