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anyone else commute everyday on their bike?

13K views 44 replies 40 participants last post by  mitch95 
#1 ·
As a daily driver, my zx6r is a lot of fun... though i'm thinking of moving up to a 1000cc someday. I love this bike, no question about that... but the under the tail exhaust gets too hot while going light to light lol

I workm six days a week and just wish that i didn't have to keep my eyes on my temp meter everytime i come to a stop :/ i can usually keep it between 195-210 degrees, (average on the road is around 175 btw, so i'm not worried that there's something wrong) but every now and then i catch a Miami light that skips me or takes 4 minutes to turn green.. so i'm sitting there sweating from the waste down and praying i'm not ruining my internals at 225-230 degrees :/
 
#5 ·
mine's been my daily since I got it in May, its 20-30 miles each way depending on how much freeway I decide to use, depends on the day.

you could always put a manual switch on the fan
if you're worried about the internals this wouldn't be too hard to do, even though I'm pretty sure they should be fine at that temp anyways as long as it's not for long periods of time
 
#3 · (Edited)
my ninja was my daily driver since the first day i got it in 09. i just bought an s10 over the weekend...i forgot how nice it was to get around town with ac!

i had an over heating problem too when moving from one red light to the next. i flushed the rad and put water wetter, it didnt make much of a differnence in temp when sitting at a light but as soon as i started moving my temps would drop like 10 degrees in a few secs, i may switch to engine ice next weekend
 
#4 ·
I use to commute, in traffic my temp never exceeded 228, you should be fine, the have coolant that makes the bike run at cooler temps but not recommended below a certain temp outside because it will freeze. but your in Miami, no worries

Edit: I get to drive a company van home for the past 5 years so no money spent on gas
 
#6 ·
Everyday if its not raining, dont have the gear for rain yet.
 
#9 ·
Only time I drive the cage is in the Morning taking the kids to school.
 
#8 ·
I have the DRZ for urban assault (commuting) and for random excursions through unsecure territory.

I used my 636 as a sole vehicle for years before she finally got too tired of doing it. Looking back, I feel bad for putting her through that but it was just way more practical than buying a car. I never had much trouble with overheating, even when temps reached 110. Then again, I can lane split and that helps a lot.
 
#10 ·
Pretty much every other day for me. I go in at 10 every other day as opposed to 9. The idiots rushing in to work at 8:45 just isn't worth the risk. I took it in today and it was beautiful.

Take her out every weekend too :bigthumb:
 
#13 ·
im out the door at 545 so taking the bike is optimum.... was a little bit nippley this morning though. 49 degrees. BBRRRR
 
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#17 ·
I ride everyday it's not raining. If it rains, I drive the truck, sip my coffee & LMAO to the local morning show. I've had her almost 2 years & put 17k on the clock. 25k total is just around the S curve!
 
#18 ·
i ride to whole 5 miles to work every day, five days a week, rain, shine, or heat stroke! The only thing o wont ride in is snow. I rode home twice last week in the pouring rain.
 
#20 ·
I ride to work everyday, rain, shine, or the rare cold morning here. Just 10 miles each way. I have no other vehicle at the moment, but then again, I love my commute with it. I do miss having AC, and having a roof over my head in the rain sometimes, but the positives outweigh the negatives.
 
#24 ·
Ya mine was my daily commuter for a while, I have a truck now as well but still use my 636 most of the time to save on gas. Hopefully soon I will be buying a supermoto or dual sport to save even more on gas and not put to many miles on my 6r.
 
#27 ·
I ride to work whenever possible... Though I usually pass if it's raining. We had one hot day earlier in the summer that got my temps up to 232ish while sitting at some stop lights. That definitely hasn't happened this week!

The light doesn't start flashing until 239 on a '09-12, (should be similar to older generations) so it definitely shouldn't be a problem unless it stays at that temp or higher.
 
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