A strange, strange thing .......

[owdoggy]

........ has happened to me since I got the Alp.
Now to understand the gravity of what I'm about to disclose you must realise that until the Alp I was a sports bike owner who was completely paranoid about his bike being clean & shiny & therefore just as paranoid about going out in dodgy weather.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the actual riding, in fact I've ridden in torrential rain, hail & even snow (in Switzerland ...... well it would be wouldn't it) all over europe and it wasn't a problem (apart from the snow maybe) but then I didn't have the choice & when I came back to blighty there was usually a 2 day bike cleaning frenzy to get my pride & joy back to showroom spec.

Yesterday I had to make a 100 mile round trip and, now here's the kicker, with a forecast of heavy showers I chose to go on the bike!(new 700 with 800 miles on the clock) I just got the oversuit on & off I went. It absolutely hammered down for the last 50 miles so I came back with freezing fingers because of soaked through gloves, cold wet feet (my boots are really a bit long in the tooth now but they're comfy), the legendary wet crotch because the oversuit is pretty good but nowt could stand up to that downpour for very long and, worst of all, a hacky, dirty bike!!

But, and I've saved the most worrying thing 'till last, I have to do the same journey again this afternoon with a forecast that's the same or even slightly worse ...................... I'm thinking of going on the bike again

Is this normal trail bike owner behaviour or should I book a session with a shrink.


Worried, in the North East

[donkster]

I've gone from sunday sportbike owner

to all day everyday rider

still keep my bike clean though

[Dee Duble Yuh]

...Is this normal trail bike owner behaviour or should I book a session with a shrink.


Worried, in the North East

Oh God, no. Hardly any of the rest of us would even go outdoors if the forecast said, "slight chance of intermittent showers". And if the bikes get a little splash mark on them, it's a panel-off job and we set to with the tooth brush and the Simoniz. Gotta keep 'em pristine!

[tonyk]

Dear Woried in the North East,

The behaviour u exibit is typical and is a common in the biking fertinaty,refered to in medical terms as M,B,A,S
(MOTOR BIKE ADDICT SYNDROME)

There is no known cure for this disease,and get's progressivley worse,paticualary when cash/finace is made available by "enablers" family, friends,bank managers etc,

your prognosis in this case is NOT good,Im afraid your basically f%*^ed,

I have come to this conclusion on the basis that you have took your addiction to the extreme and have reached the point of no return ie...............(bought a NEW bike)

There are however support groups such as this forum ,but it is debatable if they help or hurt your condition!!

on the other presenting problems namley cold hands,feet etc,cold killers or some other such products will help here,
in relation to the boots and over suit if they are not made from GORTEX.You may as well pi%% on your self,


Yours Sincsrley,

Auntie Marge

[MCsanandreas]

ride a motorbike? in the rain? quite clearly mad!

"nurse,get the straitjacket!!"

[Mudwiz]

You folks know my feelings on clean bikes.

.

[StumpyFingers]

Don't worry about it, I have just washed and polished mine but only because it was white at the front with road salt and decided to remove the salt before iteats into the metal and causes more damage, the polish was to help protect the bodywork from anymore salt metal eating gunk put on the road surface.

PS I only clean the bike in the winter months to save money on expensive replacements later in the year.

[nomad]

dear worried in the north east
what's a motorbike ??
is it a new type of car !! as i have no problem taking my car out in the rain
yours
north west confused

[Lutin]

Re the above post, I'm sure that this place is getting madder by the moment.

[Dilbert]

Re the above post, I'm sure that this place is getting madder by the moment.

That's because Chad's not about to give a more sensible and rational prognosis.

I suggest sitting in the corner with lots of alcohol until this desire to clean things goes away