Hi everyone,
I will move to Zürich Area in August to start a new job in September, in Baden.
I am passionate about two wheels, and I was thinking of buying a motorcycle right away to commute to work everyday. It's a 20-25 minutes commute, instead of a 1h 20 minutes by public transport, so that's a no brainer.
The only concern that I have is winter. I am sure that until December it's going to be fine, but January and February might be tough because of snow and ice. So the question is: do you drive your motorcycle in winter? In which conditions may I expect the roads to be?
If riding in full winter is insane, I will have to think of fallback options for that period.
Many thanks!
I ride year-round (also commuting), but it's a short distance in Basel, which is known as the Swiss Riviera for its balmy, sub-tropical weather.
Generally, I don't think you'd have too many problems most of the time. There may be the odd week around February when you'd prefer to use public transport, but otherwise I'd go for the bike!
What sort of bike are you after? I have a great option for you coming up for sale...
There are no mountains between Zürich and Baden, so I assume the climate and conditions are pretty similar to your current location, Berlin.
Hi, thanks for your prompt reply!
What you say sounds encouraging. Eventually I will be buying also a used car, but not right now since it would be pointless for going to the city center of Zürich. The motorbike would be a lot more versatile and fun, and I would be able to use it easily until the end of the year, so it would be a pity to wait for next spring before buying one and getting a car instead.
I'll be going with an Africa twin adventure sports! The commuting distance is around 20 Kms, so it should be pretty easy..
There is a reason why the ‘ motorcyclists ‘ category has the most number of organ donors.
I have a friend waiting for a pair of lungs. I hope you have your donor card filled out and you carry it with you at all times.
I hope you have one too, us motorcyclists can't save all of you sick car and public transport users. Then again as a smoking motorcyclist I think I'll be keeping my lungs.
In the past year I think I bought 3 months worth of public transport. In those 3 months I probably rode half the time. I'm not big on the idea of riding in snow or snow slush, having to clean all the salt off is a pain as well. On an Africa twin you might be a little more protected from the elements though. Other benefit of public transport in the winter is Gluhwein...
Sigh. This again.
It would be really great if car drivers would actually consider ALL road users and look out for those much smaller than themselves. I drive cars as well as motorbikes and long ago came to the conclusion that all learner (car) drivers should be made to obtain their motorbike licence first, before attempting the car licence test. That way, perhaps drivers would gain some appreciation for the challenges that bike riders face on the roads every day. And maybe a few of those riders would get to keep their own organs.
There are some days where it will snow and if your commute needs to be in the early morning I would highly recommend against it. If you've ever ridden on snow or slush on streets, you'll know that the front wheel will lose grip in almost every instance. There is probably 20 or less days a year I wouldn't ride in the winter due to the weather in the Zurich area.
Also, salt will ruin your bike. I had some really nasty issues for the first time in 15 years with salt hurting my brakes / chain (not many places to rinse the bike in an underground shared garage). So be careful about that.
The regular warnings apply: cold roads / cold air means cold rubber and a longer time to heat, you can't trust any regular sport tires to ever operate at a normal temperature when its -5 or so. I've had good luck with Pilot Road's on the CBR1000RR (and a 929RR before that) for the last decade, even in cold conditions they seem to be OK. A pair of Heidenau's on the KTM are OK too, but that bike has traction control / some slower engine mappings which make it a bit easier.
Realistically I'd say "just don't do it" unless there's some incredible reason to do so. I will probably stop this year between December / February because the risk / reward really isn't worth it when it is snowing outside.
Normally motorcyclists wave to one another as a sign of respect and acknowledgement of the inherent risk of their chosen mode of transportation.
On the other end of the spectrum, some guy comes on an internet forum and predicts that a motorcycling commuter is going to die. Nice one...
And please don't confuse 2-wheeled commuters with supersport riders that treat the streets as racetracks.
Weather wise it depends. Last winter was actually pretty easy regarding snow on this route. There was a few days were public transport was the alternative. Have seen once one unfortunate guy driving in 10 - 15 cm snow on the autobahn. He was escorted by the police. That might have come with a hefty fine.
Salt. Salt will take a big toll on bike, chain etc. Clean, lube, protect.
The autobahn is heavily salted but even than it can come to situation were there is no salt, moister from fog, sub zero road temperature, which results in black ice.
The problem are the temperature swings around the freezing point. If it were always above or bellow zero there were less issues.
PS: Heidenau has some special winter tyres https://de.reifenwerk-heidenau.com/m...oint=5&rtyp=17
Since I moved here I stopped riding through the winter as it wasn't worth the risk for me. I'll ride in all weathers except when there is a risk of snow/ice. Might seem nice in the morning and then snow storm in the afternoon.
As others have said, visor mists up and the risk of sliding on black ice isn't worth the risk. When you factor in the wind chill it's not that pleasant.
On clear days I do take the bike out for a 20/30 minute ride just to keep the engine turning over.
Thanks for those of you that replied with intelligent comments. Thanks to bowlie as well, for reminding me how stupid a comment can get.
I won't be commuting if there's ice and snow, but I wanted to better understand how often this situation occurs in winter, effectively.
If you ask me for Berlin, I would say at most 2 weeks per year, unless some exceptionally cold weather conditions hit the city. From my understanding it would be similar in Zurich, so as long as it doesn't freeze I think I will be fine.
Regarding salt, would washing the motorbike every weekend be ok?
The Africa twin is meant for rough conditions, but of course I don't wait to ruin it.
Thanks!
I would rather not wash it until winter was over, as you will wash the salt into all the nooks and crannies.
I ride year round, but usually only a 125 2smoke with a kickstart in the winter, with enduro tires and gearing, as it heats up much quicker than the big bikes.
Tom
Yes, weekly washing and generous chain lubing is more than adequate (I mean the weekly part; generous chain lubing is always a good idea!).
I agree, I doubt you'd lose more than two weeks a year to public transport.
The Africa twin will be fine but a Triumph triple would be much better, don't you think?!
Normally I'd defer to you instantly on anything to do with motorbikes or dead animals, Tom, but I really don't think that leaving salt in place (especially if the bike is housed in a warm(ish) garage at work or overnight) is a good idea! It's not that hard to wash a bike thoroughly with a good high-pressure jet.
A bit heavy for the snow:
Tom
This is Switzerland, who the hell has a warmish garage, especially if they commute to work with a motorcycle?
Tom
I said a Triumph triple, not a Triumph three-cylinders-each-the-size-of-a-compact-car's-engine! (Love the Rocket III, though, although to me it's just not a real Triumph!)
ETA: Maybe it's just not heavy enough? (Spoiler alert: the title is misleading, he only drops it once.)
Only THIS is a REAL Triumph triple:
Tom
The trick is to have a lot of grime and grease sticking to the bike.
There is stuff which supposedly will do that (never tried it so no millage): http://www.acf-50.co.uk/
Just be careful with high pressure jets near bearings and seals.
Happy Car Wash Uster (Near Volketswil) has a nice foam program.
Grossrietstrasse 15, 8606 Uster
Drawback, the high pressure nozzle can not be regulated.
The Stützli Wösch close by at Volkiland (which was recommended somewhere here on EF) is also quite good. Unlike other Stützli Wösch there comes really a lot of soapy water from the brush.