| Author | Message | ||
     Birdy |
I took the Buell out for a ride today. I’ve been down with a sinus infection for two weeks and felt good enough to break out the beast. I had pulled the saddle bags over winter along with the tank bag. I normally carry a microfiber cloth and bottle for cleaner for my face shield but skipped it this time and THAT proved to be a mistake. I was rolling down road that runs next to a river and saw a fog bank??? At 2:00 in the afternoon? Next thing I know the world has gone grey. My “Fog” was a swarm of gnats or some other little flying bug and there were about a million of the little guys. I had to stop as I could NOT see. My Lighting’s white only now it’s black and fuzzy at least the front is. My face shield is one big bug splat. AND I left the cloth and spray at home!  I popped the shield off and climbed down to the river to wash it off best I could and hit the car wash on the way home. MAN those dead bugs stink. When I got home I put the straps for the tank bag back on! | ||
| Iamike |
With this mild winter we are going to pay dearly this riding season. | ||
| Whatever |
Hey, I am just glad I don't live somewhere that smells like cow shit all the time!  | ||
| Ratbuell |
People laugh at me at gas stations when I flip my visor down, and grab the windshield squeegie. Then, as I'm squeegie-ing my visor, they think...and I see the "heeeeyyyy....that's not a bad idea" look on their faces  | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Ratbuell- You using the station's squeegie? Careful if ya are, scratched up the last visor I destroyed doing that here in the F-L-A. Seems the station attendants don't really care how filthy the water/cleaning solution is. Birdy- Did the bugs look like these little nuisances?\popjpeg {675047,bwb bug 1} | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Hey, where's my pic? Let's try this again  | ||
| Fast1075 |
The worst are midges, AKA "blind mosquitoes. They are pure black and very, very juicy. It is entirely possible to hit a swarm and be completely blinded in a matter of seconds. Then there are may flies in the spring. But don't forget the ever popular "love bugs". Or a neck strike from a june bug or a thumb size moth. And possibly the best of all. Honey bees during the orange blossom bloom (now). | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
I think the pic above is blind mosquitoes. A batch just hatched in one of our stagnant lakes when this was taken and I rode thru multiple swarms one morning before dawn. They smelled like dead rotting fish on me. The ones on my running bike smelled like charred dead rotting fish. My bike took several attempts of washing to get clean and I was concerned about the carcasses gumming up the areas the bugs went in through the scoops. Some wasps or honey bees took care of the final detailing tasks, I had a dozen or so landing on the bike and eating the remaining pieces of the bugs. My gear was worse. The smell of the jacket was so bad our cat was meowing at it, so I had to move the cleaning task outside. I hosed and scrubbed it off twice, using a little woolite, took the armour out, and tried to clean it. It still stunk when dry, so I hosed it off and washed again, then spritzed with a little water/lemon juice and let the sun do the rest. I was still finding bug pieces in the crevices of my boots and helmet 6 months later. There are several things I dislike about Florida and the the bugs are definitely one. | ||
| Whatever |
Wow. Belinda, you didn't smell like dead rotting fish charred or otherwise when I met you, so I guess the cleaning procedure worked! | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Whew! Got a little self-conscious about hygiene later that day when my fellow coach told me "EWWWW, stay away from me, your bike stinks", so I've worked hard to keep both of us (me and the bike) from offending others olfactory systems. | ||
| Birdy |
I just finished doing a major clean up on both bikes and all my gear. I should have known better then to ride down that road as there's a big time hatch coming off the river. The bugs I ran into are a type of Black Fly and the front on mine Buell looked a lot like yours did other then mine was black and white! Funny I rode down there today and there wasn't a fly to be seen. I've seen hatches like this when I go fishing, OR more often then not hear "Ya should been here yesterday...yada yada yada" | ||
| Ourdee |
When I was 16 and riding in the country with an open faced helmet and goggles I got a mouth full of bugs. Thoughts were yuck, Hey, blackberries, Uh yuck, mmm, blackberries. At least I didn't turn around for a second pass. | ||
| Bluzm2 |
Rat, I kind of do the same thing. I keep a small can of Pledge in my tank bag along with a soft cotton wash rag. I leave my helmet on, flip the visor down, grab the can and spray my "face" then buff it out with the rag.. You get a lot of funny looks. It works really well as you can see any streaks and the Pledge softens up any dried bugs. | ||
| Xb1125r |
guys have you guys tried using water. what's with all these chemicals! | ||
| 86129squids |
+1, be careful about those station squeegies... they can be NASTY! Used one too quick one day, made my helmet STINK, the water was so rancid- had to ride fast to escape the stench. Gotta remember to get a proper cleaning kit- but hey, now I'm sitting behind a vintage Windjammer for my commute! | ||
| Iamike |
And Pledge leaves a nice lemony smell! | ||
| Fltwistygirl |
Mmmmm...lemony. On a side note, we saw our first two love bugs yesterday. Super Ewwww. It's too soon, Mother Nature's gone mad! | ||
| Fast1075 |
ARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I HATES me some Love Bugs!!!!! |
