Commuting by sport motorcycle between the hills and the city
The second commuter we chatted to is Samuel, Dainese Group employee and AGV product manager, who chose his KTM 890 Duke as his one and only means of transport. He goes to work by motorcycle 365 days a year, in all weather conditions.
“My home-work route is a little different from most. I’m lucky enough to live in the hills and therefore part of the commute is on very winding suburban roads, the ideal environment for my KTM. Knowing that I’ll have to do some leaning on my motorcycle to get to the office helps me get up in a good mood; sure, in winter it’s hard, but with the right equipment it’s not as bad as you might think and it’s actually something that should be experienced at least once.
As the seasons change, I alternate between three different outfits – one for summer (around 30 °C and up), one roughly for spring and fall (10-30 °C) and one for winter (below 10 °C), which is actually the same as the mid-season one but with a few additions. In summer, I wear a fully ventilated lightweight jacket combined with leather gloves, jeans and motorcycle sneakers. When I arrive at the office, I take off my jacket and I'm ready, there’s no “formal” dress code at work. In the mid-seasons, I still wear jeans and shoes but I switch to a waterproof jacket: Mine has a laminated Gore-Tex® membrane, which is perfect against both cold air and rain. In any case, I carry a rainproof full jacket-pants suit in my backpack at all times, all year round.
In winter, things get more interesting. I keep the laminated waterproof jacket but I add one or more thermal layers depending on temperatures, which can range from about 10 °C to well below zero (my personal record when commuting is -7 °C). A neck warmer is also essential: I’m very careful to tuck it in between the two layers of the jacket, so that no draft reaches my body, which happens when you only tuck it in under the thermal layer.
