Today I'm asking the question - how does your cigar handle the bike test? The bike test is simply how does the cigar hold up when smoked on a motorcycle both in traffic and at highway speeds.
For starters I ride the '08 Victory Vision Tour Premium. The bike has a windshield and I don't recommend anyone try this without a windshield. The winds are way too fierce even with one. I have over 200,000 motorcycle miles but I've only been smoking cigars for a few months. So I don't question my riding experience but anyone can question my cigar experience.
I tried this twice before with a Romeo Y Julieta Reserva Robusto and the experiment was a total disaster. Actually I thought I just hated the Romeo but then I smoked a 5 pack of them and decided it wasn't the cigar.
This experiment was conducted with a H. Upmann Special Souvenir. Of the about 20 different cigar brands I've tried the H. Upmann is my second favorite. But now I give it the bike test.
The Test
Time: 9:30 PM - 10:30PM
Temp: 42F
Winds: 16mph from the west gusting at 25mph
Speeds: Stop and go traffic - 80mph
Cigar: H. Upmann Special Souvenir
Pre light the cigar tasted great. It was sweet with a hint of honey and cedar. The cedar obviously from the cover. I lit the cigar fine before I started my trek. It lit well and I could taste a coffee flavor right off. Earlier than I have in the past with these cigars. I took off and hurried right into DC traffic.
1st 3rd Early in the stop and go traffic I bit the cigar too much and the head was very wet. That didn't kill the experience for me though. The cigar was tough to keep lit with the winds so I had to continuously keep puffing on it to create smoke. Because of this it had a continuous ash tray taste. That killed a little bit of the experience. Keeping an ash at this point was totally impossible.
2nd 3rd I got onto the highway and ripped it up to 70-80 mph. This made for an easier smoke. Although the winds were still too heavy I was able to keep the cigar mostly behind the windshield. I was even able to get an ash to about 1/2 an inch. I had time to enjoy the cigar and it gave me the usual H. Upmann taste and smells. A little sweet with some java taste. However the earlier biting and wetness was causing some of the wrapper to disintegrate.
3rd 3rd The cigar had already given me about 30 minutes of smoke and maybe that was too much to ask of it but I held on to it for as long as possible. The unraveling wrapper and bit head was killing the taste. I smoked it to about 1/4 inch to the band (which surprisingly held on for the entire time). At about the time I reached the bay bridge (about 45 min) I pulled over, tossed the cigar, and put a dip in.
Overall this was a lot better then the Romeo I tried before. But for the price this doesn't suit up to be a good bike cigar. The heavier winds may have had something to do with the experience for me. But I frequently travel over the Bay Bridge over the Chesapeake in Maryland so it's not likely I'm going to get away from the wind.
I got some Romeo Coronas with the thought that the smaller cigar might hold up a little better and I might not bite it as much. I don't like the idea of a smaller cigar though. I'm a big man (6'1" 240lb) on a big bike (900lb 104ci 1750cc) I don't want to have a little dingy hanging out of my mouth. But with over 110 mile one way drive I'm going to keep tiring to find a good experience smoke on the long ride. I'm thinking of buying some JR knock offs just because if I'm going to destroy the cigar I shouldn't pay too much for it. But at the same time they might not hold up well in the conditions either.
