Quote:
Originally Posted by M_a_t_t
Other than the obvious city vs country/highway proportion, I wonder how much this applies across the US? Filtering is illegal here and after having been caught in rush hour traffic in Indianapolis I can see your point. However, I live in a town with a population of ~55k people and don't find the same issues you have expressed in my usual riding around the city.
Why do you say it is more expensive to take the bike?
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Filtering is illegal is most of the USA which, in my opinion, is one of the reasons that motorcycles are not used for transportation here like they are in Europe. Filtering is legal in California and as of last year Utah. I used to commute on my motorcycle and for a couple of years commuted all year on it. That changed when I moved to a metro area with a population greater than 1 million (Birmingham, AL population 1.1 million) and my commute changed from free flowing to sitting in stop and go traffic. It is no fun sitting on a bike in 95-degree weather.
I say riding the motorcycle is more expensive because that is what my vehicle expense log show. It takes premium and gets lower fuel economy than the car. A set of tires cost more than a car but only last 6-8,000 miles. It requires a service and valve adjustment every 6,000 miles, etc. The running cost breakdown:
2011 – BMW R1200RT
$0.09 – Fuel
$0.15 – Maintenance
$0.06 – Tires
$0.30 per mile
2009 Toyota Prius
$0.07 – Fuel
$0.01 – Maintenance
$0.01 – Tires
$0.09 per mile
Now that isn’t exactly apples to apples as I pay the dealer to service the BMW and serviced the Prius myself. (The BMW has shim under bucket valves with a special ˝ sphere shim. So to service at home you have to the heads off, measure clearance, calculate what replacement shims size, and then go to the dealer to buy them at $20 each) My previous BMW had lock nut valves so a 6,000 mile service was only about $250 every 6,000 miles. ($0.04 per mile) So that would drop the motorcycle to “only” $0.19 per mile total. So only twice as expensive as the car instead of 3 times as expensive.
I haven’t had the VW long enough to calculate costs. My previous TDI was $0.14 per mile but it averaged 46 mpg and the new one is only getting 37 mpg.
My Piaggio MP3 500 should be a lot cheaper to run than the BMW but again, not enough miles to know for sure. It is averaging 55 mpg on regular gas and the parts for the 6K mile service were only $157. Tires were only $289 but online forums says they will only last 6,000 miles (I bought it with 5400 miles on the clock and the rear tire needed replacement)