101.5 MPG on my 2003 Ninja 250!!!

[jonathan150cc]

Originally Posted by beatr911

It is still astonishing to me why I consistently see the same single occupant full size trucks and SUVs on the road during my commute.

Some people consider riding a bicycle of a motorcycle to be "below" them.

Other just don't know any better.

[theycallmeebryan]

Originally Posted by beatr911

Right on. Just by using the transportation mode that is most appropriate such as a bicycle for local trips or motorcycle for single person distance commuting or a larger vehicle for carpools or hauling stuff, significant dollar savings can be found.

It is still astonishing to me why I consistently see the same single occupant full size trucks and SUVs on the road during my commute.

Thats the ticket! Its true though. People should only use what is necessary (size and power wise) to accomplish their objective. I,too, see lots of SUVS occupied by 1 person. Most of the time they drive like they are in the Indy 500. Its such a complete waste of a lot of things.

[jonathan150cc]

That's true too. Since I've started hypermiling, I've become aware of the wasteful habits of the small econo-box drivers as they zoom past me. They're probably still getting better mileage overall than I am in my Kia, but it could be so much better.

"IF ONLY THEY KNEW THE POWER OF THE ECO-MOD SIDE!!!!"

[theycallmeebryan]

Tank ending on 07-24-09: 90.4 mpg

This tank, my mpg was down because i was a little pissed off at a driver on the parkway and had to catch up to him (he was doing 90) so i could give him a piece of my mind. Doing over 90mph on this bike requires WOT. I was doing 55mph in the right lane and he came flying up behind me and nearly clipped me when passing me.... i literally felt the turbulence on my leg coming off his front bumper. He was like a foot away from me. Turns out, it looked like he was a retired trooper or something (he had the NJ Trooper shield on his side window)..... but since when does that give them the right to drive like an idiot? I still yelled and screamed at the guy.

On a side note, i was passing by construction for a new Wal-Mart in town (which I'm absolutely angry about, but that's another story), and my rear tire ran over a stray nail in the road, probably from the workers in the area.

It pisses me off because even though my tires, front and back, have 9,000 miles on them, they still have like 85% tread left!! The tire still holds about 35psi without leaking, but i'm used to running them around 60psi. You cant really patch a motorcycle tire so i had to buy a new one (50$). I guess this could be considered one downfall to using a motorcycle?

[The Atomic Ass]

Originally Posted by theycallmeebryan

It pisses me off because even though my tires, front and back, have 9,000 miles on them, they still have like 85% tread left!! The tire still holds about 35psi without leaking, but i'm used to running them around 60psi. You cant really patch a motorcycle tire so i had to buy a new one (50$). I guess this could be considered one downfall to using a motorcycle?

I actually did the math on this one. My mule's rear seems to be fairly consistent at 12K miles, (although I only started hypermiling more than halfway through the second rear, so I have yet to see an effect on tire life), and it costs me ~$70 to replace. (I change it myself, with some help)

This costs me $0.006 (that's 0.6 cents) per mile. Vs gas at $2/gal, and assuming 80mpg, at $.03 per mile.

Compared to my S-10 which got at best, 20mpg, this is a savings of $830 in 12K miles. If I add the front tire, which costs about $10 less, and lasts twice as long, (it's badly cupped and almost worn through at 23,900 right now), then I can still call it an $800 savings in 12K miles, at $2/gal.

I didn't hypermile my S-10, though, so maybe I could have gotten better in it. No appreciable wear on the stock tires after 16K miles when I sold it. (Didn't get a ruler to actually measure the tread depth, so there could have been some.

[JacobAziza]

Originally Posted by theycallmeebryan

Turns out, it looked like he was a retired trooper or something (he had the NJ Trooper shield on his side window)

Sometimes habitual speeders donate to a police non-profit fund so they can get those stickers in hopes that they will get more sympathy when they get pulled over.

You cant really patch a motorcycle tire so i had to buy a new one (50$). I guess this could be considered one downfall to using a motorcycle?

There are some higher maintenance expenses
Motorcycle TCO - Ninja250Wiki
but when you factor not only gas, but also insurance (in my case $500 less - except the bike is in addition to the truck, not instead),
not to mention the little things (at least where I live; motorcycles don't have to pay for parking or bridge toll)
I haven't cranked all the numbers but I'm pretty sure the motorcycle comes out ahead.

[beatr911]

Some people say to never patch a motorcycle tire. I've patched at least 3 of my own tubeless tires with plugs and never had a problem for the rest of the tires life. I'm pretty cheap so if I think I can plug it and get a really good bond I'll do that. An alternative is to use a patch inside the tire to further preserve the integrity of the tire carcass. Also if I thought I'd be heavily loading the tire on a camping trip or riding at high speed like on a track day, I too wouldn't run a patched tire. For commuting, light loads and speed limit on the freeway, a well patched tire is likely to be just fine.

[Froggypwns]

I get my tires lined with special goo from Rhinotire, it makes the tires virtually puncture-proof. I am low on tread on the set on my XB, I plan on sticking about a dozen nails in it to see how it handles it.

[smokeonit]

i sold my new beetle 1.8T & got a 22HP 250cc Yamaha X-City Maxi-Scooter.
Yamaha X-City 250


drives like a charm and get's 60mpg/ 4l/100km... city traffic... does 85mph/135km/h, enough to ride longer distances and big wheels that make it handle like a motorcycle and the 1-cylinder 250cc 4-stroke is really nice...

[timgray]

Some people will "claim" they have to drive a larger vehicle or car because they carry things. Well my Motorcycle is a horribly inefficient 1983 Yamaha Venture that the EPs states it should get 35mpg. I regularly get 50mpg on it by a simple re-jetting procedure that leans it out a tiny tad. Then I do the hypermiling tricks that make sense.

The difference is I can carry about 300 pounds of stuff on my bike comfortably. the hard saddlebags and trunk easily hold the equilivant of 6 grocery bags full. Plus I put a giant backpack in the passenger seat. to hold my 17" laptop and all the stuff I need for work.

Kudos to getting over the 100mpg mark on the ninja. you might be able to adjust your windscreen angle to gain even more at speed.

I patch motorcycle tires, they take it just fine if done right. you can easily put in the inside patch and it will be safe.

Also get tires rated far higher than you need. My bike needs the 1000lb weight rating per tire because the bike weighs 900 pounds on it's own. But put the non sport racing tires on your bike and you get the 35,000 miles + out of them, plus they dont flex as much.