Motorcycle for gas saving commutes?

[sendler]

Originally Posted by mechman600

I think most of the world bikes are gross - mere marketing hype for sub-par bikes.

Wow! Dead wrong. These are brilliant bikes at a great price point.

[star_deceiver]

The KLR is big, which is good as I'm 6'4. Most people swap out the dogbones for shorter ones which lowers the suspension 2" or so, then they can somewhat get a foot down while stopping. Short people problems, lol!

Having test rode, I am too big to fit comfortably on the CBR250... It just doesn't work. (Mind you I rode for 4 years and still have my CM185T twinstar... totally different seating position though.) The CBR600 riding position and bike in general seemed too generic and middle of the road. The CBR1000 was a good fun bike. Not sure about long distance rides though... I've never test rode the NC700 or CBR500 but neither of them seem to be a bike I'd be looking to purchace. Wouldn't mind taking a spin on an XR650 though!

The thing is, I fully expect on the motorcycle I own (present and future bikes) to be able to commute to and from school/work comfortably one day then load it up and take it across the country the next day. Relatively easy maintenance and adequate mileage for the task. Everything has to add up! My toy space is limited... I can't have them all unfortunately.

I've put over 27000kms on my KLR in two seasons with nothing other than simple maintenance and the occasional rear tire! There are many other bike out there that do some things quite well but there are very very few that, like the KLR, do everything well!

[sendler]

V-Strom650 is a good all around bike for a tall guy. But you rarely find them used. The CB500X could be made much taller with a custom seat.

[Speedwagon]

Motorcycles vary so much, it's not an easy question to answer. Will a bike save you money in gas? Almost always. But will that savings offset the cost of tires, chains, sprockets, gear, etc? Well... My YZF750 doesn't save me any money. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. Too much fun to ride! Though it still isn't tuned properly, and I suspect I'm running massively rich with an MPG of around 31. I should be up around 45.

[alvaro84]

Originally Posted by Speedwagon

Will a bike save you money in gas? Almost always. But will that savings offset the cost of tires, chains, sprockets, gear, etc? Well...

At the very moment my bike Teresa (BMW F650CS) has a huge (2.4-fold) advantage in running cost per km (or mile) compared to my humble little Yaris, so it's a definite yes in my case. But (and this is a serious but) it's based on 94000+ km on the bike against a mere 5100km on the car... this way inital costs (first maintenance after the purchase, because I bought them used) can distort this comparison very much, even though I didn't count the purchase price.

edit. And yes, I agree, 31mpg is awful for any bike outside a race track. Your YZF750 should be given a careful look. Maintenance is one of the most basic steps in getting good FE.

[Speedwagon]

Originally Posted by alvaro84

edit. And yes, I agree, 31mpg is awful for any bike outside a race track. Your YZF750 should be given a careful look. Maintenance is one of the most basic steps in getting good FE.

Yeah, I've been working on getting it fixed. But tuning 4 carbs together, at altitude, isn't always fun. Plus the needle jets tend to oval out, causing headaches. But that part was recently taken care of, so it's back to fine tuning again.

[alvaro84]

So you're doing it yourself. Respectable in my eyes. I couldn't do it. Good that there's nothing to sync on an FI single There still are plenty of things that can go wrong - Teresa is having a break right now thanks to a dead regulator/rectifier. She'll be back on Friday and ready for commuting again. I hope weather will permit it. Now it's on the verge of freezing (1°C), but at least it's dry.

[mechman600]

Originally Posted by sendler

V-Strom650 is a good all around bike for a tall guy. But you rarely find them used.

You mean, "you rarely find them used without a bazillion miles on them."
I just bought a 2006 V-Strom 650. 54K miles on it. The engines are said to last over 130K miles. I am 5'10" and it fits perfect.

So far I love the bike. It took getting used to coming from a CBR929RR, but it's just so effortless to ride. I quickly forget about the bike and start looking at the scenery. So far averaging 51.5 mpg, but not really trying at all. Pretty good considering most of that is 80 mph highway riding.