Motorcycle for gas saving commutes?
 

Would it be worth the risk of riding a motorcycle for gas savings? or would it better to do some type of conversion on car i.e an EV, modify my current car's aerodynamics or trying out some hypermilling techniques?

only way that buying a motorcycle will save fuel is if you buy a SCOOTER..

How often have you crashed your motorcycle over how many years with how many miles?
If you have never ridden a motorcycle before and are buying one with the idea of saving gas, then it's most likely a bad idea and you will spend more then you will save.
But if you have a motorcycle already and the gear to go with it and have a good record of riding without crashing or getting run over then it will cost you nothing more then putting fuel in the tank.
At that point it's a matter of looking at your own personal route, for weekend riding people tend to take routes that have less traffic because it is less stress, safer and it is an option, for commuting to work every day on a motorcycle you then have to look at your route, are you choosing a route that is safer but longer and there for going to use the same amount of gasoline?
The increased safety that you can gain from riding a motorcycle is that you can move out of the way of other vehicles easier, the big decrease in safety is that it's harder for other drivers to judge how far away you are and to see you at all and that when/if you get hit you have less around you.
But then if you look at motorcycle crashes you'll notice a pattern, they tend to happen to new or young riders, happen at night or in bad weather, they don't tend to be wearing a helmet and they tend to either be tired or have been drinking, or going to fast, all of those things are things that you have control of, other then the weather.

It's also depends a great deal on the motorcycle you have as to if it will save any gas at all as there are motorcycles out there that get 45mpg but like was pointed out, some scooters get great mileage and cost less, but they also go slower so once again you have to look at your route, is it all 25mph speed limits? scooters are also nice because most places you can park them for free on the side walk and at bike racks so if you are otherwise paying $10 per day in parking then a scooter really could be the way to go, but if you sit in traffic where people are often rear ended and have an otherwise ugly commute a scooter will not work at all and even a motorcycle at that point is going to be a poor choice.

Most of my commute is through the streets but there are some places where the speeds are 55 so I dont think a scooter would be good. I was thinking of getting a 250cc which tend to be at 60mpg if not more depending on model.

Just remember two things you get free $hit and advice and it is hard to tell the difference some times. Now with that said, in the early 80’s I rode a 650 Yamaha and loved it. Couple of years latter, While riding with my girlfriend on it, I laid it over and haven’t rode since except my sons crotch rocket 2 years ago, 90 in 3rd gear 100 feet or so they should be outlawed :) by the way did not have insurance so I married her so she couldn’t sue, this year marks our 25 year wedding anniversary. Anyway, I bought a Suzuki dr200 this year just for gas mileage. I did not get the advertised 105 mpg. I got 74. I changed the front sprocket and now getting 80mpg. I drive 15 miles one way at 55mph(really at 56to 60) and the bike handles it great. My opinion (like a$$holes, I have one:) ) is find some one with a motorcycle, visit many dealers, just don’t jump to quick but find the style you would like and then think small cc if you want fuel economy. I am no expert and I probably haven’t done all the research like some have but I say buy a motorcycle ... dive in the water is great:)

I agree with Ryland - it all depends...

I doubt it is worth while but, start with your car gallons used per week, using 45 mpg for the bike figure out how many gallons per week it will use, the difference is gallons saved if you ride it every day.

Convert gallons to dollars, divide the cost of the bike by those dollars, and see how many weeks it will take to break even. Also take miles per week times week to break even and see how many miles that is.

Lastly factor in you most likely won't ride it every day.


45 mpg may seem really low, but its kind of factoring in cost of tires, insurance, helmet etc.... Depending on the bike 5,000 miles a set of tires is normal.

I've had 4-5 bikes in last 10 years, all but one averaged 45 mpg.

If your going to do it, dual sports are great first bikes, the Dr200, xt225 will do what you need for speed, mpg, cheaper tires the sporter bikes, ability to go offroad to learn to ride is a huge plus. But my concern is if you buy new(first time owners tend to) is how many miles the bike needs to last to payfor itself. Better money spent on upgrading/replacing your car if it isn't capable of 35+ mpg.

Bike 10k miles @ 85 MPG = 117 gallons
Car 10k miles @ 33 MPG = 333 gallons
Truck 10k miles @ 19 MPG = 526 gallons

regards
Mech

EDIT: Put a comment in the wrong thread!

Sorry.


Jay

Saving money on a motorcycle. If you don't have a car yes you may save a bit. If you have to pay an extra registration and insurance it is doubtful unless you have a lot of places to go. I don't ride for economy but for sport but ride my bicycle more miles a year than on my motorcycle.

In response to a certain class of motorcycles should be outlawed. What a pitiful idea that is entirely possible by a government who undoubtedly would be also trying to subjugate it's citizens into subjects. Quite the opposite effect that most motorcyclists would want.

The easiest way to reduce the average Joe's carbon footprint is to eliminate cash and require that purchases be made by implanted chips which could be cut off when big brother says you have bought enough. Of course the ruling class would be exempt.

Wow.

Anyway, a bike can save you a bundle, if you can keep it running. It is also a pretty good "learn how to wrench" platform, being comparatively simple and inexpensive to purchase/insure/register/fix/mod.

Of course working on bicycles is an excellent precursor to working on motorbikes, and a bicycle can handle a whole lot of jobs as well and get gnarly mpg (though food calorie btu well-to-colon wise it aint so good, but health wise fuggetaboutit)

How much you drive?

I have a 130 mile commute.
This month I work 23 days.
My truck gets 20 mpg and uses 6.5gal a day at 3.60 a gallon. That's 23.40 a day.
The bike gets 55 mpg (driving faster) uses 2.3 gallons a day that's 8.50 a day.
So 538.20 to drive the truck all month or 195.50 on the bike. 342.70 savings just this month.

Bike tires for mine cost about 100 each plus tubes. And should last a season.

But I enjoy the ride rain or shine alot better on the bike.

Motorcycle tires cost alot more, good touring tires will give you the best mileage but could cost you $150 each or more, insurance can be really cheap or it can cost 3 times more then your car insurance, it all depends on the size of bike you get so check before you buy a bike, if you can get a fuel injected motorcycle then buy it! otherwise you will have it in the shop getting the carb rebuilt every year or two, helmets are a must, but they need to be replaced every 6 to 10 years as the plastic ages, padding wears out and they become less effective.

I think I am going to get a scooter. It will better suite my needs.

Does that mean your CB 125 carb has been rebuilt 17 times ;)?

regards
Mech

Gasoline goes bad while sitting over winter.
I've rebuilt that carb twice in the 7 years I've owned it but I do take it apart nearly every year, but if you are having carburetor issues and take it in to a repair shop it's cheaper for them to rebuild it then to take it apart clean it, cross their fingers that it will work find out that it doesn't work right, take it apart a 2nd time and replace jets, I'm cheap, it's a single carb bike that I like because it's super easy to work on.

Are you using Ethanol-free gas in it? For older vehicles Ethanol causes problems IMO. I avoid it in almost everything except my daily driver.

Try some Sta-Bil in the fuel before you put the bike up for the winter. Make sure you run it long enough for the Sta-Bil supplemented fuel to get down into the carburetor.

I have a 120 mile commute, almost all bikes I've had got 45 mpg, 650cc singles to 1000cc 4's. My cars get 30 mpg or better, 4 gallons cars/day 2.5 gallons for the bikes. 1.5 gallon saved or $5 that barely covers the daily cost of the tires.

If you have a car that gets 30 mpg or better it's hard to save enough money with bikes or scooters to justify the purchase (atleast until gas hits $5-6 a gallon).

On the other hand if your commute is too short, you don't use enough gas even with a 10 mpg SUV with 10 mile daily commute, you only burn 1 gallon, so the most you can save is less than 1 gallon a day, 20 gallons a month, $70 dollars saved per month will take a long time to pay for even a $1500 scooter. Roughly 22 months(riding it every day) to pay for the investment, and it would have 4200 miles on it. Will a $1500 scooter last that long?

If you have to pay for parking a car and don't for a bike/scooter that might be the biggest saving potential.

I don't understand your math here. $5/day / 120 miles = about 4 cents/mile for tires.

Lower-cost scooter tires from Amazon are about $37 shipped. Amazon.com: Shinko SR429 Front - Rear Scooter Tire - 130/60-13/--: Automotive

$37 X 2 = $74. 74.00/0.04 = 1850 miles.

Do you really expect the tires to only last 1850 miles? That seems kinda low to me.

Getcha one of these: eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

or one of these: eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

and throw some plastic on it so it looks like this: Last Vetter Fairing

My last motorcycle a set of tires cost about $300, and would last about 12,000 miles, at 120 miles per day, that's 100 trips, $3 per day.

On another bike, the last tire I had a shop installed, was $200 for a rear (typical 180/55/17) for sport touring bikes. It lasted one month, installed & replaced in July, 3000 miles, $8 a day. I didn't buy anymore of those, most rears lasted 5-7000 miles, and installing self dropped cost to about $150 rears, 6000/120 = 50 trip & $150/50 = $3 a day rear tire only.

No idea on scooter tire life, but $1000 for a ebay scooter, how many miles do you think it will last. If say 2,000 miles, scooter cost alone is $0.50/mile, equivalent of 7 mpg. I can't imagine one lasting 10,000 miles, but if it did scooter cost would be $0.10/mile, equivalent of 35 mpg.

If you want one for a toy, go for it, I still have toy's in the garage. But most people won't save money buying one(gas yes, money no).

Triumph Speed Triple vs. Chevy Metro.
 

Hi there! I'm brand new to this forum, but I have first hand experience with riding a motorcycle thinking that I would get better fuel economy.

At best my 2001 1.0L Triumph Speed Triple got 40MPG. I crashed it once breaking my Right Arm, and the MCL and ACL in my right knee. It ran through a set of tires every 3000miles. Plus it had no cargo room at all. But it was a lot of "fun"!

I sold it and bought a 1999 Chevy Metro 1.0L. I'm now getting 44MPG. I can go to the store and get a couple bags of groceries and I can drive in the winter. Not much "fun" though. :(

We ARE modders though, we CAN do things like change a tire (and shop for cheap tires), and keep some rat bike running with minimal expense. Just like a car, the more you can do for yourself, the less it will cost you. I strongly encourage Modders to know/learn how to wrench. I can't sympathize with what people pay someone else to do that they won't even attempt to learn to do for themselves.

If you do buy a scooter, don't buy one that was made in China, you will be lucky if it lasts you 5,000 miles, doubt me? then print out the ad for a few of them that you are looking at and take them to the shop that you would go to for repairs and ask them if they work on them, the cycle shop that I've worked that a friend of mine owns has been known to turn them away and when it does work on them he always charges extra because new parts never fit right and other stuff brakes while you are trying to fix the first problem.
I would buy a scooter made by Honda, Yamaha, Tomos, or Sachs.

Hi, I'm a fairly experiencxed motorcyclist ( 44 years riding ) and I currently ride my 550cc motorcycle very frequently on work and errands if I don't have passengers or a lot of stuff to carry. I save a lot of money riding my motorcycle , as well as saving time and enjoying the ride a lot more. I save money as my bike is 29 years old with 38k miles and I do all the work on it. With aero mods and efficient ridng I get around 60 mpg on my bike vs 28-30 mpg in my cars. I also haven't ever suffered a collision and had my last spill ( minor ) in 1976. Being disciplined and safe is critical while riding a motorcycle as the cars will kill you unless you ride defensively all the time. When I was young, I was poor and used cheap used MCs to get to school and work until I could afford cheap used cars. For some years I didn't ride a lot but always rode a bit for fun and sometimes to work. Now that I'm retired and work intermittently I ride as a first choice unless the weather is bad or I have too large a load.
My advice: get a motorcycle if you are passionate about riding and take a motorcycle safety course. One serious collision can end or change your life forever. Don't do it just to save money, you prabably won't.
all the best , L&S

+1 on what Low&Slow said.
I have done most of the stupid things you can do on a motorcycle and survived due to good luke... I have mini road raced motorcycles for 5 years, I have had motorcycles since 1970...
Ride as if you are invisable.
Ride as if you have no second chances.
Safe riding/driving habits are what keep you safe, skill in handling a motor vehicle, although nice to have, is only secondary to the habits you have. Good habits give you the time and space to execute skillful manuvers...

The ruling class is always exempt...:(

Motorcycle commuting...
 

My commute is 70 miles a day and I've been doing it on motorcycles for the past 6 years. I ride a Honda VT750 and get a little over 50 mpg. It is about half country roads and the other half freeway. I ride rain or shine (here in the Northwest it is a lot more rain than shine) and have ridden in the snow - I draw the line when it gets slushy or icy. As far as tire wear - I can go a year and a half or so on a set of tires with a new set running about $400 installed at my local Honda shop. With gas at $3.64 a gallon (today) that works out to something like 9 to 10 cents a mile.
The keys are a good economical, reliable motorcycle, well-practiced riding skills and a safety attitude.

I like your approach to commuting. I will resume commuting on 2 wheels if and when i find another job. Meanwhile two wheels continue to be transport of choice unl3ss there is snow, ice, or freezing rain...then i turn chicken and ride the old subaru wagon.

I remember the late 70's motorcycle commuting the 20 miles through Chicago traffic. I think it was finals and I rode my Honda 400 four.

The snow had started early in the day. I remember going out once mid day and wondering. By late afternoon there was enough to make it very treacherous. i went to school on the south side and had no secure area to park it.

I did what I had to do and got on an rode it home. What a nightmare. The Dan Ryan was too fast for street tires. I went onto surface streets which had more snow but I could ride with my feet down for balance. My normal 40 minute commute became a 3 hour ordeal.

I rode today for the first time in 2 months I got on my wifes 125 Yamaha dirt bike and went back into the woods to get a chip from the game camera. Riding motorcycles is still fun.

Somehow the idea of trying to ride an inherently unstable device in slick road conditions borders on suicidal, i one remember trying to ride a bike in the snow....i gave up after 2 blocks.

We used to ride our mountain bikes on 50 mile rides in the snow on pavement. It wasn't that bad, although I do remember crashing my bicycle on the way to work in the snow on a down hill. I rode home and got the car.

Once finishing a century, I was a strong cross wind in the rain on my road bike running 20mm slicks. If I would go faster than 10 mph it would slide. The obvious choice was to stay below 10.

Basically it pays to keep it in the envelope.

The right tires make all the difference in snow or rain. A fairing will help with the wind chill factor and less torque from lower numerical gearing reduces wheel spin. In the winter, studded or spiked tires are used in ice races.

I can remember leaving in a snow storm on my FZ1000 to go camping a state away. I had the bike for a day or two and was wanting to ride. Tire quality had increased dramatically from 1975 to 1992. The full fairing helped. Was riding with a friend on an unfaired Harley who never warmed up all weekend.

Still sitting my Jetta with snow tires and having the heat on is comforting.

I get 90 mpgUS with my Honda CBR250R on my 80 mile divided highway commute at 65 mph. The rear tire is almost ready for replacement at 15,000 miles and the front will go for 25,000. I get 95 mpgUS on my 2013 Honda PCX150 scooter but I have to take the back country roads and ride at 50 mph as it only has a top speed of 65 mph. It is comfortable to ride and is of course a twist and go automatic and is very quick and handy for errands in town. The 150 is fast enough to jump on the expressway for a couple miles. The original 125cc version will only top out at 60 mph but can be found for sale used already for around $2300.
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To sum it all up, it depends very much on the commute profile.

The idea is to use the smallest capacity bike able to do the job and that one must resist the urge to ride it like it was meant to, there are dedicated places for that.

Good to have a backup. This winter I may buy a car myself. As soon as the house rebuild/insulation works settle down. If we see that we still have a bit of money, I mean.

And good that I don't need that backup too much, probably a few weeks per year. A little frost in itself is not that bad. Thankfully we don't have much "snow, ice, or freezing rain". Usually.

Well, I'm back at college for the next 8 weeks (3rd yr Millwright apprenticeship program). And being off work means two months of EI... yay... and I'm sure that everyone who's ever been to a post-secondary institution knows the staggering costs that add up! Fortunately I only live 5kms away so I have a few options in regarding getting there.

The course was paid for by my work ($907) but that's it. Books were $185 but by far the biggest expense will be parking. The cheapest car lot is $10 a day.... that's nearly $400 in parking fees over the course. Transit pass is $94 a month but I have no desire to waste an hour each day being packed into a sardine can! Bicycle is free, but considering how much I (and everybody else) despise the antics of local Calgarian cyclists I won't be choosing this option.

So, as I had surmised a long time ago, the KLR is the cheapest, best form of transport (as long as it doesn't snow)! $45/month parking, very close to my classes. Easy to access parking both entry and leaving. Gas is cheap, cargo is easily carried. Rush hour isn't too bad with the way/time I go to and from.

The truck is always there as a backup... the studded tires are by the door with tools and such. So I suppose I could install them should it snow and I can't find the KLR under the blanket of white!

This post of mine clearly falls in the "hilarious in hindsight" category... this was about the snowiest winter I've ever seen (though not unusually cold), I could hardly ride Teresa at all before April (we live along quite steep dirt/gravel road that are never cleaned at winter) :rolleyes:

We really bought a car a month after this post, and 2 days before the first snow. But there were days when even having 4 wheels didn't help, not even on the paved roads.

star_deceiver, good to hear that the KLR does the job for you :)