Motorcycles BS Thread 2.0

Have you ridden any ebikes?

 

I have, they're just not for me. Plus I really don't like how unregulated they currently are. I've had too many close calls with idiots on Class 3 or even unrestricted bikes hauling way too fast on bike/walking paths.

 

My ebike commuter.

 

I hear that. I don't go on the paths. I stay on the side residential streets mostly. I will ride the sidewalks on the main roads but I peddle and keep my speed down. I am cautious around people and cars.
So because you've had bad experiences with other riders you wouldn't ride one? That's kind of a shame my friend. I find my bike to be very enjoyable to ride for my work commute. Yeah I've seen others doing stupid stuff too, so I try and be better and an advocate for ebikes and not put forth a bad image. I've even had some really cool interaction with police officers on my ebike.

 

It's not the only reason, the other reasons being I didn't find it super enjoyable to ride, especially since I like to ride for fitness, don't want another thing to charge, and the Navi does everything an e-bike would do for me at this point. I just want the cargo bike because it's something I've wanted for years.

I should just find a way to keep the Navi and get the cargo bike so I can get the cam shaft and Kemimoto rear rack.

 

The amount of fat people I see on ebikes… also mopeds. How come all the really fat people ride mopeds? Saw a lady the other day wearing spandex riding a moped. She should not have been wearing spandex

 

Got home about an hour ago. 560 miles for the weekend. Pink was probably the best concert I've ever seen. Added 81 more murals to my count after riding around Pittsburgh Saturday on the way into town and today leaving it. Here's a few highlights:















By my count I should now have 765 murals.

 

Sold!

 

These little guys are on my radar. My work commute recently doubled. Don’t wanna sell my taco so I’m entertaining options with the price at the pump increasing steadily.

 

It is always cheaper to just drive what you have rather than getting something new to "save" at the pump. How much is a new car going to cost after selling/trading the Taco? $5K? $10K? How many gallons of gas is that at five bucks per gallon? Then run the math for the actual money saved in the extra MPGs, and it usually takes 5-10 years just to break even on the fuel savings. They've done a great job of promoting the illusion of saving by spending.

Buy a car if you want one or get a bike for fun, but don't tell yourself it'll save you money.

 

Motorcycle maintenance is also a lot more than car maintenance. Tires seem to cost the same for two vs 4 for a commuter car yet last only 5-10k miles vs 60k out of an economy tire. Plus there’s chain maintenance, valve adjustment, etc.

 

EIGHTY ONE MURALS! In one weekend! HOLLY CRAP!

 

Going to disagree on this one! Have a crappy Toyota Matrix that gets 30mpg and all I do is change the oil. Cost me $3k and is only $30 a month for insurance. If I drove the GX470 everywhere it gets 12-15mpg. Tires are way more expensive and Kings aren’t cheap to rebuild.

If you don’t get a high strung motorcycle they are cheaper to maintain as well.

 

Facts. Motorcycles arent a realistic reason to save gas UNLESS you already have the motorcycle that you dont ride on the daily.

going from 4 to 5 $ per gallon on a vehicle that gets 17mpg driving 15k miles a year = roughly 900$.

Rear moto tires (conservatively) on any bigger bike is 200ish bucks and they MIGHT last HALF that 15k miles. So 400$/yr in rear tires, we will say the front tire last 2x rear. So 600$/yr for moto tires to do the same mileage as your truck.....

Truck @17mpg = 4400$ a year for gas

Moto @ 45 mpg = 1700

But... subtract 600 for tires, chain n sprockets (300) if you have em, insurance (250), registration (200 - thanks ca) = 1350 + gas = we will round to 3000 a year in operating costs that you WOULDNT have on the truck. So ~ 1000-1400 savings a year for a moto assuming you already have a moto at your disposal.

Oil change intervals are the similar or less likely requiring more expensive oils and filters.....

That stated, there are some economical motos that get upwards of 70mpg, low maintenance costs etc.

IT CAN BE DONE.... but understand that typically a moto isnt REALLY a savings for commuting unless you already have it.

 

Took my WR250R out for a learners lesson today on gravel.

It's way more challenging than I realized, especially for me a green rider.

I cant imagine riding with street tires on gravel, it would suck you every direction it feels like.

Looking forward to the dirt lesson, I was able to rip it everytime we hit dirt.

 

You didn’t do the calculations for a Grom that gets 125mpg and a rear tire costs $50

 

Grom will get 125 mpg @ 30mph.... aint no one doing 30mph.

My modded grom gets 65-75mpg. But yes tires do cost a LOT LESS on the grom.....

BUT i have always said are those small cost savings potentially worth my life?

 

Fine. It's almost always cheaper to drive what you have. Generally if somebody is replacing a 3rd gen Taco they aren't going to replace it with a $3K beater car. Also, could you get a reliable beater for that little these days?

Even in your example, you started out $3000 behind, and even with double the fuel economy it takes a chunk of time to recover that in gas savings.

 

Thanks for the feedback. Certainly not under any illusions of instant savings here. My rough, bar napkin math puts me around 5 years before I see any ROI.

I hadn’t factored in tires so thanks for mentioning that. Much of my math is based around maintenance costs I had with my last commmuter bike, which were minimal, SV650.

 

Adding a bike is a great way to have fun for less gas than the truck will burn. I went the economy route for my bike as well, and I love that aspect of it. I traded a SxS for my bike so I scrubbed debt while getting a brand new bike. It made it easier to convince myself that it was a good financial move.