Motorcycles getting second looks as gas prices rise
While some people are trading in
their SUVs or even large cars for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, others are abandoning four wheels for two.
Heritage Harley Davidson owner Toby O’Brien has noted an increase in the number of people coming into his store
and purchasing motorcycles after selling off their SUVs. “With a bike you're getting up to 40 miles a gallon so
you're saving significantly so a lot of people are taking advantage of that,” says O’Brien.But he readily admits that new sales means novice riders. Organizations such as the Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program and others offer free training courses for newbies.
Would you be willing to switch from four to two-wheels to save gas?
[Source: The Pittsburgh Channel]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Cervus 4:56PM (4/28/2006)
Last September I bought a 2004 Honda Reflex scooter. It's 250cc, a single cylender and I've gotten 72mpg. I also don't need to worry about shifting gears, since it has a CVT. The underseat storage is also a plus over a regular motorcycle. I'm very satisfied with it. The scooter has enough power to be useful in hilly terrain and has good acceleration in traffic.
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Edsel 5:07PM (4/28/2006)
D? Vu
My wife & I did this already in the late 1970's. I bought her a new moped & I a clapped out Honda 350 Scrambler. We lived down the street from a gas station I remember listening to cars forming a line at 4:30 in the morning to get gas when the station opened at 5:30 am.
Five gallons of gas would last us nearly three weeks of commuting. We felt smug passing all the cars waiting for gas but commuting in the rain really sucked. I never cared much for motorcycling after that & I'm too old to survive today's traffic on two wheels.
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glitched 5:08PM (4/28/2006)
my gf has a sentra that gets nearly 40mpg... and she wants to get a scooter for running erands and grocery getting...
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John B 5:14PM (4/28/2006)
If was going to switch for economic purposes, it wouldn't be to a Hog.
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Bob 5:28PM (4/28/2006)
I was barely doing 15 mpg (imperial gallon) with my stock RG500 when the throttle was mostly opened. But I'm sure a 125 cc single cylinder 4 stroke could do close to 100mpg in fuel saving mode. So choose your ride and ride to save.
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Mal Fuller 5:38PM (4/28/2006)
With a bike you're getting up to 40 miles a gallon."
Gee, when compared to a small car the bike should pay for itself in only one hundred years or more!
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Wrong Question 5:40PM (4/28/2006)
I think were talking about 2 radically different markets here...
1. The SUV to Chopper crowd is strongly influenced by the dozens of motorcycle reality shows on cable TV. They are moving from a "rugged outdoorsman" persona to a "dangerous biker" persona. It probably has little to do with cost savings, as Harleys and custom motorcycles are terribly overpriced anyway. [These folks are also the ones responsible for the rising death rates on motorcycles over the last 10 years.]
2. The urban/eco-friendly scooter crowd -- for those who think the Toyota Pious (no typo, see Southpark and the fart sniffing owners) is too harmful or inconvenient. These make a ton of sense in San Francisco and the like, simply due to parking issues.
I myself would rather move to a sports coupe or convertible to save gas over an SUV.
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RossL 5:59PM (4/28/2006)
Yeah, my 650 gets better mileage than my Mazda6 wagon. But ... it's not like I can do without a car (for kids, shopping, winter weather and all sorts of other practical reasons). So that means buying and insuring six wheels, not two or four. The bike costs about $800/yr to insure, which more than wipes out any fuel savings.
So buying a bike because you think you're going to save money on fuel is dumb. Fortunately, there are lots of other, even better reasons to buy a bike.
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Onikage 6:04PM (4/28/2006)
Scooters are just about the most unsafe vehicles out there. No power, no agility, just a metrosexual waiting to get killed.
I ride a 954RR. I'm faster than any car this side of a quarter million bucks and get 45+mpg. Price paid, $10k. Nothing else compares. Sure I get wet when it rains but it's worth it. Riding is a way of life for me.
People need to wake up, stop buying large and ineffecient vehicles they don't need, and start riding.
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gbh 6:09PM (4/28/2006)
One's ROI varies by mileage driven, not time.
Also, 40 MPG is 'crotch-rocket' mileage - not 'dual-sport', 'average-kinda-streetbike', or 'cruiser'. Those are often 50+ MPG.
Yeah, you can get 50 MPG with an Insight, Prius, or several diesel automobiles.
However, big picture, a motorcycle requires FAR fewer natural resources overall from amount of material involved in construction, to the amount of material required to maintain, to the amount of space it takes up.
Think about the ENTIRE chain - from the plant, to shipping, to the dealership, to the parts store.
There are times you need a car. There are times (VERY few, regardless of current day self-delusion) when you need a full-size truck/SUV.
What are you driving the REST of the time?
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Presto 6:22PM (4/28/2006)
Run! That guy is a GIANT MAN!!!
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ja 7:13PM (4/28/2006)
I already have a Harley (gets about 40mpg) but I have been riding it more as opposed to driving the SUV because of the gas mileage.
I didn't purchase it for the gas mileage, just using it more because of it...
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ZoomZoomin' 7:24PM (4/28/2006)
I'd love to ride a motorcycle...however, I'd love to stay alive even more.
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Laura 7:28PM (4/28/2006)
I've already switched: I bought a motorcycle last year when the gas prices got bad. Ninja 250. 75MPG.
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Campisi 9:01PM (4/28/2006)
For $100, I purchased a 1978 Honda CB 125 S from a Harley owner in Florida. I can go weeks before I have to get gas, and the power is adequate, if not stellar. I'm definitely getting a Ninja 250 within the year; small displacement, but excellent performance and MPG.
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Ferguson McSqueege 9:46PM (4/28/2006)
I've also been looking at the Ninja EX250 as an efficient college town commuter. When I return to college in a few years, it'll be on my "potential transportation" list.
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JimboNC 10:43PM (4/28/2006)
Have you looked at Vespa scooters? Check them out on the web.
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frank d 10:49PM (4/28/2006)
10 years ago I bought a motorcycle to go to university & work, plus cut through city traffic ... and possibly save on fuel. My car was too efficient compared to my more sporty motorcycle habits though to save on fuel. :)
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Paul G 11:10PM (4/28/2006)
I just got a Monster Dark at the start of the month. It gets about 50mpg. The day a Prius sounds as good as my bike with a sale price of 5K will be a time for celebration. Meanwhile, talking about the practicality of a motorcycle is nonsense. It's the experience, the thrill. You're one with the elements. Remember that the number of car accidents greatly exceeds the number of motorcycle accidents (I'm not talking about percentage, since that would be a relatively unfair comparison). Motorbikes are a lot more fun too.
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Dave 11:13PM (4/28/2006)
Family just bought a (new) Honda 750. We now have more drivers in the household than vehicles (none of which are SUVs), so it was something of a necessary purchase. As long as the weather's nice, we almost fight over who gets to take the bike to work. It's a total blast to drive, and better gas mileage than our other cars to boot. I laugh when people in SUVs are paying 10x what I am at the gas station with a comparable commute.
The other thing that I love about the bike is the crowd. Bikers all seem to acknowledge each other in a friendly way; waves, smiles, nods and the like. I pull up to a stop light next to another biker and we have a friendly chat until the light turns green. You've never seen them before or since, but you're both happy to see each other. I can't remember ever having a similar experience in a car. People in cars always seem far to hurried and frustrated to bother with anything around them. I don't think I've ever seen a biker with a case of road rage.
Just my two cents.
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