http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/ Autoblog Comments for Motorcycles getting second looks as gas prices rise http://www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/Apr 28th 2006 4:56PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/
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.]]>Apr 28th 2006 5:07PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/Apr 28th 2006 5:08PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/Apr 28th 2006 5:14PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/Apr 28th 2006 5:28PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/Gee, when compared to a small car the bike should pay for itself in only one hundred years or more!]]>Apr 28th 2006 5:38PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/
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.]]>Apr 28th 2006 5:40PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/
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.]]>Apr 28th 2006 5:59PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/
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.

]]>Apr 28th 2006 6:04PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/
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?]]>Apr 28th 2006 6:09PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/Apr 28th 2006 6:22PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/
I didn't purchase it for the gas mileage, just using it more because of it...]]>Apr 28th 2006 7:13PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/Apr 28th 2006 7:24PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/Apr 28th 2006 7:28PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/Apr 28th 2006 9:01PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/Apr 28th 2006 9:46PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/Apr 28th 2006 10:43PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/Apr 28th 2006 10:49PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/Apr 28th 2006 11:10PMhttp://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/28/motorcycles-getting-second-looks-as-gas-prices-rise/
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. ]]>Apr 28th 2006 11:13PM