Filed under: Car Buying, Trends, Green, Motorcycles
Gas prices rise along with interest in motorcycles
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As you may have noticed, we've been featuring more two-wheeled content lately as interest in motorcycles and scooters has risen rather dramatically along with the increase in fuel prices. While we can appreciate the reduced cost of operation that sometimes goes along with choosing a motorcycle over four-wheeled transport, the enjoyment some of us get from bikes easily eclipses our desire to save at the pump. After all, this particular blogger has been riding since the days of buck-a-gallon gas. Still, the growing trend of drivers dropping half their wheels in the name of gas conservation deserves close examination and has even caught the attention of Consumer Reports. In fact, a recent survey conducted by the group has found that a staggering 26-percent of respondents have considered downsizing from four wheels to two. According to CR, their team is intently studying this two-wheeled phenomenon in an effort to become acquainted with the products on the market, how often they are ridden and the newly-found fuel savings of their riders.
[Source: Consumer Reports]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Kotse 4:33PM (7/01/2008)
So true...I've seen quite a few riding mopeds, scooters and bigger bikes around my neck of the woods.
I've been considering myself getting back to two wheels myself for local trips(hard to find/above msrp '08 Ninja 250R)..in my teen years, I had owned a Honda 125 trail bike and earlier even a Honda Z50J aka Honda "Monkey"(minitrail).
Guess I'll wait around after X'mas for that Kawi bike...
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HotRodzNKustoms 4:35PM (7/01/2008)
California is a pretty good state for Motorcycles but a suck place for scooters under 150cc because of the need to use the freeways. I saw a guy riding a scooter on the shoulder of the 5 freeway on a section that flow is routinely 90-100mph. I was scared for the poor guy buzzing along at maybe 50mph
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ugg.tryptophan 11:01PM (7/01/2008)
was it at night? around the bay area, a scooter at night is suicide, esp. in richmond, i've street racers as early as 10pm
HotRodzNKustoms 12:38AM (7/02/2008)
middle of the day in south orange county but still scary
Brent 4:39PM (7/01/2008)
I am buying a scooter or a motorcycle as soon as I leave North Dakota! (Less than 1 year)
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David 4:40PM (7/01/2008)
I'm a motorycle rider and it's primarily about the experience of riding a motorcycle.
Gas savings is nice, but it's an argument I primarily use with my folks and my wife when I try to justify keeping the bike. :)
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Jason 4:46PM (7/01/2008)
I agree. I paid a little over $14K for my bike, and figured - not including the cost of insurance, tires, maintenance, etc. on the bike, just the initial cost - that I'd have to ride it over 223,000 miles in order for it to pay for itself over the cost of gas in my car.
NEVER going to happen, but riding the bike has some definite advantages over the car, is tons of fun, and I'd rather throw money toward something I can keep when I'm done paying for it rather than something that's going to burn away in to the atmosphere.
DesiAuto 4:42PM (7/01/2008)
two-wheelers make perfect commuting vehicle (warm weather) ... but for some people only the International CXT would be "safe" on "free-ways".
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Frylock350 10:25AM (7/02/2008)
Would you rather hit a deer on an R6 or in a F150?
Hawk 4:45PM (7/01/2008)
As for me, I have two young children and a lovely wife. I would love to have a motorcyle but I would also love to see my children grow up and grow old with my wife. Not to mention I live in Dallas/Ft Worth. It's too damn hot to ride and have you seen the idiots who drive around these parts???
I would much rather have A/C and the added protection of a 4 wheeled vehicle. Another stat you didn't mention was the amount of motorcyle fatalities this year compared to years past. Now this is only for the state of Texas, according to the Texas Department of Transportation, there were 141 motorcyle and scooter riders who lost their lives in an accident within the first four months of this year. That's a 27% increase compared to the first four months of last year. There was also a 20% increase in the amount of injuries sustained due to traffic accidents.
I would much rather pay $4/gal right now than risk being ran over by a Tahoe driven by some soccer mom driving herself to the tanning salon.
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SITEiNK 7:07PM (7/01/2008)
I'm out here in D/FW too, I see way too many maniac bikers around here going down the freeway on one wheel at 80mph+. Those are the ones who end up smattered all over the road. I know quite a few responsible riders that have ridden for years and years with no issues.
I do think as the number of bikers on the road increases safety will also go up as the 4-wheelers will begin to take more notice.
Yea it's pretty tough to miss out on that a/c here most days. The spring and fall are great times to get out and ride.
VZ1K 10:36AM (7/02/2008)
@SITEiNK:
It's not the stunters that are dying. It's the 40 and 50-somethings with a mid life crisis, no helmet, headed to a country bar to get their drink on with the rest of Hell's Dentists.
Hawk 10:44AM (7/02/2008)
The point is, if you're in an accident riding your bike, the chances of you surviving that accident is slim, even with a helmet.
Dallas motorcycle cop in full gear bumps a freaken curb doing maybe 10mph and dies on the spot. Talk about an experienced rider who just had no chance.
It's you against the concrete. Concrete always wins.
I'll stick with my Envoy getting 16mpg.
Evotec 5:09PM (7/02/2008)
I think riding on a crowded area is really dangerous.
otherwise if you dont have the skills stay with your car.
A street legal racing bike is doing 0-60 in less then 3 seconds,170mph< topspeed and good MPG,try to match this performance with a car who costs under 15K dollars.
Adem 4:48PM (7/01/2008)
While it may initially seem cheaper to ride a motorcycle... there are a number of costs people often forget to consider. Motorcycles typically require more frequent servicing than autos. You also have to factor in the cost of gear, which can easily top $500 when you get a helmet, jacket, boots and gloves. If you're thinking about riding in the winter or rain, then you'll also need a decent pair of riding pants. There is also the cost of insurance (though my motorcycle insurance is cheaper than my auto insurance was).
I think it is a great thing that more people are going towards two wheels. I sold my car last year and have since ridden year round on my bike. I don't think I've saved THAT much money, but riding the bike sure is a lot more fun.
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Yar 4:49PM (7/01/2008)
Kind of a good excuse to buy a toy.
Looking at a 1098 myself...
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G-Meister 5:12PM (7/01/2008)
Exactly- if you buy a reasonably priced/used bike, you can recover the cost of the bike, depending on where you live and how much you drive/ride. In my instance- 50mpg on the bike and 20 in the Truck. 60miles round trip, so I could save 9 gallons a week. In Michigan you can ride about half the time, if you're hardy. So figure 20 weeks to be conservative, and we get $750-900, depending on what gas prices do. Insurance is $300 for the year, so I could recover the cost in 5-6 years. Ok, so its a streach, but its fun.
BlackCanary 4:50PM (7/01/2008)
It is also summer when sales of bikes and scooters go up. I dont doubt they are up due to gas prices but summer has has an effect.
Being able to save money by purchasing a bike/scooter and keeping your car is difficult unless you have a really crappy MPG car/truck, a really cheap bike, or you ride it all year, or really far. Usually does not work out mathmatically, depends on the situation and what you currently drive. Always works if you get rid of the car but by adding a vehicle - not always.
For example me: I drive 20 miles a day - easy commute for a bike. I drive ~1000 miles a month. At $4 a gallon I spend around $160 a month on gas (25 mpg). So if I get a bike that gets 60 mpg I would save $93 a month - but only during the months that I ride it. Lets say 6. So 12 months * 1000miles @ 25mpg given 4 gas = $1920 in annual expense. If I add a bike (60mpg @ 1000 miles per month) and ride it for 6 months a year, I can cut my gas expense down to $1520. So that leaves $400 fuel savings. I still have to buy the bike so lets assume $5000 for a decent bike. It will take 12 years to make this a smart move in my situation. Sucks cause I tried this criteria on my wife to justify a bike purchase, sucks she did the math.
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Icon149 5:07PM (7/01/2008)
not to mention tires every 5-10,000 miles depending on the bike, mine would chew through tires well before 5,000. and bike tires are expensive.
Greg 4:54PM (7/01/2008)
I love motorcycles, and I welcome more people buying them, but I hope that the new owners are interested in more than just saving money on gas. Starting to ride is just as big of a step as starting to drive- it's a new type of vehicle, the controls are all different, traction is more limited, and you have to be more aware of your surroundings. The very nature of motorcycles makes them more dependent on the rider's ability to navigate and avoid obstacles. A low speed crash in a bike is a heck of a lot more painful than a low speed fender bender.
A lot of people have run the numbers here before, but a bike also isn't a good way to save money in general. In terms of cost per mile, they're usually more expensive than cars when you factor in things like oil changes and tires.
If gas prices get more people interested in riding I'm all for it, but I hope these people are aware that bikes present their own set of challenges and probably won't save much (if any) money as well. I love mine regardless of cost and danger but I know that they aren't suitable for everyone.
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