buying a motorcycle (gas rant + your thoughts please)

[Nick]

Gas rant:

With 87 octane going for $4.19, times are tough. They’re bound to get tougher yet, as the price of gas is certainly bound to reach $5 and maybe beyond before it stabilizes.

At present, I get 11MPG city. Yes, traffic is that bad here. Yes, my maintenance is immaculate. Yes, I’m moving to Upstate NY, where there’s a lot less traffic and most of my miles will be highway. Even then, if Bob98SR5, fuster, slosurfer (hi Chris) MLT or any member here can perform miracles over the web and agrees to grant my truck the holy grail of 4Runner mileage: 22MPG…it’s still not going to be any easier on my wallet, not really. A few dollars here, a few there, it’s a trivial difference when I gas up at the pump. Ok, so, I don’t eat one day a week (Mondays suck anyway), so what.

My issue:

As of July ’08, I’m living off student loans and am therefore on a student loan budget. My apartment is threadbare and I don’t mind at all. I like the Rochester area. I’ll have to drive about a total of 60 miles daily, this being to and from campus. From mid-November to late January, I’ll be working at a Toyota dealership. 120 miles daily. Hopefully full-time. Then again, all summer I’ll be working, same deal. Come Fall, again with the 11 week semester routine. (I’m doing the T-TEN program, if anyone is curious)

This accumulation of miles burns a serious hole in my wallet. I feel ridiculous spending a huge portion of my student loans on gas. I love my truck and it’s great for winter weather…think lake effect snow. Tons of it. But for all the other seasons….

Proposed solution:

I think I’ll buy a motorcycle for commuting. 250cc. Honda Nighthawk/Rebel, Kawasaki Ninja 250, Suzuki GZ250, Yamaha Virago. Maybe a KLR 650. Great gas mileage for all of them, 60+ MPG possible. I ride easy. Insurance will be dirt cheap for me (cheers for USAA). I’m a beginner rider and engine size will be sufficient for me. Spare parts all over the place for them and they’re all pretty reliable machines to begin with.

I’m a responsible driver. I have no points on my license and I’ve never gotten as much as a parking ticket. I drive 55-65 whenever possible. I think racing is great fun and should be kept on the track or similar. I LOVE to drive fast but I think in most highway conditions, or at least the ones that I see around here, it’s pretty unsafe. The motorcycle will be supplemented by a full plethora of leathers. I don’t care how I look and I’m not about do to wheelies or throw it around corners, I’m cautious. I realize I’m still at the mercy of others but from what I’ve seen and from the people I know, most bike accidents happen because people do dumb things intentionally.

I figure I’ll have to cough up money initially, but, it’ll pay off in the long run. It’ll also be cheaper then buying a used Tercel or whatever and paying for repairs on a high-mileage vehicle. Since getting my '96 4Runner with 57k on it last November (67k now) I've had to replace the following: alternator, starter, front sway bar links, rusted out muffler, front 02 sensor, one cracked rim, and last but not least broken door handle. Now, routine stuff since I got it; new tires, new battery, rotors, brake pads, engine gaskets, all new belts and hoses and other small stuff. I also had it undercoated. I'm also sure that there's more that I don't remember. I figure, if I had to do all this on my truck, I'll probably wind up dumping a significant amount of money into a heavily used gas miser as well. I could just buy a brand new motorcycle outright. never mind used.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I think I have it worked out well enough but certainly there are caveats or things I haven't thought of.

EDIT: Should have mentioned two things (thanks scottiac!):

a) I'm 5 foot 9 , weighing in at 180 lbs.
b) freeway vs street: in the area I'm considering, it's relatively easy to stick to the streets/back-roads and make good time/mileage as well. I'll hit the freeway if I can, though.

[scottiac]

Just a minor consideration about a bike... a 250 is a pretty darn light bike for freeway speeds, depending on your weight. I have a 1983 nighthawk 450 which is no rocket under my 200# carcass. If you are doing mostly city stuff, it's fine though. The KLR was my wish-list bike for a long time.

[4Mogger]

I have been riding motorcycles for almost as long as I have been walking. You logic is a little flawed. I figure that I have survived the highway simply because I have not pushed the odds there. The more time you spend on the pavement, the greater your odds of becoming the subject of someone else's mistake. DAILY when I ride on the street, I have someone try to take me out. Too many people drinking their starbucks, talking on the phone, etc. Yes, you need skill to control the bike, but the real skill is in predicting stupid.

You may save money on gas on a bike. But without a great deal of skill (only way to get is by experience) and even more luck, you will likely get yourself hurt...or worse. I ride for fun. I would never ride for NEED...not by choice anyway.

I think you should trade off your 4X4 for a econo car that you would not get bent to make a payment on if you needed to. Supercharged Mini? Something like that. I test drove one and they are fun and easy on gas if you can stay out of the throttle.

You can get a 4x4 again after you graduate. This way you keep your body in one piece and live to wheel another day. And then you too can still enjoy your coffee on your commute.

I still have wrist pain from breaking both wrists when I laid down my Nighthawk 750 at 65mph in 1989. I was just taking a turn too fast and lost it. It gave me all kinds of perspective and changed the way I ride and they way I live. We are mortal. I just found out the hard way.

Just my .02.

[Bob98SR5]

im in agreement with 4mogger. have 2 friends did what you want to do. have 2 friends who had accidents and/or very near life ending incidents. both sold their bikes.

[fustercluck]

I'm right there with you relative to modifying behavior to fit within the confines of your budget. I think though, that Mogger has an undeniable point. There is a cost/benefit to erring on caution's side.

This is not to say that you have no other options though. When I was in my early twenties, I had a muscle car with a flush toilet for carburetion. Gas was climbing beyond my stunted pay scale, so I bought a little beater toyota corrola...I think it was a 75. It cost 500.00 It had a two barrel carb and got killer gas mileage. It was not as great as a motorcycle nor as sporty, but I could afford to drive it. In fact, it was ugly as sin and the headliner sagged down to my forehead. You get the point; 500 bones does not a dream buy.

Fortunately, I still had my muscle car for dates and occasional fun....

By the way, when the time came to sell it, I made back my principle plus 200.00. Not bad for a beginner.

[4runnerchevy]

I think you should trade off your 4X4 for a econo car that you would not get bent to make a payment on if you needed to. Supercharged Mini? Something like that. I test drove one and they are fun and easy on gas if you can stay out of the throttle.

Just my .02.

Well worth .02 cents

[hillbilly]

I still have wrist pain from breaking both wrists when I laid down my Nighthawk 750 at 65mph in 1989. I was just taking a turn too fast and lost it. It gave me all kinds of perspective and changed the way I ride and they way I live. We are mortal. I just found out the hard way.

I have some experience in this department too, so here's my $.02:

My parents would never let me have a bike (motorcycle). I begged them for a bike. The only answer I ever got was, "You'll get one when you buy it yourself." As a 10 yr old, I worked a paper route and mowed lawns for years hoping to save money for a bike. I got my first "real job" at about 16 as a service/gas station attendant in high school. The first thing I did shortly thereafter... bought a bike. A nice, slightly used Honda XL 200 from a friend. Great bike and super cheap on insurance and gas. Mom wasn't happy about it, but she kept her word even though she probably never that it would happen.

I traded up to a Honda XL650 (similar to the KLR650) a couple years later, toward the middle of my senior year of high school. Still a great low budget bike for a high school/college guy. I eventually went away to college and left the XL650 at home the first couple years to ride during the summers. I eventually got a job near school at end of my second year of college, so having many years of riding/road experience, I brought the bike down to tool back-n-forth to work.

On a clear, sunny afternoon, a taxi ran a stop sign in front of me. I T-boned the late 80's Chevy Caprice square in the drivers side door at about 40mph, sending me hurling over its roof and crashing to the pavement about 25-30 yards down the street. After tumbling to a stop not one block from my apartment, I only recall people standing over me. I recall seeing the helmet that likely saved my life, broken in the street behind those trying to comfort me till the ambulance arrived. I can recall only small segments of the events immediately after the wreck.

I had road rash all over my elbows, forearms, legs, knees, and the top of my right hand was ripped to open in several places from shattering the drivers door window on impact. There was a large hole at the bottom of my right knee cap. I was strapped to a spine board in agony and unable to comfort any of my pains while being X-ray from head to toe. The pain of a betadine scrub brush in open wounds is indescribable.

Since then, I've had three surgeries on my left wrist/hand to repair a completely fractured Navicular. I've had "permanent screws" implanted, only to have them removed after they failed. About 4-5 years ago I had to have a PRC (Proximal Row Carpectomy) procedure on the same hand after it was discovered the entire bottom row of carpals were broken/dead. I now have 4 few bones in my left hand than my right. The PRC procedure will fail in about 10 years. My only option is a wrist fusion, at which point they'll take a bone graph from my hip and permanently lock my wrist in place.

The summer of my accident, I worked at Calgon Carbon in KY with a guy that lost his long term memory due to injuries suffered after being whipped out by an unsuspected motorist. He literally drove to work everyday, whether he was scheduled to work or not, just so he wouldn't forget how to get to work and back home. He lost all memory of his childhood, his parents, family, and his children's childhood. Ever seen the movie "50 First Dates"?? That was his life. I wish I had seen the writing on the wall a little sooner.

This obviously doesn't happen to everyone that rides a bike, but it does happen. The point is, on a bike you have little to no protection from the several ton vehicles traveling just a few feet away. Someone else's seemingly little mistake, which may have only been a fender bender if another car were involved, can quickly change your life just because you're on a motorcycle.

Motorcycles can definitely be cheaper. But you need to evaluate your driving environment. If its even fairly congested with traffic or in a significantly urban setting, I have to agree with 4Mogger, you might be wise to go the econo car route and save yourself a great deal of trouble.

HTH.

[corax]

All great advice. Remember too that even on back roads you'll need to watch out for deer and other animals running out in front of you. I've seen too many blood stains on Cali highways to even pull my bike out of the trailer anymore (2 weeks ago I saw a Harley wedged under the front of a buick and some poor guy lying in a pool of his own blood, the stain is still on the highway). If you want fuel economy, buy a Metro, they're inexensive and will at least give you a chance.

Take 12 minutes and watch this video. Riding is fun, but like 4mogger said "I ride for fun. I would never ride for NEED"
http://www.livevideo.com/video/Maxxi...r-a-biker.aspx

[hillbilly]

Jesus man... a couple of those are like deja'vu.

[Seanz0rz]

hate to jump on the wagon, but i would never ride a motorcycle. ive seen far too many fatal or near fatal accidents on them... its just not worth the savings in gas. get a TDI rabbit or jetta or something of the sort, 50+ mpg, and not a COMPLETE death trap (might want to put a cage in just incase. haha)