Motorcycle cost per mile?

[supton]

Years ago, before I bought my TDi, I did out the math, and came up with something like 20 cents/mile. Insurance and registration not included; back then I was driving >30kmiles/year so those kinda didn't matter (plus, it's not like I was going to not own a vehicle!). It was like 10cents depreciation, 5 cents fuel and 5 cents maintance/repair. Repairs haven't been bad, fuel of course has gone up. I'd have to dig up the sheet again, but, I did attempt to keep costs low.

What do motorcycles run? My knowledge is zip; if I did pursue one, I'd have to go to an all weekend course to just get my permit etc, so it's not like I plan on just zipping around w/o any proper instruction. Seems like I looked at it one time before, and came up with "not all that cheaper than my TDi". New tires every 10k, chain maintance, no a/c nor heat, and then all the personal protective gear. And something like a 100kmile lifespan.

Can a 70mpg motorcycle compete with a 40mpg commuter?

 

[Artem]

You're obviously only going to ride it when the weather is good and if you go easy on it, you should be able to squeeze out more life outta every component.

Chain maintenance is something you do in the garage with a spray can. Not THAT expensive, if you ask me.

I personally always bought used tires either online on locally and only had to pay for gas when I had my Honda CBR600RR sport bike. (You can do the same with a car, to keep cost down even more.)

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: supton

Can a 70mpg motorcycle compete with a 40mpg commuter?

First of all, very few motorcycles will actually get 70 mpg. That aside, looking at various forums and other internet sources, I see figures thrown out that vary from about $0.40 to about $1.00 per mile. I guess it really depends on the type of bike.

Even if a motorcycle can "compete" with a 40 mpg commuter in terms of cost per mile, it'll never compete with a car in terms of safety, comfort, and practicality.

 

[womcat]

I did the math on commuting with my bike that gets 40-45 mpg vs my car that gets 30. I only figured in operating costs, i.e. gas, oil changes and tires. It was actually a bit cheaper to use the car, but not by much. Of course as gas prices goes up, the bike starts pulling ahead. The cost of tires is what really eats up the savings.

 

[svhanc]

I looked at it for trying to justify buying a motorcycle. It just didn't work out.
I also looked at it for what the savings were if you used a motorcycle that you had already as a hobby. For that analysis, it came up better. Once you take away the fixed costs (insurance, gear, etc) and focus on the variable costs (tires, gas, oil, etc), the motorcycle looks better. Motorcycles have much higher tire costs, about even on oil, and lower fuel costs depending on the bike and car you are comparing.
Bottom line for me was I like riding a motorcycle, but it is not an everyday practical vehicle for my life. It is mostly a fun weekend playtoy with nice weather commuting as part of the package. You need to love riding your motorcycle for it to be justifiable.

 

[supton]

I like bicycling; years ago I had a moped. That was fun, but rather impratical in NH hills.

Pretty much what I figured. For a toy vehicle, not bad. For low cost commuting, not so much. Given our winter/spring/fall, it doesn't make much sense--unless I actually liked it. Since I've never driven a motorcycle, it doesn't seem wise to bother learning.

Thanks all.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

"Can a 70mpg motorcycle compete with a 40mpg commuter?"

NO! Not unless gas goes to 8 bucks a gallon.

 

[Cujet]

The MPG savings are clearly offset by tire costs.

 

[tom slick]

Ride a motorcycle because you enjoy it but because you think it is "cheap". Comparing all costs there isn't any great savings commuting on a bike once you consider maintenance, repair, and resale.

The cheapest way to commute is buy a cheap used commuter car for cash. Get basic insurance and drive it until the wheel fall off then buy another.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: supton

Can a 70mpg motorcycle compete with a 40mpg commuter?

First of all, very few motorcycles will actually get 70 mpg. That aside, looking at various forums and other internet sources, I see figures thrown out that vary from about $0.40 to about $1.00 per mile. I guess it really depends on the type of bike.

Even if a motorcycle can "compete" with a 40 mpg commuter in terms of cost per mile, it'll never compete with a car in terms of safety, comfort, and practicality.


I dunno what your talking about. I got 75mpg with our Shadow once, doing 75mph on the highway. And that's a 27 year old, carbeurated bike. Your telling me newer FI ones that weigh about the same can't do better?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
Your telling me newer FI ones that weigh about the same can't do better?

I'm telling you that a lot of bikes sold today have larger engines and are heavier than your Shadow, and that kills mpg. Go on fuelly and look at various bike mpg figures. The ones that get 70 mpg are in minority.

By the way it's fairly difficult to get 70+ mpg out of any 500cc bike, even a 20-year-old one. Mine gets about 55 mpg, and as far as I know your Shadow is rated at about the same. Your 75 mpg result was either a fluke or you were just trying really hard. I'm not saying it's impossible though. What is your extended combined average mpg, from say 10 tanks?

70+ mpg is typically scooter or small bike territory (up to 250cc).

 

[WANG]

For straight commuting, a scooter begs consideration.

 

[supton]

45 miles, one way, to work. 75% if not more is 50+mph; have of it is highway. Backroads would be further. Scooter is out.

I might go used next time; 3 years old max. Tired of the yearly repairs, in some ways it's worth it (to me) to buy new and "know" I have 3 or 4 years w/o repairs due to wear and tear. My yearly milage is about 22kmiles/year commuting; another 3-5k is random trips. Getting the car into the shop generally means taking a day off from work and sometimes dealing with rental cars (can't borrow the wife's car). An all-around nuisance.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Bikes are not MPG champs. My wife's old Sukuki touring bike (1979, 1000cc) only managed high 30's for mileage. My mother's Suzuki Savage (2003, 650cc) only manages about 40-42. For mileage, Liz's Festiva matched or beat the Savage and her Metro absolutely trounces it.

 

[mrsilv04]

I've lost about $3000 in value on my Goldwing in a little over 9 years, while putting 78,000 miles on it.

Insurance and depreciation are virtually the same, at about $325 a year.

Mileage is right at 40 miles per gallon. Biggest expense is tires, at $400 a set installed (every 15,000 miles).

And 70 mpg on a Shadow? Maybe with a 70 mile an hour tailwind.

 

[Silk]

To commute on a motorcycle you need a commuter motorcycle....probably not as common in the US as other countries. As mentioned the biggest draw back is tyres - for the same price as some budget tyres for my car I can get some medium range tyres for my bike. Those tyres should last 40,000 to 60,000km on the car, and my bike goes through front and rear tyres in 5,000km. I would get more out of them commuting , but still nowhere near as long as the car.

 

[Nick R]

I filled it to the brim, drove 80 miles, and then put a little more than a gallon to fill it to the same level. =|

 

[eljefino]

+7 on the tire costs.

I have a yamaha xv750 that manages 50-51 MPG. A rear tire costs $60 and is good for maybe 6-8000 miles. Front tire is wearing at a slower rate, might be good for 15-20k. Think "axles worth of tires to cover 50k miles" and a car will come out ahead.

There are no tire deals for bikes, though. I'd put a used tire on my car; I do all the time. For bikes, that's more hairy than I'm comfortable with. Summers are short here and people don't ride, then their used tire is a decade old and not safe.

Here's the thing though, if you can pull 50 MPG like me it's like owning a prius, but a lot more fun. And if it gets you into a carpool lane or advantageous city parking downtown, a bike could be SERIOUSLY worth it in both saved time and fuel costs related to traffic congestion.

The typical fuel advantage is for the juvenile boy in a man's body who drives a V8 pickup that gets 12 MPG then picks up a harley on credit and brags about $10 tanks of gas. Irregardless of the fact that he's filling the harley 4x as often for miles covered because of the reduced range...

 

[whip]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: supton

Can a 70mpg motorcycle compete with a 40mpg commuter?

First of all, very few motorcycles will actually get 70 mpg. That aside, looking at various forums and other internet sources, I see figures thrown out that vary from about $0.40 to about $1.00 per mile. I guess it really depends on the type of bike.

Even if a motorcycle can "compete" with a 40 mpg commuter in terms of cost per mile, it'll never compete with a car in terms of safety, comfort, and practicality.

And the car can't "compete" with a bike for fun. Can we put a price on fun?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: whip
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: supton

Can a 70mpg motorcycle compete with a 40mpg commuter?

First of all, very few motorcycles will actually get 70 mpg. That aside, looking at various forums and other internet sources, I see figures thrown out that vary from about $0.40 to about $1.00 per mile. I guess it really depends on the type of bike.

Even if a motorcycle can "compete" with a 40 mpg commuter in terms of cost per mile, it'll never compete with a car in terms of safety, comfort, and practicality.

And the car can't "compete" with a bike for fun. Can we put a price on fun?

True. All this needs to be considered.