Raising awareness of the cheapness of bikes

[rok-the-boat]

How about running a km/l test? For example, put a litre of fuel in yer bike and set off down the motorway at a constant 50-60-70 or whatever. Place bikers every 500m and record what bike gets what distance. Might create some positive publicity and show the cagers out there how much cheaper biking can be. Of course, some new mini cars do pretty good mileage too ... but what with the increases in Rego I think we need something positive to get more people onto bikes. Just a mad idea ...

[cheshirecat]

I don't think is cheaper than a car. Once you add acc premiums, oil changes and tyres. Of course it gains in other areas.

[hellokitty]

How about the fact that riding a bike is fun!!!!!!!!
More fun than driving a car :yes:

[Stirts]

I don't think is cheaper than a car. Once you add acc premiums, oil changes and tyres.

And pie stops.... it is hungry work riding a motorcycle :yes:

[st00ji]

And pie stops.... it is hungry work riding a motorcycle :yes:

i like the cut of your jib!

[cheshirecat]

How about the fact that riding a bike is fun!!!!!!!!
More fun than driving a car :yes:

I've come across research somewhere which finds that motorcycling is good for the brain - keeps it active. Well I'd never have thought!

[JimO]

i rode my 1000 from dunedin to aviemore to a while back, my son drove his 2.2 prelude with 3 people in the car fuel cost for the bike was more than the car

[sinned]

i rode my 1000 from dunedin to aviemore to a while back, my son drove his 2.2 prelude with 3 people in the car fuel cost for the bike was more than the car
If you want a bike that is cheaper to run than a good car then get a scooter.

[awayatc]

Biking Cheaper?

Tui

[boman]

It is cheaper to run my Thou, to Puhoi, than it is to run my V8 ute.

[Bonez]

How about running a km/l test?Petrol or oil?

[trailblazer]

bikes are a hobby they are not meant to be cheap.

[mattian]

[QUOTE=trailblazer;1129911031]bikes are a hobby they are not meant to be cheap.[/QUOTE ]

Biking is more than a hobby for some of us. I dont own a car. my bike is my only transport.

[danchop]

i think your missing the the obvious,doing a test of showing cagers the advantage of a bike on the motorway isnt the fuel saving,its the time saved

[Chooky]

Ha... at a recent Hampton track day my big old Honda returned 10 liters per 100 kms.
My new Mitsa double cab Triton does 8 liters per hundred.
Not a real comparison I know, but anyway, there you go... :)

[McJim]

The bikes that are more economic to run than cars are the small capacity ones. VTR250, Ninja 250 etc (not RG250 or NSR 250 though!). They make great commuters but lack the punch you really need for a good weekend blat. Bikes that are good for entertainment are usually expensive in terms of brakes, tyres, chains, quality lubricants as well as mere fuel costs....oh and the gubberment rip off charges.

[Mully]

If you have to ask those questions, a big bike isn't for you.

Just enjoy it. The '14 almost certainly costs more than our 'rola - but traffic in a car drives me mental and puts me in a foul mood at the best of times.

It's like people on Commodore listings on Trademe asking about the fuel economy. If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

[Grasshopperus]

There's also the parking costs that you avoid, 5 days in Auckland's CBD costs a car around $50 at a minimum. Bikes don't pay anything.

[maggot]

And cars are just gay.

[trailblazer]

[QUOTE=trailblazer;1129911031]bikes are a hobby they are not meant to be cheap.[/QUOTE ]

Biking is more than a hobby for some of us. I dont own a car. my bike is my only transport.
My bike is my only transport rain,hail or shine aswell.

[AllanB]

Nice idea but the cheapness of motorcycling is way back in the early 80's!

Rego
Tyres
Fuel

bla bla.


Mind you my XR6 is a bit thirsty and eats rear tyres if you hoof it (on a closed road under controlled conditions you understand).


For the price of a new big bore bike you can get a new small car - Suzuki Swift or similar that will better the fuel economy, carry 4, tyres will last 30,000 kms plus and you can have sex in the back seat if you desire.

[ducatilover]

I don't ride because it's cheaper. I do it because I love it.
My last 250 was expensive on my commute, a twisty road + spirited ridng = Rear tyre every 3-4 thousand KM. Front every 8. Pads all round every 8 thousand. Fork seals every 15k, chain and sprockets a few times. Oill changes every 4k, air filter every 10k. Etc etc.
Admittedly cheaper than the V8. Not cheaper than any of my other cars.
It used 4-5l/100km. Only bonus and I was traveling 140+km per day.
The 400 is a bit better as I ride nicer now.
The first 400 was horrid, first 250 was kind of cheap, the 650 was a money pit. Yet, always worth it.
My Morris was cheap as hell to run though :love:

Dads FJ1200 used around 12-14L/100km. His Corolla uses 7.1 on the same trip.

[tigertim20]

How about running a km/l test? For example, put a litre of fuel in yer bike and set off down the motorway at a constant 50-60-70 or whatever. Place bikers every 500m and record what bike gets what distance. Might create some positive publicity and show the cagers out there how much cheaper biking can be. Of course, some new mini cars do pretty good mileage too ... but what with the increases in Rego I think we need something positive to get more people onto bikes. Just a mad idea ...

total annual milage is gong to be a deciding factor with all the associated costs of properly maintaining a bike.

as for the economy, a couple times Ive done economy runs.
get a group together, lots of different bikes, and mmet at a petrol station. all fill up to the brim, and then you all go on a ride, the same set course for everyone, 100-200km just to be sure you get a good ride in :yes:
at the end you all meet at a gas station, and top up.
keep your receipt and look at the litres consumed (not $$, cos 91 octane is cheaper than 95, 96, 98)
then the most and least economical bikes get a prize.
can be quite interesting so see the order of bikes and their economy. more interesting the more diverse the range of bikes.
also interesting if you get two bikes the same, and have an aggressive and a timid rider and see the differences etc

[gammaguy]

It is cheaper to run my Thou, to Puhoi, than it is to run my V8 ute.


crap.

add in tyre wear,insurance,depreciation,wear and tear etc.and its cheaper to take the car.

but not so much fun huh

[mattian]

[QUOTE=mattian;1129911042]
My bike is my only transport rain,hail or shine aswell.

well then..... you've just contradicted yourself, if your bike is more than just a "hobby" for you as well.

[hellokitty]

i think your missing the the obvious,doing a test of showing cagers the advantage of a bike on the motorway isnt the fuel saving,its the time saved

I find it takes longer to ride to work than drive the car = I tend to do the "scenic" route - albany to birkdale via orewa :yes: whereas the car you just drive straight home

[Berries]

For the price of a new big bore bike you can get a new small car - Suzuki Swift or similar that will better the fuel economy, carry 4, tyres will last 30,000 kms plus and you can have sex in the back seat if you desire.
And you have a radio, warmth, can eat a pie or have a smoke without stopping, don't have a ridiculous fuel range meaning you have to stop every 90 mins for petrol, can go do a big shop in it whenever you want, rather than shopping by backpack size etc etc etc. Not forgetting of course that bikes are death traps.

You might get some money conscious earth saving vegetarian hippy vegan commuters who will jump on a scooter for the cheap fuel, free parking and being more at one with the planet, but I can't see Joe Public with his 3.4 kids dropping the Holden for a ZX1000 unless you are talking about weekend toys, which is a different matter, and not really fuel related.

[marty]

My Suzi Baleno wagon returns better than 14km/l (7l/100k or 38mpg in imperial numbers) even when stacked with 4 adults, skis and boards on the roof, doing a run to the mountain and back. I got 40000km out of the tyres ($500 to replace them ALL last week), and it's got a great stereo. It costs $50 to insure 3rd party, and is a great machine. I bought it for $1500

My Hayabusa runs 14km/l-15km/l most of the time, consumes rear tyres at the (minimum)rate of $1.50 into the tyre account/litre of fuel (a new back tyre every 3500kms if I'm taking it easy) and front tyres at half that rate. Insurance, rego, etc, etc.

Even worse, I'll probably do 50 hours in my boat this year. It burns a litre a minute at speed, I can't go anywhere in it, and it is pretty useless for anything except hooning around in and towing people really fast.

At the end of the day, who gives a fuck? If you can't afford it, sell it.

[avgas]

My focus does 5.3L per 100 km

That is eco-bike levels (single cylinder,4 stroke).....but the difference is the focus has a 50L tank. So while the bike could get slightly more - I would have to stop 4 more times. So I would lose time.
Where the focus I can drive and not stop for 10 hours. Which is not recommended lol

I ride bikes because people think its dangerous when I lean the car into a corner.

[Dave Lobster]

For the price of a new big bore bike you can get a new small car - Suzuki Swift or similar that will better the fuel economy, carry 4, tyres will last 30,000 kms plus and you can have sex in the back seat if you're a dwarf.

Adjusted for you :yes:

[Madmax]

1 litre of fuel in a thou?
would only wet the injectors

:blink:

[MarkH]

The bikes that are more economic to run than cars are the small capacity ones. VTR250, Ninja 250 etc

400cc scooters are pretty good on the gas too.


traffic in a car drives me mental and puts me in a foul mood at the best of times.

I remember needing to pick something up and using the car - it took less than 5 minutes of car driving before I was feeling pissed off, and the traffic wasn't bad or anything. My fix for that was to list the car on trade-me and get rid of the damn thing. That was over a year ago and I never regretted it.

In Auckland the transporting of more than 1 person in a car is the rare exception, 99% of cars being in Auckland seem to have only the driver in them. I'm riding along the motorway at 110kph following a Subaru WRX - I'm burning ~4L per 100km and the car I'm following is going the same speed while burning ~10L per 100km. I bought the scooter more than 2 years ago - it had <4,000km on the clock and it now has >40,000km on the clock. I've spent very little on repairs & maintenance - oil changes are every 6,000km but it only needs 1.3L of oil and a filter that costs $8.50. It has been over 2 years since the last time I paid for parking. I think tyres are costing me more, but petrol & parking are costing me less - overall the scooter IS cheaper than a car to run.

But for me the biggest reason to ride a bike/scooter instead of driving a car is that in Auckland traffic driving a car is NOT fun. Riding my scooter allows me to get where I'm going in less time while feeling less pissed off.

[Pascal]

But for me the biggest reason to ride a bike/scooter instead of driving a car is that in Auckland traffic driving a car is NOT fun. Riding my scooter allows me to get where I'm going in less time while feeling less pissed off.

Same, even in winter I'd rather be on two wheels than stuck in a car. 15 minutes to get home versus almost 45 minutes? That extra hour a day is much more valuable to me.

But speaking of small tanks. Before I got a bike I was driving a '67 Mustang. Only a 289, but filling up in Mt Albert and heading down to Hamilton would see my fill up again in Hamilton. Then make it to the gas station just outside of Taupo on fumes. Fill up again and grab some burgers at Taurangi. (?) Then fill up again at the army base. Gumboot City. You get the idea.

Not very economical, but fun as all hell.

[Juzz976]

Having a bike that uses more fuel than a car is absurd.

My TL1000R uses 5.15l per 100K riding conservatively but not nana speeds either.

Not many cars that can do that, if your bike uses much more than that then I think something needs to change.

Also how many grins per L is a major factor.

I lost 10kg (85 down to 75) when I got my first road bike, theres good incentive too.

[BMWST?]

Nice idea but the cheapness of motorcycling is way back in the early 80's!

Rego
Tyres
Fuel

bla bla.


Mind you my XR6 is a bit thirsty and eats rear tyres if you hoof it (on a closed road under controlled conditions you understand).


For the price of a new big bore bike you can get a new small car - Suzuki Swift or similar that will better the fuel economy, carry 4, tyres will last 30,000 kms plus and you can have sex in the back seat if you desire.

front wheel drive cars wont get 30000 k from a set of tyres in my experience,my big ol BMW does however,but it makes up for that in the petrol use.

[marty]

as I said - i just got 40k from my Goodyear NCT's. The front ones were fucked when I biffed them, but the rears are now on my trailer. I drive fast with lots of open road driving, but I don't do skids or shit. I might grab a second set of rims and cheap fronts for chains in the winter next year though instead of fucking my daily drive tyres (23 days on the mountain this year - probably 12 days of chain use)

[SMOKEU]

If you want a bike that is cheaper to run than a good car then get a scooter.

Or a GN250.

[Madmax]

Having a bike that uses more fuel than a car is absurd.

says who

[Rych]

Why everyone saying riding is more expensive than driving? Depends what you're riding and what you're driving. My R6 get's 100km from around 6L on average, obviously depending how hard you drive it, my Corolla around 8L, my WRX STi was around 12-13L and my evo around 10-11L.

All comes down to what, my mates CBR1000 7L for 100km... I always saved so much money when I have gone to bikes, clutch to do my evo was around 1600-2000 bucks, bike is like a 1/4 of that. Servicing every 5,000k on bike same with my cars.

Unless you own a nanner car that goes through no gas and you can get away with pretty much never servicing it then bikes are cheap!!

[Dave Lobster]

I lost 10kg (85 down to 75) when I got my first road bike,

I have an Italian one too.. I found it easier to join the AA than keep pushing the fucker home.

[rok-the-boat]

I like this idea - maybe I should go on one of these next time. My 1982 DR500 will cruise at 100km all day and wherever I go I get 25km/l without even trying.


total annual milage is gong to be a deciding factor with all the associated costs of properly maintaining a bike.

as for the economy, a couple times Ive done economy runs.
get a group together, lots of different bikes, and mmet at a petrol station.

[rok-the-boat]

Most of you guys on here seem rather negative, and illogical, about your economic bikes. Why would you compare a Hayabusa to a mini car? You should compare it to a 350 Chev V8 and a scooter to a mini car. I like bikes because for the price of a new crappest car I can get a bike that will outperform the best cars in the world. To me, bikes have always been the cheaper way to the Big Grin.

You guys need to change your minds - bikes have more of a future than cars. Petrol is likely to double in price over the next year, if not sooner. In 20 years we'll be back on horses. Greece needs another bailout, Ireland and Portugal have their hands out, and the UK is likely next. The value of the money in your pocket decreases with every bailout and the result will be rising petrol. Wait and see.

And Yup - Bikes will rule OK (Hayabusa or scooter)

[The Stranger]

Most of you guys on here seem rather negative, and illogical, about your economic bikes. Why would you compare a Hayabusa to a mini car?

Why indeed? It was cheaper to run my ss than my gsxr 1000. Fuel was marginally better but the tyres on the SS were cheaper and didn't expire every 2,000km.
Sure the bike is more fun, but you may recall the subject of the thread was cheapness, not fun.

[Madmax]

I have an Italian one too.. I found it easier to join the AA than keep pushing the fucker home.

been there

:mellow:

[breakaway]

My GSXR 1000 got 230km to a bout $30 of gas, and that's highway riding, would be worse in the city. Nissan shitbox gets around the same. Only, the bike's tyres, chains, rego, services are more expensive. And on longer trips, it's nice to have the car, to be warm during winter and to be cool in summer.

For me the bike is a hobby, a weekend toy, definitely not something to get around on. If I'm expecting to encounter heavy traffic / problems with parking (like in the CBD) I take the bike.

[mrchips]

It's slighlty cheaper to commute the 1,400 km/ month on my CBR to work than take my SS or the looser cruiser.

I do all my own maintenance, 2CT tyres are awesome + free parking for bikes.

The fun factor getting about in my bogan mobile & on my bikes is priceless. You simply can't put a $ figure on that.