2nd bike for commuting?

[chickenfunkstar]

Hi,

I was just wondering how many of you have a second bike which you use for commuting.
Obviously a smaller bike would be cheaper to run, but is alot cheaper?

At the moment i'm spending about
$8 per 100kms on petrol
$5 per 100kms on tires
$4 per 100kms for servicing.

Currently I do about 500km of commuting per week so taking the SV to uni costs about $85 per week, which is quite abit of money for a student.

How long do tyres on, say a GN250 cost and how long do they last for?
I'd imagine that a 'commuting bike' would be quite cheap to service.
I'd probably save a wee bit on petrol.

Do you think it would be worth my while buying a 2nd bike just to get to uni and back everyday?

Could a smaller bike handle doing 100kms per day every day? I do quite a bit of motorway / open road riding.

Thanks

CFS

[placidfemme]

eh but then your paying 2 lots of insurance... 2 lots of WOF... 2 lots of Rego... is that really worth it all?

[Sniper]

Yep, get a smaller bike,always saves money

[texmo]

My scooter gets about 110miles to the gallon

[froggyfrenchman]

100kms a day is a lot for a comuter. If ur used to a sv, the new bike will end up parked up anyway, especially if its open road most of the way

[texmo]

get a gilera runner $4k for a second hand one in really good condition, it will do 140km/hr all day long its automatic so really easy to drive, specially in the morning.

[rogson]

In NZ bikes are no cheaper than cars to own!
What they deliver is fun, lifestyle and satisfaction!
Sure, a nifty-fifty will consume less gas than a 1000cc bike on a daily commute - but.......yawn........
Any bike will mitigate the main enemy - long/boring/frustrating commutes (I'm talking city here), but do you really want to do it on a plonker?
Not me!

[zadok]

I would think the SV would be economical enuf. Presumably you are commuting 100km per day. I wouldn't want to be doing that on a small bike. I suspect two bikes would equate to false economy.

[oldfart]

Plus, if your commuting from Helensvile, that's mainly open road. Your 650 is probably a good size

[chickenfunkstar]

If I did this, I was still planning to keep the SV.
I don't have any problems commuting on it at the moment. i.e. its not as though its too big and too hard to manover in the city.

Its just that $85 per week is alot of money when your weekly income is only about $170.

[zadok]

If I did this, I was still planning to keep the SV.
I don't have any problems commuting on it at the moment. i.e. its not as though its too big and too hard to manover in the city.

Its just that $85 per week is alot of money when your weekly income is only about $170.
In reality you are only forking out $40 for petrol every week. You don't service and put tyres on it all the time. You could have six months or more to save for that.

[justsomeguy]

Don't buy another bike T - unless you want to preserve your SV for years to come.

When you add the extra purchase/wof/rego/servicing costs and the loss of money on depreciation on the commuter bike you may find that it may be cheaper to simply ride the SV until you finish your studies.

Also the SV already has a high Km count so it will worth keeping until it blows up......

My 5c

[steved]

Get a flat closer to town for $20 a week more, saving $40 in fuel = :drinkup:

[White trash]

$12 per 100km for fuel
$31.25 per 100km for tyres
$0 for servicing coz I can't afford it.

Wheelieing off the throttle at 160kph in 3rd? Priceless.

Get a Gixxer 1K sonny, it's worth not eating for.

[dhunt]

My work mate rides a suzuki rmx50 to work everyday, brilliant for commuting if you ask me. Does around 100km/h what more can you ask for :)

[mikey]

$12 per 100km for fuel
$31.25 per 100km for tyres
$0 for servicing coz I can't afford it.

Wheelieing off the throttle at 160kph in 3rd? Priceless.

Get a Gixxer 1K sonny, it's worth not eating for.


whats servicing , mate?

[Zapf]

I use my CB400 for commuting...

Bike cost... $4000

$7.5 / 100k petrol
$4.125 / 100k for tires (assuming 8000km for 1 set of sport demons)

dono about maintance yet...

[FEINT]

I use my CB400 for commuting, I pay $12 for 220km. IT is the cost of registration, insurance, WOF that annoys me! I still prefer riding the 636, but parking the CB400 around is great, don't have to worry about it being stolen etc.

If you want it, I am considering selling it.......

[chickenfunkstar]

Hmmm, mostly no's eh?

I thought that getting a second bike was a really good idea when I first thought about it. I'll have to have a rethink.

It looks as though sometime soon i'll have $1.5k to spend on something, thats why I was thinking about getting a commuting bike.

Maybe its finally time to do something about the SV's rubbish suspension???

[The Stranger]

CBR1100XX was costing just over $10.00 a hundred K.
Fitted a K&N now it is costing about $9.00 a hundred K.
Bloody pleased with that result as Fuel has gone up during the test and you get more power and ridability to boot.

[Smorg]

I commute on my 600 weighs a ton but im getting quite adept at getting it in and out of traffic i find it economical enough for me an i nail it whenever i can. But the point was made before 2 bikes 2 WOF's 2 rego's and to lots of matinence is it worth it in the end???

[chickenfunkstar]

I commute on my 600 weighs a ton but im getting quite adept at getting it in and out of traffic i find it economical enough for me an i nail it whenever i can. But the point was made before 2 bikes 2 WOF's 2 rego's and to lots of matinence is it worth it in the end???


It would probably be cheaper, i'd probably save alot more than $300 (cost of an extra reg + WOF) per year. But maybe it wouldn't be 'worth it' though.
I'm sure old north rd would be alot more fun on an SV as opposed to a GN250.

I've got a couple of weeks to think about before i'll even be in the position to buy a commuting bike anyway.

[phantom]

Been through this with the cage at home. We have a 3 litre petrol Pajero which we need as a tow car for our weekend business, and she who keeps me warm at night uses it to take the young 'un to school in the morning and then into town for her work. seems really wasteful but looked into the economics of buying a cheap commuter and having to warrant, insure and register two vehicles would pay for a lot of petrol

[WRT]

I reckon fit a air filter and maybe a power commander? You might notice a bit more fuel efficiency, plus some more power and better running . . .

[Pancakes]

Hey Feint, your 4 hundy uses the same amount of gas as my gn250. I read the thread a while ago about bigger bikes not costing much more (or more at all) to run and I 'spose it makes sense if your going the same speed and accellerating the same. Ohhh though. I'd pay more for gas to be able to take off faster and do more than 110 without licking my gas-cap. How about people posting ideas that help get the most out of bikes easily, filters etc. Whats a power commander?

[chickenfunkstar]

Its not so much the extra gas that the 650 uses over a smaller bike, on a smaller bike i'd be lucky to save more than $5 - $10 per week.

Where i'd imagine that I would save money is in areas like tyres and general maintanance (sp?).

BrianGB - How long do the tyres on your GN last for?
Do you have any idea how much it costs for a new set?
I gather a power commander contains a different fuel map for the ECU, which makes a fuel injected bike run better.

Thanks

CFS

[geoffm]

I am looking at the same exercise - I was using the Beemer to commute over Christmas, and $550 set of tyres etc really cost. I am looking at a scooter, cheap and disposable (brand new for $2k, so second hand must be a lot less) - but I am only doing 10km. 50km each way would really suck...
Geoff

[Ixion]

I am looking at the same exercise - I was using the Beemer to commute over Christmas, and $550 set of tyres etc really cost. I am looking at a scooter, cheap and disposable (brand new for $2k, so second hand must be a lot less) - but I am only doing 10km. 50km each way would really suck...
Geoff
Tis why I bought Li'l Ratty. Not so much tyres or petrol (though savings there help) , but mainly the thought of how much it would cost for replacement BMW parts if some prat knocked the Whale over in the car park, or I dropped it in traffic. BMW mirrors, bars, levers etc cost the EARTH.

And for commuting (about 40km each way each day) Ratty is just as fast and easier to ride. Anything over 120kph in commuter traffic is asking for attention from Mr Plod I reckon.

Costs an extra rego though, and two warrants.I don't think maintenance is any more because when you're not using a bike it isn't wearing out (in general)

Overall I reckon the savings on tyres and petrol at least balance out the extra rego/warrant. For some folk having the second bike as a fall back if the first one breaks down/won't start etc could be useful too.

[Oakie]

Well i reckon another bike will cost you $25 a week for rego, warrant and insurance. Take that off the $85 a week you said for petrol for the big bike and that leaves $60 a week better off. 500km a week commuting at the economy of something like an FXR150 is $25 for gas so take that off the $60 and you're left $35 a week better off ignoring stuff like serviceing and tyres.
Then think of the outlay for a new bike. Is it worth paying $1500 / $2000 to save $35 a week? In the long term it is but how much longer will you be doing the big commute for?
I understand the problem but perhaps think of it in terms of 'it's costing me just $35 a week to ride a bike suited to the task rather than something too small'. Might ease the pain a little.

[Pwalo]

I use my bike pretty well exclusively for commuting, and to be honest I don't think that the 500 costs me any more than a 125 would.

I get over 65mpg, and can easily get over 6,000ks from a set of BT45s. Servicing costs are between $200 to $300 per year (tappets, and carb syncs are pretty reasonable for an aircooled two valve twin). Tyres are pretty reasonable if you're not running the latest sports rubber.

In fact I sat down one time and did a spreadsheet estimating running cost vs saved time, parking costs, fares, etc. for my old GS. Even with repayments factored in the bike still saved me money.

At the moment I can fill up the bike weekly with 98 for less than $8.00. It would cost me that much daily in public transport. Even spending a bit on extras like a small fairing and uprated suspension still leave it as a viable transport option.

The other good thing about the GS is that depreciation is not too bad. Honestly I'm not an accountant, just .........

Anyway I reckon you'd be better off getting a nice replacement shock, progressive springs, or emulators for the front of the SV rather than getting another bike.

Ciao.

[Jono]

My work mate rides a suzuki rmx50 to work everyday, brilliant for commuting if you ask me. Does around 100km/h what more can you ask for :)

How much would a semi decent rmx50 cost? Ive seen a few pics of them and they look cool and better than a scooter!! + i could go for the odd blat on my mates paddock.

100k? Thats fast for a 50! How much work has he done to it? What would they put out standard and would they be easy to road register? I imagine they wont be too hard as they come with lights etc. But would it cost much?

[MrMelon]

I use the street magic all week. Costs about $8 to fill and a tank lasts a week and a half. It might go through 1 tyre a year too! but they're only $60 so thats ok. It takes a litre of 2 stroke oil every couple of months too. but doesn't cost anything to service, doesn't need warrants, and rego's about $70 a year.

[JimO]

the trouble with buying a cheaper/smaller bike is if it shits itself you havnt saved anything if it was me i would continue to use the sv. at the end of last year my wifes carparking went up from $18 to $28 a week and we decided to drag the old 750 out and she could use it for commuting. cost the rego $ 200plus, new rear tyre $ 200 plus new brake hoses and disc pads for a wof, new battery, new helmet and jacket all up it was over $1200 all to save 10bucks a week. On the plus side the bike is uasable now

[Timber020]

Okay heres how you can save money with the SV.

Dont register or wof it,ditch the license plate. huge saving in cost and it means that your tires will go that extra distance because they dont have to be to wof standards. And because you can ride like Ghostrider you wont get tickets as you have no plate!

Its perfect, if you really want to save more money you can disconnect the speedo (as the speed is irrelevant to you anyhow). Because your doing no kms your bike doesnt need serviceing!

Stay tuned, coming up next, world hunger!

[Shadows]

I thought long and hard about keeping the rat bike for commuting but I think it would be a shame to not use the new pride and joy as often as possible. Waste of money keeping the shitter on the road.

[MikeL]

Getting a smaller bike just for commuting is probably not justified if you only look at the economics. I originally only kept the CB-1 after I bought a bigger bike because I couldn't sell it for what I thought it was worth. I don't regret hanging on to it because it's small and light and fun to ride and when it gets knocked over by some prat reversing his car it doesn't cost the earth to fix. The saving in petrol over the 1200 wasn't a major factor before, but I suppose with fuel prices what they are now it has become a bit more relevant. What I have noticed is that the tyre wear on the 400 is a lot less than on the 1200. The Pirellis seem to go on forever.
The CB-1 has done almost 70,000 km now and I reckon I've got my money's worth out of it. When it dies I probably won't replace it.

[Bonez]

I'd just use the SV. It'll work out cheaper in the long run.

It's not to hard the manage rego/wof etc on a few bikes. Been doing it for years. Just buy old clunkers that nobody seems interested in for pocket change and go for it. If things get tight just throw one on hold. If they get binned just recycle what you can and get another old clunker. Aquire a workshop manual and learn to do your own, or at least some, of the servicing yourself. It's surprising how much you can save by doing this.

The GB400 gets around 280-320 on it's main which is 14 ltrs I think. Gerty gets around the same on an approx 16 ltr main, not too bad considering how old they are. Each has around 3 ltr reserve. 18" and 19" inch tires a generally cheaper than 17" offerings. Use 91 petrol in both bikes, which doesn't seem to hamper performance. The GB is a breeze around town but in saying the Gerty isn't to much of a handfull either and other vehicles tend to notice her better. Wider handle bars help while commuting on a bigger bike.

[fishb8nz]

My workmate has a GN250 and he's 110 kg and just replaced his back tyre after 17000 km. Fuel consumption is better on my BMW F650 than the GN. I get 75-80 mpg doing a daily 30 km each way. Tyres on my bike will last 10K, but as previously pointed out I don't save any money by running a motorbike. If I added purchase price, servicing costs, rego, insurance etc, then that's a whole heap of gas for my car.
My previous bike, a GN125, was actually cheaper than running the car as it cost so little to buy and got 120 mpg but 50 km, each way is a long way for a little bike. Stay with your present bike, I reckon.

[SARGE]

im actually gona grab a GN or a TU250 forcommuting and for the Mrs. i hate putting kms on the FJ.. already squared the back tire off ( after 12000 km of motorway) and she HATES slow speed commuting.. damn cams anyway..

[surfchick]

i was just thinking the srv250 is super economical-
$9.40 to fill, and over 250 kms to the tank of town & m/way running.
i have been basically a motorcycle courier doing tape running for a film over the last year...
on this bike your 72 bucks would turn into $18.80.

it cains it on the motorway no proplem (my commute is from te atatu pen) and i do 50kms a day...
when i bought it i beat another guy who wanted zis growley v-twin as a 2nd bike to commute from whangaparoa. beat him to it but... had it for over a year & it never needed work done yet... it's nice an narrow for those squeezs 'tween twucks and cars and utes and...

[Freakshow]

I am riding a GSX 250 and I have worked out that it costs me 19c/km and hat includes gas, tyres, rego, Wof, oil, filters etc & Insurance everything except Depreciation. And that is commuting to work plus extras so 40km a week day and maybe more on the weekends...

[SlowHand]

100kms a day, so i use a cage

i see your on this umm "new" thread cfc. buy my push bike biarch!

[chickenfunkstar]

Thought seriously about it for a while, but in the end came to a sort of dillemma :

If I got something like a GN250 i'd save a reasonable amount of money, but it wouldn't really suit the open road riding which I do quite a bit of on my commute.

If I got something like a GS500 or CB400, it'd be fine for open road riding, but with only marginally less power than the SV I wouldn't really save much at all. Running costs aside, given the choice, i'd rather ride my SV650 than a GS500 or CB400.

Anyway, i've still got the SV, 82,000km and rising. Should have plenty of life left in her yet.

[miSTa]

You can't go to far wrong with the SV. As for the mileage, as long as it's running perfectly and is reliable it doesn't matter.

Having two bikes is false economy. I picked up a little 400 the other week for commuting and now I wish I hadn't. I'm not gaining nor am I losing anything so there is no benefit in having two but potentionally more repair cost.

Perhaps more importantly is the different riding styles need for two bikes. The 400 and the 1100 are obviously quite different to ride and I don't think that I'm doing myself any favours with riding technique by chopping and changing bikes.

For me the answer is going to be to sell both bikes and buy something more of an all-rounder.

[Soggy]

I use my CB400 for commuting, I pay $12 for 220km.
My wee little GN takes 12 every 220+ish aswell :weird:
Havent had to replace the tyres yet and commuting on the motorway when its not busy is a bit of a hassle trying to get it that last little bit from 90-100 (im just over a 100kg :violin: )

[Ixion]

I don't think the real saving in having a rat bike are from fuel or tyres (though those help) . It will be more what you will gain on the main bike being mint and low mileage when you come to sell it/ trade it in. Commuting inevitably knocks a bike around. And expensive bikes usuall equal expensive parts, when it gets scraped, knocked over in car park, etc.

If your 'main" bike is already a rat, then it's not worth it.

[SwanTiger]

Buy a Hyosung!

To do 500km commuting on the GT650 it would cost approximately $35 to $40 including current petrol prices, servicing and tyres.

On a GT250 it would cost somewhere between $25 and $30 for 500km, again, including current petrol prices, servicing and tyres.

What is more, a GT650 compares favourably to a SV 650 on the technical sheet.

The GT250 is definitely a commuter / casual cruiser type of motorcycle and on top of that, an excellent sports bike to learn on, in my opinion.

The GT650 (naked, semi faired and fully faired) is "the" bike, it meets so many demands, commuting, open road, economy and more.

Now i'll wait for the Suzuki whores to pipe up. You Kawaturds shut the fuck up, Kawasaki are the ones who imported mine into the country and provide the warranty.

EDIT: To comment directly on a second "commuter" motorcycle, I'm in two opinions about that. Essentially you will be paying more in road user taxes, which has been pointed out, however $300 at maximum a year works out to $5 a week (spread out over the 52 weeks in a year).

Maybe a Hyosung Comet / GT 250 would suite you (the naked version), $35 - $40 weekly running cost when you account for current fuel prices, servicing, tyres and road user taxes.

Then again, this thread is well over 6 months old, so what have you done, if anything?

EDIT 2: THE KOREANS ARE COMING !!! :laugh:

[Ixion]

Read a review of the 650 the other day, they reported very creditable fuel consumption figures, and an excellent tank range.


However, a 650 is rather large for commuting, and the question originally related to a second bike as pure commuter, in which context ubiquity is not relevent.

[SwanTiger]

However, a 650 is rather large for commuting, and the question originally related to a second bike as pure commuter, in which context ubiquity is not relevent.

True, however it could be a choice of new bike considering it has open road and commuting advantages.

[Ixion]

Yes, it seems to be a good all rounder. Ride to work ,powerful enough for touring and back road fun, and take the girlfriend out in the weekend .

Very much in the tradition of the old Briddish 650s, the Thunderbird, A10 and such. Interesting that the same capacity still seems the best all rounder.

Though as an all rounder it is up against the new Kawa ER-6F , also a very good all rounder by report.

Interesting also that we are seeing new models of these practical and useful all round bikes being brought out, an escape from the total concentration on race replicas. Maybe the motorcycling community is reestablishing itself .

[chickenfunkstar]

Buy a Hyosung!



Then again, this thread is well over 6 months old, so what have you done, if anything?

EDIT 2: THE KOREANS ARE COMING !!! :laugh:

Cheers for the advice. I'd consider something like a GT250 if there were some older / cheaper ones out there. If I did get a 2nd bike, my budget would have somewhere around the 2k mark. They seem to go for around 5K which is probably about what the SV is worth.
About the GT650. To be honest i'd be really reluctant to swap a bike which over time has proven to be reliable, for something which is relativly new to the market. Maybe in a couple of years when i've moved on from the SV.

I've decided to just keep the SV as it seems to be a good compromise between performance / reliability / economy.