12,000 KM a year commute - Will a 150 handle it for 3+ years

[Roki_nz]

TLDR - Will a small 150CC such as a Yamaha YZF-R15 or Susuki GSX150 handle 12000 KM worth of commuting each year for 3+ years?

Cheers

Hello

Its' been a long time since I've owned a motor bike and I'm getting sick of forking out close to $500 each month in fuel and parking for a car when I could spend that money could get me a bike and pay for the upkeep as well. With the amount of trips to and from work each day I make I'd be riding close to 12,000 KM each year.

I've been looking at a couple of bikes in the 150cc class the Yamaha YZF-R15 V3 and the Suszuki GSX-150F. If i went with a 150cc i'd probably lean towards getting the R15 since its got a bit more power than the GSX.

What I want to know to know is would would either of those bikes last 3+ years of that distance of riding assume regular maintenance and services?

As a side note I'm also looking at the 300cc class of motorcycles though I don't save a much $$$ there.

Thanks in advance

[george formby]

Yup.

Commuters are usually bulletproof from the big names.

My postie has been using a Yamaha Tricity for the last 2/3 years. I doubt the oil has been changed yet.

Shame it's so difficult to get a Grom, great fun!

Loads of options available for cheap and cheerful commuters. Check out some of the bigger scoots, bullet proof, quite high tech and cheap.

Or a small trailie..

Follow the service schedule and try to avoid holding the throttle against the stop for too long and they just run.

[Autech]

TLDR - Will a small 150CC such as a Yamaha YZF-R15 or Susuki GSX150 handle 12000 KM worth of commuting each year for 3+ years?

Cheers

Hello

Its' been a long time since I've owned a motor bike and I'm getting sick of forking out close to $500 each month in fuel and parking for a car when I could spend that money could get me a bike and pay for the upkeep as well. With the amount of trips to and from work each day I make I'd be riding close to 12,000 KM each year.

I've been looking at a couple of bikes in the 150cc class the Yamaha YZF-R15 V3 and the Suszuki GSX-150F. If i went with a 150cc i'd probably lean towards getting the R15 since its got a bit more power than the GSX.

What I want to know to know is would would either of those bikes last 3+ years of that distance of riding assume regular maintenance and services?

As a side note I'm also looking at the 300cc class of motorcycles though I don't save a much $$$ there.

Thanks in advance

Yup, I know of some 250s with more than 90'000kms on them so I can't see why a 150 would be any different.

Personally I'd lean towards a 250 rather than a 150 as you've got a bit more power to get out of a situation and they'll get similar fuel economy.

[Roki_nz]

Yup, I know of some 250s with more than 90'000kms on them so I can't see why a 150 would be any different.

Personally I'd lean towards a 250 rather than a 150 as you've got a bit more power to get out of a situation and they'll get similar fuel economy.

Thanks Mate, I'd though about a 250 though the only sports one is the GSX250R which while a good looker is a bit 'meh' for its class. Fuel Eco isn't that great either. Had been leaning towards the YZF-R15 since it had dam good fuel eco 44-48 KML and still had pretty decent acceleration pass 100.

Depending on how much my car costs to fix (a radiator hose shat it self) I may also consider a 300 though I know they will handle that easy.

[Autech]

Thanks Mate, I'd though about a 250 though the only sports one is the GSX250R which while a good looker is a bit 'meh' for its class. Fuel Eco isn't that great either. Had been leaning towards the YZF-R15 since it had dam good fuel eco 44-48 KML and still had pretty decent acceleration pass 100.

Depending on how much my car costs to fix (a radiator hose shat it self) I may also consider a 300 though I know they will handle that easy.

Or grab a 2nd hand EX250 Ninja, they go forever my mate put 50ks on one commuting in Auckland before he sold it, never had a single issue

[FJRider]

TLDR - Will a small 150CC such as a Yamaha YZF-R15 or Susuki GSX150 handle 12000 KM worth of commuting each year for 3+ years?

Cheers

Fuel is only one expense you have with a motor vehicle. Tires, Rego, oils, wof all cost. How many thousand km's can you get out of just the back tire on a 150 ?? I doubt if you will get 36,000 km's out of either or both.

Commutes usually involve plenty of braking ... a lot more than the usual weekend ride, so the brake pads will wear faster.

You're only really looking at 50 km's per day ... but in all weathers. But riding gear on and off at work/home can be a pain.

If cost is the real issue ... a small car might actually be cheaper overall.

[Moi]

Is buying a bike for your commute a false economy?

As others have suggested the cost of commuting on a bike is not cheap. IIRC, someone on here had worked out that their bike commute was more expensive than using their car. For that rider it was a life-style choice rather than a financial choice...

Have you considered the costs when you add-up all the costs involved with bike commuting - licence [rego], WoF, servicing, maintenance, gear. Thought about what gear is going to cost you? Good quality gear that is going to hold up to a daily commute and give you protection in all-weathers?

OK, so you're going to commute everyday on your bike... even those days when it's blowing a gale and the rain is horizontal and you're lucky if the temp is much more than 5°C before you factor in wind chill? What about your clothes you need for work? Can you guarantee that they'll still be dry by the time you get to work on a day like that? And what will you do with your bike gear? What about getting changed at work? What about parking the bike? What's that going to cost you and is it a secure parking area? The last thing you need is to get to your bike after work to find it on its side and unrideable...

I commuted primarily by bike for a number of years, used the car on days that doing so made sense. However, I had my own office so storage of bike gear during the day was no problem or for that matter having somewhere to get changed. In fact, if it was wet in the morning the CFO would pop along to see if I needed my gear to be put somewhere else to dry during the day... I had onsite undercover parking for the bike. [The car had to be parked onsite in the open.] My bike commute was about 20 to 25 minutes against the car's 35 to 40 minutes and for me the ride was a great way to start and finish the day - it was a life-style choice to ride.

If you are serious about commuting by bike, why not look at a maxi-scooter... say one of 400cc or there abouts... doesn't SidecarBob have one for sale at present? Ask NavyBoy about commuting on one... great storage, great weather protection, better road presence than a small 150cc bike...

If you want to save money, why not consider using public transport?

I shall now take off my 'devil's advocate' hat...

[Roki_nz]

Is buying a bike for your commute a false economy?

As others have suggested the cost of commuting on a bike is not cheap. IIRC, someone on here had worked out that their bike commute was more expensive than using their car. For that rider it was a life-style choice rather than a financial choice...

Have you considered the costs when you add-up all the costs involved with bike commuting - licence [rego], WoF, servicing, maintenance, gear. Thought about what gear is going to cost you? Good quality gear that is going to hold up to a daily commute and give you protection in all-weathers?

OK, so you're going to commute everyday on your bike... even those days when it's blowing a gale and the rain is horizontal and you're lucky if the temp is much more than 5°C before you factor in wind chill? What about your clothes you need for work? Can you guarantee that they'll still be dry by the time you get to work on a day like that? And what will you do with your bike gear? What about getting changed at work? What about parking the bike? What's that going to cost you and is it a secure parking area? The last thing you need is to get to your bike after work to find it on its side and unrideable...

I commuted primarily by bike for a number of years, used the car on days that doing so made sense. However, I had my own office so storage of bike gear during the day was no problem or for that matter having somewhere to get changed. In fact, if it was wet in the morning the CFO would pop along to see if I needed my gear to be put somewhere else to dry during the day... I had onsite undercover parking for the bike. [The car had to be parked onsite in the open.] My bike commute was about 20 to 25 minutes against the car's 35 to 40 minutes and for me the ride was a great way to start and finish the day - it was a life-style choice to ride.

If you are serious about commuting by bike, why not look at a maxi-scooter... say one of 400cc or there abouts... doesn't SidecarBob have one for sale at present? Ask NavyBoy about commuting on one... great storage, great weather protection, better road presence than a small 150cc bike...

If you want to save money, why not consider using public transport?

I shall now take off my 'devil's advocate' hat...

Thanks for playing devil advocate. Lucky for me the only thing I had missed out was tires . Got a whole spreadsheet worth of data and costings.

Lets say for the sake of argument $400 a year for tires so lets say $34 a month. Feel free to give me a better estimate of this.

The car costs $498 a month with fuel and car park only. The most expensive bike I'm looking at including purchase price, gear and maintenance stand and consumables (think chain cleaning etc). With the most expensive bike an YZF-R3, I'd be loosing $21.41 for three years then after the last of the bike is paid off I'd be saving $233.00 a month. With the YZF-R15 I'd be saving $94.32 then after 3 years $270.00. In practice let’s say this is $70 lower due to the bigger ticket items coming up for maintenance.

As for wind and rain I used to do it when I had my 250 and in Wellington its manageable. Though even with good gear rain will still find a way through.

I'm not considering a scooter as I wouldn't mind doing the odd joy ride like I used to. The smallest bike I’d consider is a GSX150 since they are cheap AF new and slightly used even cheaper. Plus I really don’t like scooters. I believe the politically correct term for them now is deeply disappointing

Public transport unfortunately is not an option anymore. Each day I need to drop my kid off and school and pick them up and drop them off to the grand mother (Car to School, Bike to work, Bike to Car, Car to School/ Grandmother, Bike to work) The bus timetable meant I was losing anywhere from an hour and half to two hours. If I was only doing a single trip into town I’d be on public transport.

[Roki_nz]

Or grab a 2nd hand EX250 Ninja, they go forever my mate put 50ks on one commuting in Auckland before he sold it, never had a single issue

Ha ha I used to have one of those. Great bikes. Glad to hear his went so strong

[Navy Boy]

I'm now back on my Piaggio 250 - Though I came in on the V85 today as I'm still putting KMs on it prior to the first service.

The Piaggio gets me around 30Km/litre going from Trentham to Wellington CBD and back during the week. It'll cruise at 90Km/hr with a little in reserve. The weather protection is good and I can normally park it under cover plus I have somewhere to hang my biking gear here at work.

It is still a lifestyle choice for me though as I could use the train each day. However this way I am guaranteed a seat and I just love the feeling of riding along and being able to filter when the traffic starts to snarl up.

I'd suggest that a 150 will soon become limiting for you and you'll be holding it against the stop more often than is ideal.

[mrchips]

even those days when it's blowing a gale and the rain is horizontal and you're lucky if the temp is much more than 5°C before you factor in wind chill? What about your clothes you need for work? Can you guarantee that they'll still be dry by the time you get to work on a day like that? And what will you do with your bike gear? What about getting changed at work? What about parking the bike? What's that going to cost you and is it a secure parking area? The last thing you need is to get to your bike after work to find it on its side and unrideable...

Amen to that...

I've been commuting via m/c, Upper Hutt & Welly for past 15 years..... a 150cc faired bike would get blown over & trashed fairly quick. The Welly riders facebook page usually has daily pics of bikes blown over, laying on their sides with broken mirrors & scratched up fairings & other inconsiderate m/c

Commuting always looks attractive this time of year.... winter is whole new ball game which usually attributes to most summer commuters hibernating.

All the best & Good luck

[Roki_nz]

Amen to that...

I've been commuting via m/c, Upper Hutt & Welly for past 15 years..... a 150cc faired bike would get blown over & trashed fairly quick. The Welly riders facebook page usually has daily pics of bikes blown over, laying on their sides with broken mirrors & scratched up fairings & other inconsiderate m/c

Commuting always looks attractive this time of year.... winter is whole new ball game which usually attributes to most summer commuters hibernating.

All the best & Good luck

I never found the riding in the rain or wind to be to bad. Though on the bad days it was always a mission to find the safe bike parks. The only sheltered one that was close to me is the one opposite the library. I'm on brandon street now and very tempted to get an off road park for the winter since featherston street is a wind tunnel

BTW ended up getting a Yamaha R3 I decided best to go forwards rather than backwards :P