Bloody good postOriginally Posted by MarkW
As always - some interesting arguments in this thread.
Motorcycles can be cheap to run - but it depends on the motorcycle and the riders objectives. My main transport is, and has always been, a motorcycle. I have a car but it only gets used when the motorcycle is an unsuitable choice.
I run a Honda NTV650 - a shaft driven V twin with half fairing and fixed saddlebags. Tyre sizes are sensible and I am looking at $300 a set and 15,000km average life. Fuel use is 22km per litre. I'm old and my last motorcycle accident was in 1991 so my insurance costs are not high, I do all of my own servicing and expect a minimum of 200,000km from my current Honda before it needs major work that I can't do myself.
I also run a DRZ250 Suzuki that is street legal - and this bike is even cheaper to run than the Honda as the rego and tyres are cheaper. And every second year I go trail riding in central Otago. I now live just outside Kaitaia and ride the DRZ to Queenstown and back. The bike handles this task pretty well. Sure, I'm not able to cruise at speeds in excess of the open road limit but I choose entertaining (for me!) roads to get from one end of the country to the other.
Using a Ferrari as a commuter car will always cost more than a Suzuki Swift also used for commuting.
Up untill 2 years ago I lived in Auckland and used exactly the same motorcycles for all of my commuting. Even larger motorcycles can be relatively cheap commuters.
When I started riding in 1972 most motorcycles were used as transport first and recreation second. Many motorcyclists are now recreational only and the running costs reflect this.
I have 4 road registered motorcycles - prior to the latest set of ACC rises I always had a 650 and a 250 registered. Now I manage my registrations so that I rarely have 2 bikes registered. I know how the rules work - and use the opportunities therein to my best advantage. Registering the 650 on Friday morning for 4 or 5 days only gives me time to get to and from Hastings with ease. Rego cost is less than $20. I ALWAYS have a road registered motorcycle to ride.
Sure - riding the DRZ to Auckland for a weekend takes 30 minutes longer than doing it on the 650 but I save a reasonable amount of money in rego costs. And if you distort ACC costs the right way by saying that cheaper ACC costs mean less risk (because more risk costs more?) then I am safer cruising down SH 1 at 94kph in the pouring rain on my street legal full knobbies than I am on my LAMS 650 with good road tyres, linked braking system etc etc.
There isn't a 100% fair system - life is full of exceptions. My one and only motorcycle related ACC claim (which was simply a dose of concussion) was in 1975. A million motorcycling kilometres later and more than 30 years involved (as an extended part time job) in motorcycle training means that I have probably paid slightly more in ACC costs than I have cost ACC.
I don't like the corruptions and distortions that ACC has undergone over the last 30 years - but going back to the 1970's is probably not an option.
Motorcycling can be a high risk activity - but it doesn't have to be. If I make a mistake on a motorcycle it may hurt me. If I am in the way of someone else who makes the mistake then it will hurt me. So I ride accordingly. The person with the greatest benefit to gain in keeping me uninjured is me. So I consider that it is my responsibility to keep out of the way of those who make mistakes and to only make my mistakes where the consequences of my own stupidity won't hurt.
I accept the risks and responsibilities of riding a motorcycle. I'm totally addicted to riding and the buzz that a good ride gives me. I manage the costs of my addiction!
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