Has anyone done a cost analysis of bike ownership with current gas prices?

[agrabau]

It seems strange but I got into motorcycles through owning a scooter. I bought the scooter while attending UMASS Boston so I could avoid $7/a day parking fees by riding across what used to be the football field instead of through the parking gate, skirting the payment. That saved about 50 a week in parking. No small amount for a college student. (flame me for it)

So now, years later I suspect that I'm again saving money by commuting 25 or so miles on my bike. I figure that it costs about $60 to fill an average car, say a Honda Accord. 18mpg/50 miles a day= 2.7 gals a day, 16 gals a week on a 6 day work week. That's more than $60 bucks/one tank...that's $64 per week or $256 a month.

My bike payment is $167. It costs about $25 bucks to fill for the week. That's Total gas savings per month based on this very crude analysis= $156 dollars a month in gas saved.

So my bike is costing me about $10 dollars a month to own.

[brendanp]

Mine cost 17 fukking dollars to fill yesterday. My bike is fully paid for.
Cost analysis? Gas prices suck!

[rolker]

When I bought my EX250 two years ago, I figured it would pay itself by now in gas savings. Then I discovered track days....

[wookie]

Don't forget:

insurance, inspection fee, excise tax, gear (helmet), additional mantainence (it is often more costly to run a bike...just think how much faster you go through tires).

Still, if you own a bike anyway, you save a lot by riding it to work.

Now if you get rid of your car....

[Cheese]

I suppose I'm saving a couple bucks on the days it's dry enough to commute to work but my motorcycle is more of an expense as a hobby than what it saves.

My bike is paid for but:
$250/month (purchase price amortized over 3 years)
$50/month insurance premium.
$42/month in gear ($500/year)
$145/month in gas for random 250-300 mile weekend rides through New England
$84/month for Tony's Track Days

So selling it should save me $571/month without accounting for registration, inspection, oil, filters, tires, brakes, chains and sprockets.

[Brit-Triple]

I def like it, the bike is paid for, the gear I already had, and it gets almost 40mpg even beating on it.

Al, update your profile, you don't have a cbr1000 anymore.

CB

and the pool is open, pm or call me if you like

[BCT748]

Riding the bike somewhat hard I got 47mpg on my last tank. (There was a lot of highway riding involved)
Driving my truck like grandma I get an average of 10mpg.

Cost of keeping them running is about the same on both, my truck runs like shit
I still owe on the truck but the bike is paid for.
The bike even saves me more money when I go out (I won't drink as much)

My bike does save me a shit ton of money. Too bad I would save even more if I got a more dependable car/truck

[e30addict]

Gas prices was the excuse I used to get back into biking. My first bike got totalled a few years ago and I resisted the urge to buy another one. Tired of getting 12 mpg in my truck so I got a baby Ninja. It's still fun and it's hard to beat the mileage. Despite what my friends say I like it.

When all is said and done though, I don't know much I'm really saving. I'll be smiling more along the way though

[TheIglu]

I figured it out on Friday.

Truck, $.35 per mile with fuel, insurance, reg and inspection.

KLR, $.10 per mile but that also includes maintenance and tires.

[e30addict]

Just in gas - 1 day taking the truck to work is the same as the bike for the entire week. Haven't figured maintenance, insurance and GEAR in the equation.

[ThisBitch]

Riding the bike somewhat hard I got 47mpg on my last tank. (There was a lot of highway riding involved)
Driving my truck like grandma I get an average of 10mpg.

Cost of keeping them running is about the same on both, my truck runs like shit
I still owe on the truck but the bike is paid for.
The bike even saves me more money when I go out (I won't drink as much)

My bike does save me a shit ton of money. Too bad I would save even more if I got a more dependable car/truck

The way I see it... the more time I spend riding my bike, the less I spend shopping, going out to eat, going to the movies. So the bestest and I went from here to Laconia and back today. Cost me about $15 in gas and we had a blast. The only other money I spent was $5 on some gatorade and $10 on BK... I spend far less now that I own my bike. But then again, I paid cash for my bike and have had the same gear (aside from the helmet I bought last week for a cool $110-- thanks Schleppy!) for 3 years.

[Jaynnus]

$$ is meaningless when you compare it to peace of mind.

"If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"

[Fitz]

So now, years later I suspect that I'm again saving money by commuting 25 or so miles on my bike. I figure that it costs about $60 to fill an average car, say a Honda Accord. 18mpg/50 miles a day= 2.7 gals a day, 16 gals a week on a 6 day work week. That's more than $60 bucks/one tank...that's $64 per week or $256 a month.

My bike payment is $167. It costs about $25 bucks to fill for the week. That's Total gas savings per month based on this very crude analysis= $156 dollars a month in gas saved.

18mpg in an accord? 800cc injectors in that puppy or did you permanently duct tape the skinny pedal to the floor? 50mpg from the 1,000cc's of pure love? Maybe I should have manned up instead of buying a 600..

Financially speaking, owning a bike as a second vehicle costs me money and doesn't save me anything.

I save about $6 a day in gas when comparing the 07 zx6r to my 03 Evolution (43 mpg verses 19 mpg on a 54 mile commute).

So if I ride 5 days a week every week I'm looking at about $120 saved in gas per month. Subtract from that monthly insurance, annual registration costs, annual inspection, monthly maintenance, gear, and ammortize the cost of the bike ($8,200) over three years at 0% interest (paid cash) I'm looking at a pretty serious amount of time before I'm in the black.

I'll agree with Jaynnus though, "money is meaningless when you compare it to peace of mind."

Fitz

[BCT748]

The way I see it... the more time I spend riding my bike, the less I spend shopping, going out to eat, going to the movies. So the bestest and I went from here to Laconia and back today. Cost me about $15 in gas and we had a blast. The only other money I spent was $5 on some gatorade and $10 on BK... I spend far less now that I own my bike. But then again, I paid cash for my bike and have had the same gear (aside from the helmet I bought last week for a cool $110-- thanks Schleppy!) for 3 years.

That is until you start shopping for the bike....

[breakdirt916]

if you want to be economical, why not just sell the bike and the truck and just get a corolla or civic?

imho: ride the motorcycle because you like motorcycles

[Wishbone]

Stoneman said it best. The bike is for smiles per gallon.

With that being said. My first bike was damn near free. With the price of gas combined with my expense to do 100 mile round trip (30 cense one way) worked out great. After gas/ins./payment I only had to buy one tank of gas a week!

Now its a bit different, but still good.

Your nuckin futts to say 18 mpg and acccord in the same sentence. My TL pulls down 25-33 all day long. That includes smoking the ocasional 1.8 litter ricer.

Hell I get 30 mpg pulling my pile to the track with the wife's Versa.

[R7]

It costs me money to ride my bike to and from work anyday, so i don't..unless I really have the itch to ride. It costs me $0 to get to and from work driving, thanks to my awesome boss

I did a little joy riding Saturday on the R1, just a mellow ride on some backroads keeping the speeds with 10-15mph over the limit. I left with a full tank and after 157 miles and the fuel light didn't come, I figured i'd stop for gas just in case...it took 3.01 gallons. What's that, 52.3mpg? Not bad for a liter bike.
Same ride on the KTM Motard would be in the 70+ mpg range

I've kinda always kept track of the MPG on all my past bikes (all yamahas) and the R7 was always the worst at about 30, never got better than 45 or so with any of the R6's I had, and I always got 50-52 with the 1998 R1 I had.

[e30addict]

if you want to be economical, why not just sell the bike and the truck and just get a corolla or civic?

imho: ride the motorcycle because you like motorcycles

If that was directed at me: I need the truck, it tows my track rat around. I love bikes, just didn't decide to buy another (steals $$ from the car) w/o a little help in the form of $4/gallon. Now I smile more and save on gas

[BCT748]

It costs me money to ride my bike to and from work anyday, so i don't..unless I really have the itch to ride. It costs me $0 to get to and from work driving, thanks to my awesome boss

I did a little joy riding Saturday on the R1, just a mellow ride on some backroads keeping the speeds with 10-15mph over the limit. I left with a full tank and after 157 miles and the fuel light didn't come, I figured i'd stop for gas just in case...it took 3.01 gallons. What's that, 52.3mpg? Not bad for a liter bike.
Same ride on the KTM Motard would be in the 70+ mpg range

I've kinda always kept track of the MPG on all my past bikes (all yamahas) and the R7 was always the worst at about 30, never got better than 45 or so with any of the R6's I had, and I always got 50-52 with the 1998 R1 I had.

Your mileage is a little too good. I think you need to start riding a little harder

[agrabau]

I also enjoy riding which I consider to be a bonus. The cost analysis was rough. I've owned the gear for 5 years so that's fully depreciated. I like performance cars so tires, maintenance and gas are especially high. The bike consumes tires but the car consumes my entire existence.

Brit Triple- i'll fix my profile.

[Wishbone]

I need the truck, it tows my track rat around. )

Excuses are like assholes...

Read my first post. 30 mpg in a sub-compact. Towing a 500lb pile nearly 150 miles.

[e30addict]

Excuses are like assholes...

Read my first post. 30 mpg in a sub-compact. Towing a 500lb pile nearly 150 miles.

The track rat is a Bimmer (not a Beemer). Think your Versa can tow it

I like riding. I didn't buy the bike soley for gas mileage. It HELPED make the decision easier.

[RandyO]

at current gas prices, I am just barely now spenting more per mile for gasoline than I am for tires

I still send quite a bit more per mile to ride after adding cost of bike, insurance, tuneups, tires, gas, chains, sprockets, etc

than I am per mile cost of driving a cage


bike.... mantenance every 3500-4000 miles ..... cage 7500

tuenups bike 7500 miles cage..... 30,000 miles

major service bike 15k.....cage 60k

bike tires 7500 miles ....cage 50,000 miles

[KillBill]

$$ is meaningless when you compare it to peace of mind.

"If Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"

Well said!

The value of an increased level of quality of life is worth it.
Saving money on Gas is just a fringe benefit.

Let's face it - most of us here did not by a bike for the gas savings.
We all have a common passion for riding.

[taxonomy]

I paid $2000 for my 2001 SV650. It's in great shape and a nice bike, all I need for sure. It's a good enough bike that I just completed a Saddle Sore 1000 (1000 miles in 24 hours on it, 22 for me actually). It's fast & sporty enough for my riding.

I figure it'll be worth something when I sell it, so I can't imagine the cost of owning it in terms of payment is small. Being a little bike it uses tires slowly.

Since the bike is cheap to start with I carry pretty low insurance. Maybe $30/month.

I commute 22 miles round trip, so maybe I save $2 per day over the Accord. But I just bought a GPS for the bike at $150. Hard bags will cost me more, but make the bike more useful.


So, I don't really think even with my cheap bike, slow use of consumables like tires and things is really saving any money at current gas prices. For guys buying bling bikes and changing tires all the time because they ride with sport tires and have powerful bikes it's a money hole. Esp. with financed bikes.

Maybe if I keep the bike 5 years or so I'll break even with gas costing more.

We picked up a Honda Super Cub (200 MPG!) for around town use and regitered it as a scooter ($40 for two years! No insurance!) and are getting a second one this Friday. We paid $450 all up on the first and will pay $1200 for the second. These top out at around 40 MPH. These will actually pay for themselves. taxonomy - Super Cub!

They are 50cc but with three gears can go pretty fast (compared to a one speed moped) and are not goverended to 30 MPH. Registering as a scooter is gray at best but we've had no problems.

Adam