"Bikes aren't cheaper than cars" I call BS

[k1200s]

I don't believe that it is clearly cheaper to own a car like many people are now saying. I believe that personal preferences of the owner will actually make the biggest difference. Most people that I have spoken to feel that they do not need a particularly nice car when they have a sweet motorcycle to ride. In this scenario I think the value in performance that a motorcycle provides would make it clearly superior. For arguments sake I went with a very cheap car as an example, a new Nissan Altima, which is a nice car but would never give the rush of a motorcycle. More realistically we would be comparing with something more expensive like a WRX since that at least as some semblance of performance.


Compare new average quality vs new average quality over 6 years

---------------------------------[Car W/O Bike]-----------[Car w/ bike]------------[Bike]-----------------[Motorcycling total]-----------------[Variance (Car W/o bike less motorcycle total)]
Approximate Model:```````2018 Nissan Altima`````2002 Toyota Corolla`````2018 GSXR-750
'
Initial Cost-------------------$23,260 (no options)-------$3,000-------------------$12,764----------------$15,764-----------------------------$7,496 - Moto Savings
'
6 Yr Interest / 20% Down-----$2,969--------------------$383----------------------$1,629-----------------$2,012------------------------------967 Moto Savings
'
Unexpected Craigslist fuckery---------------------------$750 at shop---------------------------------------$750---------------------------------($750) Moto Expense
'
Gear:
Helmet--------------------------------------------------------------------------------$150 HJC - Track/Race ready
Gloves---------------------------------------------------------------------------------$100 - Track/Race ready
Full Leathers/Mesh Suit (cheapest)--------------------------------------------------$300 - Blowout sale/odd size/found for sale at loudon - Track/Race ready (in leather)
Boots----------------------------------------------------------------------------------$300 - Don't skimp. last forever w/ replaceables - Track/Race ready
'
Gear 6 year total: 2 Helmets, 2 set gloves, 1 set leathers/mesh suit, 1 set boots--------------------------------------------------------------($1,100) Moto Expense
'
Total Maintenance Cost - (6 Yr Mileage /Interval) * Cost
Oil----------------------------$700-------------------------$384--------------------$600------------------$984-------------------------------------($284) Moto Expense
Tires------------------------$1,680------------------------$768------------------$3,000 ----------------$3,768-------------------------------------($2,088) Moto Expense
General--------------------$4,200------------------------$2,400----------------$6,600-----------------$9,000-------------------------------------($4,800) Moto Expense
'
Annual Mileage--------------14,000---------------------8,000---------------------10,000 (tear it up)
6 yr mileage ----------------84,000--------------------48,000---------------------60,000
'
Maintenance Interval:
Oil ----------------------------6,000----------------------5,000---------------------3,000
Tires-------------------------10,000 (40k/4 tires)------12,500---------------------6,000 (Front + Rear average) - Surprising, but since motorcycles have 1/2 as many tires, they actually hold up better than expected compared to a car consuming 4
Other general----------------$0.05/Mi -----------------$0.05/Mi-----------------$0.11

Maintenance cost
Oil-----------------------------$50 DIY---------------------$40 - DIY --------------$30 DIY
Ties, Mount, + Ba------------$200 ea --------------------$200 Ea-----------------$300/Ea


Insurance differences are actually minimal and not worth calculating since they do favor the bike once you are 25+, especially with a car since the bike is only for "pleasure" and the primary vehicle wouldn't really need financing or comprehensive coverage, just cheap ass liability.

Grand Total: ($569) Motorcycle Expense; $95 average expense per year over a car

Conclusion:
If you are willing to forgo the fun of a motorcycle for a totally tame and cheap to maintain car, and then drive it as such, then it may in fact be marginally cheaper over a 6 year period. Gas mileage is no longer outright better on motorcycles, and really depends on how you ride/drive, therefore I don't think gas was worth including. In this scenario the only thing that makes the car pull ahead is the fact that motorcycle maintenance is more costly than maintenance on a car, and my rider in this scenario was well into the top 1% of riders in terms of annual mileage, with the New England average being between 500-2,00 miles a year. Even when riding quite a lot the maintenance costs were barely able to catch up, and being able to do just a little bit your own maintenance quickly makes it worth it. Add in the fact that my motorcycle maintenance figure double counted oil and tires as cushion (included in general calculation if you follow the link), and its pretty easy to say that it is equally expensive to own either a motorcycle and a cheap car, or a nice car. If you bought a used bike or a more expensive car it is pretty clearly way cheaper to ride a bike, but maybe I missed something. What do you guys think?

One caveat- At the milage in this example you would be left with a 6 year old GSXR 750 with 60,000 miles on it. This vehicle would be essentially worthless, as would be the Corolla by this point. Both vehicles may get you $3,000 if anything at all. The Altima is tough to pin down but would be worth no more than $7,000 and no less than $4,000 I would think.

[nick5446]

I wish this was formatted better so it was more readable, because I want to agree with you. Did you do this in Excel or something? Can you screenshot it?

I'd add that owning a bike necessitates me owning a truck, lots of tools, and a whole host of gear so that I can ride nearly year-round.

[k1200s]

I wish this was formatted better so it was more readable, because I want to agree with you. Did you do this in Excel or something? Can you screenshot it?

I'd add that owning a bike necessitates me owning a truck, lots of tools, and a whole host of gear so that I can ride nearly year-round.

You know what, I bet its perfect in my resolution but all messed up in yous. Let me toss it in real quick, good point lol

[scottieducati]

If you're looking into your annual expenses, you're talking about viewing both the cars and motorcycles as functional things. In which case, a smaller, more efficient, and vastly cheaper motorcycle would be a huge commuting advantage and cost less to run and insure. If you're talking about "performance" and wants instead of needs, then a sport-bike makes sense but you shouldn't try to apply a logical framework to emotional decisions.

Add in a few year old KLR and get back to me on the numbers, you can buy it, ride it, and sell it after as many years and probably be out less than a couple grand.

[nick5446]

You know what, I bet its perfect in my resolution but all messed up in yous. Let me toss it in real quick, good point lol

I'm far from a computer expert, so this could be my idiocy.

[k1200s]

If you're looking into your annual expenses, you're talking about viewing both the cars and motorcycles as functional things. In which case, a smaller, more efficient, and vastly cheaper motorcycle would be a huge commuting advantage and cost less to run and insure. If you're talking about "performance" and wants instead of needs, then a sport-bike makes sense but you shouldn't try to apply a logical framework to emotional decisions.

Add in a few year old KLR and get back to me on the numbers, you can buy it, ride it, and sell it after as many years and probably be out less than a couple grand.

I agree with you 100%, but I thought that picking a new, higher maintenance sport bike would make a more convincing argument for the little bikes like you are talking about. If a new GSXR is break even, then yeah thats obviously way cheaper

[breakdirt916]

It depends; either can be more expensive...maintenance sucks but depreciation can suck mor

Cheapest is used econobox high mpg and sold before it is junked from a maintenance standpoint...bikes can be cheaper if you buy used and sell before they explode too

[scottieducati]

I agree with you 100%, but I thought that picking a new, higher maintenance sport bike would make a more convincing argument for the little bikes like you are talking about. If a new GSXR is break even, then yeah thats obviously way cheaper

It depends; either can be more expensive...maintenance sucks but depreciation can suck more. Cheapest is used econobox high mpg and sold before it is junked from a maintenance standpoint...bikes can be cheaper if you buy used and sell before they explode too

All I'm saying is apples and apples man. Corolla vs. some ~400cc bike; mid-level car vs. Street Triple or FZ7/9, etc. would be closer comparos. The bikes will smoke the cars in the long term savings IMO.

[RandyO]

because I use my vehicles for business, I keep records that I otherwise wouldn't. My cost include vehicle costs, but not motorcycle gear as they are a personal expense not a business expense

cost per mile, my bikes have been somewhere in the middle,

over the 20 years

82 BMW 320i 23¢/mile
86 BMW 328e 24¢/mile
98 JeepCherokee 4.0 31¢/mile
99 Ford Ranger 3.0 33¢/mile
99 SV650 33¢/mile
96 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.3 34¢/mile
00 Dakota 37¢/mile
07 V-strom 1000 40¢/mile
81 Chevy G20 van 58¢/mile

haven't done any mileage calculations on my 02 Silverado yet, I'm guessing about 40¢

[k1200s]

I wish this was formatted better so it was more readable, because I want to agree with you. Did you do this in Excel or something? Can you screenshot it?

I'd add that owning a bike necessitates me owning a truck, lots of tools, and a whole host of gear so that I can ride nearly year-round.

Just tossed it into excel and put a snip in the first post

[aldend123]

You know what, I bet its perfect in my resolution but all messed up in yous. Let me toss it in real quick, good point lol

The problem isn't resolution. It's that font's character spacing isn't consistent between fonts. Most people aren't using a monospaced font because it looks chunky and awkward. But this means the display won't always be consistent if you try to use characters as a way to space things out.

See how below, each character occupies equal space in the monospaced font. The two words are of equal width in total, but the top word has 12 characters and the bottom is 9 characters.

[feralchimp]

"Smiles per dollar" has a lot of dynamic range across both vehicles and smilers.

[Chippertheripper]

"Smiles per dollar" has a lot of dynamic range across both vehicles and smilers.

Amen. Not every dollar spent need be rational.

[OneCheekRider]

Since I've moved to Californee I've found that the greatest cost saving of a bike is my time. There is both a dollar amount and intangible amount I can assign to that.

That and free mororcycle parking, particularly at the airport.

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[TheIglu]

because I use my vehicles for business, I keep records that I otherwise wouldn't. My cost include vehicle costs, but not motorcycle gear as they are a personal expense not a business expense

cost per mile, my bikes have been somewhere in the middle,

over the 20 years

82 BMW 320i 23¢/mile
86 BMW 328e 24¢/mile
98 JeepCherokee 4.0 31¢/mile
99 Ford Ranger 3.0 33¢/mile
99 SV650 33¢/mile
96 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.3 34¢/mile
00 Dakota 37¢/mile
07 V-strom 1000 40¢/mile
81 Chevy G20 van 58¢/mile

haven't done any mileage calculations on my 02 Silverado yet, I'm guessing about 40¢

Apples to apples?

Bike maintenance at a dealer, car maintenance at a dealer too?

[RandyO]

Apples to apples?

Bike maintenance at a dealer, car maintenance at a dealer too?

I would say apples to apples, the independent car repair shop I use charges the same $90/hr rate as my local bike dealer

[Tekime]

Hard to call this an either/or situation, especially in New England, especially if you're a parent... hard to get by with *just* a motorcycle.

I will say that having my bikes saves a lot on gas every year - unless I need my truck for passengers, gear, or the weather is bad, I'm on my bike. Bike insurance is way cheaper. Every mile I put on my bike is a mile I'm not putting on my truck. I can do basically 100% of my bike maintenance, but don't have the space or tools for some of the work on my truck.

Overall, if cost were the ONLY issue, I'd be driving a used Nissan or something cheap as dirt and wouldn't have any bikes. But as far as balancing something that completely enriches my life and makes it worth living, having the bikes does help with overall cost and extending the life of my vehicles.

It's also nice just not getting stung with $80 at the pump on a regular basis - instead of filling up a couple times per week I fill up a couple times per month.

[Stromper]

The new "gixer" was the delta buy a 7 year old cool bike for 6000 and the numbers swing

Lived for a time in Houston with just a bike, straight roads, rained most days in the summer, girls were not happy

Oh and YOLO My brother always says entertainment is probably $30/hr, so its cheap for that

[feralchimp]

One other point I’ve not yet seen mentioned: if you’re the sort of person who likes to “try out” a lot of vehicles over a lifetime, it’s a hell of a lot cheaper and easier to do this with bikes than with cars, especially if you’re looking to scratch any kind of weird niche/performance itch. Bathing risk per weird transaction is just way lower.




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[TheIglu]

I would say apples to apples, the independent car repair shop I use charges the same $90/hr rate as my local bike dealer

Apples to apples, did you buy the SV new? How about the BMW?

Now let's say you bought the SV used as a higher mileage cheap bike for $1300. Does that change the math significantly?

[RandyO]

Apples to apples, did you buy the SV new? How about the BMW?

Now let's say you bought the SV used as a higher mileage cheap bike for $1300. Does that change the math significantly?

because I put so many miles on it, cost of purchase per mile is only 3¢ compared to 1¢ for the bimmer, even taking that out of the equation, the SV cost more per mile, hell one year I spent nearly $2500 on tires alone