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Old 06-29-2015, 07:26 PM
 
17,543 posts, read 17,485,812 times
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I wonder if it's possible for those familiar with bikes could come up with a chart or car comparison to help newbies understand where a particular model sits. What is the Corolla of bikes? What is the Camry of bikes? What is the sport compact (like Civic Si) of bikes? Which one is the comfortable highway cruiser that soaks up bumps in the road? Which are the city fuel efficient bikes?
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Old 06-30-2015, 07:43 AM
 
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There is no way to compile such a list because the segments are Completely different and 100% subject to individuals. For instance, one person may say that something cruiser-like is the best for highways and soaking up bumps, but for me they are a torture device that I simply can't ride without immense, and debilitating, pain after about 50 miles. The leaned back and sitting on your tailbone position just doesn't work for me.

There is not an "econobox" segment (the Toyotas and Honda you mentioned) because motorcycles are toys, not essential transportation. Between all the different makes and models, there's pretty much a continuous option from laid back cruiser to crouched forward racebike, hitting every available position in between. On top of that, you can easily buy aftermarket pegs, bars and seats to fine-tune personal comfort. And that's the key, it's all personal....

As for fuel efficient, it really doesn't matter because the Maintenance and Consumables costs put motorcycles beyond the cost of an econo-box (when it comes to daily/yearly/lifetime operating costs). You simply spend more money, across the board, to ride a motorcycle. But everyone lists what they should get (Mfg.), and you can easily enough use websites like Fuelly.com to see what real world people are getting for fuel economy... but even That is highly individualized. I ride like an old fart, obey speed limits, don't make rapid changes in speeds (either acel or decel) and on a well running Ninja 250, I couldn't break 50mpg. Others (who weren't 6'4") almost couldn't get Less than 50mpg while riding the snoot out of the bike. I have always seen lower fuel returns than everyone else with the same bikes, but there's more wind-drag due to my size as well.

It's unfortunate that there's a stigma of "Motorcycles are super efficient and can save you money" when it's flat out incorrect. I've worked with too many people who lost thousands over this incorrect belief/assumption (repairing and helping to sell motorcycles after sitting unused and crashes). Motorcycles are a toy, something you do because you Enjoy. It's like Golf, you pay money to get on a course, to rent a car, to play a round.... it's nothing but an expense, but an expense that brings you joy. Sure, you can commute on motorcycles.. I went MC only for 8 years myself, but it's cheaper to do it with an economical car, not to mention more comfortable, safer, and offers a Ton more convenience.

But that's just my opinion....
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Old 06-30-2015, 11:35 AM
 
11,550 posts, read 53,049,707 times
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an interesting take on motorcycle utility/economics posted above.

I'll agree that the values, comfort, and convenience are entirely in the realm of personal choices/perspectives.

But my experience in motorcycling is a bit different.

Back in the day ... when I had or only relied upon MC's for daily transport ... I believe that the economics were very favorable for a college kid/urban use. I had a series of 90-100 cc 4-stroke motorcycles (mostly Honda Trail), which easily turned in around 90 mpg. I could park them just about anywhere on campus, insurance and registration was cheap, and they more than sufficed for my local travels; typically, a radius of 15 miles from home and not faster than 45 mph speed limits with mostly 30 mph and 25 mph zones. Certainly, these were limited use and slow bikes (and made me jealous of the performance of bikes such as the "twin jet 100cc Yamaha" blistering acceleration compared to my bikes), but they were appropriate for the use and I could get around town more quickly with one than driving/parking my car.

Followed that with a 1966 250 cc Ducati Mach 1. Easily got 80 mpg with that, and with the increased performance (65 mph cruise capable) and a 5-gallon gas tank, had much more freedom and ability to tour 300-400 mile days. But I'll note that I couldn't ride such a bike today for any distance ... rear set pegs and clip-on bars for a low riding position don't agree with my body anymore. Again, however, it was cheap cheap cheap transportation and I only recently sold this bike to a collector in England for an astronomical price.

Moving on to a heavier, more capable machine ... I had a BMW R-60. Easy to ride, dead reliable, and easily 55 mpg. Of course, we're back in the sub-30 HP days and modest performance with nice ergonomics and comfortable cruising ability. Again, cheap to own & operate. But at the beginnings of my motorcycle trading business, this went away fairly quickly and so I moved on to a host of Brit, Italian, and German bikes ... mostly 500-750 cc's. All readily delivered 50 + mpg, and a few would top 60 mpg with ease. Several of the 500 cc Brit singles would do even better than that no matter how hard you flogged them. I wound up with Moto Guzzi's for my personal use, and 750 cc Ambo's would readily get in the high 50's with the performance of 60 HP engine to haul a load and 6 gallons of gas. I again used a couple of 250 cc Ducati's (Monza's) for around town riding, which readily exceeded 60 mpg but at the price of being a slug compared to the bigger bikes.

More recently, I'm still riding Guzzi Tonti frame bikes (850 cc T-3's, mostly). No problem getting almost 60 mpg on these bikes cruising 75 mph. My son rides a 1100 cc Stone and gets blistering performance and similar 60 mpg due to Fuel Injection replacing the old carb'ed bikes. These bikes are now used mostly for recreational riding rather than relying upon them for daily drivers, but they could still perform those chores if needed.

Neighbors here rely upon the current crop of large displacement singles for daily transport in nice weather. One neighbor uses one to commute to work, 70 miles round trip per day. Costs him a bit more than a gallon of gas per day to have his bike transport on our dirt surface roads (about 9 miles of the trip) and 65-80 mph highways for trip to town with 25 mph limits. Others use their bikes for farm/ranch chores ... frequently needing to have a means to return home in the area from farming equipment left in fields. I've seen everything from KTM's to Yamaha's used for this purpose, generally 250-525 cc bikes with distances of a couple miles through to 35 miles on a daily basis. Yet others use dual-sports or trail bikes for checking on crops or livestock, or herding livestock from pastures up to 30-40 miles away from their homes. The gas tanks aren't very big on some of these bikes, so they must be achieving some very respectable fuel economies to be able to do the chores with them that they do. Having the utility of the bike beats having to have somebody shuttle them from home to field sites.

It all comes down to the utility and your desired expectations/use of a motorcycle. There are many very capable street machines that will readily exceed 50 mpg at today's cruising speeds with remarkable performance and have enough fuel capacity to travel serious distances between stops. Of course, there are a lot of higher performance or large bikes that won't. You've got to find the balance of what fits you, has comfortable ergonomics for your desired travels, performance to suit your needs/wants, and a cost basis which makes sense to your needs. And you've got to be realistic about how much you'll ride the bike ... if you live in an inclement weather area of the USA as I do, your riding may be limited to only certain months of the year and you'll still need another vehicle to get around.

That's the choices that one can make in buying a bike these days. A few days spent checking out the bikes at a number of different dealerships should give you a pretty good idea of the ranges of machines available today. Don't forget that there's a lot of used bikes out there at good prices which could also meet your needs at a lower cost.

PS: I spent awhile in the Los Angeles area working for a bike importer and being a field rep for them. A motorcycle made sense for my visits to the shops because I could drastically shave time in my travels with the ability to split traffic on the highways. A localized situation, of course, but it was a better way for me to get around as needed.

Last edited by sunsprit; 06-30-2015 at 11:53 AM..
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Old 06-30-2015, 12:38 PM
 
Location: Columbia, California
6,664 posts, read 30,558,971 times
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The closest to a Toyota of old will be a Honda. They are built like a Timex, takes a liking and keeps ticking. Can be serviced world wide. Goldwings have always been built to run like a tank for 300,000 miles plus with a basic minimum service.

A tank that feels like the old family couch that you can not get rid of because it is just so damn comfy.
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Old 07-01-2015, 08:04 PM
 
3,463 posts, read 5,645,405 times
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My new honda PCX125 has to be getting over 100 miles per gallon, I've filled it one in two months. With the belt, other than oil changes, it is virtually maintenance free. I look it like a mazda 3
My Burgman400, got about 60mpg, and that was like a mini van. Had cavernous space under the seat, kind of boring, but was easy to ride, never needed maintaining. I feel those two bikes are way cheaper to operate than a car, my Zx-9 on the other hand, required back tires every 2800 miles . . . Not so much
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Old 07-03-2015, 08:29 AM
 
Location: North West Arkansas (zone 6b)
2,776 posts, read 3,231,442 times
Reputation: 3912
I would expect a 250cc or below scooter would be equivalent to the camry and 100cc and lower to be equivalent to the corrola.

600cc sport bikes would get you older mustang territory

harleys would get you to old muscle car territory
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