Quote:
Originally Posted by vmaxnc
I question your math.
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As you should!
I know a lot of people think this will save them money and it doesn't. But for some people it does.
If someone thinks that spending $15,000 to $20,000 is going to save them money they are probably wrong. I mean if you want a motorcycle and you can afford one, great! Go buy one! But don't delude yourself into thinking you'll be saving money if that's not true. If someone thinks that spending 10, 15 or 20 grand on a Hog that gets marginally better gas mileage than their current daily driver, well they're probably very wrong.
But if you have a long commute, and you don't spend much on the bike, and you live in a state where you can ride in the winter (and you don't mind riding in the winter), it's
possible.
Here's what happened to me:
My commute to work was 120 miles round trip. At the time I had a first generation Nissan Frontier that was paid for. I knew exactly how long a tank of gas would last. One tank = $50 to $60 (depending on the price of gas) = two round trips. So a full tank would last Monday and Tuesday and then I would have to fill up again Tuesday night or Wednesday morning. Each day I spent between $25 to $30 to go to work and back. So one week of driving equaled about $150.
I should also mention that this does not count any travel that I did for work, going out to lunch, running errands, doing stuff on weekends, etc. $150 per week just to go to work and back Monday through Friday.
I kept watching Craigslist for deals and bought a used Kawasaki Vulcan 750 for $1600. I replaced a battery and radiator hose. Bought some gear: a full face helmet, gloves and jacket.
The Kawasaki gets a combined 42 mpg consistently. Sometimes slightly higher but usually around 42 mpg. I usually stop and fill it up once I hit reserve. It will go around 115 - 130 miles on 2.7 gallons of gas. Cost to fill up doing the same commute as I described above: around $8 to $9 per day. Cost per week: around $45
$150 - $45 = $105 (Amount saved per week.)
$105 * $4 = $420 (Amount saved per month.)
$1600 / $420 = 3.8
So I figure the bike paid for itself in around four months. Figure in the gear, MSF course and miscellaneous stuff, it's probably closer to five months.
This isn't for everyone. If your commute is under 40 miles, you probably won't save money by buying a motorcycle. If you will be spending a lot of money on the motorcycle in question, it'll take longer for it to pay for itself. And it likely never will pay for itself if we're talking about a $15,000+ Harley. If you only ride when it's perfect weather, say when the temp is between 65-75: you won't save money. If you can't or won't ride in the winter, don't expect to save money either. A parked bike isn't doing you any good.
But for some people that don't mind braving the rain, bugs and texting cagers: it's possible.
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