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1) This is to be your first bike. I infer little or no riding experience.
2) You intend to ride mostly highway miles for your commute.
3) You're a sizable guy, so need a middle-weight to heavy weight bike (frame size, ergonomics, and seating comfort become the primary concerns over HP issues).
4) Minimum displacement to reasonably do the job will be 500cc, although I'd be looking more for an 750 to 1000 cc bike.
5) Most bikes that will fit your requirements will only deliver mid 40's to low 50's mpg if ridden fairly conservatively. There are exceptions to this that may deliver better fuel economy, but for the most part ... they are not in your price range. Some of the posters above have given you some real-world guideline numbers to get into motorcycling. Consider that a lot of performance bikes will require premium fuel, which carries a price higher than regular fuel.
6) As a newbie rider, I'd be hesitant to advise you to start on this much motorcycle. I don't know where you are riding in Florida, but my experiences with traffic, road conditions, weather, and driver behavior on trips from Denver to St Pete, Naples, or Miami ... aren't very user friendly for a motocyclist, let alone a newbie in the traffic. From what I've seen, folks there drive without a lot of consideration for the other motorist ... making abrupt lane changes without looking or signaling seems to be a hallmark of the drivers in the region. Every trip I've driven down there was cautioned by more knowledgeable drivers than me to be very careful about spacing/distance/speed and to be very aware of the traffic around me at all times. I've been told to watch for the "crazies" and give them as wide a berth as possible and just let them go ahead to give me space. I've been stuck in the flow of traffic several times and watched folks pass on the road shoulders ... just to get stuck behind a car only a few ahead of me at the time. I've also watched a lot of folks "roll through" stop signs with the merest glance to verify traffic with a right of way, coming very close to an accident. I've also ridden a fair amount in the Orlando area, and the rainfall intensity there doesn't give good visibility or road drainage. Doesn't give me a lot of confidence that I'm going to be seen on a motorcycle.
7) Knowing that there's a lot of cars that can deliver all-weather comfort and fuel economy close to the range you could achieve with the bikes that will meet your requirements, I'd suggest you to look at economy cars in your price range for your commuting requirements.
8) If you are looking to get a bike for recreation, then I'd suggest you get a smaller displacement used bike for a starter, learn to ride on it and keep it for your riding enjoyment, with only a few forays into the commute chores until you build up experience and confidence.
9) I have a number of friends who ride big singles, dual sport type bikes. While they can deliver reasonable fuel economy, they struggle to get up to 65-70 mph. Yes, they can achieve faster speeds given time and road conditions to do so, but accelerating to keep up with traffic can be a chore. These bikes do much better in lower speed commutes .... one of my neighbors uses a 650cc Kawasaki (a very nice machine, BTW), but he has given up riding it on the 75 mph highway around here. He stays on the frontage road (the old pre-interstate highway) that has a lot less traffic and speeds of 55-65 mph. If he needs a bit more distance/time to reach 65 mph cruise, he can do it without being in the way of traffic. His commute time to work (about 38 miles) is the same as in his car in nice weather, but he's got to change into his work uniform (business suit w/tie) upon arrival at work, and change out of that to head homeward.
10) Learning to ride safely is more than just knowing how to shift gears and use the brakes on your bike. The motorcycle safety course is paramount to learning about motocycle handling and the best ways to deal with real world riding scenarios. I'd urge you to take one of the courses before you buy any motorcycle to learn about these skills. You may also discover that you'll need some time, experience, and miles on a bike before putting it all together from the limited time in the MSF course.
11) You need to honestly assess your risk tolerance for the value you might receive in fuel economy for your commute. I can't speak for all the other posters on this thread, but I'll be honest when I tell you that I've been riding for almost 50 years ... and
With all those miles ... have been a few get-offs/accidents. None serious, none requiring hospitalization, but all a lot worse than a small nuisance. All caused by encounters with cars who took my right of way.
As a motorcyclist, you will need to aggressively spot those places that put you into a compromised position and avoid them or only be there with extreme caution.
If you have friends that are motocyclists of with long-term commuting experience, you might want to visit with them about their real-world accidents through the years.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sunsprit
...
1) This is to be your first bike. I infer little or no riding experience.
2) You intend to ride mostly highway miles for your commute.
...
5) Most bikes that will fit your requirements will only deliver mid 40's to low 50's mpg if ridden fairly conservatively. ...
6) As a newbie rider, I'd be hesitant to advise you to start on this much motorcycle. ... Doesn't give me a lot of confidence that I'm going to be seen on a motorcycle.
7) Knowing that there's a lot of cars that can deliver all-weather comfort and fuel economy close to the range you could achieve with the bikes that will meet your requirements, I'd suggest you to look at economy cars in your price range for your commuting requirements.
...
10) Learning to ride safely ...
11) You need to honestly assess your risk tolerance for the value you might receive in fuel economy for your commute. ...I've been riding for almost 50 years ... and
...accidents. ... All caused by encounters with cars who took my right of way.
As a motorcyclist, you will need to aggressively spot those places that put you into a compromised position and avoid them or only be there with extreme caution.
I'm with SS on this, 50 yrs riding for me (4 yrs pro racing), I cannot recommend a MC for economy and certainly not for a 1st time 50 yr old. If you are single and really committed, OK (maybe) BUT if married w/ children I would say NO to first time riding at age 50. It really is not that much fun, as it can be a REAL HASSLE and real dangerous and pretty lonely living in an Oxygen tent for the desire of saving a few bucks. 50 yr olds and MCs Do Not look good in statistics. DEFENSIVE, highly watchful driving is necessary on a MC in traffic. (and you can still get crunched)
Get a $35 'StealthRabbit' (vw Diesel Rabbit, vintage 1976 - 1984). 50 mpg on free fryer grease with HEAT, wipers, radio, doors... (you will wish you had these on MC... I like the A2's (Golf or Jetta) (1985 - 1992). If riding on the wild side is your style, Make a euro Spec GTD (Turbo Diesel GTI).. This may drop your mileage to 45, unless you can keep off the throttle.
My B4 VW Passats get 52 MPG. have 25 gal tanks (yes 600+ miles on the top 1/2 tank!!) They have AC and airbags, I have gotten several of them for under $2000 each. Today I had 135 miles BEFORE the gauge dropped to Full. A motorcycle will likely be getting pretty low on fuel @ 150 miles (plus you will be beat and need a break.
I find lots of VW diesels in Brier patches, some I get for free
sunsprit gave you a lot of good advice. I love motorcycles, but for practicality and economy, I would suggest a small car. It just isn't much fun to commute on one, besides having to be on your guard all the time, and riding in precipitation or cold is a drag.
sunsprit gave you a lot of good advice. I love motorcycles, but for practicality and economy, I would suggest a small car. It just isn't much fun to commute on one, besides having to be on your guard all the time, and riding in precipitation or cold is a drag.
If you just want to ride, that's another matter!
Yes, im going to have to give much consideration to all this before buying a bike...because as it stands right now, Im wanting one primarily for saving money at the gas pump. Im sure id enjoy riding it and would like to be part of a club, but my main focus was on it being a money saver . Here in northern Florida, the insurance is ALOT more versus up north due to the poor driving habits of locals.,tourists, and elderly...so the safety issue has me concerned as well. Thanks.
Im 57 years old and want to buy my first Motorcycle to save on gasoline expenses.
My 2006 VTX gets between 40 and 50 mpg. It is 1800cc, fuel injected, and liquid cooled. I'm thinking about getting a newer bike. You might be able to buy it from me. It has about 12K miles on it.
My 2006 VTX gets between 40 and 50 mpg. It is 1800cc, fuel injected, and liquid cooled. I'm thinking about getting a newer bike. You might be able to buy it from me. It has about 12K miles on it.
Please PM me and tell me the price , if theres anything that doesnt work right, and its general condition including tires . Thanks,
That's a big heavy bike to start out on. Just sayin'...Go to a Honda showroom and see if you can feel comfortable handling it.
I shall do exactly that this weekend, but, Im a pretty strong Dude at 6'3" and 260 lbs. Would love to hear from other VTX owners on its reliability history , etc...
I am 6' and 230 lbs. I just turned 60. Ten years ago I went into a BMW dealership and bought the largest bike I could find after 20+ years of riding absence. It was a K1200LT that weighed 850 lbs. Since then, I've owned 7 BMW's=3 K1200LT's, an R1100RT, a K1300GT, an F650GS, a K75, a Honda 1000 Goldwing (vintage "78) and a Honda XR250. Totaling over 130k miles. I had two accidents in that time and was without a bike for 7 months and again 22 months. Somehow I managed to find another bike and start riding again after both get-offs.
I bought my last bike in Maine over a year ago and rode it out to CA where I've been since. A used 2000 R1100RT with only 33k miles on it for $5600. Only 550 lbs compared to the much larger LT. It has 53k miles now and have serviced it already several times and am on my second set of tires. I get 42mpg premium gas. I think a high mileage car is still cheaper than riding bikes because car tires and car sercicing is MUCH cheaper than putting high mileage on bikes. I once did a study on a BMW site and found out that me and my friends all had a $900. per month hobby. When you ad all the costs associated with a bike like payment, insurance, gear, servicing, farkeling (accessorizing), trips, etc., it all added up. Plus the fact that we all rode about 20-25k miles a year.
I don't know if this helps you make a decision. Just my own experiences with riding in the 50's. I do know that what others have suggested about riding courses and a smaller bike to start off is all sound advice.
You might consider a scooter. That Burgman 650 is a solid bike and gets good mileage. I would think in the mid-50's. I get about 62 on my Silverwing but I'm conservative. On my Helix I got 72, probably not enough power although several of our guys here in IN have ridden their's to FL. I think the scooters are much less maintenance. If you haven't ridden you need experience before you go up on those busy highways. Take a safely class and get lots of miles in before you expand your journey to busy highways. There have been lots of good thoughts in these posts...
You might think about a small fuel efficient car instead of a bike...
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