2 wheels to save money/gas

[gershon]

Thanks for setting this up, Todd.

With the fuel prices, a lot of people are turning to a small scooter to save gas. Everytime I go out for a drive, I see a few of these around. So, it seems to be catching on.

I took a little different route. I got into riding last year for fun and didn't think the gas savings would be worth it. I have a 2007 Yamaha Majesty 400 and a 2007 Burgman 650. The Majesty gets around 60 mpg and the Burgman about 50 in all conditions.

Last week, I decided to use the Majesty around town for any trips I'd normally use the car for to see how much money I can save. I made a little spreadsheet you can get at www.bnaiorpueblo.com/breakevencalculator.xls .

It turns out the major savings is not from gas. But from the cost per mile of the car that is saved and the effect of the savings being tax free. I figure I save about $.20 a mile. A little less because maintenance costs are higher. Everytime I fill up, I put the amount saved away in one of my desk drawers. Soon to be put in the bank.

Many hypermiling techniques are not safe on 2 wheels. For example, going slower than traffic or drafting or inflating tires above recommended pressure. Yet we can certainly accelerate slower and not race to red lights. But even without hypermiling, I get much better mpg than I would in my car with hypermiling.

Keep in mind, 2 wheels is inherently more dangerous than 4. Before riding a person should take a motorcycle safety course. (google the words abate and your state.) And in the beginning, you will have to ride a lot of miles just to get proficient.

In my opinion, 400 cc is perfect for starting. 250 for a sport bike. It is small enough to be easy to learn on, yet large enough to go on the interstate. Had I had a 49 cc bike, I'd have taken the car for a recent 100 mile trip. There are many miles a 49cc bike can't take the place of. In other words, you are likely to save more with 400 cc than 49 cc. I prefer a big scooter to a motorcycle as I just don't want to be bothered with shifting. And I prefer having the rear brake on the handgrip. Plus the scooter has a lot of space under the seat.

Hope to hear from some more riders.

[wrxwagon]

I don't have a scooter yet, but am thinking about getting one to putt putt around town. Funny you should mention this though, because I just got back from lunch, and me and a bunch of co-workers were just talking about the growing interest in scooters. One guy was mentioning that a guy he knows says he was getting 120mpg from his scooter. Sounded wrong to me. I guess I should have asked him what type of scooter it was. What's the typical price that you might pay for a new scooter?

[gershon]

First of all, I don't recommend the 49 cc scooters. They can't keep up with traffic well unless you keep to the side streets. Because of this, they probably won't be used to replace longer trips. That being said, if you decide on one of these, the Chinese ones get very poor ratings on reliability. Expect to pay between 2,100 and 2,700 for a good one.

I'd recommend either the Yamaha Majesty 400 or the Suzuki Burgman 400. These are interstate capable and still have power left at 75 mph. They will both get just under 60 mpg with a little better mpg reported for the Burgman. These will cost $5,800, and $6,000 respectively. Expect to spend another $1,000 for safety gear. Both of these scooters are VERY reliable. You can expect to get 100,000 miles on either of them if you keep up with the maintenance.

However, the payoff is pretty quick. I have a cheap car to replace, and it saves me $.20a mile. If it's replacing a more expensive car, the payoff is quicker.

[The Baron]

I've got a 2005 Yamaha R1...a SuperBike with 1000 cc's.

It gets bad mileage for a bike, but still better than most cars.

[HowMuchMileage.com]

I've got a 2003 FZ1 which is the little brother to the R1. It gets around 40 which and still does 0 - 60 in a little under 3 seconds.

[backbencher]

Just picked up a 2008 Suzuki GS500F & calculated mileage for the 1st time last night - getting 57 mph @ mostly highway speeds - 60-65 mph for more than 200 miles.

Gig 'em,

backbencher

[wrxwagon]

Originally Posted by backbencher

Just picked up a 2008 Suzuki GS500F & calculated mileage for the 1st time last night - getting 57 mph @ mostly highway speeds - 60-65 mph for more than 200 miles.

Gig 'em,

backbencher

That's really good. If you don't mind me asking, where did you buy it from, and how much was it.

[eireen]

I dont have my own scooter but i want to have one. I envy my brother so much. And he's really good in fixing motorcycle.

[basujansa101]

eireen i dont also have my own scooter. but my father have one. that is very nice. my father take care of that. i help him some time. because within few days i will be owner of that.

dodge steering rack