Knew it was TOO GOOD to be TRUE

robert46123 · **Posted:** Mon Apr 07, 2008 5:32 pm

Reflex wrote:

The scooter, at 45mpg driving 12k miles/year costs $856 to operate(assuming $3.20). A CRD gettign 23mpg costs $2093/year to operate(assuming $4.00/gallon). Thats a savings of a little more than $1200/year.

At a cost of $5000, the break even point is in a little over four years. This does not factor in the cost of licensing a second vehicle, insurance, scooter maintinence, etc. Also, the fact that your unlikely to drive that many miles in a year(here in Seattle, you'd get to drive it at most half the time due to weather) could push the break even point to 8-12 years. Obviously if you lived in, say, Phoenix, you could get closer to the four year best case scenerio(probably 5 years best case with the other factors).

Whether thats worth it I couldn't say. Personally I'd rather just put that $5k towards what I owe on the Jeep and get it paid off. If I didn't have to make a car payment, I could afford a whole heck of a lot of fuel.

Edit: BTW, Darby's choice makes a heck of a lot more sense. Even in Seattle it would pay for itself in two and a half years at worst, which, incidentally, was the break even point for the diesel option in my case with the Liberty.

Run the same numbers with my 65 MPG Ninja at an initial cost of $2,500... :lol:

Threeweight · **Joined:** Mon May 14, 2007 5:57 pm **Posts:** 679

Our 2006 Jetta TDI got 33 mpg on the last tank, nearly all city driving. We got 44 on the tank before (nearly all highway).

honey_don't · **Posted:** Thu May 29, 2008 7:49 pm

Drewd wrote:

Motorized your bikcycle, I did!

www.thatsdax.com is where I buy my kits. Email me for tips to improve kit reliability. I've got thousands of miles on motorized bikes and use them for shopping and other trips in lieu of my car.

Big thanks to Drew for all the tips and help with my build. I'm lovin the motorized bike!

SmokinJoe · **Posted:** Thu May 29, 2008 9:47 pm

Seems like us oilers don't like to include the price of the additive we have to spike the tank with to offset the effect of the ultra low sulphur. I'm sure I'm not the only one that uses the stuff, and I know I don't use it in my bike, or the car, which burns RUG. Point being, the true cost of operating with diesel vs RUG should include the cost of the additive that also goes in the tank...as if the cost difference wasn't high enough.

AZ CRD · **Posted:** Thu May 29, 2008 10:06 pm

SmokinJoe wrote:

Seems like us oilers don't like to include the price of the additive we have to spike the tank with to offset the effect of the ultra low sulphur. I'm sure I'm not the only one that uses the stuff, and I know I don't use it in my bike, or the car, which burns RUG. Point being, the true cost of operating with diesel vs RUG should include the cost of the additive that also goes in the tank...as if the cost difference wasn't high enough.

B99 runs $4.53/gallon here.

SmokinJoe · **Posted:** Thu May 29, 2008 10:30 pm

No B99 around here that I've seen...so its ultra low and additive for me. ULSD is at 4.69.

PhoenixCRD · **Posted:** Fri May 30, 2008 10:21 am

AZ CRD wrote:

SmokinJoe wrote:

Seems like us oilers don't like to include the price of the additive we have to spike the tank with to offset the effect of the ultra low sulphur. I'm sure I'm not the only one that uses the stuff, and I know I don't use it in my bike, or the car, which burns RUG. Point being, the true cost of operating with diesel vs RUG should include the cost of the additive that also goes in the tank...as if the cost difference wasn't high enough.

B99 runs $4.53/gallon here.

I've been watching the price increase of B99 here in Phx. Funny that oil prices affect B99. Anybody know why other than if B99 stayed at it's actual cost there wouldn't be any (supply-demand)?

Gary

geordi · **Posted:** Fri May 30, 2008 4:00 pm

My favorite answer to that question is "because we can"

Oh, and riding a scooter doe not have to equal worrying about the weather. That's what a waterproof jacket is for, and the windshield! You'd be shocked how little water actually does get to the rider when moving. Its when you are stopped that sucks.

I sold my scooter, to someone who obviously isn't concerned with how many eons it will take to break even, but is concerned with not making payments AND saving on fuel usage.

And I bought another bike, a Burgman 650 Executive that I also don't need to make payments on.

SmokinJoe · **Posted:** Fri May 30, 2008 7:28 pm

geordi wrote:

My favorite answer to that question is "because we can"

Oh, and riding a scooter doe not have to equal worrying about the weather. That's what a waterproof jacket is for, and the windshield! You'd be shocked how little water actually does get to the rider when moving. Its when you are stopped that sucks.

I sold my scooter, to someone who obviously isn't concerned with how many eons it will take to break even, but is concerned with not making payments AND saving on fuel usage.

And I bought another bike, a Burgman 650 Executive that I also don't need to make payments on.

Which scoot do you like the best, the Honda or the Suzuki. I've been thinking about getting my wife a scoot, so she can ride with me on the Valkerie.
Both are good machines, I know. Any handling difference?

chadhargis · **Posted:** Sat May 31, 2008 9:41 am

I recently added a Kymco Agility 125 to my stable. I needed a pit bike for track days, but low and behold, the thing gets nearly 100mpg, so I've been riding it back and forth to work and around the city. It's a pretty good little scoot.

geordi · **Posted:** Sat May 31, 2008 9:32 pm

SmokinJoe wrote:

Which scoot do you like the best, the Honda or the Suzuki. I've been thinking about getting my wife a scoot, so she can ride with me on the Valkerie.
Both are good machines, I know. Any handling difference?

The answer to that would depend on the location of most of your riding and the speeds you find yourself going. Both bikes have ABS as an option (get it!) and the engine sizes are similar. The Burgman Executive has more toys, with the ABS you also get a power windshield, power mirrors (They fold in), more control on the transmission, and a backrest for the passenger.

The Silverwing is a little bit smaller of a bike, but it's still a decently sized machine. They are both in the vicinity of 500lbs, and can hold two helmets under the seat. The Burgman has a bit more storage space under the seat however. Options for accessories include special mounts for hard saddlebags on the Burgman, nothing but a top box for the Silverwing.

Performance and mileage... The Silverwing seems happier in city or low-speed country travel, the gas mileage drops like a rock at the highway speeds. That said, I got a consistent 35mpg out of it. Part of the problem is it REALLY doesn't like accelerating quickly, and that is what I had to do every time I left home: The end of my street is a 55mph secondary road. If you can be easier on it, it will reward you with better mileage.

The Burgman has an "overdrive" ratio in the pulleys (Similar CVT transmission) and the ability to "shift" the transmission manually if you want... Including pushing it into that overdrive ratio when it wouldn't normally be there. This may seem like "lugging" the engine, but if you are just cruising, the reward is mileage north of 50mpg. Supposedly. I haven't gotten there yet, best so far is about 43mpg combined city / highway with that same fast-acceleration exit from home.

I specifically looked for the Burgman after having the Silverwing as my first bike, and I don't expect to be looking for a replacement for a good long time. It fits the higher-speed riding I do better than the Silverwing, and this summer... I plan on riding it to the top of Mount Washington.

Good luck with whatever bike you look at, LMK if I can help you decide or if you want me to look at one locally for you. When I was looking, I was searching a huge area on cycletrader.com, you kinda have to expect to travel to get the right deal.

SmokinJoe · **Posted:** Sun Jun 01, 2008 9:58 pm

Thanks alot for the info on the scoots, and also for the help offer. I don't think my wife has really made up her mind what she wants to do yet. I've seen a few here locally I will probably look at, and see if it sways her one way or the other.
I'll let you know if things get more serious.

Metal Man · **Posted:** Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:21 pm

One of the bikes I have is a Suzuki GZ 250 and it's really great. It's a 2002 I bought it new as a leftover in 2003 for $2500. I now have about 12,000 miles on it. It always gets 68 - 70 MPG running the piss out of it. I had it on I 80 last week for about 12 miles with the throttle wide open the whole way and I was holding between 75 and 85 MPH. I probably wouldn't get 70 MPG running like that but I don't do that often.
http://www.suzukicycles.com/Products/GZ250K8

geordi · **Posted:** Tue Jun 03, 2008 12:51 am

Oh, now that is funny. That is the bike I learned on, in the MSF class. Beat the hell out of it in the class learning to shift and use the friction zones... And haven't done that since. Now my left hand is doing a better job: holding a rear brake lever or my drink!

I can't believe that the smaller engines can deliver those kinds of mileage numbers when the Silverwing or the Burgman are struggling to deliver 2/3 of that. The Silverwing, I could understand, b/c the transmission is completely torque controlled - it operates based on pulley RPM and those pulleys move to counteract a spring tension. So its constantly moving, and may not have the best ratio for mileages.

The Burgman controls the CVT electronically, just like a hybrid car. So it can be "locked" into a ratio, rather than constantly wandering. I would have figured with the larger engine, that I would get some better mileage. I am, but I was hoping for more. Maybe when I trim the windshield or replace it with the stock one (which is shorter) I can pick up some more MPG. I know on the Silverwing when I added the non-stock shield I lost a fair bit of mileage. But the stock shield on that bike did NOTHING to stop the wind blast from trucks. Highway riding SUCKED with that shield, I felt like I was getting tossed around in a hurricane while being bludgeoned by a 2x4.

Knew it was TOO GOOD to be TRUE

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