Street Motorcycles

   / Street Motorcycles #1  

wjmst

Gold Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2003
Messages
268
Location
Strongstown, PA
Tractor
kubota bx2200
I live in the woods in Western Pennsylvania and have a 20 mile commute to work each day. The road I drive is a divided 4 lane highway. Traffic is not too heavy, but there are a lot of trucks, mostly coal trucks that like to go fast.

With the price of gas, I am considering getting a motorcycle for my commute. I've always had a dirt bike, have road 4 wheelers, and older street bikes. I am about 5'8" 135 lbs.

I need a bike that has enough power to maintain 65 comfortably without getting blown over by the coal trucks. I am also thinking that the bike needs to be less than 500lbs or else it is too heavy for me to maneuver. I have about $2,000 to $3,000 to spend.

I am thinking a cruiser style bike. I've never road a sport bike, but they don't look comfortable to me, maybe they are.

Any recommendations or thoughts on the subject?

Thanks
Wes
 
   / Street Motorcycles #2  
Sportster is a reasonably priced bike new even probably one of the best buys out there imo. @ 5'8" you might look for an 883 low its an inch lower makes a big difference, 580 lbs is about what they weigh and they handle nice btw.

As an example I bought a perfect 06 883 w/6k miles last year for $3300 for a putt around town bike plenty of power plus its a Harley. Now that the EFI Sportsters are out (07 up) the 06 and back bikes will be probably easy to find a deal on fwtw.

I hate trucks fwtw and especially ones that drop stuff on the road so be careful that sounds like a dangerous road to commute on a scooter just sayin.
 
   / Street Motorcycles #3  
I found that a lot of cruiser's don't get any better mileage than a compact car
 
   / Street Motorcycles #4  
I found that a lot of cruiser's don't get any better mileage than a compact car
+1

Having commuted for several years with a sport bike I recommend a small car instead. You have to drop to a pretty tiny bike to get really high millage. And it sucks when you ride to work in the morning and have to try and ride home in the rain/snow at the end of a long day.

What's the cost savings when you add up buying the bike, paying for the license, insurance and other operational costs vs that money spent on gas for your existing vehicle?
 
   / Street Motorcycles #5  
I have had a few small cruisers in my day. A Yamaha 650 got the best mileage (mid to high 40s) and an 883 Sportster got by far the worst. A 1200 Sportster was in the middle, but it was low 30s and my 2002 Honda Civic (car) gets better than that. All the bikes were manufactured any time from 2003 to 2008; none of them were old clunkers.

I also recommend a compact car. There are plenty of older imports in your price range on Craigslist all the time that will deliver great gas mileage.

Now if you want the FUN of a bike, go for it! In that case I recommend a bike no smaller than a 1200 Sportster for the sake of comfort.
 
   / Street Motorcycles #7  
I live in the woods in Western Pennsylvania and have a 20 mile commute to work each day. The road I drive is a divided 4 lane highway. Traffic is not too heavy, but there are a lot of trucks, mostly coal trucks that like to go fast.

With the price of gas, I am considering getting a motorcycle for my commute. I've always had a dirt bike, have road 4 wheelers, and older street bikes. I am about 5'8" 135 lbs.

I need a bike that has enough power to maintain 65 comfortably without getting blown over by the coal trucks. I am also thinking that the bike needs to be less than 500lbs or else it is too heavy for me to maneuver. I have about $2,000 to $3,000 to spend.

I am thinking a cruiser style bike. I've never road a sport bike, but they don't look comfortable to me, maybe they are.

Any recommendations or thoughts on the subject?

Thanks
Wes


A cruiser at 750cc and up will be about 580 lbs or so. It doesnt matter how big the bike is, when a truck passes you or when you pass a truck you will get alot of turbulance. I think you can get a good used cruiser for around 3-4k with low mileage. My 750 cc will cruise easily at 65mph and I will get 58mpg so I really dont know where these other posters get their figures from. Sure-like any other gas operated engine, the more you use the throttle the more gas you will use. I dont see any compact car out therre getting 40 or 50 mpg consistantly.

Plan for the weather like bringing rain gear or warm clothes. Take refresher course anually on motorcycling.Try and get a fule injected bike if you can. A windshield helps will help as well but can act like a sail in high winds and turbulence. The key thing for you will be experience, experience and more experience.
 
   / Street Motorcycles #8  
For a mainly hwy commute, I would go with a bike that is at least 700+lbs. There are a lot to choose from, and like tractors, everyone has there favorites.
 
   / Street Motorcycles #9  
Don't forget the other costs. I remember some of the touring bikes would go through rear tires in 5-7k miles. I had 1000 Kaw (shaft) for years and it got mid 40's mpg 650# 10-12k rear tire mileage.
 
   / Street Motorcycles #10  
Hit Craigs List and pick up a small GEO metro or something like that...just for commuting and much safer than a bike...other than weather, not saving on mileage you are risking your life with not just the coal trucks but the very real danger of commuting on a motorcycle amid going to work traffic specially....What is your life worth... $2 to $3K sub compact cars are out there....;)
 
 
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