Street Motorcycles

[Bird]

It seems there is a trend among aging boomers towards trikes. I also read that older riders are experiencing higher crash rates, probably due to loss of agility, vision, hearing, muscle tone, etc. Older people break easier and take longer to heal. I don't know how old you are, just tossing that out there.

All true, and I quit riding 24 years ago; finally dropped the motorcycle endorsement on my drivers license a few years ago.

 

[nybirdman]

Reminds me of a guy I used to work with.Bought a 750 Honda to save gas money.He T-boned a car and spent six months in the hospital and earned a shoe box full of screws and pins.Crushed the whole left side of his body.

 

[oldnslo]

As an bike rider of 30 + years you will NEVER save enough on gas to justify owning a motorcycle over 650 cc Vs an economy car like a Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, etc. Motor cycles eat tires and they are VERY expensive. You can figure $150 or more per tire and maybe get 15K out of a rear tire. Insurance depending on your age and driving record can also be a real shock. Living in PA what can you expect maybe 7 months per of riding conditions so 5 months the bike sits. Do you have a place to store the bike during the winter?

Like others I have been caught in the rain, snow, sleet, etc. and driving in traffic under those conditions removes all of the fun factor very quickly.

Current ride is a BMW K1200LT and if you behave it will deliver upper 40's to low 50's, misbehave and upper 30's is what your MPG will be.

Your choice but if money is in short supply consider what you will do in the winter months.

Roy

 

[Stimw]

I bought my first Harley when I was 16, for $15.00 , had to spend $45.00 to make it driveable!
I rode it to work one day when it was 30* and raining but the sunny days were more fun!
In 1974 I got run down by a drunk driver. I stopped for a 4 way stop sign and he hit me from behind doing about 35mph.
Police charged him with following too close! His 1966 Olds had to be towed, it took out the bumper, grill and radiator.
It totaled my bike, a Triumph 650 Bonniville. I got a sprained ankle from jumping up with my leg under the bike (I was afraid he was going to hit me again!). It took all the fun out of it after that.

 

[tomd999]

Hiya,

Yep, if you want a bike, get a bike. You won't ride it every day to work, maybe 2 or 3 days a week, it won't pay for itself, it will require far more attention than a used Civic or Corolla, it won't get better mileage unless you get an old Honda Trail 90 or a CB-125 at which point, the trucks will smush you flat.

I know I sound like I'm anti-motorcycle, I'm not. I currently have 8 of 'em, a Buell, Shovelhead, Sporty, couple Can-Am's, Yamaha and a couple Maico's. I've been riding and racing since 1971, I've raced every type and class at one point or another, MX, enduro, scrambles, ice, trials, hillclimb, speedway, flat track, supermoto, road and drag racing. Between me and 2 friends, we have had more than 127 bikes over the years. (That's the count of the ones we remembered)

I rode the Buell to work once last summer, I couldn't wait to get back home. Commuting is vastly different from going out for a ride, the speeds are higher, the drivers are far more aggressive, everything takes place a lot faster and the room for error is a lot less. I was planning to take the Shovelhead but never got around to it, the AC in the car sounded like a better idea.

Like I said, get a bike if you want a bike but don't get it for commuting as you will do it once or twice and park it. Motorcycles are meant to be raced or ridden for fun, not to go head to head with cages on the highways during rush hour. If you do decide to get a bike, I would suggest a 1991 and later Sportster 1200. That is the first year of the 5spd sporty and the 1200 has enough power to hold it's own accelerating, it brakes and handles good enough to keep you out of trouble and if you loose interest in it or want to trade up to a big Harley, you can sell it for what you paid for it or maybe even more. I see them all the time on CL for about the $2500-3000 range.

My 2 cents,

Tom

 

[Dale_Alan]

Put a pencil to all of the pros and cons, then the money aspects, then the RISK involved. You have to be able to accept the risk involved. On your roads there I would say risk is above average.
Dale

 

[firedog]

I have to agree Tom & TripleR.

If your buying a bike as an extra vehicle, you wont save any money. By the time you figure in the cost of the bike, insurance, & upkeep, it will never pay for itself. There will be days you wont be able to ride due to inclement weather.
If you were to sell or trade off an extra vehicle for a bike, then you might incur some savings.

Now, if you want a bike and need an excuse, then by all means, indulge yourself.

I ride a Yamaha Roadstar 1600, get 40mpg around town.

 

[stuckmotor]

This thread has been especially interesting to me because, last year, I bought a moped to ride out to the farm while my mini van was down. I figure the trip on the moped cost me about 1/4 what it costs to ride in the van. My problem is that in S.C. mopeds are legally required not to exceed 25 mph. I consider this speed dangerously slow and am considering a used 250 cc Honda Rebel. The claimed mileage is about the same as my moped. After reading some things in this thread, I'm having second thoughts and might just stick with the moped. Has anyone here ever had a Rebel and could you tell me some of the disadvantages of such a small bike? Many of of the used ones I see on Craigs List have low mileage and I can't figure out why their owners want to part with them.

 

[TripleR]

This thread has been especially interesting to me because, last year, I bought a moped to ride out to the farm while my mini van was down. I figure the trip on the moped cost me about 1/4 what it costs to ride in the van. My problem is that in S.C. mopeds are legally required not to exceed 25 mph. I consider this speed dangerously slow and am considering a used 250 cc Honda Rebel. The claimed mileage is about the same as my moped. After reading some things in this thread, I'm having second thoughts and might just stick with the moped. Has anyone here ever had a Rebel and could you tell me some of the disadvantages of such a small bike? Many of of the used ones I see on Craigs List have low mileage and I can't figure out why their owners want to part with them.

I am not all that familiar with the Rebel 250, so I don't know about dependability and can only speculate on why they are selling with low mileage. The thing with a 250 sized bike is that as a good beginners bike, a lot of people will decide either (a) it's too small and trade for a bigger bike (b) motorcycles just aren't for me and sell it. I rode a 250 Yamaha for a couple of years and both my sons and grandson rode 250 Ninjas and then went bigger; all were still in good shape.

Keep in mind all of the aforementioned in mind and sit down with a pen and paper and figure out all of your costs ie; gas saved against cost of purchase, maintenance and insurance to see if it make economic sense.

You really can't quantify the "fun factor", so if you just want a bike like many of us then get it and forget the economics. As I mentioned, I rode bikes to school and to work but that was not the reason I bought them. I spent WAY more money on them than I ever saved, but in spite of the lost skin, bruises etc., I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

 

[stuckmotor]

TripleR,
Thank you for responding. Was your Yamaha, a VStar 250? I actually considered one of those first but, that model isn't nearly as plentiful in my area as the little Hondas.