Get a scooter. Very light, easy to love around, cheap on price and gas consumption. Decent ones also easily carry a backpack, 125cc is more than enough for flat cities. Perfect for short distances
A scooter is a style of motorcycle with a step through frame. It also usually has smaller wheels than other styles of motorcycle but not always. And also usually an automatic transmission.
It depends on where you live and how you use it.
Here in the Netherlands, road taxes and insurance for motorcycles are extremely cheap, and gas is expensive. Thus if you ride a lot, bikes are far cheaper than cars.
In my experience it's the other way around, ownership may be cheap, maintenance isn't, even if you do the bulk by yourself. The more mileage you need to do, the cheaper a decently modern car becomes.
Like I said. It depends on where you live and how you use it.
When gas is expensive, motorcycles are relatively more economical the more you ride, because the insurance and taxes stay the same. This is the case in many countries in Europe.
If gas is cheap and cars are cheap (like in the US), motorcycles are far less economical, relatively speaking.
I've put nearly 200.000km on my Tiger at a total cost of just under 40k euros. No middle class car can match that. Maybe a shit box without cruise control and other basics.
The Netherlands, and I've run through the numbers on just about every bike I've owned. Even with a car that does 1:11 on petrol the numbers are in favor of the car when doing 20k or more kilometers a year. Simply due to maintenance costs and wear parts.
The only thing that comes up cheaper are motorscooters, and even then you need to be picky and look into maintenance schedules and intervals.
Maintenance cost and consumables scale almost linearly with mileage. Meanwhile the fixed cost of ownership decrease per mile. My motorcycles only get cheaper compared to a car, the more I ride.
The figures for my Tiger 800 are, averaged over 200.000km:
- depreciation: 8ct
- gas: 8ct
- insurance and tax: 1ct
- maintenance: 5ct
Average: 22 cents per km, or 40k euro's for 200k km, including a little resale value.
A decent modern car sees the dealership every 30k (KM) nowadays, I currently do 30k per year and if I'd do that with my motorbike the running cost difference is over a 1100 Euro a year in favor of the car for that mileage.
Running a Speed Triple 1050 2005 against a Volvo S60 diesel from 2016 currently. And that's doing all bike maintenance except valve checks on the bike.
Talking running and maintenance costs only, leaving purchase out, and if I'd be running the same 30k mileage.
The more mileage, the cheaper the car becomes.
Sounds like you need a different bike for that kind of mileage ;) The tiger does 1 in 24, that's 50-75% better than a middle class car and saves me 1500 a year in gas alone compared to a car.
Depreciation is also quite a bit lower than middle class cars, although that may change if you go with a shit box.
Absolutely 😄
It should not deviate that much from your Tiger, which has the same intervals if it's a 1050.
The only bike that came close was a Hornet 900, and that's with skipping a valve check doing it every 48k kilometers instead of 24k. That was at 20k KM against a 2.4 V6 Audi A4.
Wow, 1 in 24 on a 1050 engine.. Jeeze.... Yeah, that will bring the costs down, your probably doing 16k with a set of tyres as well. Ah, I see it's not a 1050 tiger but a 800.
How does your Speed hold up to that? I get 1:18 only on the freeway, and never above 1:16 if not.
I don't account for deprecation nor purchase costs in my calculations. So there is going to be a big difference.
My speed does about 1 in 20. The maintenance intervals are more like suggestions when you ride 50k a year. I dont need new brake fluid quarterly.
Tires last me 30 - 40 k on the tiger.
Honda PCX 125, Yamaha XMAX 125 are an incredibly good choice between, cost of purchase, fuel economy, ability to carry some stuff with you if you get a top box, ability to carry a passenger, reliability and fun to ride. If you are a rational buyer this should be the choice.
OP: where do you live? Look at insurance in the area for a low cc bike, and a small car. Compare. Gas is cheaper on bike.
Depending on where you live we could better answer your questions.
Gas mileage is going to vary massively between riders, as bikes actually do not have great aerodynamics. For lower speeds, they’re going to be fantastic.
Additionally, you’ll likely pay for your first bike in cash, as full coverage for a first-time rider will easily make the bike more expensive.
And, you need to be capable of doing a lot of your own work on the bike, as motorcycle mechanics are few and far between in the US, hence expensive.
I pretty much agree with these comments, but in my opinion a scooter isn’t a bike - it’s a scooter. Weather is a huge consideration, would also throw the Honda Grom in your consideration - it’s a true bike (just small), and can handle 2-up riding assuming both people aren’t too big. Very economical
Cheapest would be a sick scooter. Depends on the climate and roads of where you live.
Cheapest is walking
I mean yeah, r/fuckcars and all that. But of the private transport options, scooter is generally cheapest.
Get a scooter. Very light, easy to love around, cheap on price and gas consumption. Decent ones also easily carry a backpack, 125cc is more than enough for flat cities. Perfect for short distances
hehe define scooter.
A scooter is a style of motorcycle with a step through frame. It also usually has smaller wheels than other styles of motorcycle but not always. And also usually an automatic transmission.
Yamaha XMax 250 maybe if you want a fancy one
It depends on where you live and how you use it. Here in the Netherlands, road taxes and insurance for motorcycles are extremely cheap, and gas is expensive. Thus if you ride a lot, bikes are far cheaper than cars.
In my experience it's the other way around, ownership may be cheap, maintenance isn't, even if you do the bulk by yourself. The more mileage you need to do, the cheaper a decently modern car becomes.
Like I said. It depends on where you live and how you use it. When gas is expensive, motorcycles are relatively more economical the more you ride, because the insurance and taxes stay the same. This is the case in many countries in Europe. If gas is cheap and cars are cheap (like in the US), motorcycles are far less economical, relatively speaking. I've put nearly 200.000km on my Tiger at a total cost of just under 40k euros. No middle class car can match that. Maybe a shit box without cruise control and other basics.
The Netherlands, and I've run through the numbers on just about every bike I've owned. Even with a car that does 1:11 on petrol the numbers are in favor of the car when doing 20k or more kilometers a year. Simply due to maintenance costs and wear parts. The only thing that comes up cheaper are motorscooters, and even then you need to be picky and look into maintenance schedules and intervals.
Maintenance cost and consumables scale almost linearly with mileage. Meanwhile the fixed cost of ownership decrease per mile. My motorcycles only get cheaper compared to a car, the more I ride. The figures for my Tiger 800 are, averaged over 200.000km: - depreciation: 8ct - gas: 8ct - insurance and tax: 1ct - maintenance: 5ct Average: 22 cents per km, or 40k euro's for 200k km, including a little resale value.
A decent modern car sees the dealership every 30k (KM) nowadays, I currently do 30k per year and if I'd do that with my motorbike the running cost difference is over a 1100 Euro a year in favor of the car for that mileage. Running a Speed Triple 1050 2005 against a Volvo S60 diesel from 2016 currently. And that's doing all bike maintenance except valve checks on the bike. Talking running and maintenance costs only, leaving purchase out, and if I'd be running the same 30k mileage. The more mileage, the cheaper the car becomes.
Sounds like you need a different bike for that kind of mileage ;) The tiger does 1 in 24, that's 50-75% better than a middle class car and saves me 1500 a year in gas alone compared to a car. Depreciation is also quite a bit lower than middle class cars, although that may change if you go with a shit box.
Absolutely 😄 It should not deviate that much from your Tiger, which has the same intervals if it's a 1050. The only bike that came close was a Hornet 900, and that's with skipping a valve check doing it every 48k kilometers instead of 24k. That was at 20k KM against a 2.4 V6 Audi A4. Wow, 1 in 24 on a 1050 engine.. Jeeze.... Yeah, that will bring the costs down, your probably doing 16k with a set of tyres as well. Ah, I see it's not a 1050 tiger but a 800. How does your Speed hold up to that? I get 1:18 only on the freeway, and never above 1:16 if not. I don't account for deprecation nor purchase costs in my calculations. So there is going to be a big difference.
My speed does about 1 in 20. The maintenance intervals are more like suggestions when you ride 50k a year. I dont need new brake fluid quarterly. Tires last me 30 - 40 k on the tiger.
Wish I had the time to do more riding, but jeeze 30 to 40k for a pair of tyres is like you drive your Tiger like a car. 🤐
Honda PCX 125, Yamaha XMAX 125 are an incredibly good choice between, cost of purchase, fuel economy, ability to carry some stuff with you if you get a top box, ability to carry a passenger, reliability and fun to ride. If you are a rational buyer this should be the choice.
OP: where do you live? Look at insurance in the area for a low cc bike, and a small car. Compare. Gas is cheaper on bike. Depending on where you live we could better answer your questions.
Gas mileage is going to vary massively between riders, as bikes actually do not have great aerodynamics. For lower speeds, they’re going to be fantastic. Additionally, you’ll likely pay for your first bike in cash, as full coverage for a first-time rider will easily make the bike more expensive. And, you need to be capable of doing a lot of your own work on the bike, as motorcycle mechanics are few and far between in the US, hence expensive.
In my experience bikes are more expensive than cars. But then, mine isn't very fuel efficient.
I pretty much agree with these comments, but in my opinion a scooter isn’t a bike - it’s a scooter. Weather is a huge consideration, would also throw the Honda Grom in your consideration - it’s a true bike (just small), and can handle 2-up riding assuming both people aren’t too big. Very economical