How many ride 6 or 7 days a week?

[NCStephen]

I ride to work nearly everyday. I guess there might be 2-3 days/month when I take the car. That will often be for a work trip where I have to haul equipment or snow on the ground or severe storms. On weekends there is little time to ride over the last few years. So then the car gets used. Since I started riding this bike (43 months), the car has gathered 34,000 miles while the bike accumulated 87,000 miles. It is a great way to do daily travel as well as fun travel. Clearly the car is the cheaper alternative, the bike the one that gives more grins/mile.

NCS

[SomethingClever]

I commute on the bike, every day in the spring, summer and fall and probably 50-60% of the time in the winter.

Sadly, I don't often have time to take it out for a spin on the weekends

I only wind up doing about 4,000 miles a year though, because my commute is only 8 miles round trip. (I also take it out for lunch and errands all the time, but tend to stay within a few miles of home). By comparison I only did something like 1,800 miles last year in my car. The wife's car gets 10,000 miles a year which includes lots of family road trips and her commuting.

[YJake]

I have been riding every day for over a year now with my bikes as my only mode of transportation. I average 1,000 miles a month and enjoy it except for the daily rain and 90+ degree temps during the summer.

Oh, look at that! It's almost summer!

-Jake

[Gadget Girl]

Originally Posted by NCStephen

I ride to work nearly everyday. I guess there might be 2-3 days/month when I take the car. That will often be for a work trip where I have to haul equipment or snow on the ground or severe storms. On weekends there is little time to ride over the last few years. So then the car gets used. Since I started riding this bike (43 months), the car has gathered 34,000 miles while the bike accumulated 87,000 miles. It is a great way to do daily travel as well as fun travel. Clearly the car is the cheaper alternative, the bike the one that gives more grins/mile.

NCS

Here are some figures somebody ran to refute that.


http://www.whybike.com/blog/index.php?p=150

[bk brkr baker]

I farm , so no comute. Last year I put about 20,000 miles spread between 3 bikes and about 6000 spread between 2 trucks. I put a lot of hours in on tractors, but don't track those miles.
11,000 of the bike miles were trips and the weather is just another factor on a trip. I was in Canada for 6 days and it rained 5 of those .As long as there's not much snow , and no ice I can carry on.

[NCStephen]

Originally Posted by Gadget Girl

Here are some figures somebody ran to refute that.


http://www.whybike.com/blog/index.php?p=150

OK.. this got me to thinking and I just dropped some numbers of the basics I recall for each vehicle. I didn't capture everything but think I did do a fair job of getting most of the expenses. I was surprised.

Basic costs
99 Volvo v70,bought w/ 100,000, now 221,000... 9000
current value 7 yrs owned ............................-2000
new head repair with timing belt (pulley broke) .. 4400
Radiator and fan............................................ 900
gas mid grade and premium avg mpg 29 ...........13350
tires 1 set .................................................. ..500
misc services ............................................... 1500

basic cost for 121,000 ($.029/mile).............. 27650
per year $3950


03 K1200RS bought w/ 7800, now 95,000..... 6500
current value owned 3.7 yrs .......................-4500
fuel pump.............................................. .. 400
rear brake pads every 15,000 miles x6 .......... 360
New shocks............................................ . 2000
tires every 8000 (6-11k actually) 350X11...... 3850
Alternator (did clutch/starter/slave cylinder).. 2500
premium gas 38 mpg avg............................ 7875
mis services (annuals etc) .........................2500

Basic costs for 87,000 ($0.25/mi).............. 21485
per year $ 5808

And clearly there are far more grins/mile/year on the bike... priceless.
Thanks for getting me to thinking!!! Now when the used final drive I have bought arrives and my wife says something about how much the bike seems to costs, I have you to thank for having the best answer. (And no I will not let the conservation turn to the closet of suits and leathers and boots and helmets and gloves and raingear and wintergear and bike schools attended and reducing camping gear to bike size etc etc) Maybe I will get 2 doz roses tomorrow for her.

NCS

[Wobbleside]

I sold my car a year ago, which is part of why I bought the Multistrada a month and half ago. I wanted something a little more practical than my Monster.

At my current household there are 5 of us (we are in the process of swapping housemates and the replacement had to move in early) Once things are settled there will be 4 of us to 5 bikes (unless we finally get ride of the falling apart 1990 Connie) and 1 car. Right now 2 of us are every day riders, the 3rd would be but his Interceptor has been a bit of a garage whore. The 4th is saving up to replace the bike he had to sell to move out here and fixing the Connie in the meantime. He was a daily rider in Minn before moving out here but he couldn't find a way to affordable get his streetfighter Seca II out here so he sold it and bought a beat up truck for the drive out here. Truck is for sale and as soon as it's gone he'll be hunting a replacement.

[Gadget Girl]

Originally Posted by NCStephen

OK.. this got me to thinking and I just dropped some numbers of the basics I recall for each vehicle. I didn't capture everything but think I did do a fair job of getting most of the expenses. I was surprised.

Basic costs
99 Volvo v70,bought w/ 100,000, now 221,000... 9000
current value 7 yrs owned ............................-2000
new head repair with timing belt (pulley broke) .. 4400
Radiator and fan............................................ 900
gas mid grade and premium avg mpg 29 ...........13350
tires 1 set .................................................. ..500
misc services ............................................... 1500

basic cost for 121,000 ($.029/mile).............. 27650
per year $3950


03 K1200RS bought w/ 7800, now 95,000..... 6500
current value owned 3.7 yrs .......................-4500
fuel pump.............................................. .. 400
rear brake pads every 15,000 miles x6 .......... 360
New shocks............................................ . 2000
tires every 8000 (6-11k actually) 350X11...... 3850
Alternator (did clutch/starter/slave cylinder).. 2500
premium gas 38 mpg avg............................ 7875
mis services (annuals etc) .........................2500

Basic costs for 87,000 ($0.25/mi).............. 21485
per year $ 5808

And clearly there are far more grins/mile/year on the bike... priceless.
Thanks for getting me to thinking!!! Now when the used final drive I have bought arrives and my wife says something about how much the bike seems to costs, I have you to thank for having the best answer. (And no I will not let the conservation turn to the closet of suits and leathers and boots and helmets and gloves and raingear and wintergear and bike schools attended and reducing camping gear to bike size etc etc) Maybe I will get 2 doz roses tomorrow for her.

NCS

First, check your math. Your decimal is off for the car calculation.

Next, you're comparing a VERY OLD model car with a relatively new high end motorcycle. I also question some of your figures, but I'll leave that for others to look at. Add to that the option to do some of your own maintenance on your motorcycle. We do most of it ourselves.

[NCStephen]

Originally Posted by Gadget Girl

First, check your math. Your decimal is off for the car calculation.

Next, you're comparing a VERY OLD model car with a relatively new high end motorcycle. I also question some of your figures, but I'll leave that for others to look at. Add to that the option to do some of your own maintenance on your motorcycle. We do most of it ourselves.

Yeah that was a typo.. that should have been $0.29 for the car. The figures were ball park ones about things I could account for. Yeah the car is old but then again that was taken into account with the small current value. The large repair bill when the timing belt pulley failed and destroyed all the valves happens. But then again the 2500 repair bill on the bike was when the alternator failed and you have a ton of labor to remove engine from frame to repair it. While there it was time to do clutch, rear main seal, and some other things that were complications. Again things happen. Some would argue that getting close to 100,000 on a bike is getting a bit old for it to. I am not making that argument. I was only saying this is what I have spent to keep the bike on the road. I don't have the luxury of doing my own work. No shelter, little time, and the bike is a daily driver. So I will change oil or brake pads and some things like that. The annual service of all fluids and the complicated abs/servo system flush I let my friend do. So things like gas was done on a rough average and I just took a $ amount of $3.20/gal for the car, $3.40/gal for the bike

Remember I was challenged to see if the car was indeed cheaper than the bike. So I just tried to get a general picture. Still if the numbers are even kinda right, I was surprised that the bike was even close to the car. I would have expected it to be 1/3 - 1/2 higher or more.

NCS

[Gadget Girl]

Yea, one of the considerations for me when bike shopping is how easy is it for me to do my own wrenching. We also have spare bikes to ride when one or two need more involved repairs or we're waiting on parts.

The main point is that there are many much more affordable bikes out there too.

Just food for thought.

[sargev55]

Originally Posted by NCStephen

OK.. this got me to thinking and I just dropped some numbers of the basics I recall for each vehicle. I didn't capture everything but think I did do a fair job of getting most of the expenses. I was surprised.

Basic costs
99 Volvo v70,bought w/ 100,000, now 221,000... 9000
current value 7 yrs owned ............................-2000
new head repair with timing belt (pulley broke) .. 4400
Radiator and fan............................................ 900
gas mid grade and premium avg mpg 29 ...........13350
tires 1 set .................................................. ..500
misc services ............................................... 1500

basic cost for 121,000 ($.029/mile).............. 27650
per year $3950


03 K1200RS bought w/ 7800, now 95,000..... 6500
current value owned 3.7 yrs .......................-4500
fuel pump.............................................. .. 400
rear brake pads every 15,000 miles x6 .......... 360
New shocks............................................ . 2000
tires every 8000 (6-11k actually) 350X11...... 3850
Alternator (did clutch/starter/slave cylinder).. 2500
premium gas 38 mpg avg............................ 7875
mis services (annuals etc) .........................2500

Basic costs for 87,000 ($0.25/mi).............. 21485
per year $ 5808

And clearly there are far more grins/mile/year on the bike... priceless.
Thanks for getting me to thinking!!! Now when the used final drive I have bought arrives and my wife says something about how much the bike seems to costs, I have you to thank for having the best answer. (And no I will not let the conservation turn to the closet of suits and leathers and boots and helmets and gloves and raingear and wintergear and bike schools attended and reducing camping gear to bike size etc etc) Maybe I will get 2 doz roses tomorrow for her.

NCS

i dont really agree with your math, and your ownership experience with the volvo is extremely lucky. if you think the car with ~100k miles was worth 9k, that is close to what it was worth whenever you bought it, but at 221k and 13-14 years old, nowhere near worth $7k. thats a $1500-2.5k car all day long. and as someone that has the misfortune of working on those bastards, i would shy away like nobodys business. you are very lucky that car did not nickel and dime you to death way before that mileage.

[NCStephen]

Originally Posted by sargev55

i dont really agree with your math, and your ownership experience with the volvo is extremely lucky. if you think the car with ~100k miles was worth 9k, that is close to what it was worth whenever you bought it, but at 221k and 13-14 years old, nowhere near worth $7k. thats a $1500-2.5k car all day long. and as someone that has the misfortune of working on those bastards, i would shy away like nobodys business. you are very lucky that car did not nickel and dime you to death way before that mileage.

I didn't do the chart in the best manner to illustrate things. I bought the car for $9,000. I put the value of the car at $2,000 currently and counted that back out of the costs of buying and owning. Things vary with brands and cars for sure, but we had 2 740 turbos that did well for us up to about 250,000. The previous 850 wagon I traded for the 99 when it had 260,000 Those both NA engines. My wifes 02 V70 t5 is doing well at 195,000. So for us they have been cars good for 200,000+, get reasonable gas mileage, can tow the small camper, have room for the dogs and kayaks. But all that aside.

Again I just put some very basic numbers to do a very quick thumbnail comparison of the two vehicles as gadget girl challenged me to check my statement that for sure the car was the cheaper vehicle. That was a challenge to yall as well. Do some basic math on the two without being overly anal about ever cent spent.

NCS

[gfloyd2002]

I use my bike as a daily commuter, then head out for a long ride once each the weekend. Usually only get in the car on the weekends when I drive the kids about. Gas prices here are about $6 per gallon, and my car gets about 1/3 of the mpg as the motorcycle, so seems an easy decision about which to take when I'm ready to head to work. I ride rain or shine, thanks to Aerostich. Actually enjoy the big downpours - clears the roads of cars a bit and makes a boring daily commute a bit of a mental challenge.

[roadfool]

I ride every day, got no cage, 91 750 Nighthawk ( red the fastest color)

[390beretta]

Very interesting hearing all of your stories. Surprised a bit at how many ride bikes as their only mode of transport. I ride an '88 K75, my wife, an '08 Versys. We do have a '10 Jeep Wrangler for when we need a cage. We both work part time jobs, so are not on a strict 9-5 type schedule but