cant afford to drive a car any more ,Motorcycle ?

[gone-a-milkin]

as a meat cutter at a busy shop ive got 5 or six days a week where i have got to make a 40 mile round trip commute.
now with the price of gas at too much ,im wanting a small motorcycle to take the edge off my thin wallet.
online i found a bike i thought would work (honda rebel 250)
is that a good bike for a 40 mile ozark commute ?
have ya got any motorbike recomendations?

[Beeman]

I'd say a Honda Rebel would be a good choice. I haven't followed motorcycles recently but when I do go in a showroom they don't seem to sell anything I consider a normal transportation motorcycle. I guess the Nighthawk was considered that. Not much in the entry level bikes either as they seem to cater to the rich fat guys or crotch rocket suicide riders.
They're selling a lot of cheap made Asian copies of old Hondas but I don't think the quality is good.

[Aeirios]

Am in the same boat. I have a 64 mile round trip to get to work. I have a truck now, little v6 sonoma. Costs me around 80 a week in gas. Thought about getting a small car, but my 1 1/2 mile drive way would kill it in short order. Benn keepin my eye out for a deal on the same bike you mentioned. Friend of mine has one and she loves it

[BaronsMom]

In our area - you would want more than a 250cc bike. Need something that has some get up and go on the highway. I learned to ride on a little Yamaha 250 street bike - would never commute on it - just too small.

I've commuted 100 miles round trip on a Kaw 750cc bike - and that was just right.

Also did the commute pretty regularly on my little Buell Blast. The 45 mile trip one way was perfect on it. Took the little Buell to Sturgis one year - 9 hour trip. Averaged 55 mpg - and kept up with the "big bikes". That was a rough ride on a small bike though - an adventure to do only once...never again on anything that small.

One of the mom's of one of my daughter's friends has one of those Vespa scooters - I think it is 750cc with like a "trunk" and everything. She is a nurse and uses it to commute to the same large city I do - same miles. She loves it.

Of course, in our area - weather is a huge factor and so are hazards (deer)

[donsgal]

Originally Posted by gone-a-milkin

as a meat cutter at a busy shop ive got 5 or six days a week where i have got to make a 40 mile round trip commute.
now with the price of gas at too much ,im wanting a small motorcycle to take the edge off my thin wallet.
online i found a bike i thought would work (honda rebel 250)
is that a good bike for a 40 mile ozark commute ?
have ya got any motorbike recomendations?

I would never recommend a motorcycle to anyone. They are so dangerous. Notwithstanding the fact that you have NO physical protection if you are involved in an accident, they are very hard to see on the road. I read in AARP that motorcycle crashes amongst persons 40+ is the number one non-cancer related cause of death.

I would rather suggest to you that you buy an older Geo Metro or Suzuki Swift that will get you about 40 miles to the gallon. Not only will your insurance premium be lower, but your chances of survival will be significantly higher.

donsgal

[Cornhusker]

I like the Honda Shadow.
Theres several models to choose from, and they aren't great big bikes, but easy for an inexperienced rider.
They also have big enough motors to keep up with traffic if you have any.

[Quint]

Originally Posted by Beeman

crotch rocket suicide riders.

Hey now, I used to resemble that remark. I called them fiberglass death machines though. There is just something about hitting 185 on a motorcycle. The world never quite looks the same again.

[jen74145]

Dad had a Shadow, just a gorgeous bike; it saw him through an insane wreck that he just should not have survived. Was easy to handle, inexpensive, and just plain gorgeous. My former stepmom had a little Rebel, and it was a good little bike, never any problems and easy enough for a beginner. Small enough we didn't need a trailer for it, it loaded into the pickup bed pretty easy when it needed to be moved that way.

Of course, now he has a Harley again. LOL, he loves that bike! Still wears his scarred up leathers from the bad wreck too... as he buys tiny leather jackets for the coming grandson. That's Dad, I guess.

I will say this; take a beginner's riding course, usually offered at the bike shop in town. Even if you don't have to have it for insurance reasons, please take it! And I don't care HOW hot it is, wear a full face helmet with a high safety rating and dangit, wear sleeves and jeans and closed toe shoes. It's really no too bad even on the hottest days when you're zipping along, and man, even a small grasshopper hits you and you feel like someone whacked you with a baseball.

Between Dad and my uncle and their friends, I have seen some NASTY wounds from really simple stuff. My uncle just managed to tip his bike (sitting still at a stop sign) with no helmet on and bounced his head off the curb. Several months in the hospital and some personality changes later, he sold the bike. "Shorty" helmets just don't do the job, sorry. How my Dad is alive today is just plain miraculous, he sort of ramped a Dodge Neon and flew somersaulting through the air into a nearby pasture, no helmet. You do NOT want your loved ones to see you all torn up and hurting like that, and that bike won't save you a dime if you wind up bankrupt with medical bills/missed work. They're wonderful, fun, and efficient, but take the proper precautions, k?

Sorry... Biker's daughter who occasionally wants to strangle someone popping out to play, lol. And put some darn crash bars on it, will you? A busted leg never did anyone any good.

[seedspreader]

I will also say this, check out the MPG's first. Many people are surprised that the MPG's aren't that great on larger bikes.

AND your MPG's will vary based on your weight/cargo for the smaller bikes.

They don't have to report MPG's for Motorcycles... so read up where you can.

http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/Motor...uide/index.htm

I would take these numbers with a grain of salt though...

[DJ in WA]

I have a short commute of 3 miles on back roads and was thinking of a motorcycle, but lost interest after reading this thread:
http://homesteadingtoday.com/showthr...ght=motorcycle

Learned that you need a big bike for comfort and some safety, and they don't get that great of mileage. Can't ride them in snow/ice. Can't haul anything. Need to replace tires every 10,000 miles.

Now if you're doing it for fun, that's one thing, but economically speaking, I'd follow Donsgal's advice and get a small car.

I've gone with a bicycle, with occasional driving of my old Honda car in which I bring home cut up pallets, etc from work for my stove.

[sammyd]

I have been prohibited from buying a bike. the wife works at the local hospital and has seen too many crashed guys come through the door at ER.
Seen a lot of em when I was in the Navy. Even saw one that bought it right in front of the dealers lot. They were dragging him and his bike back off the road.
I did have a nice Suzuki gs250 for a bit and enjoyed it. But those days are over I believe.
Too many deer and turkey around here and you can only ride maybe 5 months out of a year unless you're real hardcore and you can get in maybe another month.

[WolfWalksSoftly]

How strange. We are considering the same thing for my ride to and from work. 250cc to 350cc. Too bad I don't know much about bikes price and worth wise.

[stranger]

Originally Posted by gone-a-milkin

as a meat cutter at a busy shop ive got 5 or six days a week where i have got to make a 40 mile round trip commute.
now with the price of gas at too much ,im wanting a small motorcycle to take the edge off my thin wallet.
online i found a bike i thought would work (honda rebel 250)
is that a good bike for a 40 mile ozark commute ?
have ya got any motorbike recomendations?

I have a nephew that went to a motercycle so he could save money on gas, the 5th week out with it, a women drove out of her driveway right in front of him, that was two yrs ago when gas was affordable(almost)and after many operations and skin grafts, he will now lose that foot.
the danger in them today just isn't worth the money you save, park the little car at the end of your driveway and use the trk to go to the house, it don't need plates for that.

[Scrounger]

I dunno. A 250cc is a small bike. You will like it fine - until you ride it a week. Get a 450 cc or bigger. There are several 750 cc machines that will get you 40+ mpg.
Also - I wonder what kind of tires you're getting that you need to replace them every 10,000 miles. The ones that come with most bikes usually don't last very long (they are cheap-o tires, usually), but I get YEARS of use out of mine. It depends on the tires. You get cheap-o soft ones and they wear before your eyes - get good ones and they last a LONG time.
I have and old bias tire (Avalon) on my BSA right now that I have been running for 28 years. I got it from a guy who had it 10 years before that and HE bought it used! It has been on the back of 7 motorcycles (that we know of) and has an unknown amount of miles on it. I have put over 40,000 myself. It has made the trip between Nebraska and California several times.

[Windy in Kansas]

I used to have a 250 cc Honda. I would most definitely consider it too small for such a commute. The wind blew it around quite badly. Expect you should have at least a 500 cc one.

Please think about what you are considering to "save" money. You will be adding a second vehicle which will probably have taxes, license fees, and insurance needs. Insurance needs for motorcycles isn't cheap and might very well pay for the higher priced gas for your current vehicle.

Tires don't last well on motorcycles as they are of a softer rubber compound to ensure road grip.

If you want a motorcycle fine, but I don't think you will find one will save you much if any money.

[Scrounger]

Originally Posted by Windy in Kansas

Tires don't last well on motorcycles as they are of a softer rubber compound to ensure road grip.

Tires for motorcycles are made from different compounds then car tires, but.....
I have put a lot of miles in on cycles and can't see the 10,000 mile thing. There are different rated tires for bikes, just as for cars. Some are softer, some are a more durable material. It would also depend on the bike and it's driver. Some tires won't give the nice comfy ride as others, but they will last longer.

[SolarGary]

Hi,
We have a Prius and like it a lot.
I talked to a couple driving large Harleys, and they did not seem to be getting a lot better mileage than we do. We get just under 50 mpg.

It seems like the motorcycle would be a challenge in bad weather?

We have a 1 mile gravel driveway that gets pretty rough at time -- the Prius does fine on it as long as you take it easy and watch the low ground clearance.
We have an older 4WD SUV for when it snows a foot, but we drive the Prius 90+% of the time.

It has 53K miles on with no troubles.

My friend Don's solution:
http://www.builditsolar.com/Projects/PV/pvscooter.htm

Gary

[pcdreams]

I'd go with a small car also.

Heres how I looked at it about a year ago when we were worrying about gas prices

my ol truck gets 12mpg.. We were spending 310 per month in gas just back and forth to work. then another 40 in insurance.

found our little 02 diesel beetle for 12500. our payment is 250 a month. we spend +/-$40 a month (gets around 45-50 city or highway..close to 650m/tank) in fuel and insurance runs 70. so for $10 more per month we are getting to go a few places, have
a more reliable vehicle, and are making less of an impact on the environment.

To me thats win win all around. and certainly safer than a cycle.

[Callieslamb]

Dh traded his Rebel for a Shadow. The rebel was great. He loved it. He got it used for $2000 and sold it two years later for $1800. He has a 12 mile ride to work. The rebel was a harder ride on his body, but, as he said, 'a kick in the pants to ride". It couldn't get up to Interstate speeds very well, which is a very dangerous thing. I might also add that DH is a good 250 lbs. He even put a different gear on on it to help that, but it didn't do the job entirely. Dh doesn't usually ride the Interstate either, but when you have to, you want a bike that does the job. Speeding up quicly to merge was a real issue also. Eventually, he traded it in for the Shadow and loves it more I like it better too, since I can now ride with him. It is my favorite "date".

Check the jackets with the "armor plates" than and compare their protection to leather jackets. Get chaps if you are riding in the cold. DH will ride down to 16 degrees with chaps/without out it is 30 degrees. It is up the the bike rider to be aware of all opportunities for wrecks. People do not see motorcycles and often will turn into them. DH always slows way down in traffic and is always watching around him. He thinks the state road is much more dangerous to be traveling on than the Interstate since there are more opportunities for people to come in from the side.

We are totally happy with his bike and have never regretted that we bought it. It saves us a lot of wear and tear on our cars and a ton on gas. DH got 70 mpg on the Rebel and about 60 with the Shadow. We have had to replace a couple of tires -they seem to wear out faster than car tires.

[Hoop]

I had a Honda Rebel that I purchased for a lady friend and rode it a few times. It is horrendously under powered for todays roads (where everyone drives like they are racing home because their house is on fire).
Its handling did not inspire confidence.

There are many many wonderful "commuter" bikes on the market. One of the best ones that comes to mind is the BMW F650 that is fuel injected. These report mileage in the 60 to 70 mpg range.
The bikes aren't cheap. New, they run about $8000. And they seem to hold their value very well.
This model of bike is popular as a dual sport bike, when equipped with a more agressive tire.

Older BMW bikes, (1974 - 1995) of the horizontal twin design, when properly maintained, will seemingly run forever.


Harleys are indeed fun bikes to ride and are lots of fun. Not all that great as a commuter bike. Commuting means chrome gets dirty. The harley crowd frowns on dirty bikes.

Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki & Yamaha, in 1983, pretty much abandoned production of the "standard" bike. Now they mostly make crotch rockets, dirt bikes, cruisers, touring, etc. There are a few bikes that would fit the bill of a commuter.

I wouldn't consider a bike less than 500cc in todays insane highways, unless you're using it on country roads or city streets.

Will you save money by purchasing a motorcycle? NO. This is strictly an excuse emasculated men throw at their wives, hoping they can purchase a motorcycle.
The initial cost of the vehicle, insurance, helmets, riding gear, maintenance, etc will likely NEVER offset the fuel savings.
If you live in a temperate climate where the motorcycle can actually be ridden year-around, and actually replace a car, thats a different story.