Comparitive running costs 2 v 4 ?

After serious thinking Boots Blakeley wrote :

Hi,

A new subject, a new thread...

My VFR 750 does less mpg than my quite large car, costs almost twice as
much to insure, needs much more regular services, more frequent and
much more expensive tyres, parts are needed more often and generally
cost more. The only thing which is cheaper, is the road fund licence.

 

My bike does half the mileage of my van, costs twice as much to insure
and all the stuff you mentioned up there but hell, it's worth it.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Harry Bloomfield

.... and is much, much duller to drive[1].


[1] I use the term advisedly.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
ZZR1100, Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"

 

My FJ does about 10 mpg more than the car would for the same journey.
OK, it needs servicing twice as often, but that's fairly irrelevant for
me any way, as the car costs me **** all to service anyway. The FJ only
costs about £25 for the parts from the FJ club.

The insurance is cheaper than the car, and the tax is cheaper than the
car.

However, repair bills are far higher - so far this year it's had chain &
sprockets, two rear tyres and one front, rear shock and a carb strip and
clean.

But then it's done three times the mileage of the car too.

Overall there's sod all in it. The biggest benefit I get is halving the
journey time to work.

 

Insurance for my bike = 216ukp Not bad.

We used to live in a shoebox.


--
Molly
"Gower School" By Appointment".
GSX-R1000 (winter hack), Triumph Thunderbird,(year round hack)
GHPOTHUF#27 TGF, UKRMFBC#7, Two#24, BOTAFOF#11, YTC#9, GYASB#1.
SbS#23. DFWAG#2, DS#2, DIAABTCOD#20. remove "thisbit" in the reply
http://www.sportsbike.org
(our own race team)
http://www.bikegirl.co.uk/ladies/racingladies.html
"Nemo repente fuit turpissimus"

 

So far the only parts I've needed are new plugs and filters. The rest
has been fixed with gaffer tape and cable ties.

Mine's about the same tbh. It's only the ncd on the bike that makes it
that way, though.

I go everywhere on my bike. Sometimes I *have* to drive the van because
it'd just rot sitting there; it isn't my first thought when I have to go
out.

That's a good reason but (and I know this sounds like a cliché) I ride
one because of the way I feel when I ride it and for the remaining time
before I go out on it again.

I was the most miserable sod I knew when I lost my licence. Having my
bike is what keeps me sane. I know it costs stupid amounts of money to
keep it running but the sigh of relief is worth it and when compared to
thrills per mile, it'll beat a (ones I've driven) car hands down.

The only downside to a bike is the freezing weather, but having said
that, I never noticed it until I bought a four wheeler.

I need a new pair of tyres soon but I'm not going to ruin a good set of
tyres on this weather. I've still got a hair's breadth of tread left so
I'll keep running it until the shadows start getting longer and there's
a bit of warmth in the sun.

 

My bike does about 15mpg more than my car, costs half as much to insure,
doesn't (I suspect) mind missing services as much, is a good 2 or 3 seconds
faster to 60 and probably isn't that much worse on tyres.

OTOH it's bog all good for getting my wife and daughter anywhere.

--
AndrewR, D.Bot (Celeritas)
Kawasaki ZX-6R J1, Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo
BOTAFOT#2,ITJWTFO#6,UKRMRM#1/13a,MCT#1,DFV#2,SKoGA#0 (and KotL)
BotToS#5,SBS#25,IbW#34, DS#5, COSOC# Suspended, KotTFSTR#
The speccy Geordie twat.

 

That's true, I have none on the cage, although my missus does, and the
bike is still over £100 cheaper to insure (if I'd gone fully comp).

I don't have the choice most of the time. It's mostly a commute for me,
other times it's shopping trips or out with the family.

Yes, that too, it's a great feeling when you get a clear run home and a
dry road. Most of the time though I spend it battling the cages.

For sure, although I have driven a few exciting cars in my time too -
loads of Jags, sporty Jap cars, and a few chipped Cossies too.

I can't say it bothers me all that much. The cold and wet is dealt with
by good clothing, it's sliding around that gets tricky.

Apart from having to scrub new rubber on wet roads covered in salt.

 

I'd put that nearer to 8-10 seconds quicker for the average modern car.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Andy Hewitt wrote:

80% of my riding is done in town. It's the dry roads when I get to go
out that make it all worthwhile. That's just one reason I want to leave
London and go back 'ome.

True. I drove a whale tail Sierra Cosworth and had a bash in my mate's
chipped up Escort Cossie, that was good, especially at night when you
could see through the exhaust manifold )

Yeah, all the drain covers round here don't help either.

That's why I'm going to leave it. I don't want any new tyres to be
square by the time the sun comes out. I might as well ruin the shagged
out ones I've got

 

Yes, I haven't regretted the move.

Aye, they can get a tad hot

Indeed, espcially when they 'resurface', and don't adjust the height of
the manhole covers.

Yup I usually try and time my tyre changes for the begging of better
weather. However, at 200 miles per week I don't always get much choice.

 

Ferckin Pikey, buy a decent car.
HTH

'Hog

 

That's true. I reckon I've got 1000 miles at most before mine become
slicks. It's a balance between slippery roads and slippery tyres.
Irresponsible perhaps but tbh it's the thought of plod catching me with
them rather than any safety implications.[1]

Now would be a good time to use the van some more...

[1] My insurance is up in April as well so I might as well get it all
done in one hit.

 

I don't have a car to compare now, but. I pay £192 per year for three
bikes. The CG125 kicks bottom in lack of running costs, but it depends
no how low you want to go, and what you're worried about riding, and when.

 

My Fireblade does approx. twice as much mpg than the car, costs less to
insure (in fact, all three bikes on my policy cost less to insure than
the car), service intervals (in terms of mileage) aren't vastly
different. A full set of tyres is more expensive on the car than the
bike (300 quid -v- 200 quid).

Having said all that, the bikes cost me more per month, because I
hardly use the car.

 

There's also the rider equipment costs to consider. You need quite a bit of
kit to commute all year round and stuff like helmets, gloves and boots can
need replacing after just a couple of years high mileage use.

 

A shoebox! Now that's living. We had to grow up on a puddle. What would
we have given for the luxury of a shoebox?

 

We used to dream of living in a puddle.

 

Infinitely more, I'd say.
--
Please add "imo" to above post.
Champ
GSX-R 1000, GPz 750 turbo, ZX7RR Endurance Racer x 2
GYASB#0 BotToS#2 BOTAFO(T|F)#35 WG*#1 DFV#8
Team UKRM Racing : www.team-ukrm.com

 

Aye, but look at what you bought! Our Hondas have cost a couple of sets
of brake pads in the last 6 years, and one exhaust (at trade price), and
a set of tyres (again at trade price). The insurance on the Civic is
£303 FC.

I do a tad more mileage than you at the moment, although it would have
been more had it not spent so long off the road last year. Insurance is
about the same here, I get about 40mpg too. However, last year it cost
me about £1000 in repairs. It's by far the most costly bike I've ever
owned.