Copyright © 2011 by Ralph Couey
Gas prices have soared and show no signs of going down, which has driven cost of operating a car or truck for personal use high enough to be of real concern to your household budget. In your search for ways to cut those costs, you may be considering a motorcycle or scooter.
But is it really that much cheaper?
For those of you considering two-wheel transportation, there are some things you need to seriously think about as you make this decision.
First of all, why are you buying the bike?
This may seem a bit of an asinine question, but stay with me, here. There are nine different types, or classes of street-legal motorcycles, each designed for different purposes. Scooters, standards, cruisers, dual sports, sport bikes, sport-tourers, tourers, trikes, and customs. If you’re only commuting around 10 miles per day and you don’t intend to ride to Glacier National Park this summer, you don’t need a $30,000 Harley full-dresser. You can do just as well with a large scooter, or a medium-sized standard. Also, while you’re in learning mode, those less-expensive bikes are less expensive to repair.
The riding season around here is much shorter than other places, so you need to balance purchase price against what you expect to save in gas. If you want to start riding to save gas, you shouldn’t spend more than about 7 or 8 grand. Anything higher than that and it will take you several years to recoup the savings. I ride about 10-12,000 miles per year, but most commuters will be doing good to ride half that much. You can assume an mpg in the mid-40s for most bikes, so sit down and do the math before you start shopping.
How detail-oriented are you?
This seems like a strange question, but motorcycles require a lot of attention. Air pressure has to be checked regularly. A low or flat tire is an annoyance in a car. On a bike, it can kill you. You also need to keep track of fluid levels (especially oil). Unlike a car, it’s not “turn the key and go.” Not if you want to stay alive.
Have you ever ridden before, or how many years has it been?
Riding requires a different skill set than driving, which is why separate licensure is required. Seek out and take a rider safety course. They’ll provide the bike, and in most cases, if you pass the course, you earn the license. These courses are taught by certified instructors who are committed to teaching street skills that keep riders from crashing. You will learn things on that weekend that the straight road experience would take years to teach. If you’ve been away from bikes for 10 or 15 years, you should take the course anyway, if for no other reason than the break you get on insurance premiums.
Start out on something smaller and cheaper and work up to your dream bike. It will likely save you a lot of heartache. Every new rider will dump their bike at least three times. Count on it. It can be in a sharp maneuver or panic stop in traffic, trying an ascending right turn from a dead stop, or just forgetting to put your foot or the side stand down when you stop. Sounds silly? Happens far more than you think it would.
I’ve been in four motorcycle accidents in the nearly 20 years I’ve been riding. Each one taught me valuable lessons about my riding habits and the value of good gear. I don’t ride without an armored jacket, gloves, and chaps, and yes, I wear a helmet. If you’re a new rider, you should too. You can recover from broken arms and legs, but a broken brain never heals. I saw a guy suffer a concussion when his kickstand folded up, causing the bike to fall over. His bike was sitting still in his garage, but that didn’t prevent his skull from smacking the floor.
Costs, risks, and rewards; the fundamentals of any decision you will ever make. But they are absolutely vital considerations in the purchase of a motorcycle. Think it over carefully. Ask a lot of questions.
Choose wisely.
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