| Author | Message | ||
     Britchri10 |
I am lucky enough to have just purchased a 2015 Honda Fit. It's returning 45 MPG. Approximately the same as my '09 Uly XP. I am now in a quandary. Do I put on all the gear for the 15 mile ride to work each day or do I just use the car? Pro's of the bike: Fun. (I like riding the bike) Con's: Gotta get geared up for a 22 minute ride each way and try to avoid the rainy/stormy afternoons here in Florida. Pro's of the car: Cheaper, given that the Fit runs on regular octane fuel. No need to dress in a suit of armor for the trip to and from work. Air conditioning! Con's: It's not a bike, it's an appliance! Thoughts? | ||
| Chauly |
It's Florida! Why have a bike at all? :-) Now, here in the mountains of VA, and a 50-mile commute, the choice is usually clear: My car-pool buddy won't ride on the back of the bike, so car it is most of the time. I have nothing that gets below 40 mpg, and if I car pool, it's like getting 80 mpg for my commute. This allows me to feel better about taking the bike when I don't pool about 1/3 of the time. That being said, the bike is first choice when I don't, with one condition: That it not be expected to rain in at least one leg of the trip. If it is raining when I leave, and it's raining when I come home, that is a "low-yield" experience that's not really worth it. But one or both ways? No brainer. | ||
| Brother_in_buells |
Go for the bike! ,i see no fun in driving a new car  | ||
| Etennuly |
The thing about the gear is if you do ride every day, putting on the gear twice a day or more, it will become a part of a routine that will soon have you not even knowing that you are putting in any effort. | ||
| Britchri10 |
Agreed about being familiar w/wearing gear but it's an office job and I arrive all sweaty and looking like an alien, which seems to nonplus my boss a bit. I also get soaked more times than not on the way home. As for driving the new car: It's got these computer thingies on it that tell you your average MPG and little lights that let you know when you are driving economically. ATM it's a great game. Honda reckon 41 MGP average. My challenge is to see how much more I can obtain. I'm sure I'll get bored sooner rather than later with this game but currently it is a real challenge. - I do tend to drive like a little old lady, though... | ||
| Ratbuell |
I have a new grand Cherokee ecodiesel, and it nets me 25+ right now. I'm tickled pink by that. I still ride most days. My summer gear is adventure pants over work clothes. Sidi touring boots that zip/Velcro on. Joe rocket mesh jacket with armor. Shoei neotec. Rain gear in a bag at all times. If I can get TO work dry...i ride. Pull a Mr Rogers at work and strip the gear - takes maybe 90 seconds to get work-ready. Wet on the way home? Meh. Don't care, feels good, have rain gear if I need it. Days when I need to hit a store on the way home...have a gig after work...meeting friends out for happy hour...the jeep means I don't mind driving "as much". But i still much rather ride. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Drive the car. You can't split lanes, so there is no benefit to riding. Maintenance will be cheaper on the car as well. | ||
| Ourdee |
My Jeep gets 15 mpg and my bike can get over 80 mpg. Fuel savings on 12,000 miles pays my purchase price on the bike. The price for brakes and tires on the Jeep was as much as the cost of the bike. If we are going to compare operating costs, let us make the performance levels of the two vehicles equal. You will need a slower bike or quicker car. If your car is running the same quarter times as your bike, I don't think there is a cost savings. After getting my Jeep so it would wheely in 3 gears and capable of the Uly's top end, it twisted seven drive shafts in half and scattered three trannies. It needed tires as often too. Honestly, I ride the bike because I want to ride on the bike not inside the car. See the dog with it's head out the window. It gets it. | ||
| 7873jake |
Chris, I had a 2008 Fit Sport up until last year. Like you, I battled that dilemma regularly because while the car only made about 100hp, it was willing to rev to the redline and handled like a street legal go-kart. I suspect it was as close as I'll ever get to driving a fresh, new early 1960's Sir Alec Issigonis/John Cooper-era Mini...responsive and agile. Paddy Hopkirk or Timo Makinen had nothing on me! I enjoyed driving it and as such it rarely felt like a compromise if I had to leave the bike home. If your 2015 Fit is as flickable as my 2008 Fit was, you have a good problem indeed. On numerous occasions, passengers got out and looked at it like it was possessed by g-force demons. The only unaccounted for variable in all of this is the fun factor of not just riding anything but riding the Buell. My 2007 Triumph Bonnie is nice to ride but, lesbehonest, it ain't the Uly. I eventually stopped fighting the battle and decided that the stress of having to decide was one stress I didn't need to impose on myself and just drove what I felt like that morning, never trying to over think it. | ||
| Rick_a |
My wife has an 07. The bike costs a lot in tires and other maintenance items, but cars suck. I like acceleration. 0-60 in ten seconds don't cut it, I don't care how cushy or practical it is.  Anything that makes the commute less monotonous is good. My next bike may be lower maintenance and cheaper on tires. We'll see. Though most of our interstate travels are by car, all short range missions are on foot, bicycle, or motorcycle. | ||
| Big_island_rider |
Work either 6/7am - 2/3pm or 4pm-10pm. No matter what time, it is 75-85 degrees. I can shower at work before shift so helmet hair is not a problem. Only 15 minute difference in time to leave home. Commute is 19 miles one way. Car gets 30 mpg bike gets 45 mpg. Gas today is $4.04 regular and $4.20 premium. So gas cost is car $5.12 and Uly $3.55. Maintenance cost is the big difference. If I work 200 days per year, gas difference is $314.13 saved if I only ride the Uly. (20 years in accounting/auditing) The feeling riding home, especially at night: priceless. Yes not always practical and sometimes I have to go shopping after work. But I always try to ride as much as possible. (Message edited by big island rider on July 19, 2014) | ||
| 86129squids |
Definitely a BEST THREAD EVVAAAAR. I worry about a proper heat-cycle for an IC motor... I really should bike (bicycle) or skateboard to work. The enjoyment I have of riding, plus the random appreciation of folks of my old '77 R75/7 parked at work, makes me a little lazy. | ||
| Britchri10 |
I sure the bike will make a huge comeback in my affections shortly and will once again be my choice for the work commute providing the weather is good. I just enjoying the Fit ATM. Acceleration is non-existent when compared to the bike but it is small and easy to maneuver. I climbed out of a 15 year old Nissan Frontier into it so I am about a foot nearer the ground now when driving. I have likened the handling of the Fit to being like a skateboard when compared to the truck. I still like to ride rather than drive. In fact, I just off out for my Saturday morning 200 miler on the Uly. Nowhere specific to go but I lover to ride. I wouldn't consider doing 200 miles in a car purely for the fun of it. YMMMV. Chris C | ||
| Fahren |
It does depend on the traffic and the roads, especially in FL. Most of the roads I know of in FL, the car would be the choice. Hot, flat, straight slabs. But can you get to/from work on one of the more scenic, smaller roads with some nice sweeps, etc? |
