Doing some math

I was doing some math concerning my scooter and whither or not it was saving me any substantial money driving it to work. Noting that my Silverwing gets 55MPG on average and my truck gets 18MPG I can extrapolate from there.

Figuring gas at $3 a gallon my truck uses 16.667¢ per mile.
My scooter uses 5.4545¢ per mile.

Each trip to work is approximately 9 miles one way, so 18 miles round trip.

Truck costs $3 per trip
Scooter costs 98.1818¢ per trip. Less than a third.

When I drive the truck I have to pay $3 per day parking.
When I ride the scooter I get free parking. Instant $3 savings per day.

Truck costs $6 per day
Scooter costs 98.1818¢ per day.

Maintenance costs are close enough to the same to call it a wash.

Truck total is $30 per week or $120 a month or $1560 Annually.
Scooter is $4.90 per week or $24.50 a month or $254.80 annually.

This is a grand total savings of $1305.20 annually assuming $3 per gallon gas. Now, in reality there are about 4 months of the year that I cant ride because of snow and ice and freezing temperatures. Also there are times I can't get away from driving my truck because I need to carry tools and stuff. So let's divide that by 2. That's a real savings of $652.60! That's nothing to sneeze at.

So, let the idiots laugh at me. I'll be laughing all the way to the bank.

I ride for the enjoyment. The savings are like gravy on my biscuits (not cookies--biscuits).

Smorkle:
I have gone through the same sort of calculations and also found a substantial savings in riding the scooter - even after making a monthly payment on the loan I took out from Honda. My commute is about 40 miles per day and my gas cost is more like $3.50 to $3.70. Plus, I find the riding experience itself to be so much fun that it would be worth paying extra for, but it actually costs less. Such a bonus!

Gee Waspie, MikeO, Meldrew and UK others.... Note Well.... $US3.00 PER GALLON!!



$US3.00 PER GALLON!!
And they complain about fuel costs

Well, you need to remember that they are smaller gallons to begin with...

Our European friends, who pay alot more for fuel than we do here in the U.S. already know the substantial savings between riding a two wheeled vs a four wheeled one, thats the reason you see so many more motorcycles and scooters sold around the world than they sell here. Ride Safe.

Somehow I don't think I'm the exception.
Riding my scoot costs me 4X what it does for my cage. Why you ask? Every night after supper I hear this strange noise saying Rob, Rob, Take me out for a spin. You know you want to.
Next thing you know I'm off the couch where I should be and off exploring somewhere. Can't keep the darn thing quiet . Now it wants me to take it to Alaska in three weeks..
Whats a guy to do???

Part of the equation must be if you're riding as a commuter when you put the miles on...or for a joy ride. If a joy ride, it isn't savings, but a cost.

I've saved about $7500 since buying my 2007 Burgman 400. Most of the miles, probably 97% easily, is commuting to and from work. Not only is the scooter cheaper to ride, but more fun and saves me time since I can go down the carpool lane on the freeway.

It's nice being able to tell the wife how much I've saved. It cuts back on the comments about how much a new tire costs when those come up.

Chris

I've got a very nice popup camper on a F250 4x4 that I'm selling. I can now travel by scoot and motel it for less than camping in the truck unless I'm on the road for more than a week.

Aside from the obvious fuel savings - My SWing gets approx double the mileage of my other vehicle, a honda CRV - I believe the maintenance costs are WAY lower. There is simply less to go wrong on the scooter and when something does go wrong or regular maintenance is required, the scooter wins by a wide margin. Even from the perspective of tires, there is not much difference between paying $800 for good quality tires for the CRV that will last 80,000 kms. and what scooter tires would cost. The car might win there but everywhere else, it's not much of a contest where maintenace is concerned - fluid changes, etc. I kept records on my previous vehicle a Hyundai Sonata which was a very reliable and relatively trouble free vehicle and in the last 17 months, spent approx $900 on maintenance - I owned the car for 3 years before that but did not keep track. Things like regular brake service, coolant flush, air and cabin filter changes, etc. add up quickly. As do oil changes every 5K (I do my own for the scooter but not the car)

also with the scooter, you'll never have to worry about failure of air conditioner. power windows, door locks, seats, etc. that can fail over time and other components that simply don't exist..

You probably need to also consider the additional lease, finance cost or loss of investment income comparing a $20000+vehicle to a <$10,000 scooter


BUT, while driving the scooter vs the car saves me money, having BOTH really doesn't save too much because of the extra $700/year i have to pay for insurance to drive the scooter.

$700?!?!?

That's around $682USD. In Chicago (high risk area), I pay Geico $196/yr for comprehensive coverage and $250 deductible. I save approx $9/mo. when the bike is in storage for a total of around $145/yr.

Back to the OP, I just filled my tank and am showing 42.5 MPG. We'll see if it changes as the bike is ridden more.

Yup, that's a typical rate for Ontario. You wouldn't believe what it would be for a large displacement or sport bike! The first quote I got last year was $1200. I have no tickets or accidents - clean driving record.

Octarine wrote:

$700?!?!?

That's around $682USD. In Chicago (high risk area), I pay Geico $196/yr for comprehensive coverage and $250 deductible. I save approx $9/mo. when the bike is in storage for a total of around $145/yr.

Back to the OP, I just filled my tank and am showing 42.5 MPG. We'll see if it changes as the bike is ridden more.

I'd still happily trade payments with you if I could then afford to go to the doctor!

Octarine wrote:

I'd still happily trade payments with you if I could then afford to go to the doctor!

Good point!

I wasn't really complaining about the rates , just an observation but it really is hard to understand the logic compared to the U.S.. Plus we normally only ride 8 months of the year here. I think a lot of young kids ride without any insurance here as you can imagine what some of their rates would be! Too bad, really.

KurtPerthWA wrote:

Gee Waspie, MikeO, Meldrew and UK others.... Note Well.... $US3.00 PER GALLON!!

$US3.00 PER GALLON!!
And they complain about fuel costs

Currently $US9.35/£6.00 per gallon in this neck of the woods - just gone DOWN!!! from $US9.68/£6.20 in the last 2 weeks.