Commuting on your Monster

[CairnsDuc]

I bought my S2R 800 to commute first and foremost and then have fun on my days off, It's been great, I trundle along listening to the Rumble of the L twin, look at it through the window all day at work (I park it about 20 feet away from where I work) then smile all the way home, couldn't be happier!
It might cost a bit extra to run compared to my 250's I used to run, but it's a hell of lot cheaper than the Mitsubishi Pickup I used to run all the time, Mitsu piece of shit!! Thrash it and it guzzled fuel, drive it gently and it guzzled fuel, Turning circle of a Bus, no power, chewed through tire's. basically a piece of shit.

Me and the S2r 800 =  [moto]

[dansamp]

I bought my 98 M900 to commute have been doing it for a couple years
prior to that I had been using my 95 SS/SP
that got to be a chore since the upgrades some of which are 41mm  FCR's and the nichols flywheel not to mention the MBP heads and ST2 cams   
Dan...

[somegirl]

I've been commuting regularly on the bike for a bit over a year now (well, when I'm in town), rain or shine. [moto]

The few days I didn't, I rode my bicycle (16 miles one-way by moto, 25 miles one-way by bicycle).

[Ducatista]

- The damn dry clutch (I love it but in the city is a real pain)

Pull or noise?  If noise, just throw the stock sealed clutch cover on.  If the pull is too hard, take out 2 springs, put on the stock cover so you can run stock springs and not have them rust, and install an aftermarket slave cylinder.  I have an Evoluzione.

- No luggage options (feasible and appropiate, e.g. rear case)

There are some huge tank bags.  You don't have to worry about strapping them on or anything complicated, provided you have a metal tank.  Just put them on and pull them off, being careful not to drag the magnets.  If you have a plastic tank, there are many that will mount to a gas cap bracket.

- Service costs

Buy your bike's manual.  With a minimum investment in tools, you can do almost all the regular service yourself. 

[The Bacon Junkie]

Been commuting 20 miles each way everyday.  Lucky for me, I have my choice of Box Canyon, Black Canyon and Woolsey Canyon to get where I need to be! Oh, Happy Day!   I use a backpack, but if I'm going out after work I throw on a tankbag, or just a bigger backpack.

[nicrosato]

When I am home and working in the NY area,  I have a 140-mi round-trip. I alternate between my '97 M900, '01 M900 and my '01 Pathfinder. The bikes generally get over 40 mi to the gal, and I also save $5 a day on the tolls ($20 a day for a car from NY to NJ and back). And, the ability to ride in the HOV (car-pool) lane is a plus.

The biggest issue I have is traffic: The road to hell is undoubtedly the Cross-Bronx Expressway.

[Binary]

I'm waiting for my 696 to be arrive at the dealership but out of curiosity how much is the maintenance cost on a Monster compared to a Jap Bike. My previous Jap bike, I did most of the maintenance myself (oil change, brake pads, brake bleeding, etc).

[NvrSummer]

Been commuting on mine since the day I bought it!  Sure beats a cup of coffee in the mornings.

[KEH]

I commute every day 20 miles round trip. However, I wonder if I'm really saving any money in doing so. Consider the price of tires and extra mainenance. I have been running Michelin Pilot Powers (not the 2ct model), which last 5k miles or less, at roughly $250 a pop, installed. Tires on my car last about 50k miles, and cost about $400 installed. Then factor in brake pads, which last me about 1 season, belts, valve adjustment, etc, (ignore oil changes, as you have to change the oil in your car too, and it costs roughly the same).

My car gets roughly 20 mpg and my Monster gets about 35 mpg. Lets say I commute 8k miles per year on the Monster. In the car, I would need to buy 400 gallons. In the Monster I would need to buy 228. @ $4.00 per gallon, that is a savings per year of $688.

Subtract from the $688,
$336- for 8k worth of tires, $400 (I'm only talking rear tire here. The front lasts twice as long?) minus $64 (the comparable cost of tires on my car)
$30 - brake pads
$200 - for 8k's worth of a 12k service (assuming roughly $300 per service). I could have added in the 6k service too.

You could also add the additional cost of insurance and financing (if you bought the bike specifically for commuting and you wouldn't have owned it otherwise, but most of us here probably don't fall into that category).

I'm sure you could poke a lot of holes in this analysis, but the point is, you're not really saving as much money as you think. I love riding my Monster to work and its a welcome diversion, but I'm not going to get rich in all the money I save on gas.

Just my .02.

[sbrguy]

you wont' really start making money off of riding the bike over a car until gas starts to hit $6-8 a gallon,then i think the money savings will start to come in more.

also since you do so much commuting you might want to consider different tires that have a litttle bit more mileage durability, the pilot powers are great i use them too and i notice they are good for about 6-7.5 k miles depending on how you ride them. but i know there ar etires out there like the pilot roads that get better mileage than those.

[KEH]

Yeah, I agree. The next tire I get will probably be a Pilot Road.

[ducpenguin]

Only issue I have had with commuting is figuring out how to keep clothes pressed in a pack back!  I like to ride with my gear on, and business atire doesn't do well under it.  I can't wait to get back out on the street (for work) where I can wear t-shirts and jeans again!

[ducpenguin]

you wont' really start making money off of riding the bike over a car until gas starts to hit $6-8 a gallon,then i think the money savings will start to come in more.

It really depends on your other mode of transportation...my truck gets 12.5-13.5 mpg., compare that to 37-40 mpg. on my S4R...and...here is the gas savings alone on a meager 26 week riding calendar.

Truck - 22 Gal. tank = $89.76 @ $4.08 a gallon = 286 miles.
Bike - 2.5 Gal. tank = $11.88 @ $4.75 (super) a gallon = 96.25 miles.

Figuring that I drive 400 miles a week and only can ride the bike for about half of the year (weather); it all equates to...10,400 miles for 26 weeks.

The Truck would need 36.36 fill ups = $3263.67
The Bike would need 108 fill ups = $1283.04
Total savings of $1980.63 - certainly buys my tires and oil!

[metaldoc]

I alternate between the Monster and the Multi.  I have been doing it for years.  I seem to enjoy the commute better and, since I do my own maintenance, the cost is not something I worry about.

Try it for a month and see.

[sbrguy]

It really depends on your other mode of transportation...my truck gets 12.5-13.5 mpg., compare that to 37-40 mpg. on my S4R...and...here is the gas savings alone on a meager 26 week riding calendar.

Truck - 22 Gal. tank = $89.76 @ $4.08 a gallon = 286 miles.
Bike - 2.5 Gal. tank = $11.88 @ $4.75 (super) a gallon = 96.25 miles.

Figuring that I drive 400 miles a week and only can ride the bike for about half of the year (weather); it all equates to...10,400 miles for 26 weeks.

The Truck would need 36.36 fill ups = $3263.67
The Bike would need 108 fill ups = $1283.04
Total savings of $1980.63 - certainly buys my tires and oil!

damn you commute a ton of miles.. well i guess for someone like you putting on over 20k miles a year in commuting the savings adds up a lot quicker than some of us only puttin on maybe 7-8k miles of commuting by bike and another 3k miles of car driving through the year.

wow, i  still can't fathom driving that many miles in a year close to 21k miles that is just insane.