Public Transportation vs Motorcycle Only

[He Man]

I was thinking what would happen if I depended on my motorcycle only instead of public transportation. And came to this conclusion for NYC.

If I use public transportation  at an
AVG 4x a day 5 days a week or 80 rides a month

So I purchase a $108 unlimited ride plan. Which equates to $1296 a year and many hours spent wondering if there really is "train traffic ahead of us".

If I rode my motorcycle only at an
AVG 45 miles x 5 days a week or 900 miles a month at
AVG 40 MPG combined city/highway or 22.5 Gallons a Month at an
AVG $3.75 a gallon for 87 Octane or $84 gallons a month.

The current price of gas at this time is $3.35 a gallon for gas, but I like to be prepared for a higher price of gas (especially when it spikes in the summer months)

The difference in savings is $288.

With a motorcycle however, you end up spending money on various items. A breakdown of my own expenses per year assuming  900 miles a month or 10800miles a year...

Belts every 20,000 miles @ $50 a year
Valves @  $80 a year
oil @ $30 a year
tires @280 a year
Insurance @$360 a year

You end up spending $512 extra to operate a motorcycle. However you save a TON of time. My average commute saves me about 2 hours a day, or on a 5 day schedule, i get 520 hours a year saved. so you end investing in your own time by spending $1 an hour saved in commute time to do things like sleep and have that healthy breakfast that you otherwise would not be able to have cause you woke up late.

This would also assume you're a nutjob like me and ride in 15 degree weather.

It is debatable which is safer. On a motorcycle you could get into an accident regardless of what time you are on the bike.
At night you are likely (well i am at least because of the certain area i am on) to get stabbed or robbed which could easily factor in.

But by the same account, parking tickets come with the territory of operating a motorcycle, as well as moving violations such as speeding, running a red light camera, lane splitting or having a loud exhaust (which is why i have a stock exhaust).

And to counter point that, you could get a ticket on the train for something like sitting on an object that is not for sitting (read: Pregnant women Fined for sitting on stairs) or for having your book bag on an open seat, even if no one is on the train.

So there you have it. Public Transportation is cheaper in the long run, but time is money.

[DucofWestwood]

you get 40 MPG in Manhattan?  wow.  i only get 30 MPG but i've always told myself it's b/c i ride exclusively in LA city traffic, but the traffic's not as bad as NYC.  good for you.

[Turf]

women are less likely to be impressed with you're train pass.

[sbrguy]

women are never impressed by motorcycles either, the only people that care about ducati's and exotic italian bikes are other dudes.  well i guess that isn't a bad thing, assuming that you like that sort of thing.

but good breakdown of the costs of commuting, moneywise public transportation almost always beats driving/motorcycles, unless the commute is short enough for riding a bicycle then the bicycle wins.  when you factor in time savings well then time is money at points so its up to someone to decide which is more important.

[Timmy Tucker]

women are less likely to be impressed with you're train pass.

And there it is.

But by the same account, parking tickets come with the territory of operating a motorcycle, as well as moving violations such as speeding, running a red light camera, lane splitting or having a loud exhaust (which is why i have a stock exhaust).

And to counter point that, you could get a ticket on the train for something like sitting on an object that is not for sitting (read: Pregnant women Fined for sitting on stairs) or for having your book bag on an open seat, even if no one is on the train.

I wouldn't really take that into consideration because all of these scenarios are preventable.


Finally, where are you getting belts for $50?

[zarn02]

Finally, where are you getting belts for $50?

http://www.ca-cycleworks.com/exactfit/

Edit: Though they say the price is for "each," so I guess the accuracy of $50 belts depends on what you mean when you say that.

[He Man]

you get 40 MPG in Manhattan?  wow.  i only get 30 MPG but i've always told myself it's b/c i ride exclusively in LA city traffic, but the traffic's not as bad as NYC.  good for you.

Manhattan is a broad term. You cant ride inside the city with all the no right turn past X street but only when theres no Bus there, however if its between so and so hours, then you have to spin a dice and then make a left turn based on the number factored by a 10, also if there is a lady crossing a street you cannot make a right, unless she is wearing red. no wait i think i got that one wrong.

My commute takes me from south brooklyn (local to the brooklyn bridge) to 140th street via FDR so its exclusively highway and that length of my trip is only 12minutes, 30 with traffic (yes ive timed myself!). my highway MPG is about 50mpg. If im doing local commuting, it drops down to about 30mpg avg.

I wouldn't really take that into consideration because all of these scenarios are preventable.
Finally, where are you getting belts for $50?

regarding tickets: That's debatable, live in NYC and anyone will tell you at least 1 ridiculous ticket story. Its the perspective of the cop vs your perspective and the truth. you will get bit eventually even if you did no wrong.

And the belt price is PER YEAR. belts are $100 for the set. Change em every 2 years based on 10,000 miles a year. so $50 a year. I run them for 2 years, not 12,000 miles.

[Timmy Tucker]

regarding tickets: That's debatable, live in NYC and anyone will tell you at least 1 ridiculous ticket story. Its the perspective of the cop vs your perspective and the truth. you will get bit eventually even if you did no wrong.

I see what you mean.

And the belt price is PER YEAR. belts are $100 for the set. Change em every 2 years based on 10,000 miles a year. so $50 a year. I run them for 2 years, not 12,000 miles.

Cool. I assumed you meant $50 a pair.

[He Man]

Cool. I assumed you meant $50 a pair.

i wish! first time i ordered them i thought, hey $50 a pair for genuine ducati OEM belts!!! awesome!!!

i got 2 of them in the mail and a note from candice @ CA-Cycleworks that said, belts are $50 a piece, charged you for 2!

doh! who buys em in singles anyway?

[Turf]

women are never impressed by motorcycles either

go talk to a girl, ask her if she wants to learn to ride a motorcycle...best pickup line ever

[MendoDave]

If I were you I would do both. Ride when you can, and take the public transit when that makes more sense than taking the bike. Like when its 15 outside, or you have a bunch of stuff, or you have to wear a suit.

[J5]

you forgot to factor in depreciation

other wear and tear

the fact that PT sucks badly

my answer if you are commuting all the time , buy a cheapo bike that is cheap to run and service yourself using real cheap tyres that last a long time

the wear and tear and depreciation saved on your nice bike pays for it easily

you then appreciate riding your nice bike on weekends or the odd sunny day

[He Man]

go talk to a girl, ask her if she wants to learn to ride a motorcycle...best pickup line ever

Yea until she tries to hit you up on your offer and she is too weak to keep her hand on the dry clutch!

J5, I could care less about depreciation, I plan on running my S2R1000 until the motor blows up! the real truth is my S2R1000 is my sport touring bike, track bike, and commuting bike. I cant afford 2 bikes anyway. Id LOVE to sell my bike and pick up a ninja 250, but then its not powerful enough to tour on. Id love to pick up a Sport bike, but then it sucks to commute on. The monster is the jack of all trades. though i wish the MPG was better.

I would trade my Monster for a VFR400 though!

[Turf]

Yea until she tries to hit you up on your offer and she is too weak to keep her hand on the dry clutch!

Thats why you have an 86 honda dirtbike off craigslist you traded for an old guitar, planning ahead

/threadjack

[J5]

Yea until she tries to hit you up on your offer and she is too weak to keep her hand on the dry clutch!

J5, I could care less about depreciation, I plan on running my S2R1000 until the motor blows up! the real truth is my S2R1000 is my sport touring bike, track bike, and commuting bike. I cant afford 2 bikes anyway. Id LOVE to sell my bike and pick up a ninja 250, but then its not powerful enough to tour on. Id love to pick up a Sport bike, but then it sucks to commute on. The monster is the jack of all trades. though i wish the MPG was better.

I would trade my Monster for a VFR400 though!

you forgot about clutch replacements

everyone thinks that they cant afford another bike, buit you are paying for it anyway with your current one

with wear and tear , maintenance , fuel etc etc