Thread: Riding for Fuel economy

Do you mind if I use your economy thread to query some other things...

Not that I'll ever afford or be allowed to buy one, but I've been looking at a BMW R1200RT.
My commute is around 52kms, 90% 100km/h fwy.
I've always thought bikes are cheaper to operate and maintain but this does not appear to be the case.

Forget the fact it's a BMW, from inital enquiries:
Tyres every 10000kms if you're luck at around $240 each (?)
Service is every 10000kms
Highway driving leads to excessive wear on the middle of the tyre and can distort (?) the tread.
Book economy is 5.8ltrs per 100km on 98 RON so I'll expect around 7.5.

Only benefit I can see is that I save $8 a day parking and might get to & from home a little quicker. BTW, want the R1200RT for the upright riding position (read: bad back) and I like to cruise, not necessarily race.
Your thoughts? Thank you.

I was going to get a motorbike when I worked in the city about 10 years ago. I got my learners but that is as far as I got.

The motor bike people at work all told me that if cheap running is what you were chasing then buy a small car. As they are cheaper to run when all is considered than a motorbike. So since I wasn't a bike person that is as far as I got.

Plus I got scared off when one of the guys had a mega accident.

If you are only saving 2 litres per tank and not enjoying the ride then I'd say it isn't worth it.

Originally Posted by crash

Okay, I know this is a Landrover Sight,

and also a Land Rover site....


One rides for pleasure. You won't save money with a big bike.

My 120km commute to/from work in Sydney on my CBR1000F used to get me about 7 litres/100km. Not particularly good. Tyres cost the earth and last very little time - less if you ride straight roads as they wear flat in the centre. One needs to corner to get maximum life from them.

Fortunately I could park the bike in the carpark at work so I didn't have the hassle of finding parking in Sydney (which is not motorcycle friendly like Melbourne).

I think if you want to save money you have to go to the scooter end of town. I was reading about an aprillia 50cc joby that is two stroke, but uses direct injection technology from orbital. Apparently it uses 2l/100, but can cruise at up to 100/110.

That is pretty impressive.

Some of those bike figures are a bit worrysome. If I did 90% freeway I reckon our audi would be about 6.5l/100 I've achieved 43mpg on trips around town twice now

I get 10L per hundred driving a 200tdi with 32inch tyres and the aircon blowing flat chat and going thought 13 sets of lights and I do 400ks to work and back mon-fri and as I say to the boys at work "why would you ride a bike????

Also my tyres will last 40-60000ks and not 10000 plus servicing is cheaper when you do it yourself


Adam

Rego is cheaper for a car than a big bike, too.

Originally Posted by p38arover

Rego is cheaper for a car than a big bike, too.

Really? Is that the case in NSW? In Victoria, according to the VicRoads website, registration is around $35 plus TAC coverage.

Thanks for all the comments. As stated, I'm not allowed to have one but may get one when I have my mid-life crisis.

With rego I'm including CTP