I am kicking around the idea of buying a bike and selling my truck w/200k+ miles on it that I ride 30 miles each way to work on and get like a 600cc crotch rocket and ride that. But how are maintenance costs with one of these in comparison to a pickup truck or car? I know I'd probably double my fuel mileage because my ride is 30 miles pretty much all country roads, so I wouldn't be accelerating a lot. But a few questions I have (maybe stupid ones I'm pretty bike ignorant):

Do Suzuki or Kawasaki bikes have a cruise control or not?
How much does it cost for maintenance and how often do you have to do it?
Do they have helmets that I can get satelllite radio in (love my XM)?
Does it wrinkle up your street clothes real bad wearing leathers over them?
Do these bikes have any storage room for me to put books/lunch in them?
How do they hold up on miles? I will be putting an average of 300-350 miles a week on it minimum.
How are they to ride in winter or during wet weather? Do the absolutely suck or does your leather pretty much keep that shit out?
How bad is it to insure them? My record is pretty clean with just a speeding ticket like 4 years ago.


Thanks for the help, I haven't had a lot of folks to hit up with questions about bikes around here since most the guys I know cruise on Harleys.

[Edited on August 26, 2006 at 8:30 AM. Reason : ]

8/26/2006 8:29:42 AM

why don't you look into a v-star or a similar cruiser instead of a sport bike since you are using it mainly as a commuter.

8/26/2006 9:34:23 AM

8/26/2006 9:40:01 AM

Well thats what I'm asking ya'll. I don't know much about bikes. I mainly know about Harleys (b/c everybod has one) and crotch rockets. Thats about it. Edumucate me.

8/26/2006 9:55:28 AM

here's a V-star. very comfortable and reliable. great commuter bike and not expensive.





but to answer your original question, maintenance is a lot cheaper since it requires less gas, less oil, and you only have to purchase 2 tires!

[Edited on August 26, 2006 at 10:20 AM. Reason : -]

8/26/2006 10:18:11 AM

sounds to me like you want a goldwing

8/26/2006 10:33:00 AM

To my knowledge, no crotch rocket comes with cruise control. You can get a throttle lock, but it's not a great idea. The "Sport Touring" category is more what you need, or at least a more sport touring oriented crotch rocket like a Honda VFR Interceptor or Suzuki Katana. These bikes have a tiny storage space under the rear seat, but if you want much space you'll have to get saddlebags or a tail box of some sort.

Maintenance is generally cheaper from what I've found, although since you're commuting you'll want normal tires instead of super sticky racing tires like most crotch rockets use. Even though you only have to buy two, they don't last very long for commuting.

Your questions about leathers are dependent on what kind you get. You will water proof gear for commuting. I have heard of helmets with satellite radio, although I don't recommend listening to music in heavy traffic since your ears are one of your best senses. It's generally okay on long stretches of highway though.

Insurance sucks, depending on your age. Take the MSF ASAP to lower your rates, and ride smart and it won't kill you.

8/26/2006 10:54:16 AM

ok i'm not much of a bike guy, but windshields on bikes look really gay

8/26/2006 11:20:37 AM

WELL YOU'RE GAY, RAY

8/26/2006 11:22:28 AM

How will does a motorcycle headlight illuminate the road at night for you?

I am riding pretty much straight roads in the country, so I will have almost zero traffic unless I'm following a car. The road is boring so I need some entertainment to keep me from falling asleep, hence why I need my XM to listen to.

8/26/2006 11:24:04 AM

Get a Kawasaki Concours. Best sport touring bang for the buck. I will eventually own one.

8/26/2006 11:38:57 AM

^ my dad has an 03, we were out riding around lake gaston, and i dropped back about a quarter mile on my bike and got on it, i was doing about 130 on my magna and passed him doing about 70, he downshifted to 3rd, pulled the front wheel off the ground and prceeded to blow my ass off the road before i got 3 bike lengths in front of him, it was then i decided i want that damn bike, because it is a confortable bad-ass cruiser, second only to my uncle's fjr1300

8/26/2006 11:50:10 AM

Tires will cost more because they will last a hell of a lot less (6k) and are still 200+ / set. Also the chain/sprockets will wear out (10-15k).
Insurance is comparable for same price car.

8/26/2006 11:56:53 AM

make sure you go a car for a backup. there are some days when you really will not want to be on a bike.

8/26/2006 12:50:56 PM

Well even if I sell my pickup I still have my Z-28 or my wifes car. She may not be working much longer since she's pregnant, so I will have two backup cars.

8/26/2006 12:55:01 PM

^^Exactly. AkA cold rainy days, all fucking winter and anytime its snowing/bad weather.

8/26/2006 3:17:08 PM

KLR Six fiddy. Jump stuff. Donuts in your neighbor's yard. Ride wheelies in traffic. All that good shit.

8/26/2006 3:45:10 PM

^^ pussy, i ride to class rain or shine, 100 or 0 degrees outside

8/26/2006 5:49:06 PM

^ i have done that for a couple semesters, but there are some days when i need to be bringin lots of shit with me, and also rain and chain lube are not very kind to my business suit. not having a fender or any sort of fairings makes those rides all more beautiful. last thing, my commute involved taking 54 to hillsborough street and that is not exactly a heartstopping experience. these days i prefer to take less frequent but more exciting rides

[Edited on August 27, 2006 at 12:09 AM. Reason : .]

8/27/2006 12:08:40 AM

yeah having a bike as a dd sucks. i've ridden my bikes rain or shine but after a while it gets old. going to class soaked is no fun, or getting a mild case of frost bite from being out in cold weather for more than 30 minutes is no fun either.

i use my bike to commute on the decent days. on the shitty ones ill take the truck.

no front fender does suck, i took mine off the hawk for a while but was tired of throwing up stones and water.

about chain lube.. put ur chain guard back on.

maintenance is also more expensive.

look into an sv650 good solid dd's

8/27/2006 11:19:27 AM

My insurance was sky high back in college. I went a full 2 years with nothing but 2 bikes for my sole transportation. Gotta love those super cold days when even wearing good winter riding gloves, and you still have to pull over every few miles to get the feeling back in your fingers to work the controls.

8/27/2006 12:07:41 PM

Quote :

"Tires will cost more because they will last a hell of a lot less (6k) and are still 200+ / set. Also the chain/sprockets will wear out (10-15k). Insurance is comparable for same price car."

It depends on what tires you get and how you ride. You can get high performance tires and ride the hell out of them and burn them up in just 1000 miles or ride normally as a DD and get 5k+ miles. If your going to commute, you could get touring tires that last some 10k+ with a greatly decreased performance, but would be good for going straight. Normally you change the rear tire more frequent (6k average) and can cost anywhere from 80-200 depending on size and performance. The front tire doesn't need to be replaced as often and can last 10-15k and the cost is less than the rear since they are small tires.

Motorcycle oil is a bit more expensive then car oil since they are specificially designed for the use as the engine oil, clutch oil, and transmission oil. They cost about 17-25 for a gallon for regular and about 30 for semi-synthetic, while full synthetic is about 50. You also need to flush the brakes once or twice a year. When you get a bike, just look in the handbook for normal maintenance schedules.

I'd say that maintenance on a bike is more expensive compared to a car because you generally need to do maintenance since your riding on just two wheels and if something goes wrong, shit will happen and your life is on the line. I just had a friend with a new ninja 250 that crashed because of a coolant problem, which led to his engine overheating and blew the headgasket, which led to erratic reving of the engine, which led to him crashing.

8/27/2006 4:46:45 PM

i've been riding mine 2 years in a row year round as a primary vehicle, rain or shine, maintenance is not more expensive, and considering how much money you save on gas, maintenance is virtually insignificant, helmets with sattelite radio are possible, but you'll have to drop close to a grand on a helmet and a kit. clothes dont get fucked up unless you get hit by rain, storage is enough for a drink or a toolkit, but that's why i have a bookbag, mileage is excellent just keep your chain lubed, insurance is dirt cheap ($200/year), and as long as you burn brights at all times, you get more headlights than a jet airliner.

8/28/2006 10:46:19 PM

motherfucker you ride two blocks to school. this homeboy tryin to ride 30 miles

[Edited on August 28, 2006 at 10:51 PM. Reason : he is gonna save some money on a parknig permit tho]

8/28/2006 10:50:41 PM

I hear there's a lot more zen involved.

8/29/2006 12:07:41 AM

the 50mpg compared to 10 on my truck more than makes up for other expenses

8/29/2006 6:17:08 AM

Sadly a Honda Nighthawk won't be fancy enough

8/29/2006 7:06:26 AM

I rode a whole year from home to school and I live 15 miles each way. Rain, shine, cold, heat... Even if you get stuck in traffic, you always have that option to lane split to get to the next road or off ramp.

And depending on how I ride, I saw atleast 42mpg. If I granny shifted, I saw 60mpg.

[Edited on August 29, 2006 at 7:12 AM. Reason : ]

8/29/2006 7:10:42 AM

^^Haha yea I thought that would be very fucking appropriate for my bike.

8/29/2006 9:59:59 AM

^Though, lane splitting is only Legal in California.

8/29/2006 10:01:12 AM

btw jeff, granny means the lowest gear, which would mean LOWEST gas mileage you moron haha

8/29/2006 12:41:32 PM