1. TOTALLY disagree! And here's why, we'll figure gas at $4/gal
Bike Truck
45mpg and 4.5 gal tank 13mpg with a 26 gal tank
35miles a day m-f is 9100 miles per year, car or bike, doesnt matter which.
45.5 tanks/year @ $18/tank=$819 27.5 tanks/year @ $102/tank=$2805
gas savings = $1986/year, insurance should be aroun $50/month including life and tags/prop taxes probably around 5/month.
ins=600/year
registration/prop taxes= 60/year.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tyNl9ap3BE"]Born Free 3 - YouTube[/ame]
I have the same commute, 25 miles each way so 350 miles per week but much of that is gridlock traffic on the freeway (interstates 8, 5 and 805). In California we can split lanes on our bikes so a 1hr 15min commute in my D100 is 25min for me on my bike (or 20min without traffic).
I ride a 2002 Gixxer 600 now which has a 4 gallon tank and I get about 150 miles to the tank but I fillup at 120-130 miles to be safe. So I put $12-14 in the tank every Monday and Wed/Thurs in my bike whereas in my D100 I spend $100 per week ($40 every other day because my gas gauge doesnt work).
Insurance on my D100 is $30 per month and CA registration is $158 per year.
For my 2002 Gixxer insurance is $170 per year and registration is $72 per year.
I sold my 1999 Harley Sportster 883 a few months back and the registration was the same as my Gixxer ($72) but insurance was $106 per year and GEICO kept lowering it.
On a bike this cheap (under $4,000) I don't carry full insurance. I could've scraped my Harley for $2,000 or $1,500 just for the title.
Before I got my Gixxer I was looking at getting an XS650 and hardtailing it. Make a little barhopper out of it. But I liked the power of my Sportster I'd converted it to a 1200 with a Wiseco piston kit and got a 3 angle valve job on the heads. But here's some info on the XS:
http://www.xs650.com/
parts are found everywhere and are dirt cheap for the XS.
A guy in North Carolina is doing some pretty slick stuff with those engines.
