Only means of transportation

[SpeedCostsMoney]

Who have a bike as their only means of transportation? I just sold my Harley and my truck. I’m trying to get out of debt and have about 3 thousand dollars. I’m looking on getting a used bike or truck to commute into work everyday.

Can anyone tell me about your experiences with the daily commute on a bike? I’m on the fence on weather to jump into a bike as my only means of transportation. I live 30 miles from work and that’s mostly highway travel. What’s the pros and cons?

[omegajim]

a pro on the bike - enjoying the drive

a big con - rain. In S.C. that would be a big determinant, as I recall you guys get enough rain.

Right now, I would be looking at a 2 - 3 year old toyota corolla, or something similar.

I would recommend a used Chrysler product as their resale is squat; but there's usually a reason for that. As well as the fact that their cars don't get all that great of fuel economy.

Buy the corolla, get 35 mpg, pay off the bills.

Then a year from now you can take on the big debt and buy another Harley.

[B-Rex]

When I was young and living in Florida I had a bike as sole transportation once for almost a year.

Truth is, it sucked. Here's why:

1) It rains virtually everyday in Florida.
2) I couldn't shop for a week's groceries or large items.
3) High wind days meant staying at home days. Riding in 40-50 mph winds is unpleasant on the roads, much less the highways.
4) While it was great for "picking up" the ladies, it sucked for repeated transportation of them. For some reason many of them did not like wearing dresses and high heels on the back of a scoot. Go figure, eh?

Plus there was a lot of wear-and-tear on my machine due to the short, city trips with lots of braking and no highway time.

It almost cured me of motorcycling and after I got a car I didn't ride very much for the year. That being said, there are folks out there that do it all the time and swear they are completely happy with it, save a fortune on fuel and love being outdoors year round.

B-Rex

[SpeedCostsMoney]

Sorry, I meant to say my only means of transportation. I forgot to add my wife still has her car and we have about the same hours, we also work at the same place. We ride in together everyday in the car. I need a second mode of transportation. I work weekends sometimes and I’d rather her have the car at home in case she needs it. I'm sure if it's raining or really cold I could take the car.

[tricker]

ahhhh............ makes sense now. But everything i could have said has been said already.....

[baltimorebayside]

Not only all that......what if you're sick and need to get to the doctors or hospital?

I had the flu so bad once, the doctor told me to meet him at the emergency room in the hospital...I drove myself up, once there, I was unable to sit upright!!!

He gave me 4 times the antibioticts, and my wife had to pick me up and I left my truck there.....

Only means of transportation??? I'd choose a Honda Civic....get's 40+ mpg and when gas hits $4.00 per gallon this summer you'll be set....

My bike is a RV, just like a boat....

dan

[baltimorebayside]

Originally Posted by SpeedCostsMoney

Sorry, I meant to say my only means of transportation. I forgot to add my wife still has her car and we have about the same hours, we also work at the same place. We ride in together everyday in the car. I need a second mode of transportation. I work weekends sometimes and I’d rather her have the car at home in case she needs it. I'm sure if it's raining or really cold I could take the car.

Ooohhhh in that case......GET THE BIKE!!!!!

dan

[TechJD]

My wife drives our van and I do all other running around on the bike, getting kids after school track practice, running to store for small things she forgot or we ran out of, if she forgets something and remembers at work she calls I jump on the bike and take it,
rain is nothing try 30º F. We have saved several thousand dollars
in gas money alone of the last couple of years. granted my bike has hard saddlebags that will carry about 2 gallons of milk each.
but we been doin, rain or shine or cold, I draw the line at snow LOL

[omegajim]

Sorry, I meant to say my only means of transportation. I forgot to add my wife still has her car and we have about the same hours, we also work at the same place.

oh, btw, did I forget to mention A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT WOULD COMPLETELY CHANGE THE ANSWER YOU GIVE ME?

In this case, by the bike.

Next question; budget? 5 - 6k, or more "economical"?

[tricker]

for 3k you can either get a decent older, higher mile car.... or a little bit older bike... i bought my bike for 3500. guess timing is key in your search....

[amvince]

The only issue I can see is what happens if the wifes car breaks down?

[busa-boy33]

Just my opinion here but I think a bike for a main mode of transportation isn't a good idea. Im sure some people do it but just my way of thinking it would be better to have a small toyota truck or something like that. You can always get a bike some other time. There's always one for sale thats cheap.

[SpeedCostsMoney]

My wife's car is a new Toyota. It's unlikely it will break down, we also don't have kids. The weather here is warm most of the year. I'm thinking of getting the bike for the summer and then selling it when winter comes around but by that time we should be in better shape and able to buy a nice truck.

I have seen a couple of used Yamaha FZ6 and Suzuki SV650s around in my price range that has low miles. They seem to be pretty good bikes for a commuter.

[omegajim]

if you buy the bike in spring (unless there's a foot of snow like there is around here) the price is going to be fairly high.

Likewise, if you want to sell in fall, the price will be kind of low, because whoever buys it is going to either have to store it, or at the least find a place to park it in the off season.

If you have a Toyota car, buy a 3 - 5 year old Toyota truck.

[SpeedCostsMoney]

I hate admit it but you guys are probably right. I just need to get a used truck and get back into bikes later. I just know it’s so nice here in the spring and I’m going to be jonesing for a ride.

I guess I’m just romanticizing the idea of being a hard core rider. I road my Harley unlike a typical Harley owner, rain or shine, day or night. It’s different when you don’t have a back up vehicle I suppose. Well, thanks for the posts. Shiny side up everyone.

[buster]

I use my bike as my main mode, in fact the car goes on the market this month, I have barely used it this year so I am gonna flog it and buy Anne something nice, only a few days I haven't ridden and that was due to high winds, and if I don't have a car I don't mind hitching a lift off a mate.

Also with the cost of fuel over here at the moment I don't wanna drive a car.

But everyone's situation is different.

[SpeedCostsMoney]

I talked to my wife about it last night and came up with a pretty good idea. I think we are going to buy a used car first then save a little bit longer buy a used bike. I’m sure I’ll just get a Toyota Camry or whatever. I can get a good one for 3k.

Then save a couple thousand for another bike. Not sure what I can find but I’m sure there are some good deals out there. I just have to look real hard. Then upgrade back to a better bike down the road. This means I should have the knees in the breeze by this summer.

[RAddiction]

I couldn't do a bike as my only mode of transportation. In the summer I ride almost every weekday to work as long as the weather is good. My work is only 6-7 miles from home. The best thing is after fixin' cars all day....a good ride after work on the way home, (take the Loooong way home) it relaxes me and the wife gets a better chance of me coming home in a good mood. Plus the bike get way better gas milage than my 2500 P/U with a 454 in it.

[omegajim]

actually, now that I've thought about it, one of those 3 wheeled urals would work pretty well.

Unfortunately they're expensive.

btw, camry? I would go with a corolla, still big enough for most things, plus 30 mpg.

[Barbarian]

Sounds like you've made a decision, but I think it's the wrong one.

My wife has the car, and I've got the bike. When there's snow on the ground I use the BMW (bus metro walk) to get around. In warmer weather I use the bike constantly. Tailbag, tankbag, and I'm good for everything I could possibly need to pick up.