$18 to fill up motorcyle.

Holocene

We all see the $4+ signs, but I guess it just didn't hit me untill I had to top of my new-to-me motorcycle. I remember just last year $7 would top off my old bike...

WarPhalange

How long does that last you? Motorcycles get a lot more MPG than cars, don't they?

LowlyPion

Must have a small tank, eh?

Holocene

It's a new bike to me, so I'm in the process of calculating it now. The way I ride though, I'm not too optimistic...

Cyrus

Try 54 gallons in a cessna 172 of 100 low lead. Its nearly $350.00 @ $6.30/gal.

scorpa

One of my dads trucks costs 700 bucks to fill (big rig).

I've only filled my bike up once and I think it was 15 bucks? It got 59 mpg which I was pretty impressed with, I'm still getting used to it so I was taking it pretty easy though so who knows what I will really be getting. It costs almost 70 bucks to fill my jeep now ....gross.

Holocene

ha, you aint tellimg me nothing. Rent wet!

Cyrus

I think the MPG in those big rigs are actually pretty good because as long as they stick the the speed limit of 55mph, the consumption is pretty low. Actually, I think trains (GE engines) are the ones that are really really good with their big diesels (Probably V10-12).

If everyone actually drove the speed limit on the beltway, they could reduce fuel consumption dramatically. The power changes with the velocity (cubed, I think). So it takes a lot more power for small changes in speed.

lisab

One of the good things about $5.00/gallon diesel: trucks are driving a lot slower. I tend to drive really, really fast (I've been trying to slow down!)...but when I would be doing 70 and a semi would pass me like a rabbit passing a turtle, it was a bit disconcerting .

Cyrus

Wow, thats fast!

Only once when I was coming home I took the beltway and there was a fleet of big-rig dump trucks hauling as$ at my speed (nearly 75+ mph). And when the road turned their hitch would swing way past their own lane, half way into the adjacent lanes. It scared the crap out of me so I got well out of his way. This was at 3 am too.

scorpa

10 mpg is about tops for it i think haha, not so good.

RonL

How fast time passes.

I remember when that top off you mentioned would have been around 50 cents. ($0.50)
Of course that was just about as hard to come up with as the $18.00.

Moonbear

The speed limit here is 70 mph, and on the mountains, the trucks are lucky to manage 65.

How do you do 55 mph on the beltway? Unless it's the middle of the night, there always seems so much congestion, you're lucky to do 45 mph.

And yes, that was my biggest frustration driving to NC last weekend, all the speed changes. Just when I'd get settled into a comfortable speed, someone would speed up to pass me and then slow down in front of me. No idea why they had to do that. They seemed to want to drive slower than me, so why couldn't they just stay behind me? But, there's also a segment of state highway I had to get onto that connects interstates, and of course all the two-bit towns there each have to have their one stop light and slow traffic down to 55 from 65 as you near each stop light (and of course the cops all sit there for their little speed traps in every town).

mgb_phys

Yes but they are carrying 30tons, 15Mpg for your SUV to carry one 5year old to her violin practice is not so good.

Cyrus

I do like 80 on the beltway. It just depends on the time of day. If its a weekday and its after 4pm, your going to be going around 30mph though.

BobG

My Jeep was $71 to fill last time. You folks driving 70 and less must be from the East. Speed limit on the interstate is 75 mph here, except in the city where it drops to 65 and even 55 on one section.

Unless there's an accident, the speed on the Beltway around DC is always pretty high in the left lane. Whenever I'd go there on business, I'd forget about the speed limit, get in the left lane, and go however fast everyone else was. It felt safer than being in the lanes where all the mixing took place.

If there was an accident, then the speed dropped from around 80 to about 5 mph. And there's that one interchange at 270 on the North end that's impossible to get through fast. Fortunately, we always managed to get a hotel where we could avoid that interchange.

Looking at their traffic map, I wouldn't be so lucky if I had to visit Silver Springs today. I think the only slow traffic we ran into on our trips was to Silver Springs, but I don't remember it being all that bad with a couple of exceptions. I spent a lot more time visiting Suitland, MD, so maybe that's part of my impression about the traffic.

Kurdt

Its still about half the price you have to pay in the Uk.