Can you believe it costs $18 to fill up a motorcycle?

  • Thread starter Holocene
  • Start date
In summary: I took the beltway and there was a fleet of big-rig dump trucks hauling 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.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).
  • #1
Holocene
237
0
We all see the $4+ signs, but I guess it just didn't hit me until I had to top of my new-to-me motorcycle. I remember just last year $7 would top off my old bike...:rolleyes:
 
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  • #2
How long does that last you? Motorcycles get a lot more MPG than cars, don't they?
 
  • #3
Must have a small tank, eh?
 
  • #4
WarPhalange said:
How long does that last you? Motorcycles get a lot more MPG than cars, don't they?

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...:rofl:
 
  • #5
Try 54 gallons in a cessna 172 of 100 low lead. Its nearly $350.00 @ $6.30/gal.
 
  • #6
Cyrus said:
Try 54 gallons in a cessna 172 of 100 low lead. Its nearly $350.00 @ $6.30/gal.

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.
 
  • #7
Cyrus said:
Try 54 gallons in a cessna 172 of 100 low lead. Its nearly $350.00 @ $6.30/gal.

ha, you aint tellimg me nothing. Rent wet!
 
  • #8
scorpa said:
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.

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.
 
  • #9
Cyrus said:
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.

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 .
 
  • #10
lisab said:
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 .

Wow, that's 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.
 
  • #11
Cyrus said:
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.

10 mpg is about tops for it i think haha, not so good.
 
  • #12
Holocene said:
We all see the $4+ signs, but I guess it just didn't hit me until I had to top of my new-to-me motorcycle. I remember just last year $7 would top off my old bike...:rolleyes:

:frown: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:eek:.

:biggrin:
 
  • #13
Cyrus said:
Wow, that's 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.

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. :tongue:

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. :grumpy: 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).
 
  • #14
scorpa said:
10 mpg is about tops for it i think haha, not so good.

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

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. :grumpy: 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).

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.
 
  • #16
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.

Moonbear said:
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. :tongue:
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.
 
  • #17
Its still about half the price you have to pay in the Uk.
 
  • #18
Kurdt said:
Its still about half the price you have to pay in the Uk.

Yes, but that's because we have a strong currency and a lot of offshore drilling :confused:
 
  • #19
Holocene said:
We all see the $4+ signs, but I guess it just didn't hit me until I had to top of my new-to-me motorcycle. I remember just last year $7 would top off my old bike...:rolleyes:

i remember those 7 dollar fill-ups my self...
 
  • #20
scorpa said:
10 mpg is about tops for it i think haha, not so good.

A friend of mine drives a big rig and he gets 6mpg with a full load and 7-8 mpg with no trailer.
 
  • #21
larkspur said:
A friend of mine drives a big rig and he gets 6mpg with a full load and 7-8 mpg with no trailer.
Lots of owner-operators are bob-tailing and organizing trailer-swaps to try to stay alive. One of my closest friends has been buying, reconfiguring, and reselling big rigs for decades, lengthening frames, changing gear ratios to make trucks more attractive for our local market. He's made a comfortable living doing that for a long time, but he's in the dumps now. The high price of diesel and the financial inflexibilities experienced by owner-operators in this market are killing him. If he thought that fuel prices were going to turn around and favor him, he could leverage enough money to buy a LOT of trucks at distressed prices. He is not buying the bargains, because he sees at least another 3-5 years in which he'd have to sit on inventory and ride it out. I'm a conservative independent, and Bill is a committed Republican. When he won't build stock in a down environment (the first time he's acted this way in 30-40 years), I'm a bit concerned. He's always made decent money in his business, and is now pulling in his horns and is buying, reconditioning, and re-selling fork-lifts, industrial tractors, etc.
 
  • #22
larkspur said:
A friend of mine drives a big rig and he gets 6mpg with a full load and 7-8 mpg with no trailer.

Yep that sounds about the same then. I just said 10 for a nice number. Unloaded I think the best is around 9 or so, and loaded I am not so sure but I think it is a bit better than 6 because this truck has a van body rather than a trailer so it doesn't have quite as much weight to haul around. Either way I am glad I am not the one who has the pay the fuel bills on that thing. I know one guy who has a fuel bill of about 40 000 dollars a month. I cannot even imagine haha.
 
  • #23
Holocene said:
We all see the $4+ signs, but I guess it just didn't hit me until I had to top of my new-to-me motorcycle. I remember just last year $7 would top off my old bike...:rolleyes:

offtheleft said:
i remember those 7 dollar fill-ups my self...

I remember $10 fill-ups for my Chrysler Newport.
 
  • #24
I just bought a motorcycle 2 months ago. I'm getting 80-85mpg, and its a 3 gallon tank. Its nice, $12 fillups and lasts me for ~240 miles :)

Its not the fastest bike, but she's pretty: (this one isn't mine, but same thing)
http://rareairrider.com/images/gs250t/rar_gs250t_2.jpg [Broken]
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #25
K.J.Healey said:
I just bought a motorcycle 2 months ago. I'm getting 80-85mpg, and its a 3 gallon tank. Its nice, $12 fillups and lasts me for ~240 miles :)

Its not the fastest bike, but she's pretty: (this one isn't mine, but same thing)
http://rareairrider.com/images/gs250t/rar_gs250t_2.jpg [Broken]

What year is your bike? I didn't know Suzuki made a GS-250.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #26
I would be terrified to ride a bike like that on the road with such a small engine and slow acceleration. People around here would run you over for not getting out of their way!
 

1. Why is it more expensive to fill up a motorcycle than a car?

The cost of filling up a motorcycle is affected by several factors, including the size of the fuel tank, the type of fuel the motorcycle uses, and the fuel efficiency of the motorcycle. Most motorcycles have smaller fuel tanks than cars, so even though they require less fuel to fill up, the cost per gallon may be higher. Additionally, some motorcycles require premium gasoline, which is more expensive than regular gasoline.

2. Is it cheaper to fill up a motorcycle than a car?

It depends on the specific motorcycle and car in question. Generally, motorcycles have smaller fuel tanks and better fuel efficiency than cars, so they may require less fuel overall to fill up. However, if the motorcycle requires premium gasoline or has a larger fuel tank, it may end up being more expensive to fill up than a car.

3. How does the cost of filling up a motorcycle compare to other forms of transportation?

The cost of filling up a motorcycle is typically less expensive than filling up a car, but it may be more expensive than other forms of transportation such as public transportation or bicycles. However, the cost of owning and maintaining a motorcycle may also factor into the overall cost of using it as a form of transportation.

4. Why do some motorcycles have better fuel efficiency than others?

The fuel efficiency of a motorcycle is affected by several factors, including its engine size, weight, and design. Generally, smaller and lighter motorcycles will have better fuel efficiency than larger and heavier ones. Additionally, some motorcycles are designed for better aerodynamics, which can also improve fuel efficiency.

5. How can I save money on filling up my motorcycle?

To save money on filling up your motorcycle, you can try to find gas stations that offer lower prices or discounts for motorcycles. Additionally, maintaining your motorcycle's engine and tires can improve its fuel efficiency, ultimately saving you money on fuel costs. Lastly, consider using public transportation or carpooling when possible to reduce the frequency of filling up your motorcycle.

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