The American Spectator : A Two-Wheeled Hedge Against Inflation

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A Two-Wheeled Hedge Against Inflation

By Eric Peters on 12.13.10 @ 6:06AM

Your Christmas present from Ben Bernanke — $3 per gallon gas — is coming a few weeks early. But there’s something you can do.

Ho ho ho. Your Christmas present from Ben Bernanke — $3 per gallon gas — is coming a couple of weeks early. “Qualitative Easing” — printing money, lots and lots of it — is beginning to show itself in the form of less buying power for the money you’ve got right now. Gas hasn’t really gotten more expensive; your dollahs have simply been discounted.

But there’s something you can do, for once. And it’s something good, too.

If you’ve ever wanted to get a motorcycle, here’s your excuse.

Motorcycles — even the big/fast ones — get as good or even better mileage than a hybrid car. Some of the smaller ones can deliver 60-70 MPGs. They also cost much less to buy (and maintain) than a hybrid — or can, at any rate.

I’ve got several bikes and been a rider for years, almost entirely for pleasure. But now it’s becoming a great way to hedge against inflation. The recent upsurge in the cost of fuel gave me just the push I needed to make what I think is a savvy investment — a new (to me) motorcycle.

Here’s the math:

My everyday driver is a Nissan compact pick-up. Even though it has a four-cylinder engine and a manual transmission, it averages high teens/low twenties. If gas goes up to $4 per gallon again, it will cost me appx. $60 to fill the truck’s 15 gallon tank —which will take me maybe 250-300 miles, assuming an average 20 MPGs.

If gas goes up to $5 or $6 per gallon — and with the printing presses running 24 hour shifts, that is not an unlikely scenario — filling up Buttercup (my wife’s name for our truck) will be our new Mini-Me Mortgage payment.

I had this prospect rattling around in my head when, while surfing the classifieds online, I came across a very nice, low mileage used touring/cruising bike. I have always wanted one of these, not just because I own or have owned every other type of bike — but because all my other bikes (sport bikes, antique bikes, dirt bikes) are not the hot ticket for long-haul trips. The other bikes I have are either not comfortable for long-haul rides (sport bike) too nice to risk being rained on (restored antique bike) or just too small for the highway (dirt/dual-sport bike). Also none of them can carry more than me and my wallet. But I had restrained myself before — because adding another bike to my growing ensemble seemed like a sure-fire way to annoy my wife. Which anyone who is married knows is not sound policy.

But now I had an excuse. A legitimate, responsible reason for buying this bike.

The '80s-era Honda Silverwing (a slightly smaller version of the better-known and still-being-made Goldwing) only cost me $2,000 — which is not unusual for an older Japanese-brand bike, even if it’s in excellent condition. Nice used bikes — ready to ride, with no Big Ticket problems — are readily available in the $2,000-$5,000 price range. By car standards, that is chump change. But even better than the affordable cost of entry, the ‘Wing gets 45 MPGs. Its 4.5 something-gallon tank only costs about $12 to fill up at current prices.

If the price of gas doubles, riding this bike rather than driving my truck will keep my effective gas costs about the same as they are at current prices. That will amortize the $2,000 cost of the bike in a matter of months — and after that, it’s gravy.

This bike is a fully-faired road trip bike, with a large windscreen to protect the rider and multiple storage cases that can carry enough stuff to comfortably take you 1,000 miles down the road — or take home groceries from the store. It even has a stereo, if you’re into such things. The point being, it is a bike that could sub in for a car (or truck) as an almost everyday vehicle. So long as it’s not snowing, you can ride. If it does snow — or you need to cart home some 2x4s — you can fall back on your four-wheeled conveyance.

But if you can ride the bike even 50 percent of the time, your gas savings will be Not Small. Even at the current $3 per gallon. If it goes to $4 or more, and you have a bike, you have an investment in your financial security and a hedge against the ravages of the Fed.

In a worst-case scenario — hyperinflation, with the cost of fuel soaring to $10 or more — having a bike could be the only financially viable means of powered transportation left to us.

That’s what I told my wife. And this time, she agreed with me!

About the Author

Eric Peters is an automotive columnist and author of Automotive Atrocities: The Cars You Love to Hate (Motor Books International) and a new book, Road Hogs.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (61) | Leave a comment Leave a comment

Appleby| 12.13.10 @ 7:05AM

You dont live in the North, do you? When there are 5 feet of snow on the ground and the plows are 8 feet tall, your bike will vanish under plowed drift after the first blizzard and never be seen until Spring, which comes in May.

For southerners this may be an option, if you have a spacious garage. Not around here, and our gas is already double the price of yours.

MoeBlotz| 12.13.10 @ 7:44AM

RE:snow,re-read paragraph twelve. Here in New Jersey my riding friends and I have all been using our bikes as a way to save on gas.My plug-in vest and thermal gloves keep me warm as toast when the mercury plunges. I have been caught in snow squalls riding in central New York and got some odd looks from the populace. Were you one of them?

Mel Torme| 12.13.10 @ 9:42AM

Are you crazy? I ask this not due to your riding in the cold, but in the snow.

I don't know how you expect to stop or manuever (sp?) on the snow when the next car pulls out right in front of you - it will happen; it's a matter of when, not if.

You may be lucky, but I think you're really pushing that luck to ride in (not to mention "on") the snow. Between the poor visibility for you, poor visibility for the other drivers, and most importantly, the lack of stopping or accelerating ability of your bike, it ain't safe at all.

Just my advice, but it's supposed to be a free country (ha, ha ...!) I'm not saying there should be a law, mind you, it's your a$$.

Interested Conservative| 12.13.10 @ 11:16AM

Snow? We only got a few inches here in Chicago. That's not bad.

50 mph winds don't affect motorcycles, do they?

Pelligrino| 12.13.10 @ 7:23AM

Mr. Peters, you have in me a kindred spirit.

My primary concern: Other motorists on the road who now routinely pay ZERO attention to what is going on 'round them.

We've all seen it. The drivers with the cell phone glued to their ears, the texters. Combined with the guy guzzling a Gallon mug of coffee while smoking a Marlboro and changing his CD doing 74 MPH+ ..... then screaming at his kid in the backseat.

Your plan and thinking are sound. (even for just half-year motorcycle use in the cooler climate zones)

The problem is your fellow man. (2 wheels just don't protect you like 4 do)

But I am that kindred spirit: Gotta do something to keep from losing years of savings just to be able to live, i.e. pay for fuel at the pumps.

My lesson learned 2 years ago: If you don't have "wheels" in the USA, you can't exist/get by. You certainly cannot provide if you got kids to take care of or others who depend on you.

Note: In a similar vein, I might be planning a 2011 or 2012 splurge on a high-end electro-bicycle. I kid you not. But I gotta do some reckoning first....

MoeBlotz| 12.13.10 @ 7:48AM

MSF courses teach riders to watch other traffic in order to avoid the calamity of big vehicle vs. little bike. Inattentive motorists cause a majority of accidents,not just bike/car. Our chances of being hit by a four wheeler are actually less than you would think. Several states,New Jersey included,now have programs to remind drivers to watch out for the motorcycle. I still have to watch out for myself.

C. Vail| 12.13.10 @ 8:51AM

And while you're out riding, tell all those knuckle-headed Harley riders to lose the glass packs or whatever else it is they do to make their bikes the obnoxious, infernal machines they are.

Mel Torme| 12.13.10 @ 9:45AM

Those bikes are supposed to sound like that, C. Vail. The exhaust is built that way. That noise can save a rider's life. It's great to be able to let unaware drivers know you are there.

Quartermaster| 12.13.10 @ 12:48PM

Mel, he's talking about the idiots that tamper with their exhaust. A lot of the knuckle draggers ride Harleys with straight pipes which are against Federal law.

It's true you can save your life by making yourself a public nuisance, but you also go deaf.

When I'm on my bike about all I hear are the wind and road noise. I can barely hear the bike itself. When I ride, I act like I'm invisible. Paranoia is a virtue for a biker.

chester arthur| 12.13.10 @ 2:06PM

Federal law over mufflers?Maybe for the builder,but the federal law over the noise of bike mufflers went out during the 80's.It wouldn't surprise me thought if either Bush re-instated such non-sense as federal control over mufflers,but let's hope not.The states and localities are quite adept at checking out noisy machines without federal silliness.

Mel Torme| 12.13.10 @ 3:27PM

Absolutely, Quartermaster, on the paranoia part. I also have a lot of experience on bicycles. For either, you indeed need to be ready for any vehicle to maneuver as if you weren't there; at least until you can see their eyes - that's the key.

However, on a Harley, I like the fact that I can get on the clutch and rev the engine like hell as a warning to someone (some vehicle) that looks like they are about to hurt me. It's one more safety feature, if you ask me.

There's always the annoying neighbors too. Oh, so their gonna run the leaf blower early and blow leaves all around the neighborhood; that's cool - I may go to the store on my bike at midnight - got to rev it up to "clear the carbs" or something. ;-)

FlagThisOvomit!| 12.14.10 @ 1:36AM

Bullsh1t. They are made to sound like that so the owners can imagine that they have bigger dicks for heads. Never owned a DONOR CYCLE, don't care, don't want one.

Blacque Jacques Shellacque| 12.15.10 @ 4:39AM

That noise can save a rider's life.

It might, in rare cases, but more likely than not it won't.

A few years back, I was headed to work on an early winter morning while it was still dark, and as I turned onto one of the local expressways, I was going to move over to the left one lane because the rightmost lane of that particular expressway was designated as a carpool lane. Traffic wasn't heavy and I looked in the side rear view mirror before moving over. It looked clear - there were no headlights in the middle lane further back, but I hesitated for no particular reason, and a split second later some guy on a Harley with what had to have been straight pipes roared by; he had been in the left lane and passed the guy in front of him on the right. All the windows in my truck were up (it was cold), the CD player volume wasn't loud at all, the cell phone was sitting on the passenger seat in standby mode, and I never heard the guy until he was practically beside me. Had I moved over after I looked in the mirror, he would likely have been toast.

Louis Jenkins| 12.13.10 @ 9:27AM

I thought that was a Honda Silver Wing. A good bike. And while it may work in the southern regions of the USA, it will not in the more northern areas. Unless you're a die hard bike rider. Oh and don't worry, once we're giving up driving four wheelers, the Feds will work on the two wheelers. They'll not stop.

Quartermaster| 12.13.10 @ 12:50PM

These days a Silverwing is a scooter with an engine of about 630cc displacement. They don't have the baggage capacity of the fully dressed conventional bike, but they are still nice bikes.

rjh| 12.13.10 @ 9:42AM

If gas gets up to "5 or 6 dollars a gallon" you won't have to worry about getting anywhere. This country's economy will grind to a halt. Hmm...you think that might be someone's plan? Then the government could take over everything.

Matt Morehouse| 12.13.10 @ 10:05AM

Fuzzy math, Mr. Peters. Assume two people in the cage and the car gets many less passenger miles than the bike, put three or more in and your thesis makes even less sense.
In the interest of full disclosure I own and ride a Harley Road King which gets approximately 35mpg. sometimes The Wife rides pad but usually I'm one up. The weather in this territory is conducive to year round riding but I only ride when the weather is fair which means I ride every month of the year but not every day of every month.

Matt Morehouse| 12.13.10 @ 10:08AM

Typo in last post: meant to say the cage gets many more passenger miles per gallon. Sorry

Harley| 12.13.10 @ 10:09AM

I have friends who've invested in bikes as an inflation hedge. Cop Tricycles give you a longer season. Another friend went touring of a summer. They "Fed-Exed" their formal clothes to the vacation spots to which they traveled.

John Navratil| 12.13.10 @ 10:10AM

I love bikes, but I live in Houston. Houston does NOT love bikes. I've been hit on a bike three times in this town. Thirty-five years ago, I got the pleasure of waking up in the Ben Taub emergency room - a place used to train M.A.S.H. units - between a sucking gunshot wound to the chest and a drug overdose case. My Kawasaki 500 triple was in the back seat of the '69 Impala which turned in front of me.

I still keep my motorcycle license (sentiment, mostly), but I no longer keep a bike. I hope it works out for you, but I beat the price of gas by working from home.

Now, if you want to talk about flying and $5 avgas .....

Old Guy| 12.13.10 @ 10:15AM

I thought we didn't have to worry anymore. Didn't gas prices go up just because Bush was taking care of his Texas oil buddies?

WhiteBikerTrash| 12.13.10 @ 10:30AM

What, were you trolling for me? Investment? My 1972 Harley Davidson SuperGlide has the same real value as it did in 1972, in inflated dollars. and gets 45 MPG good as Gold! Loud? yes, and my headlight is bright!! I've been hit 4 times, 3 times the driver said "I didn't see him" the forth time "I saw him but". If you refuse to see me I hope you hear me!! My 2003 Road King lost 20% value off of the showroom floor, my 2005 Lincoln Town Car lost 50%

Amused| 12.14.10 @ 1:40AM

If you lose 10% of your body while fooling around on your DONOR CYCLE, then you will be HISTORY.

Dustoff| 12.13.10 @ 10:49AM

I've been a fire medic and now a flight nurse I can say one thing about motorcycles.

Their great for donors of body parts. (-:

Clint| 12.13.10 @ 11:03AM

Hey, a percent of us bikers accept risks and drive defensively, to move the odds in our favor. Others don't. Some of us end up road kill. C'est la vie, c'est la mort.

Ken in Tyler| 12.13.10 @ 11:13AM

I've ridden most of my adult life and think three important factors have been omitted:
-add a bike, you add taxes.Sales tax, road tax registration, aarrrgh!
-add a bike, you add insurance. no small matter with respect to a bike of any kind.
-add a bike, you add maintenance.
Unless you can ditch the 4-wheeler altogether, the cost of fuel simply can't financially justify purchasing a bike.
Glad you could convinced the wife though...

JimShooz| 12.13.10 @ 11:24AM

And I was thinking I had too many motorcycles ! One in Michigan for summer riding and three in Tucson to ride year round. Maybe I'll buy a few more as two wheels may come to be more in demand per this article.

L. Ross| 12.13.10 @ 11:27AM

In the words of the immortal Captain Kirk in Operation: Annihilate, "I want that third alternative." Which for me is a bicycle. I ride my bicycle to work about 4 days a week. I know, I live in SoCal, so that's cheating, but it keeps me in shape and doesn't burn an ounce of gas. If you commute in city traffic, you will find that a bicycle commute only takes 1/3 longer than a drive. A 20 minute drive becomes a 30 minute bicycle ride. Only, at the end of the day, instead of commuting for 40 minutes, you will have exercised for an hour at a cost of 20 minutes of your time.

Pelligrino| 12.13.10 @ 7:00PM

Right on, L. Ross! Good for you.

I am probably "up" for a move this coming summer. Just no gettin' round the issue. Top on my list of where options are three towns/cities more friendly to bicycling. (Yes, the pedal-power version.)

I do believe I will extend my life and quality thereof by just the very 30-40 minute bicycle-to-work commutes you suggest.

This is why I belive the electro-bicycle the mode of transport of the future (at least for 2-3 days per work week).

What city/cities in Southern California do you recommend?

L. Ross| 12.15.10 @ 6:28PM

Pelligrino, I haven't been down here all that long. I would try to avoid the L.A. traffic area. Palm Springs is nice. Desert Hot Springs is a neat town. San Diego is amazing if you can afford it. Good luck.

Occam's Tool| 12.13.10 @ 11:40AM

For riding in snow, nothing like a Sierra that takes E85---raises food prices in the 3rd world and feeds MN farmers.

mames| 12.13.10 @ 12:34PM

better idea abolish the "fed" which is neither a reserve or federal.

Perusha| 12.13.10 @ 1:43PM

This is a very interesting article, which seems to me to be only a hint of what’s possible, as the cost of driving remains high, and even probably goes up.

First off, in tooling around on a motorcycle in “serious” traffic, such as on a freeway or on otherwise fast and packed streets, and/or in bad weather, one who chooses to do so must factor in the real cost of bodily danger. Forget about the insurance rates, but check out the odds of getting into an accident and dying or being injured per mile driven.

I’d wager that in an average smallish town, most of the year, one could quite safely use a motorcycle to move the body, and save money, as the author points out.

However, the prime question has to be---why go from point A to point B, at all?

My own 68-year-old life’s normal experiences wrt such mechanized movement is pretty average, and what do you know?

The thrill is gone!

When 16 or so, getting that driver’s license is the cat’s meow, and for many years afterward, just spending time behind the wheel MOVING is oh so desirable. Notice how ubiquitous the car company ads are? And, always have been, since autos were available.

Instead of going the two-wheeled unsafe-at-any-speed route, though, in order to save money and be safe, why not do some research and buy a used car or truck?

I bought a 77 Toyota pickup for $700 in 1994, and over time fixed every worn out system, myself---I even took off the head and got the valves ground---so that for about twelve years, all elements have been within viable tolerances. I, PERSONALLY, “know” the state of each system---my manual is very dog-eared, and thoroughly read and annotated!

Two years ago, I wrote off my truck, totally, and the complete cost, sans insurance and gas, was all of one dollar per day---$5,000 for 14 years.

Second, find work or play areas close to home.

When I retired, I chose a place within a couple or three miles of places I needed to go. Since then, I manage to get by on about 300 miles a year!

Oh, yes---a nice new $80 bike, which I slowly and consciously ride with a sturdy backpack on, quickly enough gets me everywhere needed. If it rains, why---I WALK!

Imagine that! Of course, an added feature of these non-gasoline means of transportation is that I get to spend time outside with very few people in my way. And, thus engaging the body in truly needed motion provides some daily exercise, which keeps me as fit as possible.

As a kick-in-the-butt finale, to date, the gas pump in the gas tank failed last December, and I couldn’t, personally, fix it, though I tried as my best. I just HATE to pay someone else to do it!

So, for the last year, I---put the Toy up on: BLOCKS!

A gleefully accepted the challenge of eschewing the use of my loved machine, and the amazing thing is it gets easier and easier to not miss driving.

Be still, and reside in the Heart.

What a showoff you are, Perusha!

Pelligrino| 12.13.10 @ 7:11PM

Super post, Perusha. Good for you. Walking to do errands and basic, small shopping? Why not?!!

As I try to assist my brother with suggestions, thoughts as to where to resettle near/in a large sized city: It is tough! We've let so many cities and urban areas deteriorate. They are unsafe. So it makes it terribly difficult to decide to locate "close" in to a city center where you can do a lot by just walking.

Why is our nation so stupid? Inner city Philadelphia, anyone? Inner city Baltimore? Inner city Atlanta?

(Yes, cost(s) of living those places. But the bigger cost is your own safety on the streets. Daily.)

Perusha, offer up your suggestions here for where in the Heartland. Thank you.

Perusha| 12.14.10 @ 11:44AM

Pelligrino,

I’m afraid I consider myself spoiled, having always thought I was blessed to have grown up in Oregon, and spent most of my adult life in California. Short stays in Tennessee and Indiana, when in the army, and visits to Chicago, along with some driving across the Heartland only further affirmed my prejudice for the West.

So, I don’t have much experience about the Heartland. Why not read some of those books by people who research the best places to live?

Before I finally decided on southern Oregon, I did so.

Even Portland isn’t bad, actually, or Eugene, in Oregon; but I decided the almost continual rain in the fall and winter wasn’t for me, any more!

And, as a Powerline reader, the regular tales of “early” snow and such in Minnesota also make me realize how great a moderate weather place can be.

Actually, I believe if one just factored out the largest urban areas, and included cities around the size of Portland, most of America would be fine.

To be honest, I WANTED to retire in San Diego, where I lived from 1997-2000, but it cost too damn much---I still miss the fantastic weather, especially in December and January! Even this large metropolis was fabulous for me, since I could bike everywhere I wanted to go.

Good luck!

Tom | 12.13.10 @ 2:00PM

The high insurance and added maintenance costs of a bike erase some of the savings in fuel expenses. but medical expenses after the wreck with the car driver who didn't see you are the worst. Riding my BMW road bike home one day, with the headlight burning brightly and wearing a neon orange jacket, the old woman in the car nevertheless pulled right out in front of me from a side street. My helmet left a dent in her hood as I cartwheeled across it and the bike was totaled. This was not the first time a motorist nearly killed me from not seeing me, either; this was just the one time I couldn't avoid the collision. I realized, sitting on the curb waiting for the ambulance to arrive, that I was pushing my luck too hard. The EMT told me I was lucky; the last biker he'd picked up had left a leg lying in the street. A friend's wife who is a nurse says that hospital staff refer to motorcyclists as "organ donors." I've had enough. I don't have a motorcycle anymore. No amount of gas savings is worth your life.

researchermo| 12.13.10 @ 2:52PM

My Mother's lost leg (see post below) has cost nearly $500K SO FAR. That's just the money. The cost in personal terms is unmeasureable. Try being 68 and learning to walk again on a prosthetic. Thier wreck was in a residential area at 35mph, they just couldn't take the blow from a 2 ton car. A bike is no match for a car or truck, and even a patch of gravel can be a huge hazard, just ask my co-worker who may still lose a foot after dropping his bike on a curve with just a tiny bit of gravel (at less than 20mph).

Gary Cape| 12.13.10 @ 2:32PM

From GaryInDelta: As a longtime rider, I say m'cycles are a lot like small planes, firearms, and other sporting activities, as great as they are, they're not for everybody.
Let me add to the above comment about modifying bikes with resulting extreme noise: It is flatly illegal at both Federal and local levels. Read your owner's manual. You can modify your exhaust system for better performance without significant changes in sound levels. I've done it.
Anybody who feels they need to make a lot of noise will get attention they don't really want.

tdiinva| 12.13.10 @ 2:41PM

Once again Mr. Peters logic fails. If we are going into a long period of high inflation then wages typically lag only slightly behind. So when price double and wages double in response. (It's a demand and supply think) your $6 gas now is the same as your $3 gas then.

But I guess if you need an excuse to buy another bike all the more power to you. I tried to use this excuse the last time the real price of gas went to $4 but I was told I wouldn't be allowed to spend the money.

researchermo| 12.13.10 @ 2:44PM

On a gorgeous sunny Octber day in 2009, a distracted driver hit my parent's motorcycle, costing my Mom her left leg from above the knee down. In bad weather, the risks are far, far higher. Motorcycles can be fun and economical, but they are a high risk vehicle regardless. I wouldn't have recommended one for regular transport before my parent's accident, and after? No. Not as a daily driver and certainly not for every driver. Even experienced bikers can find themselves on the wrong end of a car bumper

Big T*| 12.13.10 @ 3:04PM

Motorcycle are for Israel Firsters. By a Volt and shut up necon losers.

Rossignol| 12.13.10 @ 3:54PM

Congratulations, Big T. You win the Saddest Troll of the Day award.

Tim*| 12.13.10 @ 4:44PM

Apparently, Big T* is a Troll, who has an ax to grind with those of us,who choose to be bikers.

bubba | 12.13.10 @ 7:34PM

"By (sic) a Volt and shut up necon losers."

....and say bye bye to big bucks now, big bucks later, and a whole lot of hassle you don't need.

Then again, lefty agenda warriors never seem to think about the long term consequences of the transplantation preferences, or the real world implications of said agenda, do they?

Berl Goetz| 12.13.10 @ 3:05PM

I've always wanted a Sportster, a BMW twin, or a Motoguzzi, but as I get older and time gets shorter I think I'll hide behind a metal sheath while I'm on the streets. "Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think."

John| 12.13.10 @ 3:30PM

I've been riding for 33 years and yes the potential dangers are real but with experience for properly operating a motorcycle, wearing safety gear, awareness of the various road hazards and practicing restraint with regard for traffic laws you can greatly minimize the risks. Lots of people still die in automobile accidents.

Mantesdoca| 12.13.10 @ 4:14PM

Even when in the fragile, composite body of my C5, it's clear the airbags and aluminum, hydro-formed frame will protect me to some degree in a fairly substantial wreck. Driving my glorious Ducati 900S surrounded by crazed poker run riders on the gorgeous back roads of Iowa, it was equally clear one false move might be my last. Recognition of one's mortality overcame the joy of riding.
It's individual. While there is regret about the softening of my "spine", I will live to at least drive another day.

Mantesdoca| 12.13.10 @ 4:19PM

Oh, and Mr. T, that is the best insult I've read from from the left in some years. Thanks. If I had more garage space, I certainly would "by" a Volt. Cool dudes, those.

gary siebel| 12.13.10 @ 4:34PM

How many companies in America make motorcycles?

Tim*| 12.13.10 @ 4:55PM

I think just Victory & Harley Davidson.

Buells (Harley Subsidiary) & Indians aren't produced now.

dogsrule| 12.13.10 @ 4:39PM

I knew it was a good idea to I keep my 1982 Honda 750 Nighthawk in spite of my wife's hounding me to get rid of it. Some new gas and an oil change and I'm sure it will fire up. Yeehahhhh!

C. Vail| 12.13.10 @ 10:05PM

Note to Mel Torme:

No offense, but you don't know what you are talking about. Six or seven years back I read an interview in Forbes magazine with the guy who was then the CEO of H-D. One of the questions was: "Why are your motorcycles so loud?" The H-D man's response: "They are not, at least not when they leave the factory. We have to comply with the same noise level regulations as every other manufacturer. But once our bikes get to the dealerships, and especially once they get into the hands of buyers, things are done to them over which we have no control."

So you see, Mel, the bikes are not "supposed to be that way," and the exhausts are not built that way.

But whether the so-called 'distinctive Harley rumble' is engineered and manufactured into the bikes, or is the result of a bunch of over-aged, knuckleheaded sociopaths tinkering with them, the net result is the same, and it is a damned outrage. What kind of a velvet fog are you living in, Mel, when you apparently believe it is perfectly acceptable for some jerk-wad to tool around on a bike which literally can be heard from a mile away?

Good god, man, get real. Isn't the world already a noisy enough place?

A final thought: For six or seven years I rode a 1987 Honda CB 650. Not a hog, but plenty enough bike for my purposes. It rode and handled beautifully, never gave me a lick of trouble, and it was as quiet as almost any car on the road. And just one more thing, Mel, your implication that the roar of H-D bikes is some sort of safety feature is patently absurd. If you want safety while riding, then get yourself a police cruiser-type spinning light. In any case, to you and all the other knuckleheads: quit ruining the peace and quiet to which I and every other American is entitled.

PACoug| 12.13.10 @ 11:22PM

That was obviously a Silverwing--first glance caught the CX500's sideways-mounted v-twin in full-dress drag.

Mounting the twin sideways made shaft drive a snap. So what, if the bike was unwieldy, heavy, ugly, and slow? It is also very comfortable and smooth for a v-twin. Give me a CB750 with a plexiglas windshield and I'll carry my crap in my backpack.

BMW ///M5 FOR ME| 12.14.10 @ 1:49AM

I don't give a fvck about these donor cycles and their supposed economy.

BMW E39 ///M5... 4000 lbs, 394 HP, 390 lb-ft torque, smooth, powerful, quiet, safe. 13/21 mpg.

Stammon| 12.14.10 @ 6:24AM

Sorry, I can't resist;

BMW R60us/2 1969....429lbs, 30 HP, smooth, powerful, quiet,unsafe. 32/40 mpg.

Zundapp K500 1938 ....396 lbs, 16 HP, smooth, powerful (in'38),quiet, and with the sidecar MG42: deadly, 35/45 mpg.

Dnepr M16 1985 with driven sidecar. 40 hp, 600 lbs, rough, lame, noisy (USSR), fun. 25/35.

My problem is the drivers who slam on the brakes to look at my sidecar.

Here in the hinterland, deer are the real problem. I live 37 miles from work, I hit 3/4 dear a year. About 2 every 3 years. Last month a coworker hit a deer on his bike, he is ok, That's rare, usually the biker dies.

Gina| 12.14.10 @ 11:51AM

Since I just live 4 miles out of downtown Indianapolis, where I work, I've been considering getting a Vespa-like "scooter" for most days. My 3 sons aged 13-23 think I'm crazy since I'm a 50 year old mom. I might just do it to embarras them as well as save money on gas.

Tom| 12.14.10 @ 1:07PM

And you might just die. I wrote above about what happened to me when a car pulled out in front of my BMW twin. Another writer here claims that his riding skill and defensive riding mitigate danger. Well, I was a motocross racer for years, and without bragging I can say that I am able to handle a motorcycle better than most, on street or dirt. For example I know how to lay a bike down the right way when I have to.

I always rode the street conservatively wearing bright clothing and with the headlight always burning brightly. And because of idiotic car drivers I had more close calls than I care to remember over the years, until that final time when a car pulled out in front of me so suddenly there was no way to avoid the collision. I survived it only because I was lucky. Go ahead and buy the scooter and take it out into traffic, and realize that no matter how well you ride it, you may well leave your sons without a mother. If you must ride, get a trail bike and keep it off the street.

Mark| 12.14.10 @ 3:05PM

To Gina,

I am 60+ years old and have been riding since I was 15. Motorcycles and scooters are not something you casually decide to start riding. Much of my experience is in the dirt where traction is variable but at least there aren’t cars around. When I crashed it was my fault and never very serious. Street riding in today’s world is a whole ‘nuther ball game.

I currently own a big cruiser and several dirtbikes. I rode the bike to work (70 mile round trip) the year gas hit 5 bucks but it was freeway all the way in daylight and good weather. Drivers of cars simply do not see you. Therefore you have to see them and effectively predict their every move in time to get out of their way. You need eyes in the back of your head and everywhere else too. The cruiser has been parked for a couple of years now since the Mazda 3 gets me 37mpg with a nice stereo to boot.

Motorcycle touring is tons of fun but you have to carefully pick your route to maximize the scenic value and minimize the other traffic. Plus it’s always best to ride with someone else. Two or more motorcycles are harder to ignore than just one.

I agree with another poster who said to get a trail bike and learn how the thing operates and handles far away from cars and other things out to get you. Off road riding is fun. But you as a mom with teenage kids I would never recommend that you risk yourself on today’s roads filled with inattentive drivers.

Theo| 12.15.10 @ 12:10AM

Here's the future in personal transportation:
http://flytheroad.com/

This type vehicle offers a fuel efficient, year-round alternative.

anieb | 12.18.10 @ 2:10PM

It's nice Features $3 per gallon gas.It's amazing.i'm waiting for this bike.

anieb | 12.18.10 @ 2:11PM

It's nice Features $3 per gallon gas.It's amazing.i'm waiting for this bike.

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