[TominMO]

Something else to consider is overall operating costs. It's not just gas. You will probably be changing the oil every 1K miles at $15 per quart for motorcycle oil. Although you can go cheaper with Shell for example.

The main consumables on motorcycles are tires and chains/sprockets. Car tires for an economy car last ridiculously longer than motorcycle tires. 5K miles vs 60K miles for example. Plus $60+ every 5K for chain and sprockets. A 100-mile daily commute means new tires and chain parts every 50 work days, i.e. ten weeks! That might be about $240. $1200 per year, or $100/month. Versus $400 for tires on an economy car, every five years. Plus you have to deal with parts availability issues for these bikes.

Also you can drive a car in basically any weather short of tornadoes, and carry more people and stuff. Not so much with motorcycles.

IMO the main vehicle anyone should own should be a car. Except for short commutes, motorcycles should be looked at as purely recreational. The longer the commute, the less it makes sense. You would be putting 25K miles on a bike in one year, if you rode it to work every day. None of these bikes have that kind of longevity record, that I ever heard of. So a Chinabike might just last you a year at best, and you have to start all over again the next year. Cost of new bike (or major overhaul) + $1200 in consumables every year. Consumables for a car might be about $200 annually, including oil changes, all other fluids and 1/5 of tire purchases every five years.