Cost justification for a china ride commuter.

fatboy250 · 08-02-2007, 08:55 AM

I was curious to know how long it would take to cost justify the purchase of my DS motorcycle on the gas savings alone. So, I came up with this formula.

Price Paid for motorcycle
------------------------------------ = Time in years motorcycle pays for itself
(MPY)($gal)[1/Cmpg-1/Mmpg]

Where:
MPY = Estimated miles driven per year
$gal = current price of gas per gallon
Cmpg = car or other vehicle's miles per gallon
Mmpg = your china ride's miles per gallon

I came up with:

$980
---------------------------------- =.97
12,000(2.62)[1/22-1/75]

So, in a little less than (1) year the little thing will have paid for itself in gas alone!! I even did the math for another vehicle at 45mpg like my Concours and it came out to (3.5) years/42,000miles. Not as good, but definitely worth the consideration. Hopefully, I'll see 36k in the future. That's my goal.

Maybe this will be helpful for anyone trying to explain to their wife how they need one of these or to justify it in your own mind if you are sitting the fence right now. Especially if you are considering it as a commuter.

Hope this helps,
Jason

TeamCheap · 08-02-2007, 12:20 PM

I couldnt care less about the cost as far as off setting daily transportation goes.
We bought ours purely for fun so I have to factor things a bit differently than most I guess.

We havnt put anywhere near as many miles on ours as other have in the same amount of time.

I have wondered if buying a used jap bike would have been less hassle but now we have our bikes set up very well and a used bike is a used bike and you never know with those so we're happy with ours.

mrhyak · 08-02-2007, 12:34 PM

The only cost justification I have is that I have fun. If I'm having fun on the bike, the cost is worth it! It is hard to put a cost factor on fun, but I do understand what your talking about as far as justifying to the wife as I went thorugh that sort of 'justification' too. She didn't buy it, but I ended up buying a bike anyway.

Jim · 08-02-2007, 02:12 PM

hey thanks for the info fatboy, and for doing the math

Mine also has an added cost saving feature, (not only is insurance on it cheap), but since I have a second vehicle insured, I can get collectors plates on my pickup, which makes its insurance go way down

PolygonFla · 08-02-2007, 02:58 PM

Hi,

I got the Zongshen 200 to commute with on good weather days. Although for the last 2 weeks it has only been used once.
My car is a Nissan Xterra which does pretty good for an SUV at just over 18 MPG city.
I average about 8,000 miles each year although since getting the bikes this year looks like it is shaping up to be 7,000.

I have 900 miles on the bike so having the bike has reduced the car usage some.

I calculated that I will put $100.00 worth of gas in the Zongshen this year and $18.00 in oil.

The car will use $1340.00 in gas and $100.00 oil.

I figure a 2-3 year pay off in savings alone but with the fun factor it is already paid for.

fatboy250 · 08-02-2007, 03:08 PM

+1 on the fun factor

Most of us, I'm sure, didn't hesitate when we purchased ours, but I'm sure there are some lurkers that are curious and maybe this will help them make a decision.

I just thought it was interesting to figure out that I could essentially buy a new bike each year with the difference in $$ that I would have paid for gas if I drove my car everyday. :o

Jason

CyberTron · 08-02-2007, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatboy250

+1 on the fun factor

Does anyone else use their bike as a daily commuter? I'm not the only one am I?

Most of us, I'm sure, didn't hesitate when we purchased ours, but I'm sure there are some lurkers that are curious and maybe this will help them make a decision.

I just thought it was interesting to figure out that I could essentially buy a new bike each year with the difference in $$ that I would have paid for gas if I drove my car everyday. :o

Jason

I use my bike every day since I got it, 80km / day 5 days a week

still going strong, I have saved a lot of money on this bike so far!

but with the prises on gas here in Sweden (almost 8$ per gallon or 11.60 swedish crown / liter (7 swedish crowns = 1 US$ )
it will take me almost 2 years to get my bike to pay itself

, but hey, it is worth it anyway! it is so much more fun to drive a bike than a car!

fatboy250 · 08-02-2007, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyberTron

I use my bike every day since I got it, 80km / day 5 days a week

still going strong, I have saved a lot of money on this bike so far!

WOW! That's like 50 miles/day. Man, you'll be one of the first long term test riders to give us all feed back about what to expect in the future. These bikes impress me more and more every day.

How many miles do you have already?

Jason

CyberTron · 08-02-2007, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatboy250

Quote:

Originally Posted by CyberTron

I use my bike every day since I got it, 80km / day 5 days a week

still going strong, I have saved a lot of money on this bike so far!

WOW! That's like 50 miles/day. Man, you'll be one of the first long term test riders to give us all feed back about what to expect in the future. These bikes impress me more and more every day.

How many miles do you have already?

Jason

I have 3000km or 1864 miles on it since middle may.
And I ride it quite hard, hard accelerations, ride around 100km/h and alot in the woods/small roads and so on...

only thing that has broken is the indicators, and that is probably only a cable that is loose (probably is my own fault as well

)

ambassador · 08-02-2007, 09:26 PM

The savings on gas is a big plus but If I had an extra 4-5 grand lying around or wanted to take on another payment I would have bought whatever I wanted... $1000 bucks for a bike that meets and exceeds all of my needs plus being on the forefront of the China bike revolution that is only going to get bigger, I'm gonna ride the hell out of it... Then part it out to you guys, kidding... Talking to some of you guys and the help, support and general fun of this site has made it all worth while for me...

Savage · 08-02-2007, 10:59 PM

I debated between my Lifan and a used DS. Went with the Lifan because they claim around 100 mpg. My first tank I got 70 and then checked it last time and I got low 50's. Must be from the mods I've done. So I'm not happy with its fuel economy but I don't really use it as a commuter now. It's more of a fun/exploring bike. And so far it's been fun to tinker with. Just bought me a pretty nice import car for good mpg for $500 last night.

Jim · 08-03-2007, 12:26 AM

the one time we figured it out, my bike got 110mpg, that was on road for the most part, and may be a little off if my speedo is/was

fatboy250 · 08-03-2007, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim

the one time we figured it out, my bike got 110mpg, that was on road for the most part, and may be a little off if my speedo is/was

You may want to check to see if your odometer is reading in km. If you're getting 110mpg, I'd like to know what mods you've done cause most get between high 60's and low 80's at best. 110km ends up being 68miles so that would fit right in with the rest at around 68mpg.

Jason

Jim · 08-03-2007, 11:46 AM

my odometer, and speedometer is in km's, I'm in Canada... but we converted everything before figuring out the mileage...

As far as performance goes, no modifications... the more flow more go method sounds like it would use more gas, hence no extra holes in my exhaust...

katoranger · 08-03-2007, 11:46 AM

I only drive my car about 1 day a week between carpooling and riding the lifan.

I carpool in a veggie oil powered mercedes that I cost-share with a co-worker.

I figure it will take a couple of years to pay for the lifan in gas savings, but I need to calculate in my fun factor too. That is good for a few dollars a ride.

Allen

08-02-2007, 08:55 AM	#1
fatboy250 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: COLUMBIA, SC Posts: 973	Cost justification for a china ride commuter. I was curious to know how long it would take to cost justify the purchase of my DS motorcycle on the gas savings alone. So, I came up with this formula. Price Paid for motorcycle ------------------------------------ = Time in years motorcycle pays for itself (MPY)($gal)[1/Cmpg-1/Mmpg] Where: MPY = Estimated miles driven per year $gal = current price of gas per gallon Cmpg = car or other vehicle's miles per gallon Mmpg = your china ride's miles per gallon I came up with: $980 ---------------------------------- =.97 12,000(2.62)[1/22-1/75] So, in a little less than (1) year the little thing will have paid for itself in gas alone!! I even did the math for another vehicle at 45mpg like my Concours and it came out to (3.5) years/42,000miles. Not as good, but definitely worth the consideration. Hopefully, I'll see 36k in the future. That's my goal. Maybe this will be helpful for anyone trying to explain to their wife how they need one of these or to justify it in your own mind if you are sitting the fence right now. Especially if you are considering it as a commuter. Hope this helps, Jason __________________ 2008 Jonway MC-70-150 2007 Roketa DB-07B (RSM-200E) 2006 Roketa DB-07A (RSX-200E) 1995 Kawasaki Concours (ZG1000)
	0

08-02-2007, 12:34 PM	#3
mrhyak Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Hyak, WA Posts: 448	The only cost justification I have is that I have fun. If I'm having fun on the bike, the cost is worth it! It is hard to put a cost factor on fun, but I do understand what your talking about as far as justifying to the wife as I went thorugh that sort of 'justification' too. She didn't buy it, but I ended up buying a bike anyway. __________________ 1985 Kawasaki Tecate-3 1997 Ural Sportsman 2WD 1980 Yamaha XS1100 2005 TANK Trail 200 2009 Lifan LY110GY-3 (2)
	0

08-02-2007, 03:08 PM	#6
fatboy250 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: COLUMBIA, SC Posts: 973	+1 on the fun factor Most of us, I'm sure, didn't hesitate when we purchased ours, but I'm sure there are some lurkers that are curious and maybe this will help them make a decision. I just thought it was interesting to figure out that I could essentially buy a new bike each year with the difference in $$ that I would have paid for gas if I drove my car everyday. :o Jason __________________ 2008 Jonway MC-70-150 2007 Roketa DB-07B (RSM-200E) 2006 Roketa DB-07A (RSX-200E) 1995 Kawasaki Concours (ZG1000)
	0

08-02-2007, 09:26 PM	#10
ambassador Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Bradenton, Florida Posts: 1,200	The savings on gas is a big plus but If I had an extra 4-5 grand lying around or wanted to take on another payment I would have bought whatever I wanted... $1000 bucks for a bike that meets and exceeds all of my needs plus being on the forefront of the China bike revolution that is only going to get bigger, I'm gonna ride the hell out of it... Then part it out to you guys, kidding... Talking to some of you guys and the help, support and general fun of this site has made it all worth while for me... __________________ 06 Lifan 200 GY-5
	0

08-03-2007, 11:46 AM	#15
katoranger Join Date: May 2007 Location: Altamont, Kansas Posts: 15,103	I only drive my car about 1 day a week between carpooling and riding the lifan. I carpool in a veggie oil powered mercedes that I cost-share with a co-worker. I figure it will take a couple of years to pay for the lifan in gas savings, but I need to calculate in my fun factor too. That is good for a few dollars a ride. Allen __________________ You meet the nicest people on a Honda Clone.
	0

08-02-2007, 12:20 PM	#2
TeamCheap Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: directly under the earths sun............NOW Posts: 2,302	I couldnt care less about the cost as far as off setting daily transportation goes. We bought ours purely for fun so I have to factor things a bit differently than most I guess. We havnt put anywhere near as many miles on ours as other have in the same amount of time. I have wondered if buying a used jap bike would have been less hassle but now we have our bikes set up very well and a used bike is a used bike and you never know with those so we're happy with ours.
	0

08-02-2007, 02:12 PM	#4
Jim Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Abbotsford, BC, Canada Posts: 4,880	hey thanks for the info fatboy, and for doing the math Mine also has an added cost saving feature, (not only is insurance on it cheap), but since I have a second vehicle insured, I can get collectors plates on my pickup, which makes its insurance go way down
	0

08-02-2007, 02:58 PM	#5
PolygonFla Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Florida USA Posts: 196	Hi, I got the Zongshen 200 to commute with on good weather days. Although for the last 2 weeks it has only been used once. My car is a Nissan Xterra which does pretty good for an SUV at just over 18 MPG city. I average about 8,000 miles each year although since getting the bikes this year looks like it is shaping up to be 7,000. I have 900 miles on the bike so having the bike has reduced the car usage some. I calculated that I will put $100.00 worth of gas in the Zongshen this year and $18.00 in oil. The car will use $1340.00 in gas and $100.00 oil. I figure a 2-3 year pay off in savings alone but with the fun factor it is already paid for.
	0

08-02-2007, 10:59 PM	#11
Savage Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 732	I debated between my Lifan and a used DS. Went with the Lifan because they claim around 100 mpg. My first tank I got 70 and then checked it last time and I got low 50's. Must be from the mods I've done. So I'm not happy with its fuel economy but I don't really use it as a commuter now. It's more of a fun/exploring bike. And so far it's been fun to tinker with. Just bought me a pretty nice import car for good mpg for $500 last night.
	0

08-03-2007, 12:26 AM	#12
Jim Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Abbotsford, BC, Canada Posts: 4,880	the one time we figured it out, my bike got 110mpg, that was on road for the most part, and may be a little off if my speedo is/was
	0