01-15-2017, 06:23 AM
Great data, ferret! Excellent and relevant comparison.
When first taken by the siren song of the CB1100, I tried hard to justify it in every way possible, including economically. Why should I haul this heavy, 18-20mpg 7-passenger Sienna minivan around when an admittedly small but increasing fraction of my driving did not require me to haul my 3 high school kids around?
Surely, a 50 mpg motorcycle was the right answer... conveniently just the one I'd been unable to get out of my mind for several months.
I quickly threw a simple spreadsheet together including the most obvious line items: Gas, insurance, oil, tires, etc., and ran them against miles driven and possible increases in gas prices.
Alas, regardless of the cost aspects I added to my spreadsheet, or how many minivan miles I swapped out for thrifty moto miles, my exercise merely forced me to acknowledge that short of a tripling of gas prices or a CB1100 mysteriously rapidly appreciating in value, or some equally absurd scenario, economically, I could only prove that I indeed really wanted this beautiful new motorcycle. My spreadsheet and its financial implications would simply not be an ally in this adventure. My heart and I would be doing this one on our own.
After 33,000 miles, I'm happier with my CB1100 now than the day I bought it, but it's not because it's a big money saver.
When first taken by the siren song of the CB1100, I tried hard to justify it in every way possible, including economically. Why should I haul this heavy, 18-20mpg 7-passenger Sienna minivan around when an admittedly small but increasing fraction of my driving did not require me to haul my 3 high school kids around?
Surely, a 50 mpg motorcycle was the right answer... conveniently just the one I'd been unable to get out of my mind for several months.
I quickly threw a simple spreadsheet together including the most obvious line items: Gas, insurance, oil, tires, etc., and ran them against miles driven and possible increases in gas prices.
Alas, regardless of the cost aspects I added to my spreadsheet, or how many minivan miles I swapped out for thrifty moto miles, my exercise merely forced me to acknowledge that short of a tripling of gas prices or a CB1100 mysteriously rapidly appreciating in value, or some equally absurd scenario, economically, I could only prove that I indeed really wanted this beautiful new motorcycle. My spreadsheet and its financial implications would simply not be an ally in this adventure. My heart and I would be doing this one on our own.
After 33,000 miles, I'm happier with my CB1100 now than the day I bought it, but it's not because it's a big money saver.