A tale of 2 Hondas

[kvdreamer_imp]

A lot of people talk about buying and riding a motorcycle to save some money over driving a car. I bought (2) new 2006 Hondas. An ST 1300 motorcycle and a Civic 2 door coupe. Both were about the same price retail, about $16,000. Both had 4 cyl engines with similar horsepower (around 120 hp). Both had manual 5 speed transmissions. Both revved to about the same rpm redline (8.5K) and actually both got very similar mileages ...38 for the car and 45 for the bike.

I sold the Civic after putting 205,000 miles on it to a friend who wanted it, for $3500. Still riding the ST. (wonder what a motorcycle with 205,000 miles on it would be worth, or if you could even sell it lol)

During the years I owned the Civic I had 52 oil and filter changes, put 2 sets of tires on it (Michelins), 1 set of front brakes, 2 air filters, 1 cabin filter, 1 set of spark plugs and 3 sets of wiper blades, and had the A.C. refrigerant added to once. No mechanical issues at all, it was a great car. Still on the original clutch, rear brakes, exhaust and battery when I sold it. My friend traded it in on a new Honda SUV after 2 years. He told me he hadn't had any issues, and that it had been a great car for him as well, although he did replace the rear brakes.

The other day I picked up the ST from yet another service at the dealership. At 83,000 miles it has had 21 oil and filter changes (I do the oil and filter changes and rear end oil, dealers do the rest), I'm on my 4th air cleaner, my 4th set of spark plugs, had 1 valve inspection, on 5th set of front brakes, 5th set of rear brakes, 8th front tire (Michelins), 10th rear tire (Michelins), 4th set of fluids in the clutch and brakes, on my 4th coolant change and my 3rd battery. The only mechanical problem I have had is a stuck thermostat at 34,000 miles (requiring one of the coolant changes) and a mechanical seal in the water pump that was leaking at around 60,000 miles (requiring another of the coolant changes). It has always brought me home. I'm hoping to ride it to 100,000 miles and that's going to require another set of front and rear brakes, one more front tire and 2 more rear tires. It's been a great bike.

But economical? Not hardly ..at least compared to the Civic. Plus in the Civic I had air bags and crash protection, a heater in winter, an air conditioner in summer, didn't get wet when it rained, could go in the snow, could take 3 people with me and had a lot more storage. Maybe that's why a motorcycle is such a hard sell to people who are not born motorcyclists. For a young guy with a wife and small kids and a limited income, a motorcycle is not a necessity but an extravagance, and certainly not economical. They just need too much repair, too often. Maybe buying a small used bike would be fairly economical? Say an air cooled 250 cc with single disc brakes? But riding one of those loses it's appeal quickly especially if you have any freeway commute. I think this is what manufacturers are dealing with. How do they sell motorcycles to millennials who don't want to endure cold or wet or hot or inconvenience? Would millennials rather have a motorcycle or a Kia Soul?

BTW I didn't buy the ST for economy or the convenience, I bought it because it's fun to ride. I bought the Civic for the economy and convenience.

Ferret,
That is the reason to ride... the joy of riding! I love the ST... had a 1991 older style ST. Then I bought a Kawaki Concours 1995... and the ST was still in the family. Eventually the Concour was sold and we kept that ST for 10 years. Great bike. Now I have a 2011 Kawasaki Concours and absolutely love it. Since I decided to only have one bike my CB 1100 and later my 2015 Vesys 650LT got sold. I loved the looks of the CB 1100 but love the ride of the Concours better. All are great bikes though.