My main vehicle is a truck. Specifically a 2009 Dodge RAM 1500 5.7L V8 with the big cab and the puny bed. I got it back in July 2010 when my old truck revealed it wasn't really up to the task of pulling a 24' enclosed trailer to the track 10+ times / year. She's a thirsty girl, with an average fuel economy of about 16 - 17 mpg. And she drinks mid-grade, 'cause she's classy like that.
3 months after I bought the truck, I went through a bit of a crisis about that fuel economy. I'd just started dating a girl who lived across state lines, and while the truck is exceptionally comfortable, the thought of burning up all that fuel was killing me. So I bought another Miata, and kept that until it got rear-ended last year. We won't talk about the period where I owned a 3rd car, because that was just foolishness.
But the Miata served a very specific purpose: keeping miles off the truck. Because while the truck is thirsty, it's also pretty expensive to maintain. Dodge fitted this 5.7L V8 with cylinder deactivation, so a spark-plug job isn't 8 plugs: it's 16. And with coil-on-plug design, that means 16 coils with the same service interval. The rear-most 2 plugs are almost impossible to reach, so I have the work done by pros, to the tune of ~$1300. Ouch. Then there are the tires. Truck tires aren't cheap, and they seem to only last about as long as the plugs & coils. So every 30K miles or so, I have about $2000 worth of service that has to be done, along with the routine 6Q of oil per change.
But the truck is also the only vehicle that can make dump runs. It's fully paid off. It's the only vehicle we own that can comfortably seat all 5 of us for vacations. It's not 4WD, but it can pull the tractor out of a hole or lug it to the shop. The truck is necessary. And while I could certainly do with *less* truck, finding an ideal trade (4WD, V6, huge cab, low miles, well-appointed) at an ideal price (just swap for my truck) is...well, it's pretty well impossible. Dodge trucks don't hold value. NBD: I own it; it's mine; it serves many many purposes in my life. Gotta have the truck.
The truck just crossed 70K miles a month ago. It's 4 years out from the last coil/plug service, and tires are about done. I have no Miatas (woot!), no secondary vehicles. I ride my bike. A lot. Like, a lot a lot. 18.5K miles over the past 2.7 years, including at least one to two days per week of commuting.
I'm used to life on two wheels. I know the busy streets, the quiet country roads, how to kit for cold and warm weather, and I even still had a bunch of safety gear from my car racing days (helmets, etc).
So I did some math and realized that while another Miata would not save me a penny, a motorcycle could shave $2000 from my annual budget. Mostly in fuel and insurance. A $2K drop is bigger than dropping cable, cutting out beer, whatever ideas we sometimes float to save a few bucks, so I figured I'd try it out.
A bit of research (actually just about 60 hours) narrowed the search down to either a Honda Rebel 250 or a Yamaha Virago XV250. I found one of the latter on Craigslist for $1200, bought it, took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation class for $170, insured the bike for a year at $215, picked up a used touring 2-piece armor suit for $100, and I've been enjoying 60+ mpg ever since.
Well... "enjoying" might be too strong a word. I don't love it yet. I'm not sure I really even like it. On the bicycle, you dress for the weather and regulate your core temperature with effort. It's pretty easy, and even when you get it wrong, it's usually not so desperately wrong that you just want to have a wreck to justify a ride in a warm ambulance.
On the motorcycle, I've found myself buying clothes on the way to complete the journey. That is an abject failure of the intent of buying the thing.
So far I've put 700 miles on the bike, and to be fair: the weather hasn't been great. But the biggest inconvenience is all the effort it takes to get on and off the bike. The safety gear takes so long to put on and take off I actually have to leave almost as early as if I ride my bicycle. I realize it's all important, but dammit it's inconvenient as all get-out. I find myself wanting to take short-cuts, and that's usually my sign that I'm just not enjoying something. Boots, armor pants, sweater, ear plugs, balaclava, armor jacket, helmet, gloves. Lots of zippers, buttons, snaps, and velcro to deal with at both ends of the journey, twice a day. And most of the time I'm already melting inside just trying to get it all on.
I'm going to give it more time. I have better gloves now, and summer is fast approaching. If I can find a way to be happy with lighter kit (jeans & leather jacket) that I can take into the office, then I'll stick with it--sacrifice a bit of safety for vastly-improved comfort. That $2K is tough to ignore, but I have to enjoy my life, too.
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