Man, what a week. Work is insane right now, and to make matters worse, I've got more side work than I can handle right now. Isn't that how it always happens though? I had a couple of months where I was working to get jobs and they just wouldn't come, and then all of the sudden everyone comes back at the same time and needs it right now. Oh well, better take it while I can, I need to feed the toy habit somehow.
It's during weeks like these that I have really come to appreciate the value in the ride. When you sit down and look at the cost / value of owning and commuting on a motorcycle or a scooter, the raw dollars don't actually work out to be a huge savings (unless you commit to it completely and sell the car). The fringe benefits can really eclipse the economic factors.
What I'm talking about is the personality altering 20-40 minutes in the saddle between a hectic and soul-crushing day at the office and arriving at home. We are talking about a bio-chemical reaction to being outside and feeling the wind in our faces. It's like being a kid again, riding a bicycle fast down a hill, it's an almost giddy feeling that seems to touch something deep in the historical genetic makeup. I hear it from other riders in various forms, but so many of them just take advantage of it on the weekends and on pretty days.
Taking advantage of this during the week probably saves me thousands on therapy and drugs.
So why the sudden interest in costs? Well as a post on today's 2 Stroke Buzz, Beeb makes an interesting point about recent articles. Specifically the 5 this month about the Buddy getting 100mpg. Beeb questions that the Buddy 125/150 gets 100mpg. I don't know, but I suspect that in some places around the country, and some riders, the answer is yes, it can.
You see, for the past 3 months, I've been tracking my own mileage in each of my scooters using a handy dandy little iPhone app I'm playing at writing (which started as a webapp, but I'm now taking native).
Let's start with me. I am 6'3" and weigh in at roughly 230lbs. I generally have about 10lbs of extras with me, in my laptop bag and obscenely heavy riding jacket(which I love in the winter and put away once temps hit 75+). Then let's talk about where I live and ride. I am in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, living on the southside of Cumming. Between home, work, and the area where I do my shopping, there are hills and climbs. As best as I can tell, the distance between the lowest point and the highest point is about 182 vertical feet. Most of my riding is in this area. All of the roads are 45-55 mph speed limits, and the longest stretch of road without a stop is 6.5 miles, the shortest is about 80 feet.
My primary ride is of course the BV500. In the 3 month period, I have filled it 9 times. I think the numbers are a little skewed here, simply because this is the bike I take on longer rides, up into the mountains or down into Atlanta, but I'm putting an average of 2.19 gallons of gas per fill up, and getting an average of 66 mpg. Bear in mind, with a 463cc engine, I'm not exactly running WoT, nor am I doing the 'full throttle launch' under normal circumstances. In general, I ride pretty casually and work more on a smooth constant throttle line on the roads than getting from A to B the fastest. I suspect that more open road would increase that to above 70mpg which is what I got on the Chattanooga trip last summer.
The backup is my People 250 that I recently turned over to my brother to get him addicted. It got 6 tanks of gas in 3 months, and with less power I tended to ride it a little harder, but still rarely at WoT. The only non-commuting ride this bike took in the period was a 115 mile trek into Atlanta to get a seat latch repaired, and a meandering wander back home through some areas of the city I don't get to very often. I have always suspected that in the performance/price curve of the three scooters, that the People was the most efficient and these totals bear me out. The average on the People works out to 78.5mpg, and with a couple of tweaks, I suspect would be even better. The last 2 fill ups indicated 83 and 84 mpg, verus mid 70's it was getting prior. The difference was that until then, the People had Givi E470 top case on it.
The Chinese 150 (Shanghai JMStar 'Jonway' 150t) with it's crappy brakes and GY6 based engine has had just 4 fill ups in that time, because I don't honestly ride it that much, and when I do, it's usually getting flogged, for most things, it just isn't my first choice. So what kind of milage am I getting on it? over the 4 fill ups, only 3 of which are valid for measurement since the first one was to establish the baseline on the tank, I averaged 88mpg.
So after that wall of words, if I'm getting 88mpg out of a crappy 150 in hilly areas, with my 240lbs of rider and stuff, could the better built and arguably more efficient Buddy get 100mpg? I think the answer is yes, but not everywhere, and not for everyone. In flat areas, like southern Florida or much of the coastline on the eastern seaboard, with a 120lb rider that isn't running WoT everywhere, I think 100mpg is a very real possibility, but averages around the country are probably more likely around the 85-90 mark.
Hey, Maybe Genuine would like to donate one for me to 'test' my theories on, maybe two, since the Stella needs to be tested too right? I hear Red is the fastest color, so perhaps an Italia Buddy and a Red Stella? Oh well, a guy can dream can't he.
Although, if my brother buys the People, I see a Stella in the garage anyways :-)