Which bike? High MPG commuter

I'm going back to school in the Fall and so I'm liquidating my car collection down to just my '89 4Runner. Since this means I will have nothing sporty and nothing easy on gas I might be looking for a used bike later on this summer. I'm looking for:

+Excellent fuel economy
+Comfortable for a couple hours a day on the interstate
+Extremely reliable with cheap, easy to get parts
+Beginner friendly. I haven't ridden in seven years and my last bike was a '72 Honda CB350 Twin
+I'm 5'8" with a 30" inseam
+I prefer naked bikes for appearance and drop damage resistance
+I don't want to spend much, $3k at the absolute most, but the cheaper the better

My old CB350 was fun and cool looking, but sloooooooow and not exactly maintenance-free.

I'm getting 60+ mpg from my DR650 but I wouldn't call that an Interstate bike.

I'd look at SV650s, but I'd also add a small screen.

Maxi scooter?

Kawasaki Ninja EX250 or EX500.

Paragon of high-MPG, easy-to-ride bikes with a lot of potential.

Any of the recent Japanese V-Twin dual sport bikes. They have the footpegs closer to directly under you than the "cruisers" so you can actually stand up if you hit very rough frost heaves or pots holes on gravel.

Riding my '80 Kawasaki KZ1300-6 on the pegs was kind of neat.

I get 53 to 56 out of my 05 Suzuki boulevard c50 cruiser. shaft drive so no maint on a chain or cost of sprockets etc. Rides nice even on dirt roads and pot holes etc. this used to be sold as the Volushia 800 and is aka VLK800. Sure you could find one cheap. Low seat height and floor boards make it easy to ride in fact my wife takes it all the time now. She like how the floor boards are closer to under her knee where on her bike there out by the front wheel. It will run at 80 no problems. You'll think there should be another gear but motor can spin just fine. Also it has EFI so no dicking around in the spring with cloged jets in carbs etc.

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In reply to ShadowSix: I ride a 1994 CBR900RR. Let's check the requirements:

+Excellent fuel economy

I get 53-55 mpg driving the snot out of it.

+Comfortable for a couple hours a day on the interstate

Not even close.

+Extremely reliable with cheap, easy to get parts

Check.

+Beginner friendly. I haven't ridden in seven years and my last bike was a '72 Honda CB350 Twin

Probably not the right bike, then.

+I'm 5'8" with a 30" inseam

I'm 5'9" with a 30 inseam, and i have no problem standing flatfooted on it.

+I prefer naked bikes for appearance and drop damage resistance

Nope.

+I don't want to spend much, $3k at the absolute most, but the cheaper the better

Could definitely get one with that budget.

Overall score: 4/7. But the negatives would probably rule it out for you.

I'm buying a Honda Pacific Coast for all the same reasons as you, except I'm not in the same aesthetics camp (obviously). Can't wait to pick it up later this month!

A 600-800cc bike should fit your bill quite well. My old Suzuki GS450 would tick all those boxes except the comfort on the freeway for an hour or two. A Bigger shaft-drive GS might fit the bill quite well.

mY old CB750 Nighthawk needs the carbs cleaned and it still gets 45-50mpg when I ride it hard. Never known what it would get if I didn't ride it hard.....even after 11 years.

kawasaki ex 500 or suzuki sv650. Modern, reliable and not too pricey. The ex250 is a little light for my tastes on the interstates (I have one). I wish I had my old cb 350 back for grins. Old honda CXs are another group to look at.

Honda Nighthawk 750 was the first thing that came to my mind. They made a million of them so you should be able to find one at a reasonable cost.

Spec page.

To echo what's been said already: EX500 and SV650 are both great commuter bikes. I had an EX500 as my first bike, and it was great. Bought it for $1200, didn't have to do anything other than oil changes and chain maintenance, and I got 50-70 mpg, depending on usage. Being under 600cc, its also cheap to insure. It does have small fairings, but if you drop it, they made about a million of them, so a replacement set is cheap, or just go streetfighter with it I suppose.

Naked Suzuki GS500.

I have the full faired version, only problem I have with it is the seat is on the uncomfortable side. Corbin makes a seat for the naked version, though. The Ninja 250 or 500 would be great too.

Naked goldwing?

I doubt that a naked Goldwing will get close to 40mpg...

I will vote EX500 as well. I had mine for 16,000 miles in 3 seasons. 45-55mpg in mixed traffic. a full tank on the highway tucked behind the fairing in the rain at 65-70 mph? 72mpg

My 600 Bandit? a bit heavier, 30 more hp, more tq. is maybe 40-45mpg

I'm liking a lot of these ideas, a couple hours of research and I've got some thoughts

I love dirtbikes, and a dual sport would be cool, but these things would have crazy high seats right? At my height I don't think that would be fun in stop-and-go traffic.

I'm not sure about the tiny wheels on a big-displacement scooter, especially on pothole-ridden Ohio roads.

I like the GS500, SV650, Ninja EX500, (I'm taking your word that a 250 is too small of the highway oldtin, thanks) and Nighthawk 750.

Is there anywhere I can find consistent fuel economy data on these things? I understand that they all get pretty good mileage, but I'd like to be able to make a direct comparison.

The GS500, SV650, and Nighthawk are all to my aesthetic taste, but I find the Ninjas to be tremendously ugly. How hard is it to pull the fairing and slap on a headlight and small screen? I really don't need another project to finish before school starts!

What else do I need to look at as far as ownership costs go? A couple of you guys mentioned insurance costs, would the EX or GS be significantly cheaper to insure than a Nighthawk?

Thanks for all the awesome advice!

As far as insurance goes, it really depends on your insurer and your record (as well as age, and who knows what else). Give your agent a call and ask for quotes. It should take a few minutes at most. I pay $140 every six months for liability and comprehensive. I don't have collision.

My mileage averages at about 45 mpg for mostly around town, with a fair amount of stop and go, and short trips. The most I have achieved was 55 mpg when I was cruising at 60 mph for a whole tank.

I purchased it for $1820 with 31k miles and a worn front tire. I have put about 5k trouble-free miles on it so far, knock on wood. The SV650S carries a small premium over the naked version, but I was glad to not have a fairing when I dropped it. I had to replace the handlebar, clutch lever, and mirrors, but I was out less than $100 to get it back to good-as-used.

I still love it every time I ride it. If I got an EX500, GS500, or similar bike, I imagine that I would want something a bit faster after a while. I haven't felt that at all with the SV. It is a bit fast for a first bike, but if you're careful and get to know its limits, you should hopefully emerge unscathed. Whenever I'm on an empty country road I like to practice hard braking, avoiding imaginary obstacles, etc. My longest day of riding was just shy of 400 miles, the last 150 or so on the interstate. I was a bit creaky when I got home, but after a beer I felt just fine. The interstate is boring, so I avoid it whenever possible, but it is happy staying at 80 mph. I change positions in the seat and shake my feet out every once in a while to keep from going numb.

I'm also 5'8" with a 30" inseam, and I can flatfoot it easily. It feels like it was made for me, or rather people like me.

ShadowSix wrote: I'm liking a lot of these ideas, a couple hours of research and I've got some thoughts I love dirtbikes, and a dual sport would be cool, but these things would have crazy high seats right? At my height I don't think that would be fun in stop-and-go traffic.

You'll get used to that quickly - I used to ride a BMW R1150GS Adventure (ie, the "tall one") in London traffic. I'm about 5'11", btw. I seriously doubt that you'll encounter much worse traffic in the US.

The DR650 is tall but not quite as tall a the GSA; it's pretty well balanced despite its 6.6gal aftermarket tank and it's pretty easy to handle in traffic. My concern would be the freeway part, not the heavy traffic.

Another option for a mid-distance tourer would be a BMW K100RS or K1100RS, but then again I like BMWs and prefer to have wind protection.

If you want to get a $$ saver commuter bike, forget anything with a chain or sporty tires. The maintenance time and cost out way any savings. If you do it yourself, tires 5k - ~$220 (watching for sales), 10-12k chain ~$150, do it yourself after buying $80 chain tool, 2500 oil changes ~$30 with moto oil and filter.

Most sport bikes don't get such hot mileage anyway, my SV650 would only do 40-45 on long slow highway trips. Usually 30-35 in town/ hwy mix, I once did 23mpgs (documented on an Iron Butt Ride) heading into straight line wind that tipped over semis and RV. Throttle flat open, 4th gear, 70-80 mph max staying touching the yellow line on the freeway and being tossed to the solid white line (2 lane freeway) when coming to passes and the winds where unblocked by rocks.

To summarize, I would look at a C50 or similar shaft drive (BMW G650 or F800?) that uses a cruiser tire that last a while longer.

TW200?

BMWs are expensive.

Ninja 500 and yank the plastic to sell on EBay for profit.

former520 wrote: If you want to get a $$ saver commuter bike, forget anything with a chain or sporty tires. The maintenance time and cost out way any savings. If you do it yourself, tires 5k - ~$220 (watching for sales), 10-12k chain ~$150, do it yourself after buying $80 chain tool, 2500 oil changes ~$30 with moto oil and filter. Most sport bikes don't get such hot mileage anyway, my SV650 would only do 40-45 on long slow highway trips. Usually 30-35 in town/ hwy mix, I once did 23mpgs (documented on an Iron Butt Ride) heading into straight line wind that tipped over semis and RV. Throttle flat open, 4th gear, 70-80 mph max staying touching the yellow line on the freeway and being tossed to the solid white line (2 lane freeway) when coming to passes and the winds where unblocked by rocks. To summarize, I would look at a C50 or similar shaft drive (BMW G650 or F800?) that uses a cruiser tire that last a while longer.

I'm not finding any source for valid and reliable mpg estimates for cars, but if the C50 got 50 mpgs and a chain bike got 60, even that modest difference would make up for the cost of the chain two times over in 10k miles. I appreciate all the fuel economy anecdotes, but they're not really useful for comparing bikes

Do bike tires really only last 5k miles? That might be a deal breaker for me, If I get a summer internship in the next city over I'd need new tires before the summer is over, that eats up a lot of fuel savings!

That said, I like the C50, it looks good, it lookscomfortable, it's got EFI, they are cheap used for some reason. I'm just wondering how real-world mileage would stack up against light weight 500cc bikes like the GS500 or the Ninja EX500.

Appleseed wrote: Ninja 500 and yank the plastic to sell on EBay for profit.

There are a few Ninja 500's for sale at a discount due to busted fairings, which would kind of be the same end point, but through a different path.

I've seen a few "streetfighter" Ninjas that looked great, but also a few that looked like a dumpster fire fell on a Pontiac Aztek. I'm not sure I could pull it off.

ShadowSix wrote: Do bike tires really only last 5k miles? That might be a deal breaker for me, If I get a summer internship in the next city over I'd need new tires before the summer is over, that eats up a lot of fuel savings!

The stickier ones do, but it also very much depends on the use of the bike - when I was commuting by bike in the UK (120 mile round trip) I got between 12k and 18k out of a tire, but these were 'touring' tires aka the all-season tire of the bike world.

If you put sticky stuff on, you can wear them out in less than 2k.