Advantages and disadvantages of motorcycle commuting.

There are advantages to riding a motorcycle when the weather is right. First, of course, it the fuel efficiency. If you already have a motorcycle, why are you still driving a pickup truck to work? (I've seen you in your F150 with a Harley-Davidson sticker on the back window!) The second advantage is that you can potentially get to work a few minutes quicker. You know how those 18-wheelers seem to get further and further behind when traffic is heavy? Cars fall behind motorcycles for the same reason. It's like pouring sand into a jar of rocks... the sand filters through. A third advantage is being able to see over the cars. This may not be true if you're riding a cruiser, but standard style motorcycles and sportbikes are tall, so your head is up there with the pickup-truck drivers. Finally, and most importantly, it's just fun. Riding a motorcycle turns your commute into a recreational activity. Now I get to have an hour-and-a-half of fun every day!


Riding a motorcycle is generally not considered a "green" choice, despite the exceptional fuel economy. Motorcycle emission standards allow more unburned hydrocarbons and higher levels of oxides of nitrogen, and most motorcycles are tuned for power, which means they do pollute more. They have higher compression ratios than car engines, and they turn at (often) much higher revolutions per minute. Carbon-dioxide emissions are lower by virtue of burning less fuel. As for the Royal Enfield, it has only an 8.5:1 compression ratio and turns slowly, so I suspect it isn't bad on the NOx scale, but that's not why I bought it anyway.

I did the math on the fuel savings, and can see that if gasoline goes to $5.00/gallon (which is prognosticated, but which I truly doubt) that riding the motorcycle full-time would save $129.97 in fuel cost per month. But notice my first sentence: "... When the weather is right." The weather isn't ever right in August, to be honest. And today, I got rained on. That was okay, as I pulled off of the freeway before it really got going and pulled on my rain pants. That has me thinking about ordering some better rain gear, though. I could ride in on rainy days, as long is it isn't too hot.

The disadvantages are fairly obvious. It's supposed to be fun, but cold and heat and rain can make it not so. And while the freeway commute practically eliminates the risk of cars turning in front of you (except for the few miles of surface streets), cars can come across several lanes to attack, as happened to a fellow in Colorado last week. Perhaps the most inconvenient thing is that you cannot simply hop on it and go like you can with a car. You have to get ready, put on a jacket, a helmet, perhaps some rain gear, and stow the stuff that you normally keep in your pockets (or else risk losing it). I once lost a watch while riding, so now I put my watch in the tank bag. For this reason, I tend to avoid going out to lunch on days when I ride.

I suppose this gets back to the reason I started this blog in the first place. The idea is that the commute can be enjoyable. It doesn't have to be a stressful drive or ride, and people who commute using personal transportation needn't be laden with guilt over their anti-environmental choice. Living close to work may be nice, but the quality of life in the city isn't necessarily higher than in the suburbs. If it were, people wouldn't have moved out to the suburbs in the first place.

I've been watching the computer-calculated gas mileage in my car lately, trying to keep it as high as possible. I can get about 29 mpg (computer estimated at nearly 32) if I'm careful, versus about 27 mpg if I don't pay attention, and I find that when I drive that way I'm more relaxed. You have to drive in a relaxed fashion to improve the mileage. Try it sometime! And by all means, enjoy whatever you choose to drive, and wherever you choose to live. There are legitimate reasons you made those choices. Try to include some environmental concerns in your choices in the future, which generally will help your own finances as well. It's little changes made by all of us that will improve all of our quality of life.