Motorcycle Mayhem

[RavenNC]

Hubby and I started brainstorming ideas for cutting back on our gas usage, since the price at the pump has been going nowhere but up, and it's starting to get more than a little ridiculous!  The trouble we have is that we can't cut back to one car (the ION, our wonderful, gas conserving baby).  I work two jobs in a town about ten minutes away from our house, and hubby works forty minutes away in another county, so we both have to drive.

I was playing a stupid game online the other day that involved dirtbikes, and suddenly I thought, "Hey!  I used to ride a motorcycle *mumble* years ago!  Those things get great gas mileage!"  I brought the idea up to hubby, and he was somewhat less than enthusiastic.  Specifically he had visions of me as road pizza thanks to the less than stellar driving skills we see around here on a daily basis.  The climbing gas prices converted him, as well as a promise to take the riding class at our local community college, since it has been *mumble* years since I've been on a bike.

Hey...did you know they have push button starters and a cool little light that tells you you're in neutral!  Woot!  How cool is that!?  Ok, so it's been a looooong while...but I'm game!

The bike we're looking at is a Honda Rebel, which sounds cool, but is not especially.  In fact, it has the exact same seat style as my grandmother's honda back in the seventies.  It has some great features for my purposes though.

First, and probably most important, the seat clearance is just right for me.  While my legs go all the way to the ground, they do happen to do so in an unusually short distance.  In other words, my legs are short, and I need to be able to touch the ground on both sides of the bike WITHOUT leaning three hundred plus pounds of metal to the side to do it.  The Rebel is exactly the right  height for me.  Yippeee!!

Second, it only weighs about three hundred pounds, which means when I knock it over (and everyone knows it's a matter of when, not IF), I can pick it back up again.  Unlike the SUPER cool bike I also looked at that was the right height but weighed in at over five hundred pounds.  Hernia anyone?  I need to be self-sufficient and not have to hope for a helpful muscle man to get my bike vertical again.  That's just too humiliating really.

Third, it's in my price range, which can't be undervalued.  We're terminally broke, and I'm not interested in paying as much for a motorcycle I'm using to commute as I did for my car.  Sorry - until and unless it has seatbelts, a radio, and air-conditioning, that's not going to happen.

Last, but certainly not LEAST - it gets 75 mpg or more.  WOOT!

The funny thing is when I told my parents about it in passing, both of them thought it was crazy and started their doom and gloom - "You're going to be horribly mangled and die!"  The reason this is funny is because as a child (we're talking 9 yrs old), they literally plopped me down on a motorcycle which a helmet so big it could spin on my head, and cut me loose in the mountains of Wyoming with no supervision at all.  Never worried that I'd crash and burn out in the wilds, or get lost, or be eaten by a furry something with big teeth...just, "Be back for dinner and keep your helmet on."  Now that I'm *mumble* and riding on actual pavement with gear that fits me...they're worried.  Parent logic - gotta love it!

[Pumpkinseed]

My husband and I did the same thing, except I got a scooter.. cus He bought a crotch rocket and Im a fan of cruisers lol. But I love my scooter and the gas mileage is SO much better than with the car.. and the car even has great gas mileage..... for a car lol.

[pinkie1205]

My boyfriend bought a moped last year that he rides back and forth to work.  That thing gets 100 miles to the gallon.  A moped is good for here because traffic isn't usually ridiculous so if you can only go 30 that's okay.  We were in Orlando the other week and there is NO WAY someone would survive on a moped.  I think he's thinking about trading it in on a scooter because they go faster.


I have a friend who has a motorcycle and she likes it to commute.  She lives in West Virginia and works in Washington DC so it's good on gas.  Gas just went up here to 3.75 per gallon 

[forkyfork]

I ride. I have a ninja.

When you calculate it out. Bike, maintenance, most require expensive $300 valve adjustments and oil change every 6K, tires that cost $150+ each and last around 5K (because the cheap ones will loose traction and cause you to crash), insurance, and most important full gear helmet $150, gloves $50, jackets with armor (cold and hot) $100+ each, pants with armor $160, boots $100. Dress for the crash not for the ride. Also the risk you put yourself in. People in cars DO NOT see bikes even when they are looking straight at you.

There is no savings. Get a bike to ride it because you want to ride. If you are justifying it in savings dont bother.
As far as not wrecking because its not a sport bike. I wrecked my moped 4 times.

As far as the Rebel Ive ridden one. The engine is really not powerful enoughtto be on the freeway. You can do it but your limited to around 75 mph top speed. I also dont like how short you become in traffic.

The Ninja 250  even though the same size engine is tuned to make better use of the power and are quick enough and the top speed on the freeway is enough to give you a speed cushion to manage traffic. The seat height on the pre-1008 ones is 29" and they can be found cheap because everyone wants the cooler looking 2008 model.

Just make sure you dont get caught up in the "fun and practicality" of a motorcycle and make an educated safe decision.

Theyre like owning rats. They may cost $5 at the pet store, but when you figure in a cage and proper medical care it puts a whole new twist on things.

If you dont think you need full gear and dont intend to wear it, besides a helmet. You really need to do some research and a reality check before getting on a bike. If you think its only sport bike riders that crash horribly your wrong.

Not to put a damper on the fun. You should undestand my telling you this. As I said before its very similar to some newbie coming on here and saying they want a rat and are going to keep it in a fishtank.

[blowingkisses]

I have a moped.  1976 Motobecane 50V.  I LOVE that thing.  Love love it.  I would never get a new scooter just because I'm into vintage and all my friends (Moped Army and vintage scooter club) would probably never speak to me again for selling out.  But vintage scooters are cool and definitely much faster stock than non-kitted mopeds.

However, the old ones (pre-1980) break down all the time.

I'm not sure motorcycles would be a big savings.  They require insurance and all that stuff.  Mopeds don't need insurance, but you need to know what you're doing on an engine (there are no moped repair shops).  There is definitely a gas mileage savings.  Your helmet will cost you over $100, easily, and you should also have riding gear (leather jacket + pants + gloves + boots = mad expensive and hot in summer!).

I would not trade my moped for anything.  But I expect him to break at least once or twice a week.

100mpg, no insurance, no motorcycle license needed (scooters need both insurance and motorcycle licenses if they are over 50cc).

[RavenNC]

Aww dang...the voice of reason!  Just kidding!

Actually, we've done all the math.  My dad's an accountant, and he taught me well.  Part of what we're factoring in is that I'm driving a '95 Chrysler New Yorker that is in need of a new transmission ($2700 minimum...and you can't finance that!), and probably a new engine (although we've got our fingers crossed on that one, so hopefully it'll hang in there!).  It gets good gas mileage...for its size.  Unfortunately its size is somewhere between huge and ginormous so that's not saying much!  On that subject...the tires on the car are HUGE!  Ya know how they run those tire specials and you can get a set of four for $150?  Not this car, thanks!  Those tires break the bank every time, it's depressing.

Also, while it's been a certain number of years which shall remain un-numbered, I'm not actually a newbie.  I rode for years, but the advent of the need for car seats put a definitive end to the bike, so I sold it to my cousin (who promptly wrecked it, the little putz).

I won't be riding on the freeway, actually.  If I was a bike wouldn't even be on the table since people apparently turn their brains off when they turn their car on!  It's just under fourteen miles from my house to my first job, and then four miles from my first job to my second job, and then about thirteen miles from my second job back home again.  From my home to my first job is a local road, and from my first job to my second job is in town.  It's literally a straight shot in all directions, so no need to change lanes if I don't want to.  None of the roads are more than four lanes total - two lanes in one direction and two lanes in the other direction.  We're in a rural area, so even when traffic is at its heaviest it's light.  The Rebel I tried out had more than enough power to handle the max speed of 55mph - we're speed demons 'round here...can ya tell?  Of course the speed limit's 45mph, so it counts as speeding!

As far as the gear is concerned - can we say flack jacket?  I'm all too aware of the consequences of hitting the pavement...at any speed!  I'm pretty sure I didn't say anything about thinking I'd be bubble wrapped for my commute.  My pastor's husband (who is also a pastor) rides a huge bike (cruiser, gorgeous!) and he has the whole deal: the kevlar jacket and pants and the huge boots.  I'll be getting the jacket and a full face helmet - I'm having some trouble with the pants and boots because I'm apparently not a typical size...go figure!  I buy shoes in the kids department!

I like the Ninja...cool bike!  Unfortunately 29 inches is actually too tall - I end up on my tippy toes which is not cool!  Plus, if I remember correctly you end up leaning over the tank rather than sitting upright, which I really don't like.  I'm picky, and that was one of my big issues - I had to be able to find a bike I felt comfortable on and that I would enjoy riding.

For me, insurance is going to run just over $100 a year, which is a huge difference from what I pay for the car of course.  I'm also mechanically inclined, so I do a lot of the basic work on our vehicles myself, and I'm lucky enough to have a certified Honda mechanic right down the road...and a good friend...yippee!  He's the one who suggested the Rebel in the first place.  Of course that was AFTER laughing his behind off watching me on a Shadow 750.  Riding was no problem...stopping...that was a problem!  I had to lean the bike a good 15 degrees to touch the ground!

I'd sure like to say I'm a Pollyanna over here going "Wheeee...let's get a cute bike 'cause I look good in leather" but I'm depressingly realistic.  I budget everything...and I mean EVERYTHING...down to the last penny.  My hubby used to laugh that I even budgeted things that MIGHT happen, but hey, if they don't it's money for savings!  (His favorite was when I budgeted for a certain number of ER visits with the kids for the year - you laugh but my kids were averaging two visits a year and those aren't cheap!)

[forkyfork]

If your car is that old and that is what you are relying on now you are making a poor decision. A motorcycle is a luxury not a necessity. You need to put the money into a newer more reliable car. You have children, a motorcycle is not a substitute for a car. There are not possible savings great enough to justify the purchase of a motorcycle and the related expenses. They are rarely an investment.

If you cant afford tires for the car you have you cant afford motorcycle maintenance. I just got mine out of the shop, I usually do my own work but I wont do a valve adjustment. It cost $270. I just put a new tire on, it cost $120 for the tire, $40 for mounting and balance and I put it back on the bike myself.

Dont forget you have tax title and tags to pay for too.

As far as pants and boots. I have a size 3 1/2 foot it is also super wide so the womens boots that are wide enough are too long. I have 2 pairs of boots Im sure you can find some. They werent cheap one pair is made by Joe Rocket and the other are Gaerne from Italy. The problem I have with the joe rocket ones is that my feet are so short that the inside of the heel of the boot catches on the foot peg before my toe can reach the shifter. It makes for some sloppy shifting. So I found out expensively that they were the wrong boot for me.

They dont make womens pants large enough for me I had to get a mens 42 and have them shortened.  The pants were almost $200 and the alterations were $50. So as long as you arent larger than an 18 the pants shouldnt be an issue. Remember that they are loong when standing but with you knees bent on the bike it takes up some length. You dont want your ankles bare.

I wont wear any jacket or pants that dont have CE rated armor. Elbows and knees are very vulnerable in an accident.
Most accidents happen close to home. I crashed into the garage after slipping on some grass. Hubby dumped his in front of the house turning around.  Most of my accidents I had by myself. One a guy pulled out in front of me and I hit the bed of his truck. Most of mine involved slipping on road debris while turning or stopping. (crappy tires)

Just make sure you arent making a decision based on excitement or emotions. You can justify anything. Make sure you keep in touch with reality.

And since you expence ER room trips. Make sure you expence catastrophic injuries, skin grafts and screwing bones together arent cheap.

Make sure that your insurance has full coverage for the bike as well as add medical for yourself. If your insurance doesnt offer it find another that does.

Above all, take the time to take the MSF course in your area. It could save your life.

[RavenNC]

New car payment:  $360/month (minimum) for five years
Bike payment:        $87/month for 1.5 years

Full set of car tires for the car:  $420 (on sale)
Full set of tires for bike (not a Ninja, keep in mind):  $240 (not on sale)

Title and tags for the car:  $167
Title and tags for the bike: $140

Insurance for the car:  $27/ month
Insurance for the bike: $10/month (again, not a Ninja, which I priced out as considerably higher, AND not in an urban area)

One month of gas for the car:  $255.15
One month of gas for the bike: $118.44

I have kids.  They're teenagers actually, and when we go somewhere as a family they'll ride in the Saturn mentioned in my very first post, which I'm suspecting you didn't read thoroughly.  The shiny, relatively new car that hubby drives because he DOES drive on the freeway at 75mph.  I would remind you, again, that the Rebel and the Ninja are completely different both in terms on upkeep, cost, and design.  A Ninja is something I might buy if I was looking for cool, the Rebel is practical which IS what I'm looking for.

Again, I'm not new at this, and I'm not making my decision based on "Gee wouldn't this be cool."  We have run the numbers and weighed in the relative risks and gains.  I've seen the result of a body meeting pavement - even at speeds lower than in-town a broken bone or two is all but assured.  I've watched riders struggle to rehab from catastrophic crashes as well as low-speed collisions with cars that literally turned left into a bike.  That being said, I can say the same and substitute car/truck for bike.  I made the mistake (once!) almost twenty-five years ago of not wearing full gear and earned a third-degree burn that covered my entire calf - and I was lucky that's all I got.  There are pros and cons to every decision, and my husband and I weigh them carefully.  Probably even more carefully than we would have if he'd ever ridden a bike, since he had to be educated on every aspect of motorcycle ownership - including where you park something that can be rolled away and into the back of someone's truck if they feel like stealing it.

You haven't asked for details and have ignored the ones given, which is leading me to think that you aren't really reading anything I've said and have instead created a picture of the situation based on your own biases.  Based on your responses, I get the impression that you think I am:  in my twenties, have small children, have never actually ridden or owned a motorcycle, believe that if I buy a moped I won't crash and if I do I'll get a little road rash that a band-aid will cover, and that I intend to travel in 75+ mph traffic in shorts and a halter top with a brain bucket instead of a full helmet.  While I understand and appreciate that you don't want someone to make a bad decision based on emotion or a glorified idea of motorcycles, your continued insistence that I am, and that I've failed to consider every possible ramification of this decision has become more than a little insulting. 

[AnnieB]

Husbandguy rides a bike to work about 60% of the year, since we live very rurally and it's beastly expensive to run a car full time here.  We do have a citroen berlingo (mini van), but the savings on road tolls, bridge and ferry tolls (we live on an island in a fjord), insurance and petrol and maintenance costs are huge. 

He loves his bike.  Petrol's over $10/usgal here... so for us the bike's a godsend, even considering that he paid over $2000 usd (yes, that's not a typo) for his kevlar, helmet and leathers.  He also gets to bypass most of the work commute queues since motorcycles can use the bus lanes here.

Annie in Norway

[Pumpkinseed]

gas here is like 4.01.. and like 3.86 or something on base. the only bad thing is that my husband has already crashed twice. once he just layed it down and today (this morning before his flight to Bahrain) he skidded on some gravel and broke the bike again and almost broke his leg So It's worth it if you're good on a bike.. which eric isnt.. yet lol.

[forkyfork]

Im not picking on you. I did read what you have written including the bit about the other car. That car does not exist in your reality for at least 10 1/2 hours of your day. He is fairly close at 40 min but if there is a reason to need the car its a bit of a drive or someone doesnt go into work on the bad weather days or if the kids are sick and need to go to the dr. How often do you go shopping when your husband has the other car? A rubbermaid action packer works pretty good for that, you just need to remember to take it with you.

I also live in NC. It does get cold and snows a little bit. What are you planning to do on days with high wind, tornado warnings and heavy rain or snow. You can ride in all of that. Can you handle riding in all that. I was able to when I was 18-20 but now that Im in my 40s it seems to make me nervous.

The other thing that I did read is that you are working 2 jobs. If that makes your work day longer than 8 hrs you also need to consider sloppiness and inattention that can be caused from fatigue. This is one thing that I have to be careful of because I work 12 hr days and I only have a 4 mile ride home.

I never thought you were a kid. Your teenagers don't have their own car. If they need you to take them somewhere when all you have is the MC will they be comfortable with that. A good example is this morning my son missed the bus, I had to take him to school. He doesn't like to ride on the bike, I had to take the car instead.

I also see some justifying going on in your numbers.  I know for a fact you would not be stuck with a $360 month car payment. I pay that much for my 2007 SUV. A cheap kia would do just fine. I used car would be excellent. I have a truck with 107K on it and I paid $1500 for it.

As far as the cost of the MC I do have a question. I thought I read that the rebel you were looking at was new. However, at a cost including financing (by totaling the payments) of only $1566 Im assuming its used and much older.  Make sure it has very good tires and has had the maintenance done. Also rubber deteriorates quickly on a bike, be careful of old brake lines etc.

I also would like to know who you went through for your insurance. My bike is not considered a sport bike, I pay $54 a month insurance on 2 bikes together, for 100/300/100 full insurance and 10,000 medical (you really should have additional medical on a motorcycle). this is both bikes combined. It doesnt seem like much but NC rates were even higher which is why I wanted to know who you went through. Im in Hickory, NC not really a metropolis  .

I also have a $250 deductible and towing included. These are things you really should have if you are relying on it for transportation. It is impossible for me to come up with $500 to cover an insurance deductible in a short amount of time. This would delay getting back on the road.

It doesnt matter if the tires are for a ninja or a rebel. The number one most important thing is to keep traction when operating both bikes in an identical manner.

Two very important things that are independent of type of motorcycle. Ability to panic stop without losing traction and ability to stop when the road is wet without losing traction. It also doesnt take much of a lean to spill a bike in a corner. ALL bikes lean around corners. All riders make mistakes,  a good tire will hopefully keep you upright when you make a mistake.

I also dont use sport bike tires. The rims are too small. Im stuck with old fashioned bias ply tires. Your life depends on your choice of tires. Dont go cheap. BTW you can get excellent tires for the Ninja for about $75 each its the mounting and balancing that kills me. The dealers dont carry them and they charge a fortune or wont mount them at all because I didnt get them there.

You can take this for what it is. I am giving you advice based on years of hearing similar stories only to see the bike end up for sale at a loss because it didnt work out the way they planned.

[RavenNC]

Im not picking on you. I did read what you have written including the bit about the other car. That car does not exist in your reality for at least 10 1/2 hours of your day. He is fairly close at 40 min but if there is a reason to need the car its a bit of a drive or someone doesnt go into work on the bad weather days or if the kids are sick and need to go to the dr. How often do you go shopping when your husband has the other car? A rubbermaid action packer works pretty good for that, you just need to remember to take it with you.

We're not getting rid of the New Yorker.  I've no intention of riding when the weather is bad, I'll be driving the New Yorker if the bike isn't an option but it would greatly reduce the amount of time the car actually gets driven and postpone some repairs.  We own it outright, and we'd be backing our insurance down to liability on that car.  Less time on the road significantly reduces the amount we pay for insurance.  Hubby takes care of picking up the kids and taking them to the doctor already, so that's not an issue.  I don't shop except on Saturdays, when I shop for the next week and I use the Ion.  The few times my youngest has needed picking up that my hubby couldn't do it, I have one retired friend and one stay-at-home friend who are more than happy to pick him up, and have more than a few times.

I also live in NC. It does get cold and snows a little bit. What are you planning to do on days with high wind, tornado warnings and heavy rain or snow. You can ride in all of that. Can you handle riding in all that. I was able to when I was 18-20 but now that Im in my 40s it seems to make me nervous.

I grew up riding in Wyoming.  It started snowing...really really snowing with 50+ winds...in September, at which point the road became a solid sheet of white packed snow with a seriously slick glaze on top and stayed that way until May.  Even the jeeps the post office used to deliver mail had chains.  Hitting your brakes is not an option unless you feel like sledding with a 300 pound bike, so you plan ahead whenever you can and in my case learning to shift without the clutch to reduce the chance of popping the clutch on ice.  I wouldn't choose to ride in a downpour, but I'm comfortable doing it.

The other thing that I did read is that you are working 2 jobs. If that makes your work day longer than 8 hrs you also need to consider sloppiness and inattention that can be caused from fatigue. This is one thing that I have to be careful of because I work 12 hr days and I only have a 4 mile ride home.

I end up working about fourteen hours four days out of the week.  I'm a hyper person by nature and I enjoy my jobs, so I usually have a lot of energy when I get home.  That being said, I've also called hubby at 10pm to come pick me up (when I didn't enjoy my job), and I felt like I was too tired to drive home.  A good friend ran her car into a tree at 65mph and never hit the brakes because she was tired.  Car or bike, if I'm tired enough to lose focus I don't drive home.

I never thought you were a kid. Your teenagers don't have their own car. If they need you to take them somewhere when all you have is the MC will they be comfortable with that. A good example is this morning my son missed the bus, I had to take him to school. He doesn't like to ride on the bike, I had to take the car instead.

Again, hubby does all of that.  I'm gone in the morning before the kids head out, and his school starts an hour later than ours, so when they miss the bus (twice this year, so far), he takes them.  I won't take my kids on the bike with me.  They've had precious little experience on bicycles because we live on a rural highway where there's no place for them to ride - I wouldn't feel comfortable with them on the bike with me.  Plus, even when I rode before I didn't like having someone on the bike with me, it's just a preference I guess.

I also see some justifying going on in your numbers.  I know for a fact you would not be stuck with a $360 month car payment. I pay that much for my 2007 SUV. A cheap kia would do just fine. I used car would be excellent. I have a truck with 107K on it and I paid $1500 for it.

I'm already stuck with a payment like that.  It's called really crummy credit and an interest rate higher than most credit cards.  Part of the fun there is finding financing.  Oddly enough, financing a cheaper, older model car is considerably more difficult than a new car (which is stupid).  When our little Geo was totalled (which sounds bad but it wasn't actually, it was just a really cheap car the insurance didn't want to fix), we had $1500 to buy another car.  That's where we got the New Yorker which we paid for outright.  Part of the trouble there is in reliability.  We discovered over long and painful experience that an older, cheap car often came with large unexpected bills (blown head gasket (twice!), new transmission, etc) even when it was originally checked out by a mechanic, which we always do regardless of the age of the car we're looking at.  It was much more cost-effective to get a newer car (I've never bought an actual "new" car), that was reliable and implement a sensible maintenance plan that allowed us to save for the bigger problems that always show up eventually.  We've had stunningly bad luck with older cars.  I know lots of people who buy cars built in the 70's and 80's and never have a moment's trouble with them, but we've never been one of them.  I would much rather go out and buy another Ion, and I'd love a hybrid, but that simply isn't an option for us in our current situation. 

As far as the cost of the MC I do have a question. I thought I read that the rebel you were looking at was new. However, at a cost including financing (by totaling the payments) of only $1566 Im assuming its used and much older.  Make sure it has very good tires and has had the maintenance done. Also rubber deteriorates quickly on a bike, be careful of old brake lines etc.

The bike is a 2007, and new.  It sells for $3100 and we're planning on a down payment of nearly $1800, which is why we are waiting.  In addition, hubby is teaching summer school, which means a double paycheck this summer which will be applied to the capital.

I also would like to know who you went through for your insurance. My bike is not considered a sport bike, I pay $54 a month insurance on 2 bikes together, for 100/300/100 full insurance and 10,000 medical (you really should have additional medical on a motorcycle). this is both bikes combined. It doesnt seem like much but NC rates were even higher which is why I wanted to know who you went through. Im in Hickory, NC not really a metropolis  . 

We've had the same insurance pretty much forever.  I have no speeding tickets or accidents, and we get rewarded for that.  If all we wanted was liability it would be $92 a year.  I'm not interested in just liability, for oh so many reasons, so we're getting full coverage.  I'd have to look but I'm pretty sure the medical is higher than ten.  I remember it being higher than what I carry on my car insurance, and I went higher than their minimum on that.  Plus, we get a nice discount for taking the motorcycle class.

I also have a $250 deductible and towing included. These are things you really should have if you are relying on it for transportation. It is impossible for me to come up with $500 to cover an insurance deductible in a short amount of time. This would delay getting back on the road.

Triple A Gold.  My parent's Christmas gift to us every year, bless their hearts.  When we started discussing this I checked and they will cheerfully provide roadside assistance for a motorcycle - including towing up to 200 miles - on our current plan.  The first car I ever bought all by myself was a '73 bug which ran great right up until it didn't run at which point it was a lawn sculpture, and I will never be without triple A agian!


I'm not suggesting you were picking on me.  What I'm saying is that you may want to consider that we understand our situation better than anyone, and that a great deal of thought has gone, and continues to go, into this decision.  The problem I had was not that you were pointing out the possible down sides...it was that you seem to be insisting that we are just deciding to leap into the decision without any thought at all, and assuming that you knew the entire situation (and that it was the same as yours), without actually asking about any of it.  Hubby and I are both very careful people.  We have too many responsibilities, and too much experience with "luck" to be anything but.  Bringing up things we might not have though of is fine, but the way you expressed it was that we were making the decision based on "won't this be neat" and then trying to justify it - possibly a natural reaction at first, but after I made clear that wasn't the case you still insisted it was, which is what I found offensive.

[forkyfork]

You have to understand your initial post is still exactly what you were thinking and a first impression of your situation.

Again its like a rat. You said I was playing a video game and remembered riding and decided to get a bike and its cheap. This is the same thing as I bought a rat because it was cute and cost less than a puppy.

You said I dont have any money to take care of the transportation I have. Or my dog was sick, it was expensive. Ill get a rat because theyre smaller. it will be cheaper to take care of. Or I dont have money to take it to the vet.

You said I can wear a flack jacket (not MC gear) but I cant find boots and pants because I havent looked into it to find out that I can. This is the same as saying Im keeping the rat in a small cage because thats all I can find at the petstore. I also suspect you arent intending on setting aside $500 for proper gear, at least its not in your budget that you showed.

I grew up in Rigby Idaho. Im more than familiar with snow on the roads that are never plowed. The fact that you were out on these roads shows that maybe you dont make the most sound decisions re when you should ride.

As far as it being similar to my situation. I have motorcycles because I want them. I buy them with salvage titles and pay cash for them. I paid a total of $3500 for the bikes I have. I dont intend to save money.

I have seen many go down a similar path in the end willing to trade anything to get 4 wheels and a roof over their head. I hate to see people in a rough spot financially and then make it worse by not forseeing everything involved.

My only intentions are to help you to see yourself through your own postings. Go back and read them a week from now and you will see what I mean. Make a sound descion about a financial investment you are about to take. Make sure thats where you want to be in the middle of jan and feb when its really cold here.
Granted, I recently lived in Cleveland. I would still be fighting carb icing on my way to work. The wheather here is more condusive to year round riding than anywhere else Ive lived. I still keep my warmer gear with me, Ive been caught out in the cold after a warm day too many times.

As far as buying used cars, I manage company vehicles. Dont buy used Chrystler, Dodge or Ford. Ask your honda mech friend to help you find a good car when you come to that bridge again.

I do wish you the best. Keep the rubber side down. I really am interested in what insurance company you use. Im with progressive and havent shopped around yet. The transfer isnt official yet. So any help that way would be appreciated.

-Marcie