Bandit Alley

GENERAL MOTORCYCLE FORUMS => GENERAL MOTORCYCLE => Topic started by: amboman on April 25, 2006, 01:41:08 AM

Title: Fuel price update
Post by: amboman on April 25, 2006, 01:41:08 AM
Sorry to keep b*tching about this but at least you guys listen when my own government won't.  The latest development is 91 octane now retails for $1.67 per litre and premium $ 1.76 per litre.  Prices vary depending on where you live in the country and I know that where I am is not the worst off.

Question:  I am thinking about buying a scooter for commuting to work(ok stop laughing now), that means getting up about 30mins earlier in the morning but I think I will save a heap of fuel.  My question is do any of you guys use scooters at all or is that just to uncool???    :lol:
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: snofrog on April 25, 2006, 06:00:22 AM
um i dont know if i could go with a scooter ...there are plenty of smaller bikes to get the job done pulling incredible mpg`s but a scooter :lol: however if you will be using it on your paper route then i give you a big thumbs up . M
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: B6mick on April 25, 2006, 06:11:47 AM
Mate, scooters can be so much fun.
I used to do a bit of on call work for an advertizing company riding around on Vespa's with trailers on.
But having said that scooters can be fun.
I can get off, riding around on a little 250cc, as long as there is heaps of corners. :wink:
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: aussiebandit on April 25, 2006, 07:11:53 AM
Nothing wrong with scooters, just as long as you get one with a bit of steet cred.

Something like a Gilera DNA - http://www.webwombat.com.au/motoring/news_reports/mgileradna.htm
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: jbrough7 on April 25, 2006, 07:25:31 AM
Holy Crap!  Our gas prices in Southern Ontario, Canada have gone past $1.00 and seemed to have settled on 1.06 per litre!  National average is #1.09.   I thought that was a rip!!

At those prices I would get one of those little chinese junker 125's that look like a real motorcycle.  Get you great mileage but you wouldn't have the 'doorknob' handle to fight.

These probably everybody would back a scooter buy , anyway, with gas going through the roof.

Jim
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: aussiebandit on April 25, 2006, 09:03:55 AM
$1.39 for ULP, $1.46 for PULP....$0.56 for LPG

I wonder......how big a tank would you need to run LPG on a bike....

And before anyone suggests Diesel, forget it.   Diesel is the same price as PULP.
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: ray nielsen on April 25, 2006, 12:55:05 PM
I've just made a migration from a Bandit 1200 to a Suzuki Burgman 650 due to advancing arthritis.  The step through design gives me a few more years of riding vs. not riding, an unacceptable alternative.

It's about as heavy as a Bandit, gets better mileage (around 50 MPG) and has enough power for freeway riding as well.  Cruises at 75-80 on the speedometer (optimistic) and has a low center of gravity for easy handling.  

A friend with a Burgman 400 says it's highway adequate and he claims over 60 MPG in mixed city/country riding.  Being much heavier than he I chose the larger motored version.

I notice that some motorcyclists don't wave back, while the general public seems to be more open, often initiating a conversation, particularly at the gas pump.  

I think scooters are cool and hot too.
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: jfudo on April 25, 2006, 01:01:55 PM
I ride my wife's ninja 500, gets 55mpg.  That bike is still faster than most cars, and handles great.   Even a ninja 250 can keep up with traffic and get into the 60's.  My point is that you can get the mileage without damaging the reputation (too much).
Title: scooters
Post by: tacoman on April 25, 2006, 01:36:50 PM
Some of the new scooters out there are pretty cool.  They also have a ton of storage space.  Right now I think I would lean toward a dual sport.  The Suz DRZ 400 supposedly gets around 45 mpg.  Husky has some real nice dualies if you want to pay a little more.  Ride to work and do a little trail riding on the weekend.  I see scooter sales being huge in the next few years.
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: Red01 on April 25, 2006, 02:46:02 PM
I just sold an old Honda Spree. (My cylinder count would have just went down by one - but I just picked up a tiller, so it stayed the same - WHEW!) It was just a little 48 or 49cc job. IIRC, it got ~85 mpg or so. Was fine for around town duty, but since it only did ~35 mph, it wouldn't be so great on faster roads. Was great for around town, but since I don't live in town anymore, it was time for it to go. The rules in WA classify it in the same category as a moped (<50cc, top speed 35 or less), so you don't have to have a m/c endorsement to ride it. The wife loved bopping around town on it. I rode it a few times, but I'm actually heavier than what it was rated to carry.

I think the newer, bigger scooters, like the Bergman & SilverWing are great and would be good commuters or even long distance machines. I've heard of at least one being ridden in Iron Butt events and doing well, so there doesn't seem to be a question that they can't be ridden for LD work.

This new breed of scooters look so much like a motorcycle from the front, it's often hard to tell if they're not real motorcycles. I'd wave to 'em even if I knew they were scooters - but then I wave at scooters anyway... they're out there enjoying the 2-wheeled experiience too.

If I was trying to save every penny I could on gas though, I'd probably just buy the most fuel effecient motorcycle I could find that would fit the requirements of the commute - as long as it wasn't a cruiser. Though I must admit the cargo capacity of the modern scooters does have its appeal.
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: PaulVS on April 25, 2006, 09:13:38 PM
Interesting headline in today's news....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20060425/ts_csm/amoped_1
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: parraxis on April 26, 2006, 03:11:36 AM
:lol: i thinks the scooter idea is great, I've seen amboman on a scooter....including a honda nifty 50. If a man of his "presence" can ride one then I think that anyone can. on a serious note i think its a good idea to save the bandit for those touring trips, give em a decient run!!!
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: Swamp Rat on April 26, 2006, 10:36:02 AM
Gas prices are nearly $3.00 a gallon here not 10 miles from a huge Exxon refinery. So what did I go and do? I just purchased a Ram 1500 Quad Cab Daytona package with a gas sucking Hemi. Makes perfect sence doesn't it? I couldn't resist the Go Mango orange color. The $70 + dollar fill ups are going to kill my bank account. But did I mention the color is really really cool? :lol:
Title: gas
Post by: tacoman on April 26, 2006, 02:38:39 PM
Hey, diesel is now the cheapest fuel around here.  I can keep driving the Superduty.  There are lots of nice little 4cyl. cars you can pick up for cheap and use as a commuter.  Keep the truck for weekend duty.  I'm fixing up my '92 Geo Tracker (got a bad valve, see off topic post) to keep as a run around car, doesn't break the bank filling up the 11 gal. tank
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: chupacabra on April 27, 2006, 07:09:44 AM
I just filled up and payed $3.19 for reg., it was $2.89 last week!

Time to ask the boss for a pay raise. :duh:
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: B6mick on April 27, 2006, 08:55:33 AM
Quoted from Herald Sun newspaper.

Mobil -Alan Bailey explains why petrol prices are high.

"Americans and their love of cars is what is causing high petrol prices in Australia. As North American weather heats up, car use is growing causing higher demand for petrol. "

 :taz:  Ya happy now ya buggers its all your fault.
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: IcyChaos on April 27, 2006, 02:42:56 PM
Quote from: "B6mick"
Quoted from Herald Sun newspaper.

Mobil -Alan Bailey explains why petrol prices are high.

"Americans and their love of cars is what is causing high petrol prices in Australia. As North American weather heats up, car use is growing causing higher demand for petrol. "

 :taz:  Ya happy now ya buggers its all your fault.


Maybe so, I think it does have something todo with it. I believe its because We pay for the gas regardless, so they can charge whatever they want.
fuel companies had the largest profit ever last year, there's bad play going on. Its not a coincidence that gas prices rise 20 cents for Every holiday weekend. Its no coincidence that the convenient gas station charges 8 cents more than the one past the highway. True supply is part of it, but location and demand gives these scumbags an excuse to charge whatever they want.

Anytime fuel is short they raise prices, but when there is a supply they don't drop the prices too much. Its dropped enough to make you happym, but still over the previous drop. I think they've realised these last 2 years that they can charge us whatever they want. They keep raising it 8 cents, dropping it 6 cents and were happy, do that 50 times and voila we're up to $3 a gallon.
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: Red01 on April 27, 2006, 02:57:18 PM
Quote from: "IcyChaos"
Anytime fuel is short they raise prices,


It doesn't even have to be a shortage, just the rumor there might be a shortage will cause prices to start creeping up. :roll:

The other thing that irks me is they'll raise the prices on the fuel already in their tanks (sometimes several times). I can understand the station raising prices when they get a new shipment in and it cost them more. In my book, it's price gouging when the corporate office calls and orders the station to raise their price by their dictated amount. They'll even tell them what time to raise the price. Failure to comply will mean the station won't be delivered any more fuel. I'm afraid the days of the stations setting their own price are pretty much gone.
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: ttewejnodnarb on April 27, 2006, 05:44:06 PM
Just to go back to the scooter thing...I started my life on two wheels on an Aprillia Scarabeo 150.  I liked it and it went fast enough on the highway so that I wasn't passed by ALL the cars.  I think, like in Ray's case, they offer a viable alternative.  Personally, with the cost of 250 ++ cc scooters I would suggest an inexpensive, low cc motorcycle like the Nija 250.  Cycleworld (or Motorcyclist?) gave MPG figures of over 60 IIRC.  The Ninja would be quicker than a comprably powered Scooter because of the manual as apposed to a CV transmission.  Also, my Aprillia was heavier and less manuvarable than my second bike, a Ducati M620 which I always felt was a drawback.  If I didn't pay for garage space and had a little extra dosh I would love to get a small bike like the Ninja 250.

Sorry to break the post!
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: Bob Holland on April 27, 2006, 05:54:58 PM
Just to make it simple, if you bought a load of watermelons to sell for $1.00 a piece and the price of watermelons went to $5.00 a piece, would you still sell your melons for a buck, and if you did, how could you afford to buy the next load of melons to sell to stay in business. :motorsmile:
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: PaulVS on April 27, 2006, 07:27:58 PM
I envision that 100 years from now there will be stories like this told aboard a solar powered train....

"My great-grandpa told me that when he was a kid his dad could OWN his own gasoline-burning transportation vehicles!  

Not only THAT... but he could own as MANY vehicles as he WANTED, and some of them would only get 20mpg!!!

And get THIS... They could DRIVE WHEREVER THEY WANTED!!!

Man... THEY were LUCKY!"
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: ArcticEd on April 27, 2006, 09:28:20 PM
Quote from: "BHolland"
Just to make it simple, if you bought a load of watermelons to sell for $1.00 a piece and the price of watermelons went to $5.00 a piece, would you still sell your melons for a buck, and if you did, how could you afford to buy the next load of melons to sell to stay in business. :motorsmile:


Is this your way of suggesting that your bike runs on watermelons???


Incidentally, filled the truck today for $2.79.9 a gallon in Beautiful Benton, Pa.
Still cost me over 67 bucks. :duh:
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: Have Blue on April 28, 2006, 01:50:57 AM
Look at the bright side of things.  when it costs $67 to fill the bike, we will have the road all to ourselves.  LOL

Blue

Quote from: "ArcticEd"



Incidentally, filled the truck today for $2.79.9 a gallon in Beautiful Benton, Pa.
Still cost me over 67 bucks. :duh:
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: Bob Holland on April 28, 2006, 10:45:03 AM
Quote from: "ArcticEd"

Is this your way of suggesting that your bike runs on watermelons???
Incidentally, filled the truck today for $2.79.9 a gallon in Beautiful Benton, Pa.
Still cost me over 67 bucks. :duh:

No, I sell water melons. :beers:
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: amboman on April 28, 2006, 10:52:54 PM
In the 3 - 4 days since my first post, fuel has risen on average another 5 cents a litre.  91 is now 1.70 lt  and 95 / 96 is now 1.76 lt.  Diesel is skyrocketing to 1.279 per litre.  It is projected that Diesel may reach 2.00 a litre before 2007.

Am I right in assuming that the oil company profit margin is not geting any smaller.

I guess when prices get to the point that we the consumer can't afford to but the stuff the companies may go duh! what have we done!!!!   :duh:
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: jbrough7 on April 29, 2006, 07:14:23 AM
I just paid $1.19 per litre and that is the highest I've ever paid in my life!  Cost me $20 to fill the bandit up!  That's just about eactly $4.00 per US gallon!  Holy Crap!!

Is there no end to our suffering?? :shock:

Jim
Title: Fuel price update
Post by: Red01 on April 30, 2006, 01:28:35 PM
...and around here, diesel is more expensive that premium gasoline.
...and our regular has broke the $3/US gallon mark.

Now they're talking on the news how there's no laws against the oil companies gouging us, so even if there is a Congressional investigation, what can they do about it. The Republicans are talking about giving us a $100 per taxpayer rebate in August... big deal, that might buy 2 cage fillups.