Very happy with my rather non-Mustachian recent purchase..

[kendallf]

We currently have five cars and a truck, and I just bought another vehicle!

..OK, with that subject lead in, what could it be?

Nothing too dramatic, really.. I bought a motorcycle.  I bought my wife a Prius a few months ago, and despite a lot of car-pooling and bike riding to and from work, I was still commuting occasionally in a very fuel inefficient hotrod pickup truck.  I wanted something cheap, with maximum fuel economy, that would give me some flexibility.

Long story short, I took the motorcycle safety course, paid $2200 for a 2008 Suzuki GS500 with 510 miles (!), and I'm currently getting about 60 mpg going to work several days a week and loving the ride.

I know MMM had a scooter article at one point, but I'm surprised more people who still have single person commuting needs don't consider motorcycles.  At least here in the South, low mileage examples for low $ are all over CL.  Especially the smaller displacement ones, which are typically better for gas mileage and beginner safety anyway. 

P.S.  I put that opener in there to see how many people would take the opportunity to chastise me for my poor vehicular choices.    ;-)

[Khan]

I actually only own my motorcycle, I sold my car in December when I realized a 2012 Mustang is stupidly expensive and not worth it.

2012 Triumph Tiger 800, I'm in love with it.

and....

5 CARS AND A TRUCK? Are you running an auto shop or a taxi company? NO? The hell are you doing?

[kendallf]

I should let it go a while longer and see if we can get any real outrage, but I'm going to bed.  :-)

Short answer: daughters, wife, projects.  I have a long pre-Mustachian history of being very frugal with my daily drivers, and spending dumb money on fast cars that break, blow up at the race track, or otherwise prove fiscally unwise (tickets, high insurance costs..)

I'm working to mend my ways, while preserving some involvement in a hobby that I love.  The goal is to keep it mindful and debt free.  I'm not there yet but I'm making progress. 

Funny enough, when I started using Mint and tracking all of my spending, the two big glaring categories we could obviously improve greatly were vehicular and food expenses.  I'm doing better at cutting the car expenses; I have poor impulse control with my stomach!

[acanthurus]

paid $2200 for a 2008 Suzuki GS500 with 510 miles (

Well done. I'm considering a GS500 or an SV650 for a first bike if I ever get the chance. I figure if it scratches the itch I currently have for a horribly bad idea like a G37 sport, and allows me to keep driving my beater sedan, then it will be money well spent.

Also they are shit tons of fun. I tooled around on a friend's old Yamaha Z1000 in a parking lot and even at 30MPH that thing was a blast. Way better than any car.

[Khan]

Acanthurus, having owned the Mustang GT and my current motorcycle, and a previous Ninja 500, I would highly recommend the motorcycle route to scratch that itch. Way more fuel efficient(by at least a factor of 2), and way more fun, with a much smaller base price, and some possible utility outside of being fun and faster. I took my Tiger offroading a little bit this weekend, and it was my first time taking it into the dirt, but I felt surprisingly confident in it. Not only that, but with some saddlebags on it(which I have), it makes a great tourer.

[Jamesqf]

paid $2200 for a 2008 Suzuki GS500 with 510 miles (!), and I'm currently getting about 60 mpg going to work several days a week and loving the ride.

Price seems a little high, for a dedicated bargain hunter.  You can find a lot of bikes that were purchased on a whim, ridden a few hundred miles, then parked in a garage for years.

I have pretty much given up on motorcycles as a way to save gas, though.  The Insight gets 70+, and I don't think I ever owned a bike that would get much over 50 mpg.  Though that may be related to how I rode them :-)

[N]

my husband had a honda shadow that we bought used and he drove it as a daily commuter for 10 years.
we live in chicago. ten years ago he still rode it 9-10 months a year. by the end he rode it about 7 months of the year. less willing to ride in the bad weather, plus he had a bad hip, I think it hurt to ride. not to mention that he was hit a few times. people drive like jerks around here. once a car hit him, he got knocked off, and they drove off. he was on Lake Shore Drive in rushhour traffic. eventually the bike needed more work than we could afford so he sold it. I wonder now that he has had hip surgery if it might be an option again. hmmm.

[Ozstache]

I love motorcycles too. My 1200cc Yamaha Super Tenere is hardly mustachian but it is shit loads of fun as it launches me around the countryside. Just got back from a 6000 km (3700 mile) charity ride for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia from Canberra to Cairns and back, with some 400 other bikes. It was a hoot!

[Khan]

I don't know Ozstache, I kind've think that motorcycles can be a relatively mustachian thing. Think about it this way: it uses up far less gallons of gas/mile, at current rates and on the highway costing ~4$ an hour to operate(maintenance and depreciation not included), compared to, say, RV's, or the family car, or other means of transportation. They're faster then sports cars, while costing 1/3 or less the price(new).

[kendallf]

paid $2200 for a 2008 Suzuki GS500 with 510 miles (!), and I'm currently getting about 60 mpg going to work several days a week and loving the ride.

Price seems a little high, for a dedicated bargain hunter.  You can find a lot of bikes that were purchased on a whim, ridden a few hundred miles, then parked in a garage for years.

I have pretty much given up on motorcycles as a way to save gas, though.  The Insight gets 70+, and I don't think I ever owned a bike that would get much over 50 mpg.  Though that may be related to how I rode them :-)

I bought this from friends, and they actually wanted me to pay much less.  I felt like I should at least get close to market value on it; the bike is pristine and essentially looked brand new.  It had been sitting for most of the past three years.

Ironically, as soon as I brought it home and mentioned it to my neighbor, who's a long time Harley enthusiast, he told me that he had a Honda Shadow in his garage that he'd let go for ~$1k.  Similar story.. his brother bought it, put 1800 miles on it, and gave it to him to store.  That was 10 years ago.

[little_owl]

paid $2200 for a 2008 Suzuki GS500 with 510 miles (

Well done. I'm considering a GS500 or an SV650 for a first bike if I ever get the chance. I figure if it scratches the itch I currently have for a horribly bad idea like a G37 sport, and allows me to keep driving my beater sedan, then it will be money well spent.

Also they are shit tons of fun. I tooled around on a friend's old Yamaha Z1000 in a parking lot and even at 30MPH that thing was a blast. Way better than any car.

SV650 is a GREAT bike.  I ride a Ninja 650 and love it, though the SV is much better for commuting.

I will say, OP, holy shit you have a lot of vehicles!!!  You sure you need THAT MANY!??

[Jamesqf]

I will say, OP, holy shit you have a lot of vehicles!!!  You sure you need THAT MANY!??

Well, if it's a hobby...  I mean, there are probably misguided people in this world who'd think that I don't really need 50+ rose bushes in my yard, or FTM a yard big enough for that many rose bushes (and lots of other stuff).

[Ozstache]

I don't know Ozstache, I kind've think that motorcycles can be a relatively mustachian thing. Think about it this way: it uses up far less gallons of gas/mile, at current rates and on the highway costing ~4$ an hour to operate(maintenance and depreciation not included), compared to, say, RV's, or the family car, or other means of transportation. They're faster then sports cars, while costing 1/3 or less the price(new).

That's true. I was thinking more along the lines of having a vehicle purely for pleasure and in addition to a car being non-mustachian. As others say though, it's all about consciously spending on what floats your boat and this is one pleasure that I can keep affording not at the expense of necessities, even when I do decide to ER.

[davisgang90]

2003 HD Fat Boy here.  Not very mustachian, but I enjoy riding it.  Additional perk for me is that I get to park much closer to my office than if I drive my car in, like 20 minute walk closer.

[illy5603]

I still drive my paid off 2009 Challenger RT. I am a recovering car guy. I have owned several classic mopars, a vette and a Viper GTS ACR at different points in my life and am finally growing tired of it all and frankly, I am relieved. I could have retired years ago had I avoided noodling around with all of those vehicles.
 

[frpeebles]

I have pretty much given up on motorcycles as a way to save gas, though.  The Insight gets 70+, and I don't think I ever owned a bike that would get much over 50 mpg.  Though that may be related to how I rode them :-)

I'm betting 50mpg on a bike is a hoot while 70 in an insight is a snooze fest. ;)

[Jamesqf]

I'm betting 50mpg on a bike is a hoot while 70 in an insight is a snooze fest. ;)

You'd be wrong.  The Insight, while no supercar, is pretty much on a par with the CRX I had just prior to buying it.  In fact, that's a big part of the reason I bought it: after the CRX bit the dust (or rather, hit the water flowing over the freeway, and suddenly started going down the road backwards at 65 mph).  I wanted a 2-seat hatchback (for the dog) with decent performance.

[kendallf]

A buddy of mine who's a Honda fan has been looking around here for one of those 1st gen Insights.  Interesting that you feel it has reasonable performance; I would definitely describe our Prius as a snooze-fest.  :-)

illy5603, I hear you.  At one point while I was still in college, with a 1 year old baby, living in a trailer, I had 9 cars/trucks and only one that ran.  Yes, I'm aware of how nuts that is.. I would buy these $100-300 cars, get them running, drive them for a bit for the pizza delivery service I worked for, and then sell them, usually for a small profit.  When I left college for my first job, I had a 1951 Ford F1 pickup truck that was apart; I couldn't take it with me and I was planning to go back and get it later.  21 years later, I still have the title to that truck, and it's still up in Pullman, WA, sitting next to a silo on the farm where I left it.

I plan oin getting down to 3 vehicles and the bike by the end of the year.  I have one 1987 Grand National that is going back together; then it'll be up for sale.  Another 1983 T-type will be the project car.  My 1994 Lexus SC300 goes up for sale when my youngest daughter leaves for college in August.  A 2000 Lightning and the Prius are the drivers that stay.  I should sell the truck also and if it wasn't so much fun to drive occasionally, and if I weren't working on two houses this year, it'd be gone already.  It gets about 12 mpg!

[Rural]

I'm betting 50mpg on a bike is a hoot while 70 in an insight is a snooze fest. ;)

You'd be wrong.  The Insight, while no supercar, is pretty much on a par with the CRX I had just prior to buying it.  In fact, that's a big part of the reason I bought it: after the CRX bit the dust (or rather, hit the water flowing over the freeway, and suddenly started going down the road backwards at 65 mph).  I wanted a 2-seat hatchback (for the dog) with decent performance.

I had a mid-80s CRX in the 90s and absolutely loved it. Well over 40MPG no matter how stupidly I drove it, too. Now I drive like a little old lady in a Kia and can't do better than about 35.

[fiveoh]

So what kind of motor in the hotrod truck? :) 

[Jamesqf]

A buddy of mine who's a Honda fan has been looking around here for one of those 1st gen Insights.  Interesting that you feel it has reasonable performance; I would definitely describe our Prius as a snooze-fest.  :-)

The Insight and Prius are very different cars.  About the only thing they have in common is the word "hybrid".  The Insight is a lightweight, aluminum-bodied 2-seater, the Prius is a stodgy sedan.  Most Insights came with 5-speed manual transmissions, the very different design of the Prius' hybrid system makes it impossible to have a MT.

Then there's the question of just how you define performance.  Granted, you'd probably need a stiff tailwind to get the Insight over 100, but it's quite capable of brisk acceleration away from lights and up freeway entrance ramps, and handles quite well on curves.

[frpeebles]

I'm betting 50mpg on a bike is a hoot while 70 in an insight is a snooze fest. ;)

You'd be wrong.  The Insight, while no supercar, is pretty much on a par with the CRX I had just prior to buying it.  In fact, that's a big part of the reason I bought it: after the CRX bit the dust (or rather, hit the water flowing over the freeway, and suddenly started going down the road backwards at 65 mph).  I wanted a 2-seat hatchback (for the dog) with decent performance.

I have no doubt it's similar in performance to the CRX. Motorcycles are what I'm talking about.
Even a slow bike is a rocket compared to an Insight. While I consider my 03 M/T to have adequate performance for driving around it most certainly is a snooze fest from any entertaining perspective aside from trying to squeeze every last mile from the tank.

FWIW 100mpg is routine on my 50/50 city/hwy commute ;)

[frpeebles]

A buddy of mine who's a Honda fan has been looking around here for one of those 1st gen Insights.  Interesting that you feel it has reasonable performance; I would definitely describe our Prius as a snooze-fest.  :-)

It's adequate. I hope your buddy notes that it's prudent to factor in the cost of a new battery to any insight purchase. The cars are, at minimum, 7 years old these days (which is at the low end of the battery life range with more robust examples lasting 14 or so) and unless you're into fiddling (grid charging, disassembling the battery for refurbishment) you'll likely be driving without any hybrid features before long. While possible, the car has a 0-60 of... who knows.. 25.. 30 seconds? Non highway mileage will also take a decent hit. And you can forget about starting on a hill with the A/C on. So, if he finds a car he likes and is comfortable with the price after a battery replacement go for it. They're enjoyable vehicles if you're into that sort of thing.

Note that an insight in good shape with a failed or failing battery is desirable IMO. It's leverage against the price and gets the whole thing out of the way from the start.

http://www.bumblebeebatteries.com/
http://www.hybridrevolt.com/catalog/

Perfect example: http://www.insightcentral.net/forums/honda-insight-forum-1st-gen-discussion/25646-2000-manual-2500-a.html