Fuel Economy Cars V Bikes

[dragstaar]

I've been filling up my Bandit600 (2000) a bit more often than usual, and have done some monitoring, to find that I'm hitting the declared average of 45mpg.

When i told my mate this, who drives a mini cooper S, (newer model) he said if he drives carefully he gets 55mpg.

It made me wonder, how do the older bikes (circa 2000) compare to the newer cars (circa 2007). Would I save money (fuel only) with a smaller hatchback?

[Yarri]

Mini Cooper S
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 24.8mpg (urban) / 41.5mpg (extra urban) / 33.6mpg (combined)

He's bullshitting.
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Theory Passed: 23/10/2008 49/74 Bike Test Passed: 05/01/2009 1 minor
Theory Car Passed: 22/07/2009 48/74 Car Test Passed: 22/10/2009 2 minor
Few minutes of life of the biker could be more interesting then the whole lifes of many people

[Flip]

55mpg from a petrol car? I doubt it. Or diesel?

[blurredman]

I get 50mpg on my '91 Peugeot 205
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CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 (295cc) - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 51k.

[yuri2085]

Yes.
Then again a smaller bike can get +100 mpg easily (umm, at least 85 easily I think 100 or more is common, I have never had one).
A hatchback even without hybrid stuffs can avg about 60 or so, 65 if you drive carefully (diesel).
I know you said 'fuel only' but depending on how much bike maintained you do (easier to do yourself than with car) it is much cheaper to run a bike, even a modern-ish sports bike I imagine.

[Ariel Badger]

I get under 1 mile per litre on my sprinter, stop moaning.
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[N cee thirty]

according to my mate in his smart car,he can get like 85mpg,don't know if this is bs though
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'00 Aprilia RS50 > '92 Honda CG > '99 Yamaha Fazer > '91 Yamaha RXS > '79 Suzuki X5 > 01' Honda Cg > 07' Honda Cg > 82' Kawasaki Z200 > suzuki gsxr 400 gk73a > honda vfr 400 NC30 Mod 2 Passed 09/06/2011

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[kawakid]

My car costs 20p a mile, my bike about 8p. Not sure what that equates to.
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I've a twin and a 4.

[Walloper]

My bike can bleach just about any car off the line and gets 45/gal ave.

Not Bad....

'Real' bikes do not give a shit about MPG.

For Meaningful MPG get a CG125.
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[Teflon-Mike]

I pondered this question many years ago when I was running my VF1000, renouned for dire ecconomy, along side my Fiesta XR2, not exatly famed for its frugality.
I PRESUMED that the bike would be the cheaper to run, but in practice proved the converse.
VF had a book consumption of something daft like about 30mpg, the fiesta about the same.
Car, though was a perversity, no matter how it was driven, refused to do much better or worse than 30mpg. It was like it had it in its head that that was what the book did, so that was what it would use come what may!
Bike was a lot more variable. Hooning it, could easily see it drop into single figures! Touring, treating it gently, could extend its consuption up to near 70, double its average.
But it was when I came to look at the whole cost of ownership thing after a couple of years I realised just how much the bike was costing me.
In five years and 90K miles, I'd gone through four tyres and one clutch on the car..... looked at all the reciepts again to make sure I hadn't missed any... no that was IT!
Actually proved to be the cheapest car per mile I have EVER owned, but thats another story.
Bike, in two years had had I think four back tyres and two fronts, a new chain & sproket, new exhaust, new rear wheel bearings, new front bearings, two sets of front pads, and about six engine services.... and it had done only ABOUT 8K miles.......
Overall, it was a LOT more expensive to run than the car, and the car was far from an 'ecconomy' model.
CB750's a little bit more frugal, its not got the power or performance of the VF, nor is it so heavy, and its a lot easier on maintenence, but oil changes every 1000miles, filters and plugs every other oil change, tyres every 2.5Kish, it still takes more maintenence than my car does.
Cheap 'old crone' insurance and 45mpgish consumption does help knock the edge off its costs a little, but the bottom line is, perfromance costs, and bikes do demand thier pound of flesh1 or wallet, whichever is coser to your heart!
My Rangie is a 4.0l V8, book consumption of 13mpg, its hardly a tee-totaller! But on LPG at half price, and driven farily sensibly on a run, can return over 20mpg, which on the cheap stuff, is the equivilent miles per quid as a 40mpg car, making it JUST about as cheap to run as my 1.4 Honda Civic, at least on fuel. Old rangie does demand a little more maintenence, but usually becouse I kill stuff off-roading it.... Civic.... year in year out, just works. Needs a little attension now and again. Had to have a new exhaust for its MOT last year, other wise, I just bung petrol in it & use it, and it returns mid to high 30's depending, which is a tad low, mainly becouse I dont do many long journeys (use the Rangie for that) and its an auto.
For seriouse econo-motoring these days, I think that bikes REALLY dont deliver the miles per quid that they ought to, certainly on anything much bigger than a 500, and even some smaller bikes depending. and its as much in the service costs as the fuel consumption.
I dont keep up with them, but some of the adverts claiming 70 or 90mpg from the little diesel hatch-backs like the Polo or C3 is it?, would really challenge the ecconomics of a bike for cheap commuting in a lot of cases.
The MPG's are certainly in the right legue, and the insurance on an ecconomy car, is likely to be a lot lower, as there's not the risk of damage or accident associated with a more performance orientated bike, AND they dont demand the same amount of maintenence, whether dealer or DIY.
I think tyres are probably the biggest issue here, tyres on your typical hatchback are probably about £40 a go, and can be expected to last seriousely big mileages, at LEAST a full years average 12K. On a bike, your looking at more like £70 and it lasting at best 3-4K miles, OK, so you only have to buy two, but they dont even last half the miles.
Ultimately, though. its apples and oranges, isn't it.
Car, particularly ecconomy car has about zero perfromance and is about as exiting as a Harvester salad bar, but you get a heater, and the seats for four, and some space to put shopping in, even a flat-pack desk from Do-It-All. Bike, you get to cut through city snarl, and have a bit of fun on the open road when you can find it.......
IF you were simply after most miles per quid, you'd buy a moped..... after that, its all about what you get for your money, and whats the more important to you.
Your mate with the Cooper, yeah he probably can get 55mph if he drives it carefully, on a run, but what dos he ACTUALLY get around town, and how long does his commute take him, and when the roads empty and you're out for a blast, what does it cost him then? And how much fun are you having for your money in comparison?
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[dragstaar]

This is exactly what I've been thinking. When taking into account the sheer number of consumables on the bike, you'd think that the fuel consumption would massively outstrip a car to make it worthwhile. But i'm actually having to reconsider now. Its not like i'm going to ditch two wheels for a cage, i could never do that, but i just think maybe i ought to get out of the illusion that fuels consumption is so much less on a bike.

I get that my mate was probably exaggerating, but he is a calm driver. Aside from that, book consumption on some of these new cars are phenomenal in comparison.

Makes you wonder!

[G]

Remember, your bike is still a lot faster acceleration wise than the car.

Also, cars are regularly forced to drive slowly, where bikes are not.
Good things for bikes, to my mind.

My C90s will probably do silly mpg, but I still prefer using the GSXR1000 for getting around town regardless.

[Polarbear]

There are so many variables that make a difference, and not just fuel consumption -

Are you in a city - a scoot is so much easier than a car or bike
Are you stuck on the M25 - Get a bike
Are there 3 of you - Obviously a car

A smart car might do 80 to the gallon and your bike a lot less, but you already have your bike. A smart car will cost X thousand plus insurance plus tax etc. Will you ever make all that back compared with continuing to ride your bike.
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[G]

[Billing]

My CBR400 is a bit hit and miss on the mpg, hooning it can be in the high 20's/low 30's, normal commuting and riding about being a bit more careful, 55+ on a long run it gets up to the mid 70's at 19 though the difference in insurance alone compared to something small like a fiesta 1.25 16v has paid for a stainless exhaust, a set of tyres, and a full service (oil, filters, plugs and brake pads) and still would have had over £700 change!
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[L4Isoside]

Think (lost exactly how much I filled up) I got about 45mpg from the Ninja

Annoyingly though, I've disconnected the battery since I filled up and the trip re-set, so its going to take a while so I can actually check I got that much mpg/confirm it.

I hardly went above 40mpg on the SV, and I like to rag the Ninja a bit so I'll double check it eventually.

[neil.]

Between 90 and 100mpg on the YBR. I'm in it for the cheapest way to get to work and for some reason I really like small bikes, something romantic about them . Although a colleague rides an Innova 125 (modern C90) and hits the 130's but it has a tiny tank (3.5l or something silly).
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CBT February 2008 | A2 June 2008 | Yamaha YBR125 (written off) | Honda CBF125 (current)

[tsmith]

I get 90mpg out of my GPZ500s. I got rid of the car, since I could never get more than ~35mpg out of it at best.

Cars like the C1 / Aygo / 107 are capable of 85mpg if you drive them carefully. The equivalent bike would be a CG125 which does 100+mpg easily.

[ms51ves3]

I get 55-70mpg out of the ER5.

[Acemastr]

My CBR gets 42-48mpg everytime, never seen it lower than 42. I think that's quite reasonable something so quick.
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2017 KTM 350 XC-F - 2014 Yamaha R6 - 2005 Yamaha YZ125
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[Kickstart]

Hi

Most bigger bikes seem to give me 45mpg. The 1200 Bandit and the FZR600 for examples.

I am very doubtful of anyone getting 55mpg from a petrol Mini Cooper S (possible from the petrol models designed for economy). Diesel maybe, but as diesel fuel has about 15% more energy by volume that would be the equivalent of 48mpg from a petrol car (possible).

Other than fuel bikes cost more to run for most things. Far more frequent servicing, and often more to do in that servicing (valve adjustment is pretty rare on cars now). Add to that chains don't last that long. Bikes might only have 2 tyres but they last far less time and likely cost a similar amount for 2 as a car does for 4.

Quick look at the Autocar figures, and their touring fuel consumption for a Smart FourTwo is 63mpg. Toyota Aygo managed 69mpg. BMW 118d managed 68mpg

All the best

Keith
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[HP]

IN reality all bikes mpg ratings are gash, even a cg, it only weighs 120kg, and gets 100mpg yet a 1 tonne car can achieve 85, with similar performance. And a cg isn't exactly comfortable, i think bike manufactures should make a bike which is say 500cc but makes about 30ish bhp, so it rev's like a car engine with a redline of 7000, not 12000. This way you should be able to achieve unbelievable economy due to how unstressed the engine is and be able to have the benfits of a bike.
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[skatefreak]

I did an extreme fuel test on my NSR stroker...

Managed to get an astonishing 74mpg (6.2 litres over 103 miles) but sadly i have to admit it was done by keeping the exhaust valve closed and thus riding between 55/60mph for 103 miles haha...

Generally get around 40-50 depending on how I ride, maintinance hasnt been to bad (getting the bike back up to scratch mechanically, will worry about asthetics later ( it was in a bit of a state but it was a cheap sale lol)).

I am thinking that a CBR400 would be nice as the MPG is simular

-Jvr

[FURBAR]

About 60 mpg on 125 2 T ...
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[Kickstart]