Mathematically they’re equivalent, but the feelings could not be further apart.
Motorcycle emissions standards are incredibly lax by today’s standards when compared to cars. That Prius just might be releasing less toxic substances than your motorcycle - while being able to cart around more people and stuff.
This is very true, even newer bikes that have more modern emissions are still generally exempt from the same standards as any car.
That being said if you have a high traffic commute it would still be faster for you to use a bike as well as better for everyone else in traffic so pros and cons.
Fortnine has a video that touches on the emissions/trying to be green and riding a motorcycle. The fact is most bikes not made within the last 10 years (and some that are) are carbureted and have little if any emissions control. Sure that Yamaha vstar250 might get 80mpg but that has more to do with having a smaller engine than a lawnmower than it does any modern engineering.
E-motorcycles really are best of both worlds. Small, mobile, and more energy efficient. Plus high torque means it feels powerful. They were available on market several years ago - I remember seeing a Wired piece on one.
They’re very cool but the problem is aero. To build an ev-bike that’s fast enough to be a motorcycle you run into a lot of drag. Ebikes that still go pretty fast but still technically are a bicycle fit this gap nicely.
Another issue is price though. To do my current commute via electric motorcycle id probably need to buy the HD Live Wire Del Mar, which if I remember correctly is about 17k. Do you know what else was 17k? My electric Fiat 500e which is what I generally use to do my commute. On the other end of the scale is pricing for ebikes which isn’t that bad and does start around the 500-800 but can easily get into the tens of thousands of dollars for some very high end options.
While I see there’s a lot of people here that disagree with me on motorcycles being just fine for commuting, it’s important to recognize that not every task needs a car. Motorcycles are not the cleanest way to get around but they do overall have less impact. Sure you can off-road in a Cadillac Escalade, but how much will that tear the trail up compared to my 450lb klr650? You might be able to fit 6 months groceries in the back but you also need to park in the back to find a spot. Sure you can haul 8 people but how often is it just 1?
Finally, they’re fun AF.
Op said “save gas” as in use less.
No comment was made on “reduce pollution”
That Prius, just by being manufactured, had an incredibly toxic environmental impact that it would take a motorcycle hundreds of thousands of miles to equal. Lithium battery manufacture is hell on the environment.
Most Prius have NiMH batteries, only recently they switched to lithium.
But also need to consider that oil extraction, refining and transportation is not easy on the environment
Oil processing is definitely bad for the environment, but think for a moment about the scales. Just in raw materials, ignoring the massive impact of battery manufacture alone, the average motorcycle weighs less than 600 pounds. The Prius weighs about six times that. That means six times the amount of shipping, forming, refining, finishing, et cetera…
The Prius still has an internal combustion engine that burns gasoline, and requires a significant amount of rare-earth minerals for the construction of its catalytic converter. Most motorcycles now have catalytic converters, but they are smaller and thus the environment suffers less damage per vehicle.
I agree that a Prius will burn cleaner while running than probably any motorcycle – but the total amount of damage done just by being built has to be a whole lot more than almost any motorcycle and it can’t be close.
living to the fullest
Until, abruptly, you aren’t.
Motorcycle licences should come with an organ donor registration card
At least in my state all drivers license applications do.
Same with my state. Also with voter registration update reminders. Oregon really takes its voting seriously.
Yeah, I changed to automatic registration after voters voted yes to voting. Now you have to explicitly state you don’t want to be registered if you don’t, and any drivers license or ID related paperwork automatically registers you or updates your registration as needed.
Weirdly, passing a bunch of voter equity legislation initiated by the voters shortly resulted in a change in legislative makeup that better represented voters, and is weirdly more in favor of voting rights.
Crazy how that works.
In my country everyone (literally everyone) is an organ donor by default. You can opt out instead of opting in.
Holy fucking based
Sad, but true
Just assume you are invisible and that all the other vehicles will do the worst likely thing, and you might be alright.
When I rode I went beyond being invisible to just imagining they are all actively targeting me, and making sure I didn’t give them a chance.
You targeted them first?
Probably because of a shitty driver or tesla autopilot: https://youtu.be/yRdzIs4FJJg?si=0Px9muIop5hXKBcC
Every motorcycle driver I’ve ever encountered was a shitty driver. They all do dangerous shit for no reason beyond their thrills and act like complete dicks on the road.
If you ride motorcycles: please be an organ donor.
Good, there is a serious shortage of donor organs.
Plus think of all the groceries you’ll haul on that motorcycle. The savings are endless!
I do often carry all my groceries and still have room for a full size first aid kit on my bike. Panniers are a game changer and I dont even need a backpack 90% of the time
I go on grocery trips on my cheap Escooter 🤷 it works, just get a good backpack
I can haul about the same amount of groceries on my bike/partner’s scoot as our car…which tbf is a fiat 500 but nonetheless I can easily get a weeks groceries on a bike.
Love the down votes lol, you may disagree with me but facts are facts.
That doesn’t incorporate the hassle factor. Even if you can, it’s a lot more hassle
It just isn’t, I can quickly and easily park my bike in basically any spot. If I know I’m not buying a lot I’ll just bring a backpack and put my groceries in there as I checkout and if not I probably brought the scooter which has the same trunk as a small car.
I don’t have to fuss about in traffic, look for a spot, or try to turn my car around in my tiny neighborhood. (Not the fiat…I do own one of those oversized American cars that’s literally 18.5 ft long because it was cheap)
But hey maybe I’m just dead wrong, give a bicycle a try. (If possible I recognize not many north American places are bicycle friendly) try getting some groceries on a bicycle. You might actually enjoy the benefits, yes it’ll be tough the first time and likely even the fifth…but you might come to enjoy it.
If I’m already out, the hassle isn’t bad at all to get 1-2 days of groceries with the bike, excluding liquid or paper goods. But since I gear up fully, that’s the real hassle. I do my 20-min work commute on the bike about 1/3 the time though and that’s perfectly fine because half the gearing is done on the clock
It is not. I have a sport touring bike with large panniers. They carry enough where I rarely use a backpack for my shopping trips they also detach with a simple key turn and have handles so they act like luggage which means i can carry all the groceries in in one simple trip without doing the stacking thing.
I ride the subway. Checkmate
How do you commute on a sandwhich?
Decadently
So coal powered. Awesome.
Jesus lotta “motorcycles are a deathtrap” in here.
Hi, I’ve been riding for 10 years on all different kinds of machines through many lengths of commute/fun. allow me to be abrupt motorcycles cost more than a Prius to own. The tires don’t last as long, the maintenance is more frequent, obviously the gear you absolutely should be wearing is expensive but hey if none of that bothers you please continue to enjoy riding.
It’s not very active but there’s a motorcycle community here on lemmy, please join us ;)
It is really strange seeing that rhetoric here too especially with the “fuck cars” group. A lot of countries other than the US have way more riders and less of the squid culture going on because its more of just the norm over there. Also to compliment your picture heres one of me camping with the bike:
Is that a Tracer 900? I’ve only seen people putting around on those I love your setup.
Yes! Its not really an offroad bike by any means but it can take the occasional gravel road to the campsite as well as any bike. The panniers are a god send The CP3 engine is wonderful on the road and betrays the “grandpa bike” stature. It wasn’t my first choice as I was looking to get a Ninja 1000sx or GSXS 1000 GT but im really glad I landed on this.
I actually met someone with a ninja 1000sx and they love that thing. For a while I had a concours 1000 that I adored but that has since turned into an indefinite project bike :(
I rode one and definitely fell in love with it its just none were available anywhere plus all the fairings just get in the way of maintenance 😂 Imo Sport Touring or Adv bikes are the way to go if you want a daily all season rider. They hit this perfect trifecta of Utility, performance, and comfort. Though I really wish I could find something like a Trail Tail that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to get that last bit of utility
I’ve been on plenty of shiny new full fairing machines and they always remind me of just how easy it is to work on my KLR. I really like that in 15 or so minutes I could probably have the bike down to whatever part I need and probably also fix it without resorting to a shop.
Something about the phrase “living to the fullest” doesn’t allude to sensible motorcycle safety precautions.
There is an entire sub culture of motorcyclists that agree, I do not however condone riding without appropriate gear.
I agree with that as well. I ride a cruiser and I wear a full face helmet, jacket, boots or shoes covering the ankles, and at least thick denim pants. Sometimes I think about getting a 3/4 helmet but I don’t think I could bring myself to do it.
When I was real hardcore riding everyday I wore waterproof jacket, pants, and boots. Now I just don’t ride in the rain at all if I can help it.
Yeah, priuses are really low maintenance for the most part, it’s nice. And motorcycles aren’t necessarily the death traps people are making out here, higher risk yes but if you’re a defensive, aware driver and not a squid it’s really not bad. Motorcycles don’t tend to attract defensive drivers though.
The defensive drivers are here, they just aren’t yelling at everyone about how their gixxer 600 does 180mph
Just to get some varying opinions, can anyone that’s died on a motorcycle chip in with their experience?
I’ve lost I think 5 personal friends who rode. You know what each of them had in common? Wreckless driving.
If they died on the motorcycle they definitely weren’t driving wrecklessly. You probably mean reckless
Had to look this up because I never realized there was a difference.
You are correct.
Cringe AF.
Well with a motorcycle you’ll have a much better chance of never having to spend money on gas for the rest of your life
Motorcycles are not as dangerous as people think. What they are is unforgiving of mistakes.
My opinion is that the crash and fatality statistics are heavily inflated by the fact that risky people are drawn to motorcycles, and the evidence backs me up on that somewhat. Studies like the Hurt Report and subsequent NHTSA studies on fatal crashes show some absolutely baffling things, like over 20% of all fatal crashes involving unlicensed riders and almost 40% involving alcohol consumption in some way. Hell, in a shocking amount of US states, helmets are not required and every time I’m in one of those states I see people riding around on the interstate without any head protection. Absolutely terrifying and an incredibly stupid thing to do. I never ride without a full-face helmet personally.
There are plenty of ways to mitigate risk but most of the riders who die in crashes don’t do them.
Depends on the motorcycle. Anything loosely above 500cc and the fuel efficiency gets worse than a Prius.
Especially if your having “fun” with it.
One full tank of gas on your motorcycle could be enough for a lifetime…
it’s kind of shocking how bad motorcycles are at fuel efficiency given how much less mass they have to move
My understanding is that the motorcycle/rider combination in most cases has a very poor coefficient of drag and that’s the largest issue at highway speeds.
Depends strongly on the motorcycle, however, as there are so many different kinds with varying amounts of bodywork. Some are absurdly efficient, like the Honda Grom, which routinely achieves over 100MPG.
What about the rain? Ha! Got’im
Rain gear + many bikes have fairings that especially when traveling at speed cause the rain to mostly travel around you.
Worst case is oh no you get a little wet. We all know people cant get wet or something catastrophic will happen
We all know people cant get wet or something catastrophic will happen
Uhm… a meltdown? Greetings from the Aspie world 🙃
Checkmate Atheists!
