Here’s a day in the glamorous life of a journalist: this morning, the boss drove me to Orange County, California and dropped me off at Kawasaki’s corporate headquarters, where I was picking up a 2006 ZX-14 test unit. Although we drove out to ‘the OC’ on Southern California’s wonderful freeways (sensing any sarcasm here?), I rode back to MD’s Temecula base via SoCal’s notorious Ortega Highway (or CA Rte 74, in the books).
While getting re-acclimated to the ZX-14, which I haven’t ridden since the press intro months ago, I happened to notice one of the big Kawasaki’s more interesting features – the 14’s digital dash presents the rider with a readout displaying fuel mileage, both average and instant (real-time). Now, the ZX-14 is a great bike, but if I was buying a bike with the idea of getting great mileage, it certainly wouldn’t be at the top of my list. Why? Consider that the 14 weighs in at 474 pounds (and that’s the claimed dry weight – ready to ride, it’s certainly over 500lbs), and packs a highly tuned 1352cc inline-four powerplant developing almost 200 horsepower at the crank. While this is a recipe for success in the class the ZX-14 competes in, few would consider it the most economical of motorcycles.
Nevertheless, over the course of a 70 mile ride (freeway from Kawasaki to Ortega, over Ortega, and back on the freeway from Lake Elsinore to Temecula), I managed to achieve an indicated average mileage of 38.3mpg – all while riding a responsible but fairly quick pace, and making no effort to save fuel other than leaving the bike in fifth or sixth gear whenever possible (and on a bike with as much torque as the 14, that’s almost everywhere). I even used full throttle a few times, mainly on freeway onramps, using quick bursts to try to get re-acclimated to the ZX-14’s acceleration. On the freeway, cruising between 80 and 90mph (hey, it’s a ZX-14!), the instant mileage readout read between 43 and 48mpg.
What does all this mean? Well, I know you probably surfed over to MD to take a break from working, but follow along with me for a minute while I do some math. Let’s just assume for a minute that an average driver probably drives around 2000 miles per month here in Southern California (including commuting to work and back, plus personal errands), and an average car gets about 20 mpg (many of you probably own cars that get significantly less!). That means this driver (let’s call him Joe) is using about 100 gallons of gas per month. Considering that the national average for regular is currently hovering close to $3/gallon, Joe is spending $300/month on gas.
Now, say Joe buys a ZX-14, and basically doubles his average mileage. That cuts his gas bill in half, meaning he’s now spending only $150/month on gas. That extra $150 goes a long way towards paying the monthly payments on his shiny new motorcycle, which, when he’s not using it to commute to work, just happens to be a hell of a lot of fun! Not bad considering his payments are, in effect, tiny compared to that $25,000 automobile/SUV (being very conservative).
Now, let’s take this idea a step further. What if, instead of going for the brute horsepower and acceleration of the ZX-14, Joe was looking for a more economical ride (both in terms of mileage and purchase price), but one which would still provide loads of fun on the weekends. Suzuki offers a bike that fits that bill perfectly – the V-Strom 650.
When we reviewed (and fell in love with) the V-Strom 650, our test bike averaged around 50mpg, even while getting wailed on by a bunch of typically ham-fisted journalists. That means riding a V-Strom 650 would cut Joe’s gas bill from roughly $300/month to $120/month. Considering that a V-Strom 650 carries an MSRP of only $6,699 (compared to $11,499 for the ZX-14), it’s highly likely that the $180/month Joe is saving on gas will COMPLETELY pay for his V-Strom!
If you’re reading this site, you’re obviously already a motorcycle enthusiast, so I don’t have to sell you on riding motorcycles. But it’s easy to feel guilty about spending so much money on our bikes – after all, riding can be an expensive hobby. So, instead of feeling guilty, just stop driving and start riding, and you may end up SAVING money!
To head off the anticipated hoard of email, keep in mind that (1) this is not a scientific analysis; (2) yes, we are assuming the ZX-14 readout on mpg is accurate — we will test this over the next few weeks; and (3) 2,000 miles a month may be significantly more, or less than you currently drive your “cage” . . . adjust accordingly.
