$4/gas... coming this summer to a station near you...
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I'm riding an R6 right now ('03, stripped down as a 'fighter though... no plastic), and while it's a hoot I'm appalled by the gas mileage. My old BMW F650CS got 65mpg and was a far better commuter... more luggage space, heathed grips, ABS, and still really fun on the twisties.
You'll also end up spending so much on tires (every 8,000 mi) for the R6 that it negates the improvement in gas mileage over an economy sized car (tires every 40k mi or more).
You're far better off getting a less aggressive, more comfortable moto with decent storage. I highly recommend the Kawa Ninja 650R... cheap, simple, fun, good-looking and very economical.
http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/MotorcycleFuelEconomyGuide/index.htm
maybe they will be a leaner meaner police force by having to exercise... you should see most of the Sherriff deputies we have here... OMFG!!!
2001 Yamaha FZ1
Engine: 998cc4
Tank Size: 5.6
MPG: 45
I got 44mpg last tank. Depends on how much I twist, the worst has been 38 so far.
i sold my r6 when i left cali. i was getting lower to mid 40's while commuting and low 30's on track days at willow springs.
i just did a cost comparison between my subaru at 25mpg and a R6 at 40mpg. if i was forced to commute, i'd drive about 825 miles per month which would equal out to roughly $50 per month savings in gas if i drove the bike. that doesn't include incidentals like rainy days, driving to the trailhead/races in the suby..... so it looks like the gas savings really isn't worth shelling out $3k for bike anyway. besides...i'd probably lose my job if any of the brass saw me riding the r6 the way i like to ride it
edit: however, in mid summer when it's in the upper 90's and you have to stay "in the field" to write reports in your car it gets a little ridiculous to assume that we should have to bake in a car without a/c while wearing 30+ pounds of gear to include a ballistic vest that does not breathe at all. you'd have passed out officers all over the place.
i heard on the news this week that one of the local sheriff's departments is requiring their officers to turn off their cars for a minimum of 10 minutes per hour. that's a decent compromise because until better/more affordable technology is available for alternative fuel police transportation; we'll still be driving cars as our main mode of travel.
i just did a cost comparison between my subaru at 25mpg and a R6 at 40mpg. if i was forced to commute, i'd drive about 825 miles per month which would equal out to roughly $50 per month savings in gas if i drove the bike. that doesn't include incidentals like rainy days, driving to the trailhead/races in the suby..... so it looks like the gas savings really isn't worth shelling out $3k for bike anyway. besides...i'd probably lose my job if any of the brass saw me riding the r6 the way i like to ride it
werd! i've been trying to drive this home to many of my coworkers. this time of year especially, there is no reason to idle w/ the a/c when it's in the mid 70's outside. a lot of coworkers used to make jokes about the bike unit but i have a feeling it is I who'll be laughing at them when they're walking around on foot while i'm pedaling
edit: however, in mid summer when it's in the upper 90's and you have to stay "in the field" to write reports in your car it gets a little ridiculous to assume that we should have to bake in a car without a/c while wearing 30+ pounds of gear to include a ballistic vest that does not breathe at all. you'd have passed out officers all over the place.
i heard on the news this week that one of the local sheriff's departments is requiring their officers to turn off their cars for a minimum of 10 minutes per hour. that's a decent compromise because until better/more affordable technology is available for alternative fuel police transportation; we'll still be driving cars as our main mode of travel.
Amusing to see Dick Durbin raking the oil exec's over the coals for making record profits of 6-7% when his own state is raping the consumer for 20%...
http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/gas.prices.taxes.2.729939.html
http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/gas.prices.taxes.2.729939.html
$3.66 for regular about an hour ago.
for full svc? not bad.
how much are you supposed to tip those guys?
yes for full service too..actually i dont kno anyone that tips them. ha
I know the cops here get free coffee and pie at Shari's. Use tow drivers used to go there and wait for something cool to happen on the night shift.
pretty sure big oil and detroit are not in bed together....
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200805221734DOWJONESDJONLINE000973_FORTUNE5.htm
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2008/05/small-ford-truc.html
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200805221734DOWJONESDJONLINE000973_FORTUNE5.htm
not to mention Ford must be run by dumbasses:
http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2008/05/small-ford-truc.html
We're sitting right at $3.99 for regular here. This weekend will easily push past $4.
we're modifying our driving habits here... i'll be rockin the wife's Celica for general commuting to work, the FJ will be in the garage for after work trips to the bike trails (3x week) and she'll be using the Taco for occasional errands. I think i'll sell my 4Runner to a buddy for $7500 ('97 with 230k miles on the odo).
I'm looking at commuting on bike.. the office is a whole 7 miles away and the route it flatter than Nicole Kidman. The only bad thing is that i have to ride a busy feeder road without a good shoulder... and the La heat & humidity.
I'm looking at commuting on bike.. the office is a whole 7 miles away and the route it flatter than Nicole Kidman. The only bad thing is that i have to ride a busy feeder road without a good shoulder... and the La heat & humidity.
saw on the news where the March 08 figures show steepest decline in driving since 1942...
I have a F250 for shuttling and pulling my RV. I used to commute with it, but now my wife and I are sharing her Matrix and I just got a motorcycle. Diesel is sitting at $4.75. Just too much for me.
it already has! It's still snowing the parts of the Rockies..maybe this will help reverse global warming.
Nothing new, but from the mouth of Soros.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/05/26/cnsoros126.xml
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/05/26/cnsoros126.xml
arizona and SoCal will figure out a way to take your water.Dude... it's snowing in ALL of the Rockies. And has been since mid-November.
Bring it on. The golf courses are looking a little brown and I have to wash the Hummer :biggrin:
w3rd....
one of the feed thru transformers that feeds the circuit that my house in on died last nite about 6PM leaving us without power and worst of all no AC.. the temp in the house was 82 deg by 1230AM when it was restored.. humidity to match.
I made mint juleps with some shaved ice and we sat out on the rear veranda and watched hands work the fields until it was too dark to see
The Hubbert peak theory posits that for any given geographical area, from an individual oil-producing region to the planet as a whole, the rate of petroleum production tends to follow a bell-shaped curve. It is one of the primary theories on peak oil.
Choosing a particular curve determines a point of maximum production based on discovery rates, production rates and cumulative production. Early in the curve (pre-peak), the production rate increases due to the discovery rate and the addition of infrastructure. Late in the curve (post-peak), production declines due to resource depletion.
The Hubbert peak theory is based on the observation that the amount of oil under the ground in any region is finite, therefore the rate of discovery which initially increases quickly must reach a maximum and decline. Extraction roughly follows the discovery curve after a time lag (typically about 35 years) for development. The theory is named after American geophysicist M. King Hubbert, who created a method of modeling the production curve given an assumed ultimate recovery volume.
Choosing a particular curve determines a point of maximum production based on discovery rates, production rates and cumulative production. Early in the curve (pre-peak), the production rate increases due to the discovery rate and the addition of infrastructure. Late in the curve (post-peak), production declines due to resource depletion.
The Hubbert peak theory is based on the observation that the amount of oil under the ground in any region is finite, therefore the rate of discovery which initially increases quickly must reach a maximum and decline. Extraction roughly follows the discovery curve after a time lag (typically about 35 years) for development. The theory is named after American geophysicist M. King Hubbert, who created a method of modeling the production curve given an assumed ultimate recovery volume.
first you have to assume the theory of peak oil is true right?
Oil up $5 a barrel and gas up 10 cents a gallon wholesale first thing this morning based on declining dollar based on high unemployment.
Sort traders are buying back bets of decline and speculators are pumping money into crude as hedge against the dollar.
When, when, when is the government going to step in and shut the goddamn traders down? The market is going to implode on itself, hopefully and I hope every slimy hedge fund speculator has to live in a goddamn cardboard box and his kids become crack whores!
whew.
Sort traders are buying back bets of decline and speculators are pumping money into crude as hedge against the dollar.
When, when, when is the government going to step in and shut the goddamn traders down? The market is going to implode on itself, hopefully and I hope every slimy hedge fund speculator has to live in a goddamn cardboard box and his kids become crack whores!
whew.
so you *really* think this is just based on wild speculation and not on declining dollar values and demand outstripping supply??? if you really feel that way, go out and short the oil futures market and make a BUTTLOAD of money when the market implodes... a couple things to note before you drop your kids college money into that though:When, when, when is the government going to step in and shut the goddamn traders down? The market is going to implode on itself, hopefully and I hope every slimy hedge fund speculator has to live in a goddamn cardboard box and his kids become crack whores!
whew.
1) supply is relatively inelastic. there's very few countries that can turn on the spigot and flood the market with new oil... and any of the new finds/technologies (shale, etc) are at least 5-7 years away from getting any oil to the market (probably closer to 10+).
2) oil is based right now on the incredibly shrinking dollar. it's highly doubtful that that's going to change right now
3) there's always the possibility that oil will change to another currency (Euro? RNB?), which will PEG IT WHERE IT IS NOW. so if oil starts being traded in Euros, a strengthening dollar will mean very little to the actual price...
so good luck, plunk down some cash, and possibly make enough to afford your own n.8mansion someday.
No, I was just ranting.
But...every "expert" these days seems to be finally admitting that the price of crude and gasoline on the market is unreasonable compared to the actual supply vs. demand theory and that the run up of crude, which in my opinion is going to collapse this economy soon, is attributable to nothing more than speculative trading and influx of money from investor sources that weren't present in the market a few years ago. (401k, retirement, pensions, etc.)
All I'm saying is wouldn't it make more sense to direct those dollars into something more stable and appropriate? If those funds want to get into the energy market, invest in oil companies, not barrels of oil.
Short? You bid $135 for a barrel of oil, you better be ready to take that barrel and do something with it.
Oh, and short betting investing against rises and falls should be outlawed, too easy for the foxes to run the henhouse.
Was the kids turning into crack whores a little much?
But...every "expert" these days seems to be finally admitting that the price of crude and gasoline on the market is unreasonable compared to the actual supply vs. demand theory and that the run up of crude, which in my opinion is going to collapse this economy soon, is attributable to nothing more than speculative trading and influx of money from investor sources that weren't present in the market a few years ago. (401k, retirement, pensions, etc.)
All I'm saying is wouldn't it make more sense to direct those dollars into something more stable and appropriate? If those funds want to get into the energy market, invest in oil companies, not barrels of oil.
Short? You bid $135 for a barrel of oil, you better be ready to take that barrel and do something with it.
Oh, and short betting investing against rises and falls should be outlawed, too easy for the foxes to run the henhouse.
Was the kids turning into crack whores a little much?
just a nit, but finite != fixed
i'll start doing my part next week when i fly in/out of cos/phx each week for the summer. see if i can reserve a denali or equiv & only use 93 octane. i figure with everything at a premium, there are incentives/rewards to be harvested
Not saying bid on a $135 barrel of oil, short it (sell it to someone else even though you don't have it), then when the market collapses down to $60/barrel, cover your short and you just made $75. That is, *if* the market goes down. If the market goes up to $200, you just lost $65. :-D
I just love the ranting and raving (not just by you) of the people who want to find a bogeyman to place all of the blame on. It's not the fault of people driving SUVs, or the rampant growth in China/India, or the fact that we severely restrict where we can drill, or the fact that Iraq is still below pre-war levels in output (?), or the fact that most of the oil in the world comes from extremely unstable places, or the fact that supply is relatively inelastic... it's the fault of TRADERS, the unknown bogeyman who sits in his office on Wall St and laughs maniacally as he makes a few dollars while everyone else in the country wails and gnashes their teeth and begins to sell their organs for a few gallons of gasoline.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, that futures traders are GOOD for the market. Traders have pushed the price up far above what the price should be now, because the price of oil/gas is going to increase in the future. Lets just assume that the price of gas should be around $60/barrel based on what it costs to get it out of the ground. Gas would be plentiful, people would not be conserving, SUV sales would be on the rise, and nobody would be talking about additional drilling, oil shale, ethanol, conservation, alternative energy, etc. Then 10 years from now, supply would *still* be inelastic, demand would've increased 2-3x, we'd be looking at $200, $300+ for a barrel of oil. It would go from $60 to $200 overnight, as everyone began fighting and clamoring for that dwindling piece of the pie.
However, by increasing the price now, it forces people to start buying more efficient cars, driving less, carpooling, as well as enticing companies to start looking at alternative sources of energy, both environmental (wind, wave, solar) or just new technology for oil (shale for instance). Shale costs something like $60/barrel to extract, while oil pumped from the ground costs 24/barrel. Why would any company start to invest in shale if their cost is exactly what they could sell it for?
Just a thought.
edit - reread that, and thought it came out a bit harsh. inserting smiley faces...
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You're right and I've read your post before and you were right then. I was just ranting.
But explain how loss of airline jobs (what 30,000 this week?), people continuing to pile on the credit problem by having to pay $4 for gas, rising food cost due to corn based ethanol, one of those supposedly oil saving alternatives which actually reduces car fuel mileage, and a overall collapse of the general economy, all due to unregulated trading, can be GOOD for us?
dante, I'm seriously not arguing with you, you write like you have a very good knowledge of the subject, I am honestly looking for education/information.
But explain how loss of airline jobs (what 30,000 this week?), people continuing to pile on the credit problem by having to pay $4 for gas, rising food cost due to corn based ethanol, one of those supposedly oil saving alternatives which actually reduces car fuel mileage, and a overall collapse of the general economy, all due to unregulated trading, can be GOOD for us?
dante, I'm seriously not arguing with you, you write like you have a very good knowledge of the subject, I am honestly looking for education/information.