Idiot motorbiker

[Virtual DBP]

i'm not a physician mp and judging by your posture on this issue, i don't think i or anyone else would be able to convince you.

all i can do is ask that you is give you my own experience of past off roader ownership and the relative fuel bills and tax bills i had with my saloon car colleagues and point you towards the auto trade summaries of the gov. new high tax bandings which warned that it some 4x4's were in the top bracket (not all) but so were sports cars, mpv's and saloon cars.

anyway, can i just say that i genuinely don't care enough about this issue to prolong so as they say on dragons den, i'm out.

GrasB: can i add one more interesting statistic to your list. my honda fireblade motorcycle is less fuel efficient than my old 4x4 which gave me 8mpg more!

 

[GrasB]

GrasB: can i add one more interesting statistic to your list. my honda fireblade motorcycle is less fuel efficient than my old 4x4 which gave me 8mpg more!

I never mentioned motorcycles & they are a rather different animal. IIRC a Kawa' ZX9R was doing around double the rpm of my Lotus (twice the capacity) in top gear for any given speed, I could be wrong on this however.

 

[Virtual DBP]

you're right gras... i can break the speed limit on a motorway in first gear if i want, but that's pushing me up to the redline so obviously would change up before then.

it's just back to that perception thing... i bet most people would think motorcycles are much more fuel efficient than cars, and whilst some are, i don't think i've owned a motorcycle in the last 10yrs+ that is cheaper to run in any way (fuel, insurance, servicing or consumable parts) than my car.

edit: the one exception is my road tax which is about half on the motorcycle at about £70

 

[Virtual DBP]

i refer the honorable gentleman to the answer i gave some moments ago...

 

[BentMikey]

Ah, the beauty of ignore lists!!!

All you 4x4 spanners ignored now, being nearwot and virtualdub, and MrP for engaging with them.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Fuel efficiency isn't everything, mind ... I was very tempted recently by a late eighties Range Rover on ebay, partly because of that glorious 3.5 litre V8 up front. I know it'll only do about 15 to the gallon, and that my saloon car is far more practical for what I want, but still ... a vehicle like that has soul.

 

[Virtual DBP]

i got 42mpg from my old 'soft' roader.

the car before that was an mpv which did 38mpg. my dad lets me borrow his company car, 2006 SAAB 9-3, which only does 28mpg. i don't use a car so much now so bought a tiny fiat grande punto as a run around which does 47mpg. however, the motorised vehcile is use the most is my motorcycle, which only does 35mpg.

so while mpg doesn't mean everything RT, it does mean quite a bit at the pumps though...

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Oh, indeed. I did 750 miles a week commuting for a while, in a Volvo 240 estate (30 or so mpg) and a Saab 900 (about 35), and even that made a difference. What I was trying to get at is, sometimes the fuel efficiency (or lack of) can be overlooked, if you are after a particular sort of vehicle. Doubtless me wanting an old Range Rover would cause many posters here to have kittens, but I'd be prepared to overlook the huge fuel bills just for the fun of driving it. At least, for a while.

 

[very-near]

Ah, the beauty of ignore lists!!!

All you 4x4 spanners ignored now, being nearwot and virtualdub, and MrP for engaging with them.

Is that a flounce

 

[very-near]

I never mentioned motorcycles & they are a rather different animal. IIRC a Kawa' ZX9R was doing around double the rpm of my Lotus (twice the capacity) in top gear for any given speed, I could be wrong on this however.

I'm riding a GSXR1000 ATM and the gearing is very tall (100mph in 1st gear). It is very easy to stall it pulling away from standstill and they have done this to try and stop the front end lifting in the 1st 3 gears (as it does)

50mph on it is 3,000rpm in top, but it does have a 13,500rpm redline

That said, it can pull from 20mph in top gear (could the Lotus ?)

It does about 45mpg around town. My Shogun does about 18mpg around town. the reason why bikes are always going to be better than cars on MPG aroundtoen is because cars can't filter.

 

[jonny jeez]

Eh I've got nothing against 4x4,BMW,Mercs,White van man,Cab Drivers + Bus Drivers only idiot drivers.TIA.

I drove a massive black range rover for over two years (in London and the burb's) and can objectivley say three things.

1. It made me a slower (I would say safer) driver, as the position and style of vehicle completley removes all pretence of "bombng about" and you just resign yourself to crusing about on a big smooth auto box with armrests either side of you...it's like driving your armchair.

2.It made me more observant, driving two and a bit tonnes of metal does make you feel quite responsible, just a small nudge can kill a cyclist and with no "spongy" crumple zones for them to bounce off..you have to take more care.

3 (and this is the negative bit) It did, without question make me a more arrogant driver...maybe arrogant isnt the word, perhaps self-superior is better. I would often find myself "confronted" at a pinch point and rearely backed up...just left all the faffing to the other fella, I was also, (as a general rule) never let out at junctions (in jams) and so would just make my own gap.

That said, I loved the old rangey and would have another in a heartbeat (if i could justify it).

(flame-on )