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Travellers' questions that don't fit anywhere else This is an opportunity to ask any question, and post any notice you wish that doesn't fit into one of the other sections.
Photo by Helmut Koch, Vivid sky with Northern Lights, Yukon, Canada

I haven't been everywhere...
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Photo by Helmut Koch,
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Yukon, Canada



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  #1  
Old 14 Nov 2018
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Question car v/s bike
Hi all,
I have a question in my mind, and i would like to hear your opinion, so...
I 'm in planing a road trip, for maybe a year, i'm thinking that maybe traveling with a car (with consumption max 10L/100km), will be more budgeting, (sleep in it, cook), my bike has 7L/100km, i do like bikes, but also like to spend more time on road.
Please, i know the BIG deference, but just the saving money side i'm asking.

Thanks in advance, i'm all ears
Regards
George
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  #2  
Old 14 Nov 2018
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Travelling by motorcycle puts you closer to both the environment and the people of the places you pass through. When you are in a car you are more insulated from smells, temperature and precipitation along with having less contact with local people when you stop.
I expect the additional cost of running a car can be made up by savings in the cost of accommodation if you camp in it.
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  #3  
Old 14 Nov 2018
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Originally Posted by mark manley View Post
Travelling by motorcycle puts you closer to both the environment and the people of the places you pass through. When you are in a car you are more insulated from smells, temperature and precipitation along with having less contact with local people when you stop.
I expect the additional cost of running a car can be made up by savings in the cost of accommodation if you camp in it.
Thank you for your reply,
I traveled by bike (camping) for some years, mostly for 20days holidays, so i can understand your point.
Just crossing my mind many scenarios, how i can do this last longer, IF thinks go o.k and start....

BIG thank you ALL of you guys - girls, that feed my senses off traveling with your travels, hope someday we will meet on the road....

Each time i ride, i'm thinking off the day that i will start riding without return...........
car v/s bike-img_20181109_123550.jpg
Regards
George
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  #4  
Old 15 Nov 2018
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I think of it this way.... How miffed would u be if u came across one the best roads you'd ever seen and u r in a pug 206 instead of say your ducati.......as I was earlier this year in maroc.
That said I get ur query totally as unloading and loading a bike up for several weeks day after day can get on ur nerves, as does locking it up, cleaning the chain etc etc.
Whilst in the car it's just look under the bonnet if u remember and u can wear shorts and flip flops
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  #5  
Old 16 Nov 2018
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Originally Posted by chris gale View Post
I think of it this way.... How miffed would u be if u came across one the best roads you'd ever seen and u r in a pug 206 instead of say your ducati.......as I was earlier this year in maroc.
That said I get ur query totally as unloading and loading a bike up for several weeks day after day can get on ur nerves, as does locking it up, cleaning the chain etc etc.
Whilst in the car it's just look under the bonnet if u remember and u can wear shorts and flip flops
Thank you for your answer
I'm just fine with camping, bike maintenance, also love it
It's my first attempt for long time, and my thoughts are a little messy,
I'm just thinking some "if" , "maybe", to reduce the cost
Regards
George
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  #6  
Old 4 May 2019
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A car you can share various distances, saves money. But depending the route largely.
Solo, for me bike. No doubt.
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  #7  
Old 3 Jun 2019
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Have to agree with Mark. Nothing like the feeling the wind on your skin while on a bike. Keeps you very aware of your surroundings.
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  #8  
Old 3 Jun 2019
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Since the OP was asking only about "the saving money side," I'll offer that for most trips not involving a lot of shipping costs, I've found cars cheaper. Specifically, that is, cars I can sleep in--usually some sort of minivan for me, but in the old days this used to include giant American station wagons. My current car gets half the fuel mileage of my current bike (25 US miles/gallon vs. 50 mpg), but obvious wear items like tires and brakes are cheaper and last far longer, even aside from the whole issue of camping vs. hotels.

Yeah, the bike is more fun....when it's not raining, snowing, hailing, blowing, dark, freezing, plagued with locusts, or in other respects inclement. Yeah, the bike brings you closer to the world itself, which is a decided advantage. Mostly.

Sometimes it's difficult to compare costs, since assuming good roads I can easily drive 600 miles/1000 km day after day, but I for all the obvious reasons I don't do that on a bike. This gives the illusion that the bike is far cheaper ("Hey, I only spent $25 on fuel today!"), but in actual dollars per mile it's very often not.

In my life, that is--proving that it's not all about saving money.

Mark
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  #9  
Old 4 Jun 2019
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Big open highways, light traffic and open spaces is where a car/truck is nice. Taking loads of supplies and a guaranteed comfortable place to sleep is great.

Fun roads, small dirt tracks and lots of traffic is where biking comes into it's own.

I love the versatility of a bike. Go anywhere !!!

I love the comfort and ease of a van....
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  #10  
Old 4 Jun 2019
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You are far less weather-dependent when you have a car, so are less likely to need to find accommodation to dry yourself / gear / stay warm / wait out sudden snowfall etc

I always wonder at this great freedom bikers talk about. I love the freedom of not having to squeeze my head into a helmet or wear thick, hot protective clothing.

How you interact with locals is really down to you.

Probably not popular opinions on a mostly biker forum!

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  #11  
Old 4 Jun 2019
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Having made a case for cars above, I'll say that there is nothing you can do in a moving car (well, almost nothing) which compares for thrills to motorcycling a fast, twisty mountain road, or squeezing on two wheels through goat trails from village to village with no idea where you'll end up. Not to mention riding up and down entry stairs at hotel lobbies, or bypassing long lines at tollbooths, border crossings, city traffic jams, and endless streams of slow-moving Colombian trucks in the mountains. There's your freedom.

Hey, at home I often go to great lengths to ride around in the woods on my mountain bike, to putter around in my kayak, or to ski backcountry in the mountains; there's more to life than efficiency and staying warm and dry.

Sez I, so far.

Mark
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  #12  
Old 5 Jun 2019
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Only 1 reply has answered the OPs question

Car is cheaper - a mid sized diesel car will have the same fuel economy as a big adventure bike, you can cut down on accommodation, bad weather is a big factor, you can have a picnic in a car in the cold/lashing rain etc when a restaurant is so tempting on a bike.

Secretly, I think you know all this already.
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