Excluding miles driven to and from work, what percentage of your miles traveled per year do you estimate are "motorcycle miles"?

My miles have shrank quite a bit since the birth of my son. I'm looking forward to the day when he can go on his first long ride with me. After that, my mileage will work back up over the 50% mark.

I would REGRETTABLY have to say about 10%. I wish it could be more but with 2 kids I have to take the cage most places I go. :(

REALLY tough to say for us because we've got 2 bikes, 1 car, 1 Jeep and 2 drivers/riders.

The last year or so we put about 18k on the bikes (combined), only 6k on my Jeep and at LEAST 16k on Jenn's car.

I can't discount commuting, because I MOSTLY do that on the bikes, though I mix it up, especially in winter. And heck, Jenn's commute is something like 3 times more than mine, plus she rarely rides.

All that said I'd guess

I'm at 75% bike, 25% Jeep (and that's how I voted)

Jenn's more like 20% bike, 80% Car

and if you average us we're in the neighborhood of 40% bike and 60% car/Jeep for the household.

Not fair! A lot of my motorcycle miles are to & from work as I suspect many others are. I get about 80 miles/week on the to/from work. Probably another 80/week just riding. May-Oct. I'm close to work an do a compressed schedule meaning I only go in 3 or 4 days a week or it would be more.

75% bike 25%Truck...wife 100%SUV......

Excluding to and from work miles makes it a higher percentage for the cage for me. Weekends are running errands and traveling around with the family so I'm probably only around 25% on the bike if I don't include commuting. I'd be over 50% if I included my commute.

I would half to be in the lowere percent, if you excluded commuting to and from work. Also I park it November through March.

I usually split it up about 7500 miles each. With gas prices up it's the H-D for me unless it's stormin pretty bad. Saving the coin for this coming winters price hikes. Got to keep that standard of living up, cause ya know the cost of living is gonna keep risin. Will probably do 70% bike 30% car this year. Already been 3500 and it's still spring (approximately 85 gallons of premium). That would be close to 200 gallons of regular in the 96 Blazer.
Dave
Ride to Live!

Probably about 20-25% is on the bike. But most of my bike miles are done just for fun. Given the state of the roads and volume of traffic here driving the car is usually a necessary evil.

Seems like the only time I drive the car is when its: raining, snowing, to freaking cold in general, groceries, large purchases. Other then that, I am riding the bike.

Not fair! A lot of my motorcycle miles are to & from work as I suspect many others are. I get about 80 miles/week on the to/from work. Probably another 80/week just riding. May-Oct. I'm close to work an do a compressed schedule meaning I only go in 3 or 4 days a week or it would be more.

Sorry mang, I know some dudes who don't even own a cage. But if "rides to and from work" were included, it would pollute the poll just as much if someone included (and I expect this to happen) cage miles – if they’re a traveling salesperson. Dig? I mean polls are tough to word, there are always “exceptions” and we shoot for the middle. JJ

Sorry mang, I know some dudes who don't even own a cage. But if "rides to and from work" were included, it would pollute the poll just as much if someone included (and I expect this to happen) cage miles – if they’re a traveling salesperson. Dig? I mean polls are tough to word, there are always “exceptions” and we shoot for the middle. JJ


For the record, I've taken many "business trips" on the bikes.

There is no way to unpollute this poll, as people are already answering their own way.

What exactly were you trying to get at with it?

90/bike 10/car Grocries and stuff like that i take the car. Just about everything else i take my bike and that's year around.

For the record, I've taken many "business trips" on the bikes.

There is no way to unpollute this poll, as people are already answering their own way.

What exactly were you trying to get at with it?

Nothing specific. But I think it would be interesting to see how the results change from this year to next due to gas prices, riding/driving habits, new riders, etc.

Also, we (ABATE, SC) just today got the governor’s signature on a bill reducing the property tax on MC's. As part of our argument, we claimed (in part) the increase in motorcycle usage should change the tax bracket from luxury vehicle status to the same tax rate as automobiles.

The results of this small poll will have no bearing on SC, but possibly it would be of value to other leather clad lobbyists.

JJ

Man, I don't think I could ever live in a state that charges me property tax on my toys. Of course, I'm sure PA makes it up in residential property taxes, but at least I can have a small house filled with as many bikes as I want.

What are the tax rate structures?

What's a regular automobile vs. a luxury vs. a rare etc?

I'm in the 60-80 % bike group. I drive my truck in the colder months, all 3-4 of them.:laugh Even then on warm days I ride.

I'm concerned my truck tires might rot before they wear out.

Man, I don't think I could ever live in a state that charges me property tax on my toys. Of course, I'm sure PA makes it up in residential property taxes, but at least I can have a small house filled with as many bikes as I want.

What are the tax rate structures?

What's a regular automobile vs. a luxury vs. a rare etc?

REF (typical letters to legislatures from various ABATE SC members):

I would like to encourage you to support H 4307 as this bill would reduce the property tax on motorcycles from 10.5 % of book value to 6% of loan value. My motorcycle is not a luxury but a means of transportation that is less costly to operate than my pickup, is less polluting and does less damage to the highways. The state should be encouraging motorcycle use to lessen traffic congestion, reduce pollution and lessen dependance on foreign oil. Thank you for your work in the Senate and I hope you will consider supporting this bill.

> I am requesting your help on Bill H-4307, the Motorcycle tax-reduction
> bill, that is in your Senate finance committee. As you are aware, if
> action isn't taken, it will die there. All the motorcycle community
> asks is that it be given a chance to be voted on, by the senators that
> represent us, on the Senate floor.
>
> It is a fair bill that has no financial impact on the State. My Aiken
> County Council backs this bill and in their words " motorcycles are
> being taxed unfairly". The Counties are the ones that are involved but
> the impact will be minimal being as it would only effect newer
> motorcycles and that would be spread across the entire State.
>
> The burden was much greater when South Carolina reduced automobile
> property taxes to 6% and private aircraft to 4%. Some motorcyclists
> are paying more personal property tax on their motorcycle than on all
> their vehicles combined. Some even more than their home.

> I am writing you this email to ask that you support H 4307. This
> bill will lower property taxes on motorcycles to the same percentage
> as cars and other passenger vehicles. As it stands now, cars are taxed
> at 6% of loan value whereas motorcycles are taxed at 10.5% of the book
> value. This is huge difference. At a time when gas prices are
> continue to climb, motorcycles offer a more fuel efficient means of
> transportation. It is ridiculous to tax a vehicle that uses less fuel,
> provides less traffic congestion and provides less damage to our
> highways higher than we do less efficient means of transportation. I
> own a %15,000 Harley Davidson Road King that gets 40 miles to the
> gallon and a $35,000 Truck that gets 18 mpg and my taxes are only
> $50-$75 more on the truck. I don't see how a vehicle $20,000 less is
> taxed almost as much. Some say that it is due to motorcycles being
> luxury items. My motorcycle is not a luxury item, it is a fuel
> efficient means of transportation that pollutes the environment much
> less than my truck. Speaking of luxury items, I am sure no one would
> deny that an airplane is a luxury item, yet Barnwell County recently
> lowered property taxes on airplanes to 4%, after the General Assembly
> passed a bill a few years ago allowing them to do so. So now in
> Barnwell County, I pay more on my motorcycle than most do on their
> airplanes. This is borderline discrimination at worst and foolish at
> best. Please find it in your heart to support H 4307 and help lower
> taxes on motorcycles to that of other passenger vehicles. BTW, South
> Carolina doesn't consider motorcycles to be passenger vehicles but the
> Federal Government wisely does. Please let me know how you feel about
> this issue and contact me if you have any questions. This bill passed
> the House with little debate as the House members quickly saw the
> intelligence of this bill. Once again please support H 4307 and please
> let me know how you feel about this issue. Thank you for your time.

^^ ABATE (A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments) at work.

Thanks for the post Jicjac, good emails with good points.

All except for the pollutes less. I think the EPA documents I've been reading on the new standards point out that today's motorcycles pollute significantly more than automotive motors with electronic engine and emission controls, feedback loop EFI and cat-cons.

Still, I think the rest of the points are quite valid. A motorcycle is no more a luxury item and a car or truck. It does NOT HAVE TO BE a recreational vehicle, as with many of us, it is also our primary choice of transportation.

Kev

Man... that really isn't a good poll for me, because I am a Regional Manager and usually can drive upwards of 50,000 a year in a cage. Bleck.

Howver, had the sporty since last August and flipped 7000 so... I get out there a bit...

:D

99.999999%:tour

Well, that's pretty easy for me to answer becuase I've only ever owned one truck, and only ever owned one Sporty.... its like a real-time all-time tally goin!

I would probably do 80 to 100% in the summer and 0 in the winter. Crappy weather in MI prohibits more. Heck, with the weather we have now, I'll be lucky to get 10 to 20%. That's what I voted.

pretty much , i'm on my bike...

Pre Katrina, the only time I drove my car was to/from work, and when the wife went somewhere with me.

My life hasn't gotten close enough back to normal yet to give a good post-Katrina answer.

Screw that "Excluding" BS!

Since I bought this new bike last year, I have put a little over 400 miles on my car and almost 6000 on my bike.

Screw that "Excluding" BS!

Since I bought this new bike last year, I have put a little over 400 miles on my car and almost 6000 on my bike.
If I could carry a PC, 19" monitor, large multi-function printer, and tools on the Sporty, I'd use it for work. :p

If I could carry a PC, 19" monitor, large multi-function printer, and tools on the Sporty, I'd use it for work. :p

Oh! Dude, I can SOOOO help you out.

They have these super cool computers now called laptops. They use elfin magic to shoehorn all of the computer components into this little case the size of a school binder. It comes with a screen, the PC itself (you can even put a DVD rom in there and watch movies!) a mouse, a floppy drive and more!

They even managed to shrink printers down so they are about the size of a 3-hole punch.... Wow, huh???

:wonderlan :wonderlan :wonderlan :wonderlan :wonderlan :wonderlan

To and from school are the only miles i ever put on the old pickup, and then only when its raining pretty good, ive ridden about 4k since i got the bike, and the truck has been drivin maybe 800 miles at most, all to and from school, so i'm pushin 95% non commute 80% with commute, i just voted for the 80-100.

Since I don't have to work much anymore and do NOT own a car, my percentage is up there. Occasionlly I will drive my wife's car for repairs or things I just can NOT do with my Ironhead. Two legs and two wheels works just fine for me most times..'cept when the winters gets here. Then-I just stay in and let ebay send me money.

Ride Safe..and Often...:clap

I think last year I put on 11,000 miles on my bikes and only about 2,000 miles on my truck if that much. That includes commuting to work. The truck usually goes to the bowling alley and grocery store, bike goes everywhere else.

WOW! There’s a lot of "I ride whenever I can" motorcyclists on this board. And maybe the poll, should have included an “inclement weather” exception, but the results (so far?) are encouraging. One thing I lost sight of is “north vs south”. Here in SC, it’s riding weather 365 (with a few exceptions).

BTW, the north vs south issue is alive and well here. I moved from New England to SC more than 30 years ago and I’m still a “damn Yankee”. Down here there are two types of Yankees. 1. Yankees (the ones traveling through and spending money) and 2. Damn Yankees (the ones who move into the south).

Anyway, thanks for participating ya’ll.

Ride em if you got em,

JJ

Oh God is this a math question?

Oh God is this a math question?
Here ya go bro....
http://www.abateofrockhill.org/images/abacus.gif

Muchas gracias

I cant answer this poll very well I ride any time the weather permits and since I work for a living that include anywhere from 500 to 1000 miles a week and one of the big reasons I chose to get rid of my old bike and buy a new one was commuting , I need dependable transportation to get to work . the weekends we use the bike to do as many erands as possible or if we want to go out . my pick-up hauls my tools to the job , then I ride the rest of the time unless its a monsoon or snow storm.

Interesting Poll.
commuting I range in the 80-100% depending on weather and errands.
20 MPG VS 54 MPG, sure makes a difference when work commute is about 60+ miles a day.
earlier in the thread, there was mention of the luxury tax issue.
The new hybrid cars are getting tax breaks, I don't see any reason why motorcycles can't fall into this catagory.

Interesting Poll.
commuting I range in the 80-100% depending on weather and errands.
20 MPG VS 54 MPG, sure makes a difference when work commute is about 60+ miles a day.
earlier in the thread, there was mention of the luxury tax issue.
The new hybrid cars are getting tax breaks, I don't see any reason why motorcycles can't fall into this catagory.

Thanks for mentioning the luxury tax. Actually, that's not precise:

It's actually a Personal Property Tax.

H4307 will reduce the personal property tax on motorcycles from 10.5% to 6%

Currently, it the bill has been sent back to committee because a senator wants to add an amendment to include zero personal property tax on antique vehicles. That is, in SC, antique vehicles can not be used for daily driving, but only for special events (parades, etc.). So the antique vehicle owners feel it is unfair to be taxed at the same rate as passenger cars. The antique vehicles do not eat up the roadway, etc. So, I understand their point. Hopefully our bill (to lower the bike tax) will go through Tuesday. JJ

I also have kids (three boys, God help me!) I didn't start riding until the end of March, but I've put almost 1000 mile of commuter riding on the bike since then.:tour I should add that I'm a firefighter and work 24 hours shifts, but only 10 days/month.

Interesting Poll.
The new hybrid cars are getting tax breaks, I don't see any reason why motorcycles can't fall into this catagory.

Let's start with the fact that despite excellent gas mileage, MANY modern motorcycles (especially those without EFI and CAT-CONs) pollute MUCH more than hybrids. Which is what has led the EPA to tighten the upcoming standards.

Even with the new standards I believe the EPA has stated that motorcycles will still be far dirtier (the standards are much lower) than modern automotive engines.

I commute on the bike almost 100% and probably about 50% of my miles in the weekend are on the bike as well. The wife uses the car and we even work in the same office - I ride, she drives. Mainly because she has to leave early and collect the kids.

I opted for 60-80% - seems about right. But I have 3 bikes to choose from.

Cheers,

Brett

I do maybe 100 non-commute miles a week. Not nearly as much as I'd like, but as many others have stated, job/kids/wife/life in general factor in. What I need to do is get my wife a sporty, then we can each take a kid with us and greatly increase ride opportunities!

...for me to answer. I really only drive to and from work. Mind you I drive 3500-4000 miles a week for work. When I am home and we go somewhere I let the Wife drive in her company cage, that's how keep the miles on the JeeP to about 1500/yr and can go 2-3 months w/o having to fill the tank!!!

I have a round trip of 50 miles, so I ride my bike every day if it don't rain.:clap

I have been averaging about 10,000 miles a year on the Sportster. My cage is a 2003 Dodge Dakota that I bought brand new and as of now it has 18,000 miles. That pretty much says it all.
Sam

I drive a car once a week. That's to band rehersal because I haven't found a way to carry a tenor sax on my sporty.

Excluding work, 95% are bike miles, except during winter.
Including work, 99.9% of my miles are bike miles, excluding days that there is snow/ice/frost on the ground.

I have a company supplied truck so I don't ride the bike to work, but I do ride for pleasure every chance I get. I've had the Sporty for just over 5 years and have 61,000 miles on it. I've had the Night Rod since Dec. and have almost 5,000 on it.
Dana

I have 2 dual sports, 3 quads and 2 street bikes. I'm retired so I don't have to go to work and half the time I don't know what day of the week it is. If I take all the miles I put on the various toys and compare them to the 2 cages, it's about 2 to 1 toys over cages...

I walk to work, so my truck gets very few miles maybe 1,000 a year.
My bike at least 10,000 a year.

90% - my wife has 2 cars. I have 3 bikes. The only time Im in a car/truck is on the rare trip on weekends.

The only time I am in a cage is if there is ice on the road or if there is lightning, I know what is going to be the first thing to be hit by lightning on my bike.

Since I'm retired and don't have to drive to work, the amount of miles that I put on my Porsche 951 has dropped considerabley since last September when I bought my '03 883. 'Nuff said.

90% of my miles are going to and from work. I guess that leaves 10% for errands and pleasure.
DC

Well, NOW you know why everyone who retires moves south.. LOTS Of days of nice riding weather....
Excluding work....40-60 % Including work 60-80%

I live in the Northeast so my winters do not offer the kind of riding weather needed.. Plus the LARGE amount of sand spread all over the north shore makes it very dangerous.. Twistie roads and sand do not mix.... BUt the sweepers have been out and the dr's says it's a go. so I'll be racking up the miles soon enough.

I would love to be able to ride my bike to work, but for more reasons than one, I can't. Most of my riding is done on weekends and days off when it isn't raining. We work 5- 10's and that doesn't leave a lot of time. Things will change this year though. I'll be retiring soon and I am going to take more time off too. Will make a couple of trips to Mi and one to Phoenix this fall. I'll ride till I can't.

I'd like to ride to work, but I don't have a Navy license, so I can not park at the facility. Fortunately, I can walk or ride my bicycle when the weather is decent, as it's only 1-1/2 miles.

in the summer its gotta be at least 90% bike..... not only do I ride it to work everyday, but it often takes 2 or more hours to make the 15 minute ride home......

Ww

I live in Florida .. nuff said?

RYDE, RYDE, RYDE .. Almost all year long .... even when it's cold it warm