I can dream of a day when there are enough hybrid enthusiasts that they would hold huge week-long regional gatherings. As I walked down the main drag at Weirs Beach last weekend, part of Laconia Bike Week, and shot http://techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/pix/lac06/shore1.jpg I kept thinking how great it would be if *that* many people converged on an area because they love hybrid cars, fuel efficiency, and soaking in dense clouds of smug. Think of that many Priii lined up.. . But there are still a heck of a lot more Harleys than hybrids on the roads. And the bikers' enthusiasm appears to be completely undamped by fuel prices. . _H*
Typical Harley is 45 mpg, right? I encountered many scooters crossing the Sierra Nevadas last weekend. Have to say that their fleet was accompanied by a cloud of unburned hydrocarbons. I was unable to find a good number for Harleys in the US, but if it's 1 million, hybrids ought to outnumber them in about 3 years.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tochatihu @ Jun 22 2006, 11:57 PM) [snapback]275633[/snapback]</div> I have a harley--45mpg is about right at 70mph; 55 at 55mph. H-D is selling over 300K bikes per year (70% in U.S.) I say At least 5 million bikes in U.S. maybe 10 million when including "the others". 300-400,000 show up at Sturgis S.D. every year.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Jun 22 2006, 11:37 PM) [snapback]275628[/snapback]</div> Oh yeah... Been there a few times on my bike... Lots of REAL hooligans hang out there too, if you ever want to know how exactly it is 16-18 year olds with no jobs can afford $12,000+ sportbikes, hang out within their circles... When they get the sense you're not a cop (typically, the way it's done is when one of *their* friends introduces you), they'll be more than happy to brag about how they did it.... h34r: On another note, I think the enthusiasm remains undamped simply because it doesn't appear to cost that much more when you fill up your bike. Most bikes fill up with only 3-4 gallons, so it's about $10-12, going from something like $6-8 to 10-12 doesn't have as much psychological impact as going from 30-60 (proportions amongst those lines...).
No matter how you try to rationalize it, $3/gal+ is still the same expense be it filling up the Prius or my two motorcycles. I have about the same fuel usage costs as the Prius with the Honda VFR800 (46mpg @ 75mph) while the Ninja 250 has greater results (54mpg @ 75mph). My normal commute is 629 miles / week. The other areas where the car has the very distinct advantage is in the other consumables, like tires, brakes, and drive chains. I average about five sets of tires a year for the bikes, not including the sacrificial ones used for track days. So far, I have put 24,000 miles on the Prius since December, and the only thing I have really had to spend money on for the Prius was gas, oil, and Zaino.
