Mathematically they’re equivalent, but the feelings could not be further apart.
Well with a motorcycle you’ll have a much better chance of never having to spend money on gas for the rest of your life
Motorcycles are not as dangerous as people think. What they are is unforgiving of mistakes.
My opinion is that the crash and fatality statistics are heavily inflated by the fact that risky people are drawn to motorcycles, and the evidence backs me up on that somewhat. Studies like the Hurt Report and subsequent NHTSA studies on fatal crashes show some absolutely baffling things, like over 20% of all fatal crashes involving unlicensed riders and almost 40% involving alcohol consumption in some way. Hell, in a shocking amount of US states, helmets are not required and every time I’m in one of those states I see people riding around on the interstate without any head protection. Absolutely terrifying and an incredibly stupid thing to do. I never ride without a full-face helmet personally.
There are plenty of ways to mitigate risk but most of the riders who die in crashes don’t do them.
Motorcycle emissions standards are incredibly lax by today’s standards when compared to cars. That Prius just might be releasing less toxic substances than your motorcycle - while being able to cart around more people and stuff.
This is very true, even newer bikes that have more modern emissions are still generally exempt from the same standards as any car.
That being said if you have a high traffic commute it would still be faster for you to use a bike as well as better for everyone else in traffic so pros and cons.
Fortnine has a video that touches on the emissions/trying to be green and riding a motorcycle. The fact is most bikes not made within the last 10 years (and some that are) are carbureted and have little if any emissions control. Sure that Yamaha vstar250 might get 80mpg but that has more to do with having a smaller engine than a lawnmower than it does any modern engineering.
E-motorcycles really are best of both worlds. Small, mobile, and more energy efficient. Plus high torque means it feels powerful. They were available on market several years ago - I remember seeing a Wired piece on one.
They’re very cool but the problem is aero. To build an ev-bike that’s fast enough to be a motorcycle you run into a lot of drag. Ebikes that still go pretty fast but still technically are a bicycle fit this gap nicely.
Another issue is price though. To do my current commute via electric motorcycle id probably need to buy the HD Live Wire Del Mar, which if I remember correctly is about 17k. Do you know what else was 17k? My electric Fiat 500e which is what I generally use to do my commute. On the other end of the scale is pricing for ebikes which isn’t that bad and does start around the 500-800 but can easily get into the tens of thousands of dollars for some very high end options.
While I see there’s a lot of people here that disagree with me on motorcycles being just fine for commuting, it’s important to recognize that not every task needs a car. Motorcycles are not the cleanest way to get around but they do overall have less impact. Sure you can off-road in a Cadillac Escalade, but how much will that tear the trail up compared to my 450lb klr650? You might be able to fit 6 months groceries in the back but you also need to park in the back to find a spot. Sure you can haul 8 people but how often is it just 1?
Finally, they’re fun AF.
Op said “save gas” as in use less.
No comment was made on “reduce pollution”
That Prius, just by being manufactured, had an incredibly toxic environmental impact that it would take a motorcycle hundreds of thousands of miles to equal. Lithium battery manufacture is hell on the environment.
Most Prius have NiMH batteries, only recently they switched to lithium.
But also need to consider that oil extraction, refining and transportation is not easy on the environment
Oil processing is definitely bad for the environment, but think for a moment about the scales. Just in raw materials, ignoring the massive impact of battery manufacture alone, the average motorcycle weighs less than 600 pounds. The Prius weighs about six times that. That means six times the amount of shipping, forming, refining, finishing, et cetera…
The Prius still has an internal combustion engine that burns gasoline, and requires a significant amount of rare-earth minerals for the construction of its catalytic converter. Most motorcycles now have catalytic converters, but they are smaller and thus the environment suffers less damage per vehicle.
I agree that a Prius will burn cleaner while running than probably any motorcycle – but the total amount of damage done just by being built has to be a whole lot more than almost any motorcycle and it can’t be close.
Cringe AF.
Jesus lotta “motorcycles are a deathtrap” in here.
Hi, I’ve been riding for 10 years on all different kinds of machines through many lengths of commute/fun. allow me to be abrupt motorcycles cost more than a Prius to own. The tires don’t last as long, the maintenance is more frequent, obviously the gear you absolutely should be wearing is expensive but hey if none of that bothers you please continue to enjoy riding.
It’s not very active but there’s a motorcycle community here on lemmy, please join us ;)
Can you link the community?
https://lemmy.world/c/motorcycles
One Of Us :)
Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn’t work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: !motorcycles@lemmy.world
Depends on the motorcycle. Anything loosely above 500cc and the fuel efficiency gets worse than a Prius.
it’s kind of shocking how bad motorcycles are at fuel efficiency given how much less mass they have to move
My understanding is that the motorcycle/rider combination in most cases has a very poor coefficient of drag and that’s the largest issue at highway speeds.
Depends strongly on the motorcycle, however, as there are so many different kinds with varying amounts of bodywork. Some are absurdly efficient, like the Honda Grom, which routinely achieves over 100MPG.
One full tank of gas on your motorcycle could be enough for a lifetime…
Especially if your having “fun” with it.
I drive a 750cc bike and own a 2015 Prius. The bike gets better mileage.
Must be something pretty modern with fuel injection!
I was very heavily generalizing; there are so many different kinds of motorcycles and they vary so widely in fuel efficiency that it’s really hard to average. Here in the US, the average new motorcycle sold is a 700-pound monster with an engine larger than 100 cubic inches of displacement. (Again, generalizing a bit, but Harley-Davidsons still make up over 4 out of every 10 new motorcycles sold here.) Harley-Davidson’s largest model, the Electra Glide Ultra Classic, gets less than 40 MPG and weighs well over 800 pounds.
I live life to the fullest by driving my family around in the backseat of my Prius, and not being skinned alive by road rash. You live life to the fullest by praying there isn’t sand on the next exit ramp.
We are not the same.
Plus think of all the groceries you’ll haul on that motorcycle. The savings are endless!
I can haul about the same amount of groceries on my bike/partner’s scoot as our car…which tbf is a fiat 500 but nonetheless I can easily get a weeks groceries on a bike.
Love the down votes lol, you may disagree with me but facts are facts.
That doesn’t incorporate the hassle factor. Even if you can, it’s a lot more hassle
It just isn’t, I can quickly and easily park my bike in basically any spot. If I know I’m not buying a lot I’ll just bring a backpack and put my groceries in there as I checkout and if not I probably brought the scooter which has the same trunk as a small car.
I don’t have to fuss about in traffic, look for a spot, or try to turn my car around in my tiny neighborhood. (Not the fiat…I do own one of those oversized American cars that’s literally 18.5 ft long because it was cheap)
But hey maybe I’m just dead wrong, give a bicycle a try. (If possible I recognize not many north American places are bicycle friendly) try getting some groceries on a bicycle. You might actually enjoy the benefits, yes it’ll be tough the first time and likely even the fifth…but you might come to enjoy it.
If you ride motorcycles: please be an organ donor.
Donorcycle
living to the fullest
Until, abruptly, you aren’t.
Sad, but true
Just assume you are invisible and that all the other vehicles will do the worst likely thing, and you might be alright.
When I rode I went beyond being invisible to just imagining they are all actively targeting me, and making sure I didn’t give them a chance.
You targeted them first?
Motorcycle licences should come with an organ donor registration card
At least in my state all drivers license applications do.
