Motorbike - Economy?

Scougar said:
Surprises me that bikes don't get better MPG really given their light weight.

BTW... is there such a thing as a diesel bike at all?
Click to expand...

It's not just the weight, they have appalling aerodynamics and very highly tuned normaly aspirated engines are generally not good on fuel. Bear in mind that a 600cc sports bike these days will be producing something like 110bhp; that's 183bhp/liter which makes even the Honda VTEC engines look a bit limp.

If you want economy then you can have it, 125cc scooters etc. can easily achieve 100mpg, but then you don't get sports bike performance.

There are a couple of diesel bikes; Royal Enfield will be producing one next year, and there is an American cruiser made by a company called Neander that has a very novel twin cylinder diesel engine that uses two contra-rotating crankshafts.
 
Scougar said:
Surprises me that bikes don't get better MPG really given their light weight.

BTW... is there such a thing as a diesel bike at all?
Click to expand...

Oh if you want to get mega mileage from a bike you can but it isn't going to be fast. For example it is perfectly possible for a more advanced engine in a tiny chassis along the lines of a 125 to get 150mpg but it would cost too much for the market segment which buys it. Instead we get old fashioned engines in an un-faired package that will do 100mpg (CG125).

Currently there isn't a market for a moderately capable bike that gives excellent MPG. Bikes are still 95% a play thing in this country and in other parts of the world the CG125 style MPG is plenty good enough in a cheap to purchase package.
 
Dogbreath said:
No problem, it's pretty easy. The SteamPacket company is the only passenger ferry service. They have a variable price structure according to season, with prices peaking during the TT (unsurprisingly). Cost this year for bike and rider was about £205 return for the dates we are going. It's *much* cheaper if you want to go over there off-season.

They don't set the TT ticket prices until they have an idea of demand, but you can provisionally book the tickets for a nominal fee (~£20 IIRC) and then pay the balance when they set the final price. I booked in early November, and the ticket prices were fixed at the end of January and then we had to pay the balance by the end of February. I don't know when they start accepting provisional bookings, but give them a ring and they will tell you.

I simply rang them up, asked to book 6 bikes and an extra foot passenger (pillion on one bike) and paid the provisional booking fee over the phone on a card. You can chose the sailing times and port (Liverpool or Heysham) from the website. They sent a booking confirmation through within a couple of days, and then sent an invoice for the balance in January which I paid over the phone again. That's pretty much it, you don't get any proper tickets as such, just a booking code that you need to have when you board the ferry.

In terms of accommodation we are staying with some friends of one of our party, but there is plenty of camping and guest houses/hotel accommodation as long as you book early. I've heard lots of good things about homestay as well, plenty of friendly people on the island happy to provide accomodation to bikers during the TT. The IOM TT Forum has a section for accommodation where homestays are advertised.
Click to expand...

Brilliant stuff, thanks for taking the time to reply :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom