ElectricMotorcycleForum.com

General Category => Electric Motorcycle News => Topic started by: Richard230 on November 16, 2017, 04:47:00 AM

Title: Comparing electric and gas ownership costs
Post by: Richard230 on November 16, 2017, 04:47:00 AM
Motorcycle.com has published this blog comparing the cost of purchasing and maintaining a new Suzuki 650 with a Zero S 7.2 over 8 years and 48,000 miles of ownership.  Interesting numbers.  I'll let you decide if they are correct: 
http://www.motorcycle.com/features/how-much-is-an-electric-motorcycle.html
Title: Re: Comparing electric and gas ownership costs
Post by: ctrlburn on November 17, 2017, 06:20:04 AM
Motorcycle.com has published this blog comparing the cost of purchasing and maintaining a new Suzuki 650 with a Zero S 7.2 over 8 years and 48,000 miles of ownership.  Interesting numbers.  I'll let you decide if they are correct: 
http://www.motorcycle.com/features/how-much-is-an-electric-motorcycle.html

I can't decide which is correct, insufficient itemization, but I can say Motorcycle.com got a much different number than gas2.org did in 2015.

http://gas2.org/2015/08/07/electric-motorcycle-costs-performance-vs-gas-motorcycle-costs-performance/ (http://gas2.org/2015/08/07/electric-motorcycle-costs-performance-vs-gas-motorcycle-costs-performance/)

Funny how they both chose the same Suzuki but got wildly different numbers:

Motorcycle.com 8 years maint  $4,000
Gas2.org eight years ($942/year)  $7,536

Title: Re: Comparing electric and gas ownership costs
Post by: Richard230 on November 17, 2017, 07:34:00 AM
Well, you know how it is.  It all depends upon how you pick your numbers.  Did they include insurance and tire costs, along with resale value?  More details about how the numbers were calculated would be needed. My daughter has a Suzuki SV650 and she hasn't done anything to the bike other than change the oil and filter, along with an occasional tire.  On the other  hand, she never spent any money on her 2012 Zero S, although I put new tires on the bike before I gave it to her.  That was the only time that money was spent on the bike other than electricity costs. Neither bike ever saw a dealer for service, maintenance or repairs.
Title: Re: Comparing electric and gas ownership costs
Post by: Ndm on November 17, 2017, 11:26:08 PM
as a former SV 650 S (2006) owner and current zero s (2013) owner (both were bought used) i can say that the sv was completely reliable, cheaper on insurance than the zero and handled much better, 30k kms and it never once needed anything more than tires and a $40 oil change, purchase price was 1/3 of the zero, as my body got older the Sv definitely became too uncomfortable to ride and ultimately would have made up the cash difference in physiotherapy! that being said i love my zero  and all its little issues, when people ask why i sold the SV i tell them i can ride the zero farther!
Title: Re: Comparing electric and gas ownership costs
Post by: MorbidBBQ on November 20, 2017, 09:41:35 PM
Those numbers leave out a lot; and make a lot of assumptions. 

Assumption 1) High annual mileage.  It takes a lot of miles for the electric to be cheaper than gas.  With the limited range of the zero, its harder to hit those high mileages.

Assumption 2) You follow all the manufacturer recommendations for maintenance.  Many of them aren't really necessary.


2007 Yamaha FZ6, purchased in 2009 for $2000 with 2000 miles.
Sold in 2017 for $1600 and 22,000 miles.
5 Synthetic oil changes = $300
20,000 miles @ 40mpg @ $3/gallon = 500 gallons = $1,500
New rear tires every 5000 miles @ $200 each = $800
New front tires every 8000 miles @ $200 each = $600
New clutch cable = $100
Misc lubes = $50
Front & Rear brakes = $50
Total cost of ownership after sale: $0.19/mile

Compared to 2013 Zero S purchased in 2016 for $6500 with 1500 miles.
~8200 miles as of this morning.
New belt x2 = $200 each
rear suspension =  (parts only) $300 OEM replacement, $850 for upgrade, $100 Chinese knock-off bandaid.
Electric costs = $0.15/kwh, 13kwh total battery size, 70 miles/charge = $0.027/mile ($216 to date)
New rear tires every 5000 miles @ $200 each = $400
New front tires every 8000 miles @ $200 each = $200
Cost of ownership = ~$1/mile
Cost of ownership assuming I can sell it for $5000 = $.037/mile

Update with things I forgot:
Insurance (comparable for both at ~$100/year)
Time and transport >90 miles for zero service as opposed to taking it to one of the dozen+ ICE motorcycle maintenance shops within 5 miles of me.

What I left out:
Upgrades, Side cases, top case, luggage frames, LED headlights, cameras, alarms, bodywork, replacement plastics, paint, frame sliders, fast charger, J1772 adapter, single purpose tools...
Title: Re: Comparing electric and gas ownership costs
Post by: Richard230 on November 20, 2017, 09:46:59 PM
And then there is the little matter of resale value.   ::)  Not good for electric motorcycles - or any EV for that matter.   :(
Title: Re: Comparing electric and gas ownership costs
Post by: StraydogEOMFD on November 26, 2017, 08:57:01 AM
Meh, that's one comparison.  Not everyone gets an electric to compare with something like an SV650.  Having said that, the 2007 SV650S is the one bike I regret selling the most so I do have a lot of love for them.  I ride my Zero FXS on the track and hit trails with it.  The KTM 500 EXC I had before would have taken a hell of a lot more of my hard to come by free time to do oil changes on every 15 hours, check the valves every other change, and all the other complexities that come with a high performance ICE motor.

TL;DR-all depends on the ICE yard stick.  For me, the time not spent wrenching but instead spent riding is what really matters.  And in some cases, the money spent comes out sorta even so why bother wasting time wrenching?  Just my two cents.