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[JaimeC]

Before I got my Zero S last Spring, I was commuting regularly with my BMW C650GT.  That motorcycle (scooter) gets roughly 50 miles to the gallon on mid-grade (89 R+M/2 Octane) gasoline.

Since I got my Zero, I've logged 10,182 miles.  Right now in my area, 89 Octane gasoline is selling for $2.64 a gallon.  Doing some calculations, since getting my Zero I've saved $537.61 in fuel costs.

As for what I've spend on electricity, I pay a fixed $99.99 a month for the lease on my solar panels.  During the summer I "bank" any electricity I don't use with the local power utility and dip into that bank during the winter months with the shorter days.  Add the Zero to my electrical load hasn't affected my bill one way or the other so essentially I'm riding it for free.

I'm SO happy with this thing you can't imagine.

[Burton]

Have you calculated your savings on maintenance costs ? It is likely 3 times the amount if not more than you saved on gas

Maintenance cost is where you get your biggest savings when going electric

[JaimeC]

One other thing that honks me off re-reading my original post.  Back when I first got my K1200LT in 1999, ethanol in gasoline was a rarity and I used to get 50 mpg or better with that bike.  Over the past decade I've only been getting mileage in the mid-40s and I just assumed it had to do with the age of the bike and engine (it now has over 200,000 miles on the odometer).

However, in 2011 I took a trip cross-country and several times in the Rocky Mountain states I had the ability to refuel with ethanol-free gasoline and guess what?  I was logging over 50 mpg again, so it is the damned ethanol that's to blame for my decreased mileage.  The ethanol increased the price of the gasoline and DECREASED the mileage I was getting.  Tell me again why we're doing that if not to appease the corn lobby in Washington??

I probably would be saving less if I was able to run the scooter on ethanol-free gas but fortunately with the Zero I don't have to worry about that crap at all.

[Electric Terry]

Awesome to hear Jamie!!

Your situation is set, but imagine the same feeling with the new diginow superchargers if you can stop for lunch or dinner and refuel the bike in under an hour from a free public charging station on your commute route, or use a free J1772 at work like many employers in the bay area offer as a fringe benefit to attract the smartest talent.

If you have this option and can charge at one of the free chargers at work or on the way home doing an errand at a free public charging station financially justifying a supercharger becomes easy as it can pay for itself in under 2 years and then after that it technically can make you money by continuing to save you money after it has paid for itself.

But going the solar route is just as awesome! It doesn't matter how you do it as long as you do!!

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Oh, wow, now I recall a thread of us doing the "napkin math" on when a Zero pays off, that 70000 miles essentially saved the cost of the bike itself or something. I've put 44000 miles on two Zeros now, which still leaves me "in the hole" but I'm clocking 1500 miles of commuting and mid-range travel per month which will definitely add up soon.

I can definitely quantify what it would cost me to ride my V-Strom as a commuter now: 1500 miles per month / 55 mpg * $3.50/gal = $100 per month just for gas, and then oil changes and chain maintenance on top of that... Probably $2000 per year, in addition to the V-Strom wearing through tires and brake pads twice as quickly as the Zero for the same mileage.

And that's without solar (being a renter).

[JaimeC]

Where I live, everything is pretty close so I don't really have to worry about super-charging to do my rounds.  I live two blocks north of a shopping mall which pretty much has everything I'd need in walking distance (including a multi-plex movie theater).  Nearly all of my favorite restaurants are well within "round trip range" of the Zero on a full charge (as is my office).  I've discovered even trips into New York City and around Manhattan are easily do-able without the need to recharge.

If I lived in an area like Los Angeles where everything is more spread out I could see the need but here?  Not a problem.  It's just as well because New York is only now catching on to the need for more public charging stations.

[Blotman]

A fun calculation I like to make is how much time I spend charging my Zero vs how much time I spent gassing up back when I commuted on my BMW F800R. 5 seconds to plug in and another 5 to unplug every single weekday adds up to 43 minutes (52 weeks x 5 days x 10 seconds) out of my year. Let's assume I don't actually sit around and wait in my garage while the bike is charging. Pumping gas, as every EV opponent likes to argue, takes maybe 5 minutes. That doesn't really sound so bad. I use to fill up about every 3 weekdays. That adds up to a little over 7 hours (52 weeks x 5/3 days x 5 minutes) out of my year.

Having that extra time out of my weekday is pretty damned valuable to me.

[Cama]

Nice point Blotman!

[Doug S]

I agree, excellent point, but you're probably understating the case...I don't believe it's realistic to refuel an ICE vehicle in 5 minutes. In fact, you probably have to drive out of your way at least a bit (unless your favorite gas station is literally right on the way home), find an unoccupied pump, maneuver around to park next to it, in the case of a motorcycle probably take your helmet and gloves off (which for me also means removing and replacing my glasses), remove the filler cap, run your credit card through, insert the nozzle, wait for it to fill (the only part most people consider!), click it again because it never fills fully on the first shut-off, wait for the nozzle to drip dry so it won't splatter gasoline all over your vehicle's paint job, put the nozzle back on the pump, replace the gas cap, optionally log the fuel in an app or on a notepad, put your helmet back on, pull back into traffic and get back to your original course.

As opposed to sleeping quietly in bed while the vehicle takes care of its own refueling.

[Biff]

A fun calculation I like to make is how much time I spend charging my Zero vs how much time I spent gassing up back when I commuted on my BMW F800R. 5 seconds to plug in and another 5 to unplug every single weekday adds up to 43 minutes (52 weeks x 5 days x 10 seconds) out of my year. Let's assume I don't actually sit around and wait in my garage while the bike is charging. Pumping gas, as every EV opponent likes to argue, takes maybe 5 minutes. That doesn't really sound so bad. I use to fill up about every 3 weekdays. That adds up to a little over 7 hours (52 weeks x 5/3 days x 5 minutes) out of my year.

Having that extra time out of my weekday is pretty damned valuable to me.

Not only that, but if you plug / unplug your bike while you are getting on it or off it, i.e multi-taksing, it doesn't even add time.  In my garage I have my charge cord available right where I need it, plugging in might take 3 seconds, unplugging takes no time at all.  Also if you add the time it takes to ride out of your way to get to a gas station, get your gloves / wallet out and such, it is most likely in the range of 10 minutes per fill, or 14 hours per year in your case.

-ryan

[vinceherman]

Since we are having fun with math, I ran the cost of ownership of my Goldwing
Purchase price + maintenance (I admit, I had to guess since I do not have this cost in my records) and fuel.
25k purchase
3k maintenance (this was the guess) (does not include tires)
.088 fuel per mile over the 120k miles I have traveled
This comes out to 32 cents per mile.

At about 55k miles on an SR I would be at the same cost per mile.

I am still trying to convince myself that I will not miss the cruise control.

[Doug S]

I am still trying to convince myself that I will not miss the cruise control.

Those are two VERY different machines that do two very different jobs. Depending on your needs and priorities, one or the other is probably a better rig for you....or you may need both. 

I've been saying for years now that it's still pretty hard to make a purely economic case for an electric motorcycle. ICE cars consume enough fuel that you may be able to make a case there, especially now with the Chevy Bolt and (soon) the Tesla Model 3 being pretty reasonably priced. But some ICE motorcycles get such good mileage already, and they're so cheap to purchase, it's hard to save much money by buying electric even if you cut out the cost of fuel altogether. A good case for electric motorcycles really has to be made based on more than just pure economics.

[JaimeC]

I am still trying to convince myself that I will not miss the cruise control.

Those are two VERY different machines that do two very different jobs. Depending on your needs and priorities, one or the other is probably a better rig for you....or you may need both. 

I've been saying for years now that it's still pretty hard to make a purely economic case for an electric motorcycle. ICE cars consume enough fuel that you may be able to make a case there, especially now with the Chevy Bolt and (soon) the Tesla Model 3 being pretty reasonably priced. But some ICE motorcycles get such good mileage already, and they're so cheap to purchase, it's hard to save much money by buying electric even if you cut out the cost of fuel altogether. A good case for electric motorcycles really has to be made based on more than just pure economics.

Economically then:  You'll never have to pay for spark plugs, clutches, air filters, oil filters, or fuel filters.  You'll never have to pay for valve adjustments (though many heavy cruisers have hydraulic, maintenance free valves anyway).  You'll never have to pay for coolant, engine oil or transmission oil.  That plus the hourly shop rate you have to pay for all of that adds up to a considerable sum of money.

[benswing]

When I got my 2012 Zero S I made a spreadsheet that basically calculated mileage until it paid for itself.  Now, I obviously got a TON of fun out of it, so it didn't need to pay for itself to be a great value.  Basically after 20-25,000 miles (according to my calculations) it paid for itself in savings from not using fuel and oil changes. 

Thanks for sharing!

[Skidz]

I did the same Excel, comparing a brand-new F800gs vs a DSR. Fuel is a *bit* more expensive here ($6,75/gallon) so including all tax returns and small business rebates we get here, the tipping point was at 10.000 miles... So for ppl in area's where fuel is more expensive there is a strong economic case for all-electric.