- What have your experiences been like using motorcycles for cheap and efficient transportation?
Fun. I have been asked this question many times (I’ve bought, sold, fixed and ridden second hand motorcycles since I was a teen) and it really depends on what your other vehicle is. If you sell your big SUV and trade it in for a motorcycle you’ll save. I always kept a few old cars and bikes at all times so the mc was just another vehicle that had expenses associated with it. Often roommates would gravitate to the fuel savings and cheap parking but they’d forget I was paying insurance, reg and maintenance for everything. If they bought a mc they would rarely dump the car so it was not saving money. You upgrading from a bike will undoubtedly cost more money but you get more.
That aside there is maintenance. MC parts cost more than the equivalent car parts. For example if you choose to use motorcycle oil (recommended because the gear case is shared with the crank case) you spend more on oil changes. Tip overs can be hard on bodywork if you want to maintain looks. Tires are expensive/mile ridden.
- What type of bikes work well? (I know little about motorcycles.. I'm currently thinking smaller bikes with smaller engines (250cc or so, maybe 400 or 500 or even 125), maybe a 4 stroke dirt bike, ??)
Depends on the kind of riding. For a car substitute I like the very big scooters. Good aerodynamics, carrying capacity and power to place yourself in the safest zones of traffic. My advice is buy a cheap beater of anything and find out what you specifically need. I live in a hilly area so anything under 500cc is too small to keep up with traffic. If you live in a city like San Francisco and only need to buy groceries a 250cc scooter would do better.
Do it like you would a bicycle. You get something and start riding it. If you find out you do a lot of downhill singletrack you trade your hybrid in for a 29er with double suspension. Maybe you need braze ons for panniers. Only you will know what you need.
- What are good resources to learn? (About motorcycles themselves, an introduction to maintenance, riding safely, etc.)
In CA you are required to take a rider training course to get licensed now. This would be a good place to start. Then buy a small beater and ride it, fix it etc. if you get it wrong you sell it on CL and get another.
Honda dealers used to offer dirt bike schools to get uninitiated families into off roading together. Might want to ask around a dealership “I have money to give to someone who can get me into motorcycles but I don’t know anything perhaps you can direct me?” Just be careful what you spend
which is suspect won’t be an issue.
Another idea is take a tip from the third world. Those guys know motorcycle practicality. Get a small single cylinder 100mpg miracle and ride it till you realize you need more...then trade up in those areas. You’ll learning riding skills, maintenance etc on a low cost platform like a scooter or step through.
This system is persistent and practical for a reason. It’s funny how you see this in every third world country.
Don’t do this till you know you need it. Remember, start cheap and slowly upgrade as you get to know he lay of the land.
- Can buying old/rough motorcycles, fixing them up, and selling them provide any income? (maybe projects like
this? or doing sort of similar cafe racer, brat, etc. conversions? Or maybe just getting bikes running to resell?)
There is a really good video about this on YouTube. Go to the channel Jennie’s Garage and watch all this genius’s videos. He’s funny and kind of an ERE type. You’ll learn the ins and outs of iron horse trading.
My experience is blah. I have owned a dozen bikes from 70cc to 1200cc over the years. All bought used. Fixed up. It was not a big money maker though I did make a few hundred on several. There are so many ways to get bitten like back reg, lost papers, damaged engines etc. it’s like any flip, you need to find the ones with problems that are fixable. More efficient marketplaces have raised the bar.
I seldom find the old bike for $150 covered in dust in the corner of a garage that just needs a carb clean and battery charge. The last fixer upper I got for a bargain needed new valves, new valve seats, a cylinder, piston and crank. The owner gave up and I only discovered it as I found his posts about his frustrations with the bike online. You get a sinking feeling when you find the bike you are searching for answers on is posted online by another dumb guy asking how to fix it two months ago.
What I do get is fun bikes that cost me very little to own. I get my money back if I buy cheap enough. I count labor as free because it is fun. I get to ride for cheap. Then I sell and move on. Kind of the way I do cars. It is a big jump between buying some used thing and fixing it up for personal use and getting a low cost of participation versus flipping for profit. Same goes for motorcycles, cars, homes, businesses etc.
My advice is get something cheap and Japanese on Craigslist and start working on it. Get the shop manuals so you aren’t flying blind(my latest bike had all service manuals online free in pdf). The service manuals are written so a monkey can use it. Buy tools as you need them.
Make mistakes on cheap bikes. Fail often fail fast.
Have fun. If done right it can be an inexpensive hobby and a fun way to get around.