Getting Groceries

That is freaking awesome!

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Not to mention that, in general, motorcycle tires need to be replaced sooner and cost more per tire than car or light truck tires. At some point the chain and sprockets will be replaced. Moneywise, I think that riding a bike to save money is a wash over a car unless you're getting triple the gas mileage with the bike. There are some locales where riding a motorcycle offers some intangible benefits such as lane splitting and specialized parking areas.

Otherwise, ride your bike because you want to and you enjoy it.

I get 4X the smiles riding my bikes than running my gas hog truck. I get 2X the gas mileage. I get to eat more bugs, get more windburn and get there faster. I get to see the crummy look on the faces of the guys driving their buckets when the see me running the road. I get to see the kids faces light up when they see a motorcycle. I get to talk to all kinds of interesting people on motorcycles (like here)! I get to save $75 an hr working on my own vehicle as opposed to the new cars and trucks that ...well ...someone else can do. I pay less insurance . So for me it's a no brainer. Bike anytime you can!

del

I have had the same problem... I like using my bike to ride around town, but needed a grocery getter (and Chinese-food getter).

So I got this trunk from JC Whitney, and it has come in very handy so far...

Here's a pic:

i have been thoroughly spoiled by having bikes with hard bags. the BMW is nice and the pelican on the B will be nice and the ammo boxes on the honda are nice, but hands down the storage on the harley is best. that thing is a garbage truck, you just keep piling it in and it never fills up. you can go grocery shopping like normal and fit it all in. i owed the guys at the shop a favor so i got pizza. the tour pak fit 10! large Little Ceasars inside. it will also hold two cases of beer if you are into that sort of things.
i think if you want something small, look around for a real flimsy backpack that you can fit under the seat then pull it out when you need it.

Just another note on the saving money line of conversation. Insurance is a huge money saver for the younger set. At 21 I was paying about $120 a month for basic liability on a cage, $44 a month for comprehensive on a KZ adds up real real quick

Hmmmmm ..... maybe it's an age thing.

Taking my '89 Formula Firebird off my policy and putting my '79 KZ650 on it saved me 31.00 every 6 months.

And don't get me wrong, I enjoy riding my bike very much, and am glad I got it (although I miss my Firebird). The point I was making is gettin a motorcycle and expecting to save massive amounts of money is probably not going to happen.

People are panicking lately, and making terrible decisions. An good example is my best friend, who was ready to trade off his Expedition, which gets 13 mpg and get a Prius, which gets 48.

Thing is, he couldn't get crap in trade for his paid-for Expedition, and the Prius was in great demand, so they weren't willing to make any kind of deal. When I finally got him to calm down and do the math, we learned he wouldn't save a dime for 8 years, and that was scaling the price of gas up to 5.00 per gallon by year 3.

The plan we arrived at, instead, was for him to change his driving style, which got the mileage up to 17 mpg, to wait to do non-critical errands till his wife (and her 32 mpg Toyota) were home, to start saving towards the down payment on a more fuel efficient car, to watch prices to see when he could get more in trade for his SUV (it's already up almost 1,000), and to wait till he found a good deal on a gas-miser. By doing so, he'll save thousands of dollars.

My neighbor bought a scooter because "the price of gas is killing me". He's already wrecked it twice, his wife won't get on it, and I see it parked, and his pickup gone more and more often.

I think you ride because you love it; you get an old bike because you love to tinker, and the benefit is you have a hobby which can actually save you a bit of money, too.

I used to do that, best deal was a set of soft side bags, and some bungee cords

Not everyone is hitting the panic button and getting rid of their SUV. Yesterday as I ate in a restaurant there was a younger guy in the booth behind me and he was talking about trading up from a Durango to a Suburban. If gas prices were a concern for him, there are several mini-vans on the market which would give more family space and get better mileage.

Maybe I'm just cynical, but I just don't see SUV ownership being any less of a status symbol than it ever has. At least around these parts.