No, not me. I hit that long ago. So far this year I've taken two wheels to work fifty times. The new arrival was the magic machine joining a list that includes my 150cc Chinese scooter, the 250 Yamaha, the 50cc Bashan mini-motorcycle and the Honda Rebel. My minivan has spent a great deal of time parked this summer while we use the two wheel fleet extensively. While fifty times doesn't sound like a lot in a work year of approximately 225 days, it's certainly a respectable showing given the usual length of a riding season here in the frosty north. The mere fact that the average motorcyclist rides about 2,500 miles a year and I've used the bunch for 1,750 miles in commuting alone is nice. I'm hoping for a showing of at least 3,000 miles in commutes. So far the fifty trips represents almost $300 in gas savings over my car and, to me at least, that's not small change.
We've been using the 50cc device with a milk crate on the back for grocery, post office and bank runs rather heavily this summer since it carries a fair amount of cargo and gets 105 mpg. None of the cars is even in the same zip code of that mileage and the mini-bike has become the weapon of choice for short trips. The new addition is a fine overall machine for commuting and has made the run to work six times since I picked it up last week. Weather permitting it will make a marathon trip to Long Island this coming weekend. I checked its fuel mileage on this last tank of fuel and it returned 72 mpg at regular cruising speeds. The 150cc Chinese scooter would only do that ridden judiciously. To say I'm pleased with the performance of the 250cc scooter would be an understatement.
With only a little more than half the summer gone it would seem that almost 100 trips to work are possible by year's end. That and the numerous trips to town will raise the fleet from a collection of toys to serious fuel saving assets in most anybody's eyes.