Colorado Mesa University is a car-loving university. We have nearly, if not more, parking spots per student than schools twice our size. Students here like their cars. But, have you ever stopped to consider the, arguably, better-for-students transportation of a motorcycle?
There are a lot of reasons to ride a motorcycle, like getting to feel like Steve McQueen as you run errands, and a lot of reasons to not, like trunk space, or rather, its non-existence, but these are a few key ones.
Cost
Perhaps the reason most compelling to cash-strapped students is just how cheap it is to ride a motorcycle instead of a car.
Motorcycles are significantly less expensive than cars. A brand new 2017 Honda Rebel 500, a fantastic beginner bike, fresh of the assembly line will still only cost about $6,500 MSRP compared to even the cheapest brand new car, easily more than $18,000. However, the majority of starting riders don’t buy new and it is not difficult to find a used motorcycle, still in great daily-riding condition, for less than two grand. A car in that price range, chances are, won’t even run.
Unfortunately, unlike a car, you can’t expect to just jump on the first bike you find and ride off into the sunset, you are going to need safety gear. A set of solid mid-range essentials, helmet, jacket, gloves, pants and boots, will quickly set you back another $500. Not too bad though.
Insurance
In addition to being more inexpensive to purchase, motorcycles are also shockingly economical to own. Even a college student with a couple speeding tickets can get insured to ride a fairly new bike for less than $350 per year, that’s right, per year. That’s probably less money than your cell phone bill costs.
Fuel Economy
By the way, you know that monthly gas budget? Forget about it. Most modern motorcycles and the smaller older ones get between 60 and 100 mpg, even the Toyota Prius can’t beat that. Fuel economy like that means you will not only be spending less on fossil fuels but burning less of them on your commuting. Mother Earth prefers motorcycles.
All of this means that for three grand you have not only a solid bike and set of gear but a year’s worth of insurance and gas. Pretty good for transportation, most people pay that much for just gas and insurance on a car. In fact, if you sold your car and bought a motorcycle you could have just enough left over for a year of rent.
Parking
Are you having trouble finding good parking for your car on campus or anywhere? Not a problem with a motorcycle. CMU’s motorcycle parking spaces always have several empty and they are often right next to the main buildings. As a bonus, a motorcycle parking pass costs only $10 a semester. Did that idiot park over the line at the mall? No worries, you can fit anywhere on a motorcycle.
Freedom (but with it, danger)
The final key compelling reason to switch to two wheels is the incredible freedom. It doesn’t matter whether you are a guy or girl, tall or short, Californian or Canadian there is simply nothing like riding a motorcycle. The best way to explain it is to imagine the rush, excitement and pleasure one feels skiing or snowboarding and imagine you get to do that on your commute to school or work.
However, this freedom is also the core of why most people don’t ride. You cannot experience the freedom of riding a motorcycle without exposing yourself to other outside forces like danger and weather.
Though Grand Junction is a very mild and dry climate, nevertheless, there are still days every year that could keep a rider from making it to class. However, those days are few and far between and, with the constant improvements in rider tech, growing fewer and farther.
As for the danger, while one could point out that according to the Department of Transportation more than half of the fatal motorcycle accidents involve intoxicated riders and riders not wearing the proper gear, there is simply no way of getting around it; riding a motorcycle is inherently dangerous, much like skiing.
There are ways to keep the risk down though. According to the DOT, “by wearing the proper gear, not riding intoxicated and taking the short two-day Motorcycle Safety Foundation rider course a rider can reduce their risk of an accident by as much as eighty percent.” Doing these simple things would mean that a rider could be less likely to be involved in an accident than the average driver on the road.
So many more reasons to ride exist but the facts are, because of its cost and convenience, riding a motorcycle instead of driving a car just makes more sense for college students, plus it’s fun. What are you waiting for? Shed those expensive and boring four wheels for the much better two wheels of a motorcycle.
