Mathematically they’re equivalent, but the feelings could not be further apart.
Motorcycle emissions standards are incredibly lax by today’s standards when compared to cars. That Prius just might be releasing less toxic substances than your motorcycle - while being able to cart around more people and stuff.
This is very true, even newer bikes that have more modern emissions are still generally exempt from the same standards as any car.
That being said if you have a high traffic commute it would still be faster for you to use a bike as well as better for everyone else in traffic so pros and cons.
Fortnine has a video that touches on the emissions/trying to be green and riding a motorcycle. The fact is most bikes not made within the last 10 years (and some that are) are carbureted and have little if any emissions control. Sure that Yamaha vstar250 might get 80mpg but that has more to do with having a smaller engine than a lawnmower than it does any modern engineering.
E-motorcycles really are best of both worlds. Small, mobile, and more energy efficient. Plus high torque means it feels powerful. They were available on market several years ago - I remember seeing a Wired piece on one.
They’re very cool but the problem is aero. To build an ev-bike that’s fast enough to be a motorcycle you run into a lot of drag. Ebikes that still go pretty fast but still technically are a bicycle fit this gap nicely.
Another issue is price though. To do my current commute via electric motorcycle id probably need to buy the HD Live Wire Del Mar, which if I remember correctly is about 17k. Do you know what else was 17k? My electric Fiat 500e which is what I generally use to do my commute. On the other end of the scale is pricing for ebikes which isn’t that bad and does start around the 500-800 but can easily get into the tens of thousands of dollars for some very high end options.
While I see there’s a lot of people here that disagree with me on motorcycles being just fine for commuting, it’s important to recognize that not every task needs a car. Motorcycles are not the cleanest way to get around but they do overall have less impact. Sure you can off-road in a Cadillac Escalade, but how much will that tear the trail up compared to my 450lb klr650? You might be able to fit 6 months groceries in the back but you also need to park in the back to find a spot. Sure you can haul 8 people but how often is it just 1?
Finally, they’re fun AF.
That Prius, just by being manufactured, had an incredibly toxic environmental impact that it would take a motorcycle hundreds of thousands of miles to equal. Lithium battery manufacture is hell on the environment.
Most Prius have NiMH batteries, only recently they switched to lithium.
But also need to consider that oil extraction, refining and transportation is not easy on the environment
Oil processing is definitely bad for the environment, but think for a moment about the scales. Just in raw materials, ignoring the massive impact of battery manufacture alone, the average motorcycle weighs less than 600 pounds. The Prius weighs about six times that. That means six times the amount of shipping, forming, refining, finishing, et cetera…
The Prius still has an internal combustion engine that burns gasoline, and requires a significant amount of rare-earth minerals for the construction of its catalytic converter. Most motorcycles now have catalytic converters, but they are smaller and thus the environment suffers less damage per vehicle.
I agree that a Prius will burn cleaner while running than probably any motorcycle – but the total amount of damage done just by being built has to be a whole lot more than almost any motorcycle and it can’t be close.
living to the fullest
Until, abruptly, you aren’t.
Just assume you are invisible and that all the other vehicles will do the worst likely thing, and you might be alright.
When I rode I went beyond being invisible to just imagining they are all actively targeting me, and making sure I didn’t give them a chance.
Same with my state. Also with voter registration update reminders. Oregon really takes its voting seriously.
Probably because of a shitty driver or tesla autopilot: https://youtu.be/yRdzIs4FJJg?si=0Px9muIop5hXKBcC
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/yRdzIs4FJJg?si=0Px9muIop5hXKBcC
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
If you ride motorcycles: please be an organ donor.
Good, there is a serious shortage of donor organs.
Plus think of all the groceries you’ll haul on that motorcycle. The savings are endless!
I can haul about the same amount of groceries on my bike/partner’s scoot as our car…which tbf is a fiat 500 but nonetheless I can easily get a weeks groceries on a bike.
Love the down votes lol, you may disagree with me but facts are facts.
That doesn’t incorporate the hassle factor. Even if you can, it’s a lot more hassle
It just isn’t, I can quickly and easily park my bike in basically any spot. If I know I’m not buying a lot I’ll just bring a backpack and put my groceries in there as I checkout and if not I probably brought the scooter which has the same trunk as a small car.
I don’t have to fuss about in traffic, look for a spot, or try to turn my car around in my tiny neighborhood. (Not the fiat…I do own one of those oversized American cars that’s literally 18.5 ft long because it was cheap)
But hey maybe I’m just dead wrong, give a bicycle a try. (If possible I recognize not many north American places are bicycle friendly) try getting some groceries on a bicycle. You might actually enjoy the benefits, yes it’ll be tough the first time and likely even the fifth…but you might come to enjoy it.
It is not. I have a sport touring bike with large panniers. They carry enough where I rarely use a backpack for my shopping trips they also detach with a simple key turn and have handles so they act like luggage which means i can carry all the groceries in in one simple trip without doing the stacking thing.
