Cageless... been a while.

[Marthy]

It getting about this time... been looking to replace the cage for a new one. Well, I'll be keeping the Suzuki Aerio but I need to replace my wife car I sold last year. Riding the 6R 95% of the time is cool... but for those few time, a cage is necessary. I can always use the F150 from work but I hate driving a truck with passion! We file our tax last night and getting a good chunk of $$$ back!

So I have 2 options. 1- I pay off the 6R and be debt free (other than CCard) 2- I use the tax return for a good cash down on a cage.

Since I pay off the Suzuki last year I've been doubling the payment on the 6R, at that rate I should be very close to get it pay off by the end of the year. If I get the cage, I won't be able to pay double like that because of the cage payment... but I would have a cage. So I might end up with 2 payment for a while.

Here's the cages on my list

1- Kia Rio5 Hatchback, 6S M
2- Hyunday Accent Hatchback, 6S M
3- Honda Fit
4- Kia Soul

The Rio5 and Accent share the same power plan. 1.6L direct injection 138HP 30/40 MPG Both car look good. The Rio might have a slight lead because of interior design and look a bit more sporty. But the Accent have much more trunk space.

Honda Fit is a contender, but like any Honda product... They built a very good reputation back in the late 80's early 90's and kind of lost ground. Kind of over rated product but still have a hard core base follower.

Finally the Soul. It's the more practical one for the longer ride or just haul $hit to the beach.

They all within about 1G from each other...

What are your opinion on that?

 

[BoneJj]

Yep. The more I think about it, the more I think I'll try to go for as long as I can without a cage. I might update my saddlebags for waterproof ones. (Givi?) Worst case scenario all it takes is about 2 hrs or so to buy a car...

Having a bike only to drive around sound so good... in Florida.

My 6R is my only vehicle, which is fine for florida. I use it to drive to and from High School and work, and If I know it's going to rain I either borrow my brothers truck or one if my parent's cars, especially if I have to work right after school.

yeah you guys are nuts... rainy season sucks a big one down here. I always get caught in those afternoon storms, Which is fine for the most part as it rinses all the junk off the car but still, it's a royal pain in the butt. I could never be without a car or truck down here.

Here's the cages on my list
1- Kia Rio5 Hatchback, 6S M
2- Hyunday Accent Hatchback, 6S M
3- Honda Fit
4- Kia Soul

The Rio5 and Accent share the same power plan. 1.6L direct injection 138HP 30/40 MPG Both car look good. The Rio might have a slight lead because of interior design and look a bit more sporty. But the Accent have much more trunk space.

Honda Fit is a contender, but like any Honda product... They built a very good reputation back in the late 80's early 90's and kind of lost ground. Kind of over rated product but still have a hard core base follower.

Finally the Soul. It's the more practical one for the longer ride or just haul $hit to the beach.

They all within about 1G from each other...

What are your opinion on that?

I can understand wanting an economical car and all but you already have economy covered with the bike. Get something with a little balls, like a subaru WRX or something like that, maybe even a mustang. You can get over 30mpg out of the GT and they have plenty of power and the mustang can tow the bike when you like. Hell for that matter the camaro would be good as well and they get good mileage as well while still having power....

I'm just putting some thoughts out there.

 

[See red]

The hyundia elantra was made as a wagon, 30mpg's and a small wagon. bike parts fit better.

I would think any will be good for an econo box if that is what you want.

 

[Skidro]

I ride 10,000 to 14,000 miles a year...in the 20 degree days, just an extra sweatshirt, thicker gloves & my frogg toggs to knock a little wind off, and i like riding in the rain.

I like riding to work in the winter knowing people that see me are saying "look at that idiot on that motorcycle"

 

[Marthy]

yeah you guys are nuts... rainy season sucks a big one down here. I always get caught in those afternoon storms, Which is fine for the most part as it rinses all the junk off the car but still, it's a royal pain in the butt. I could never be without a car or truck down here.



I can understand wanting an economical car and all but you already have economy covered with the bike. Get something with a little balls, like a subaru WRX or something like that, maybe even a mustang. You can get over 30mpg out of the GT and they have plenty of power and the mustang can tow the bike when you like. Hell for that matter the camaro would be good as well and they get good mileage as well while still having power....

I'm just putting some thoughts out there.

Thrust me, if my wife wasn't going to school and banking about $100 a week with her part time job I will have my EVO in the garage. But I always been a big fan or sub compact cars. Most than likely my wife will end up driving the new car... and I will keep driving my 06 Suzuki Aerio. I absolutely love that ride. That torquy 2.3L doesn't get old. The engine I got to replace the other hat blew up burn a bit of oil and doesn't pull as good. Nothing that a fresh set of piton can't fix... I'll rebuild the engine one day, can't see myself getting rid of her... 132K miles of happiness!

 

[RooKie]

I had no idea there were this many of us with only our 6R. For me, I don't have a cage, but I borrow my brother's once in a while when I need to go anywhere with my son. Aside from that I'm always on my bike! Yes, the cold and rain suck, but I rather go through 30 mins of pain in the AM than filling up 20 gallons at $4.20!

 

[BoneJj]

I had no idea there were this many of us with only our 6R. For me, I don't have a cage, but I borrow my brother's once in a while when I need to go anywhere with my son. Aside from that I'm always on my bike! Yes, the cold and rain suck, but I rather go through 30 mins of pain in the AM than filling up 20 gallons at $4.20!

while I do sympathize with you guys on the gas aspect I do think you are exaggerating the issue a little, lol.

My WRX has a 12 gallon tank and I average 25mpg even with my heavy foot. So that's not nearly as bad, most modern vehicles are getting closer to the 30mpg mark and a large than expected number of vehicles get close to the 40mpg mark. The disturbing fact is that a good number of these 40mpg vehicles are not much more than the cost of a new bike, especially the fz6r.... So that being said you can still get very close to the same mileage for about the same price as a bike in a cage format, that's not bad....

If I drove like I should I would probably be getting closer to the 27 mpg range or a little higher but I just have a hard time doing that. When you have over 260 hp in a car you just want to use it..... I do need to get a programmer for my car though, it would increase my mileage and also smooth out my power band as well. I wish I could just borrow a cobb programmer from someone and upload it to my car and be done with it but I don't have that option as I don't know anyone local to me that has one.

I know they have programmers for the fit as well so it wouldn't be hard to program a fit to get a better power band and increase the mileage as well. Stock programming is always bullshit, I don't think I've ever seen a stock program on a car that was worth a damn....

On the other side of the fence though, there are the trucks and they have models that will get over 25mpg, so they aren't as bad as they used to be.

all in all the hyundai accent is still way cheaper for the base model that just about anything on the market out there.

 

[RooKie]

while I do sympathize with you guys on the gas aspect I do think you are exaggerating the issue a little, lol.

I tend to exaggerate once in a while (all the time) . About the rest of the stuff you mentioned... My ex-wife drives a 2009 Civic Hybrid and she paid close to 30k after tax and all that extra good stuff the dealerships love to charge you for. Her vehicle gets roughly around 39mpg. Is there really cars that get close to 40mpg for nearly the price of our bike??? If so that's impressive, but I still get 51.5 mpg, enough for a burger and fries at the end of the week

 

[Bloke]

I get 40+change mpg in my ford focus (uk model) when doing motorway driving.

Urban I'm down to about 35mpg average.

(car has average fuel consumption meter on it I reset every fill)

I'd say the bike does 45-50mpg on the motorway and the same 35mpg in the urban environment.

And believe me we notice petrol economy a lot more than you yanks.

At £1.50 a litre we're paying a crapton more per UK gallon than you.

Surprised a hybrid has such low economy but I guess it's down to having to lug heavy batteries around.

A VW polo bluemotion diesel is reported to get 98mpg. :/


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[Marthy]

Well, all good things comes to an end. I snap a halfshaft on Christmas day driving back from Miami. After spending most of the day on the 26th ordering parts and fixing the car (kind of pi$$ about it...) I came to the conclusion that it was time. If I was the one who ride the Suzuki all the time I would have been ok but my wife is driving the car to go to school, so the last thing I need is wondering if she is safe or not.

Since we're not running on gold these days my choice were limited. I test drove the Honda Fit. Not very impress. Like any "over rated" Honda that are still running on the reputation build in the 80's and early 90's... good car but over priced! The Fit would have been great at 12K or so... not 17K. The interior is at basic as it can get and power/acceleration wasn't impressive at all (Automatic version) And looking at it... it look budget car a bit too much.

I test drove a Ford Fiesta after that. The automatic version (dual clutch... kind of shift like manual fell) had much better acceleration. Look a bit more sporty and I just felt like I was getting a bit more for the $$$.

I know the Honda's a bullet proof but since I don't plan to drive this car for 10 years (2-3 years so my wife can drive to school in a good MPG car) We bought the Fiesta SE model with a 5 Speed manual gbox. The car has less cargo room on paper but the car feel bigger than the Fit for some reason.

The best thing... after market parts! Suspension, exhaust and few other goodies... even have a 38K rally package you can buy. I'm planning to just do the basics with a lowering kit and sway bars, cold air intake and maybe the exhaust system. I'll change tire and rims when time comes too.

I'll post pics when I get the car on the 2nd or 3rd.

 

[danieljardim]

Well, all good things comes to an end. I snap a halfshaft on Christmas day driving back from Miami. After spending most of the day on the 26th ordering parts and fixing the car (kind of pi$$ about it...) I came to the conclusion that it was time. If I was the one who ride the Suzuki all the time I would have been ok but my wife is driving the car to go to school, so the last thing I need is wondering if she is safe or not.

Since we're not running on gold these days my choice were limited. I test drove the Honda Fit. Not very impress. Like any "over rated" Honda that are still running on the reputation build in the 80's and early 90's... good car but over priced! The Fit would have been great at 12K or so... not 17K. The interior is at basic as it can get and power/acceleration wasn't impressive at all (Automatic version) And looking at it... it look budget car a bit too much.

I test drove a Ford Fiesta after that. The automatic version (dual clutch... kind of shift like manual fell) had much better acceleration. Look a bit more sporty and I just felt like I was getting a bit more for the $$$.

I know the Honda's a bullet proof but since I don't plan to drive this car for 10 years (2-3 years so my wife can drive to school in a good MPG car) We bought the Fiesta SE model with a 5 Speed manual gbox. The car has less cargo room on paper but the car feel bigger than the Fit for some reason.

The best thing... after market parts! Suspension, exhaust and few other goodies... even have a 38K rally package you can buy. I'm planning to just do the basics with a lowering kit and sway bars, cold air intake and maybe the exhaust system. I'll change tire and rims when time comes too.

I'll post pics when I get the car on the 2nd or 3rd.

Good pick.. Fiestas are very reliable so far.. No problems at all here at the dealer. Only problem is the dual clutch. People don't know the difference and think the trans is busted.

 

[Marthy]

Thanks for the feed back. I never own a Ford in the past other than my old early 80's Escort... and that wasn't a good experience. I know they improve a lot over the years maybe because of there partnership with Mazda.

They give me $2500.00 for the Zuki (147K miles) + a $2500.00 rebate and I dump another $2500.00 cash from the college fund (that I need to find a way to replace later on ) So finance only 11K on 6 years for about $180.00 a month. All I wanted is a small monthly payment for now, most than likely I will pay it off within 3 years. I just need the extra cash flow until my wife finish school. Ah, my insurance goes down $40.00 a year with the new car... all that with getting nail with 3 fines this year, go figure??? Freaking insurance...LOL

I'll post pic of the car later on this week when we get it.

 

[bleedinblue]

I feel your joy Marthy.I paid my truck off 2 years ago, and I refuse to sign up for another payment that expensive.My truck needs a new front end (5 years of super swampers vibrating), I don't have the spare cash to make it safe right now, I haven't driven my truck since last year.Im to the point that I forget I own a truck unless I can see it lol.

But it really sucked the past week with the snow.I had to shovel a path from the patio, all the way around my house just to get on the driveway.I miss my 4x4 this week.

 

[tlsollen]

Cageless in Florida? Must be nice Been cageless in Pennsylvania for almost two years and luvin' it!! Do have the fiance's car if there's snow laying on the road, so that's helpful sometimes.