How To Be An Environmentally Responsible Motorcycle Owner
Whether you own a custom chopper, custom motorcycle, or a regular street bike, owning and riding a motorcycle is environmentally responsible. Yes, compared to SUV’s and large automobiles, choosing to ride your motorcycle whenever possible really does contribute to helping save resources. Just think about it…
Riding a motorcycle uses a lot less gasoline than driving an automobile. The tank is smaller for a very good reason: the miles per gallon are much higher. You can go a long way on a small tank of gas while the same amount of fuel in a car will not go nearly as far. The Harley Davidson 2007 Sportster estimates highway mileage at approximately 57 miles to the gallon and around 42 mpg in town. There are no cars available yet which meet these high miles per gallon ratings although some are in development which may stretch fuel further or use alternate fuels.
Rubber resource usage is significantly reduced. When your motorcycle tires wear down, you go buy two tires. Sure the back tire may be as wide as a car tire, but the front tire is narrow and this reduces the use of rubber by over one-half. As long as your old tires are eventually recycled, after being kept for spares for a while perhaps, your contribution to saving rubber is significant.
Many models of choppers and regular motorcycles used to be known for their oil leaks. Today, that problem has been resolved long ago and today’s bikes don’t leak oil constantly if maintained properly. Again, using the Harley Sportster as an example, filling the oil system to capacity requires only a bit over three quarts of oil. Not all choppers and motorycles use the same amount of oil but they usually take less than 4 quarts. Automobiles require four quarts or, in some cases, five quarts to reach capacity. As long as the used motor oil is proper recycled, the use of oil is less than that of cars.
Bikers purchase, traditionally, leather apparel as riding gear. Since leather is a by-product of the beef used for food, using the products which might not otherwise be utilized is responsible. Sure, the animal right activists may not appreciate the wearing of leather but in the case of bikers, there is a real, logical purpose other than simply trying to look cool. It acts as protection against road rash should the motorcycle be laid down on the road. It is a very real safety measure. What those who say that wearing leather is not responsible do not realize is that people are still turning to beef for food and as long as that happens, using all the parts, such as the skin which creates those leather jackets, boots, and chaps, is preventing waste. There is nothing that will provide the protection which leather offers should you find yourself skidding across asphalt or another rough surface. Sure, it looks awfully cool too, but that is not what it is all about; it is all about safety. And frankly, bikers buy saddle bags, a few leather accessories, boots, and do not purchase huge collections of purses and other leather accessories as do many non-bikers. After all, who ever sees a really gorgeous, hot biker lady riding with a different bag every day or even every week or two? It just doesn’t happen. As bikers, we use our leather products until they are worn out.
Smaller engines emit less exhaust into the atmosphere, contributing to less global warming. The exhaust from cars is much greater. Sure, bikers love loud exhaust pipes because we need to be heard by those car drivers on the road, but that doesn’t mean that the exhaust does not meet environmental standards, especially with newer models.
There is a lot less metal and other resources used in building a motorcycle simply because of the smaller engine, smaller size, and reduced metal footprint. It requires a lot of resources to build a big automobile body and interior while motorcycles require so little to build their bodies, engines, seats, and other parts.
It just makes sense for owners of custom choppers and motorcycles to consider themselves environmentally responsible every time they get on their bike instead of in their car to go somewhere. Sure, when you take the kids along, you have to use a car, but when you can, ride your motorcycle to do errands, take vacations, and just ride for fun.