Fuel economy of modern scooters - auto vs manual

[ATF]

A bit late, moved on over to the Bikes in Thailand forum.

Should be moved to the Noodles have increased by 5 baht forum. 555555

[tingtongfarang]

I have 3 bikes, cbr250r, honda wave z manual clutch, and quite a newish honda click i aquired some weeks ago,

I was happy with the click in as much as easy to ride around the city and quite good at weaving through the traffic, but compared to the cbr or the wave its its a gas guzzler,

Most annoying is how often i have to fill the tank not so much the cost.

[ClareQuilty]

The autos do cost more to run fuel-wise, but where they really hit your pocketbook is in repairs and breakdowns - figure twice as many repairs at twice the cost for each repair as your auto gets older compared to older clutch or clutchless bikes.

[jackcorbett]

The autos do cost more to run fuel-wise, but where they really hit your pocketbook is in repairs and breakdowns - figure twice as many repairs at twice the cost for each repair as your auto gets older compared to older clutch or clutchless bikes.

I know. It's terrible. My Elegance is getting very expensive to operate. The other day I had to replace a bulb in the headlight. Cost 40 baht. Five years old now. I think I'll go out and buy something else before I have to replace a belt in the next five years for 800 baht.

Edited July 23, 2014 by jackcorbett

[tingtongfarang]

With full automatic i dont feel i have complete control of the bike, for instance going down the helter skelter car park ramps means free wheeling and being on the brakes,

My biggest hate with them is having to stop and fill the tank so often, these thai guys who stop and put 20bht in must be doing it hourly.

[ttakata]

I see many automatic taxi bikes in BKK, maybe on par with the chain drives.

I imagine the difference isn't astronomical or the added convenience is worth the extra gas costs.

[ClareQuilty]

The autos... where they really hit your pocketbook is in repairs and breakdowns - figure twice as many repairs at twice the cost for each repair as your auto gets older compared to older clutch or clutchless bikes.

I know. It's terrible. My Elegance is getting very expensive to operate. The other day I had to replace a bulb in the headlight. Cost 40 baht. Five years old now. I think I'll go out and buy something else before I have to replace a belt in the next five years for 800 baht.

Well five years old is practically a new bike. When it is 10-20 years old like my reliable old two strokes, let me know..

Not to be difficult, but the necessity of rebuilds is - according to mechanics I talk to - much more frequent on automatics than 'regular bikes', even with the same engine. Something to do with the way the engine is boxed up in a compartment with poor ventilation and made to run very fast all the time- leads to hotter, more wearing operation.

For example the old 110 Waves frequently ran 100-120k kilometers without rebuild, but a Click with virtually the same engine will often need rebuilding after 30-50,000 kilometers.. the difference between a regular Yamaha and a Mio/Fino is somewhat less marked, but still very significant - most Mios I've had have needed a rebuild at about 60-70k, while Sparks last quite a bit longer.

[brfsa2]

automatic scooters also dont have neutral (above 10km/h anyways), it will engine brake all the time and use more gas.

I agree with tingtong farang here: refilling the tank evey other day is really annoying.

for example the honda click has 3.5 liter tank, having to refil every 100Km is really annoying and time wasting.

a full tank on a Wave 110 can go 200KM+

I usually reach 320-340KM with a full tank on my CB500

[AnotherOneAmerican]

automatic scooters also dont have neutral (above 10km/h anyways), it will engine brake all the time and use more gas.

I agree with tingtong farang here: refilling the tank evey other day is really annoying.

for example the honda click has 3.5 liter tank, having to refil every 100Km is really annoying and time wasting.

a full tank on a Wave 110 can go 200KM+

I usually reach 320-340KM with a full tank on my CB500

Click 125 has 5.5l tank.

[jackcorbett]

automatic scooters also dont have neutral (above 10km/h anyways), it will engine brake all the time and use more gas.

I agree with tingtong farang here: refilling the tank evey other day is really annoying.

for example the honda click has 3.5 liter tank, having to refil every 100Km is really annoying and time wasting.

a full tank on a Wave 110 can go 200KM+

I usually reach 320-340KM with a full tank on my CB500

Click 125 has 5.5l tank.

That it has, and I have done road tests on a Click rental that prove it will get over 50 kpl on the highway. That's a range of better than 275 kilometers. So much for filling them up all the time, at least the new ones. But I recall the Click 110 I rented in Krabi a few years ago having a much smaller tank. But none of them handle well.

[seedy]

Life expectancy for any machine depends on how it is used and how often it is serviced.

Accepted as given that someone competent is doing the work.

Engines which run at a steady load and rpm can last many thousands of hours - witness diesel gensets.

CVT transmissions in auto scooters is a proven technology, no reason they will not last many thousands of KM.

In theory the engines should last longer, as they run under load at or near their torque peak.

Comparing the manual shift scooters and the CVT scooter is an apples and oranges thing.