If any of you guys are like me, you have a decent commute to work...mines about 25 miles one way....and I'm on the highway for most of it....I started drafting trucks and/or cb's mama on a motorcycle as a way to cut down on my grand cherokees $240/month gas bill...i'm just curious if any of you other guys use this for lessing the burden of gas as of late...
I don't think ass packing an innocent truck driver is a good trade-off for fuel savings, so I don't do it. Remember, even if you can stop in time, your created-by-your-unsafe-following-distance panic stop might result in someone ass packing you. Get a small car for commuting. I'm driving an 01 Hyundai Accent to work right now...gets about 34mpg, and they are available on Ebay for about $2k...cheaper for an older one. The difference in fuel use betwen my van and the car would easily pay for the car in under a year.
what is your deductible for when you ass pack a semi at 70mph? subtract that from the $2 you might save a month. If you really want to save gas, slow down.
If you are not carefull one of the truckers is going to get pissed off and jam on his brakes. If that happens trying to save on a $240 gas bill could cost you 10x or more in repair bills. If you can not see a truckers mirrors you are to close. Give those guys a brake, they are just out doing a job and do not need to worry about johnny nascar drafting them. What sucks for them is if there is an accident they are always the ones to blame, and will be hounded by the police when the inspect every bolt on that truck.
I can follow a bike at 140 mph with a bike length or two between us...but 30 feet behind a 25 ton semi that stops like a train...i'll ass pack? I was testing this theory in our recent trip to savannah...it went from saying we were using 18-19 mpg to 23-25 mpg...
That's what a cb is for - Most of the time they'll tell me to jump on board and they'll warn me if anything is coming up i should be aware of
Question: When you are drafting on the track, you're not expecting a retread to come loose or someone in front of the bike you are drafting to cut speed, right?
Please do not be a dumbass. You have a pretty good idea when that race bike is going to brake, snuggled in behind a truck you can not see anything in front of him.
Not unless is see they are running dunlops I'll keep an eye on their chain every now and again too...I see your point talbott...but i've hit full blown tires before on the highway from truckers in the middle of an evasive swerve....i was all by myself and at night...when you are following in close proximity to a truck...your mind doesn't tend to wander...and you stay fixed on what the truck in front of you is doing...it's one of the reasons the autobahn in germany actually has a lower death rate per miles traveled than the 70mph limited highways of the US...are you more focused on your driving when you are going 150mph or 65 cruising down the highway eating a spicy chicken burrito and talking on your cell phone?
The guy on the CB lets me know if anything, like a traffic jam is coming up...and I can still see around the truck...there aren't really a lot of long straights here for highways...it's mostly curvy...and you can see around trucks very easily... And this isn't just me...i know of people on this board who haul big ass trailers who do it to save gas going to/from races...and it works
Don't think so. I think the autobahn would have a lower death rate due to how much time and money it cost for a German to get his license.
You can try to "reason" your way around this all you want but you know for a fact that it is a stupid and dangerous thing to do or else you would have not even asked the question.
I feel like tailgating is rude, unnecessary, and unsafe. I can understand wanting to get better gas mileage, but I don't feel that this is an adequate justification for ignoring the above opinions. thane ps. though I run the certain risk of many fine folks, I giggle on the inside when I think of the extra burden image-driven SUV drivers now face, gas-wise. pps. those that tow large trailers are obviously exempt from said giggling.
All right, college boy. Do some math for me. 25 mile trip. Car A averages 22 mpg. Car B averages 18 mpg. Gas costs 2.10 a gallon. Cost for Car A to make the trip and for Car B to make the trip.
That is part of it, but your concentration level is also much higher...i think they higher safety standards for there cars too if i am not mistaken...i think it should be a heck of a lot harder to get a license in the US than it is...it may also help insurance rates...i remember when i got my license...had to do 6 hours of riding with an instructor who had a big bucket of kfc in his lap for 4...1st time out...he takes me out on the beltway around the inner city at night time...only other time i'd driven was in a parking lot...yeah...that was fun...
In the ideal situation i get about an extra 5-7 mpg...and it's easier on my engine...i'll save about $10-12 per tank...or about $50 a month --->$600/year
