Benefits of Switching from Car to Motorcycle

Trying to convince your significant other to let you switch out your old car for a motorcycle? Here are six reasons you can throw at them for ditching the four wheels and going bike all the way.

Your Health Will Improve

Riding a motorcycle has been shown to burn more calories than driving a car. A 200-pound man will burn around 50 more calories per hour if he’s on a motorcycle than if he were in a car. If you’re riding multiple hours per day, this is as good as a workout if you’re trying to lose weight. Riding hard can have cardiovascular benefits too.

Just as importantly, your mental health will improve. Riding a motorcycle can result in a somewhat zen-like state coming from being out in the great outdoors mixed with the endorphins and adrenaline your body will pour out when you’re riding hard. You’ll ultimately find yourself a calmer, more grounded person who is less quick to anger, and better mental health is a fast track to better physical health.

The Daily Commute is a Breeze

Getting to work on two wheels takes most of the drudgery out of commuting. Depending on what part of the world you live in, lane splitting or filtering may or may not be legal. That said, a motorcycle is infinitely more maneuverable than an automobile, so you’ll typically be able to get to work sooner and not be stuck honking a horn for half of the day.

Other benefits of using a motorcycle for your daily commute (check out our piece on how to commute on a motorcycle for a full list of helpful tips) spring to mind, such as reduced cost. A motorcycle will generally offer you around 85 miles to the gallon, four times what you’ll get in a standard gas sedan. Basic maintenance will be cheaper too, so you’ll be saving all the time compared to your four-wheel driving colleagues. You’ll also find it a dash easier to find a parking spot than they will, too.

Motorcycles are Environmentally Friendly

That fuel economy doesn’t just result in massive savings for you, it’s also much better for the environment. Choose any modern bike, avoiding any old two-stroke, and you’ll have a machine that has to conform to strict environmental standards. You won’t be sitting idle for long on a bike too, so your engine will be releasing fewer harmful gases in the air. You can even choose an electric motorcycle for the ultimate in cost-cutting and environment saving smugness.

You’ll Be Part of a New Community

Not to get all wishy-washy with you, but the motorcyclist community is a brotherhood. Drive around the country and you’ll be greeted by friendly waves and invited into the inner circle wherever you go. You’ll find yourself surrounded by new people who love life and live it to the max, and you’ll begin interacting with people from backgrounds you never would have before crossed paths with. Try doing that driving a Toyota Corolla. Whether you choose a Harley Davidson motorcycle, or any other bike, you’ll learn so much from these people and them from you, and you’ll make lifetime friends in the process.

You’ll Feel Connected to the World on your Motorcycle

When sitting in a car you’re insulated from the world; in your own bubble. You can watch it through the glass, but it’s always off at arm’s reach. It’s like watching the world on the TV. You often just daydream while sitting in traffic, and days merge into each other without much to tell them apart.

On a motorcycle, you feel alive again with all your senses bombarding you with the scene at hand. You’re no longer blocking out the world – you feel it, see it, hear it, smell it. You’re seeing the world as it is instead of peering at it through a veil. This can be awesome and makes you feel alive, and it’s an underlooked benefit of getting yourself onto two wheels each day.

You’ll Be Better on the Roads

There is a feeling of excitement and adrenaline when riding a motorcycle that even the sportiest car can’t compete with. You’re so much more in touch with the road and your surroundings on a motorcycle that it’s downright fun to make that next corner or ride up a winding hill.

We don’t advocate riding dangerously, but you don’t need to break laws to have a satisfying ride each time you go out. Gaining confidence in your own abilities on your bike is a thrill, and the feeling of fun one gets from riding a bike is perhaps the main reason that people choose two wheels over four. However, we hope that the above points have made it clear that there’s more than just the benefit of unbridled fun to make you choose a motorcycle over a car.