The Oil Drum | Peak Oil Media: Matt Simmons gets more pessimistic on CNBC, Heinberg, and others...

394 comments on Peak Oil Media: Matt Simmons gets more pessimistic on CNBC, Heinberg, and others...

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

| Show without comments | PDF version

Joe Average on July 12, 2008 - 11:39pm

At least half my research time (which isn't much) is spent here, asking simple questions on a subject that's a little daunting afterall - indeed, it seems a heck of lot more urgent to my kid's immediate future than recent discussions on climate change.

For the most part, I've been delighted with the replies here, which are often in great detail. And I do agree with you, Robin on the rating thing TOD is trialling and would rather see a "snap-to" function somewhere, so I can easily find any responses to my Average Joe questions (some stories generate 400+ comments).

Regards, Matt B
PS. Does anyone think buying a cheap, road-worthy motorbike from China at the moment is a bad thing? (Passed my learner's last week).

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

Aniya on July 13, 2008 - 2:26am

Hi Joe,

Just thought I'd say Hi, though it's OT. I'm glad to see you here and asking questions.

My bias on motorized bikes is that of people I've known personally, I've never known a motor-biker who was not involved in a serious crash. But that's just my own observation. Anyway, do be careful.

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

Joe Average on July 13, 2008 - 4:54am

Giddaye Aniya,

You sound like my mum, my sister, my wife (and her mum and sister), neighbours wives and all the ladies at the local tennis courts!

:+)

I live in an area where backstreets and 40 to 50 km/hr limits abound. To that end, I work from home, so the licence is mainly for local errands. And I'm 42, so should have a bit of sense out there... Besides, if current trends continue, ten years from now cars and trucks may be few and far between (which may not be a bad thing).

Regards, Matt B
PS. Testing for their motorbike license last week (ten in our group) were: Dad and I, two ladies in their early sixties, one lass mid-twenties, another mid-thirties, a fellow my age, another slightly younger and two 18-year-old lads. Guess which two failed the prac test? Hint: Young male testosterone!

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

hugho on July 13, 2008 - 12:45pm

Good question Joe. Don't buy Chinese anything by the way. Buy local. It is dangerous to ride motorcycles but it has provided me with a lucrative living for a long time. I am a physician who works in the operating room and the bulk of our organ donors are young male motorcycle riders so if more people buy cycles and motorbikes we will have a lot more hearts and kidneys and livers for the market. Interestingly not that many victims are bicyclists and our real growth business seems to be bullet bikers. Get a bicycle Joe and keep your organs for your own use.

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

greenish on July 14, 2008 - 1:39am

My brother notes that in his town they're unofficially called "donorcycles". Good to keep in mind.

The real danger, of course, is the dang cars that'll kill you. I had an old italian motorcycle in my teen years and by staying away from traffic, never had even a close call. I'm actively looking to buy one in the 125-250cc range just to park in the garage for future use during gasoline scarcity... then I'd look forward to rationing.

The problem with motorcycles is cars.

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

notintodenial on July 14, 2008 - 9:07pm

Greenish, my experiences exactly.

As a young man I owned a motorcycle in a rural area and also never had even a close call. When I moved to the big city, I gave it up because car drivers just didn't pay attention (and this was BEFORE cellphones!).

And I too am shopping for a simple 4-stroke bike to store away till most of the cars are off the streets...

Errol in Miami

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

tonyw on July 13, 2008 - 1:08pm

Hi Joe,

Caveat - I'm a cyclist not a motorbiker but have lots of friends who also ride motorbikes and scooters in and around London and on race tracks. First i would say get yourself some good gear, when (not if) you come off then jeans just get cut through immediately and so does your skin, don't skimp on a helmet how much is your head worth? Some of my friends have come off at well over 100 mph and just got up because they were wearing good kit and didn't hit anything. Next, look ahead and ride defensively, if a car hits you it will hurt you more and it doesn't matter if it's not your fault it still hurts. Try and watch out for parked cars opening their doors without looking.

Good luck.

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

fordprefect on July 13, 2008 - 8:25pm

Hey joe. I ride a Lifan 200 cc enduro. It's a cheap chinese knockof of a honda bike. They are NOT low maintenance. The chinese bikes are constantly in need of low-level repairs, however, at least in the case of a lifan, the engines and transmissions are good, and the bike gets 80+mpg.

I have wrecked it many times off-road, but never had a problem on-road, nor have almost any of my many friends that ride. Frankly, most of the bike wrecks are horsepower on the brain rather than inherent to motorcycles. Yes, if you drive at 120mph, you gonna die. But how many reasonable car drivers do you know that have never wrecked? How do the motorcycle statistics compare to say... ferraris driven by 22 year olds? I'd be a little hesitant to ride much in dense traffic, having tried that for a while before.

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

LarryWalker on July 13, 2008 - 10:05am

Matt:

It's a bad thing if it's a two-stroke: loud and smelly, two-strokes are highly polluting!

Also, be sure to seek out and and take a training class before becoming a regular rider, even (especially) if it means taking a class intended for "real" motorcycles. Two-wheeled motorized vehicles have some counter-intuitive characteristics, which mean that your years of driving cars and bicycles are likely to cause you to do exactly the wrong things! Motorcycle training classes are easy and enjoyable and will give you a new set of motor-skills that are likely to save your life...

Larry

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

john milton on July 13, 2008 - 10:10pm

PS. Does anyone think buying a cheap, road-worthy motorbike from China at the moment is a bad thing? (Passed my learner's last week).

In general I'd say yes it's a bad thing.

Spend a little bit more for a Honda, Yamaha, or Suzuki (we could add Vespa and Aprila to the list if you are considering a scooter) even if it means buying a used bike rather than new, and you won't have to worry about build quality, reliability, or parts availability issues and the bike will hold it's resale value much better, plus if it already has a scratch or two you won't cry so much the first time you drop it, which most new riders do sometime in the first year or so. There are buckets full of low mileage nearly new bikes out there, the best value and you'll have lots of choice.

Things not to "try at home", shows a lot about what wearing all the gear will let you walk away from...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8oGW8c2vTA&feature=related
and just plain fun too :-)

Congrats and enjoy the ride!
Ride safe!

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

Joe Average on July 14, 2008 - 12:40am

Thanks John (and to all others above). I very much appreciate the advice.

Perhaps I'll regret it, but...

Bought the Chinese bike this morning; 150cc, $2,490(Aus) ride away. The thinking; twelve months of 40, 50, 60km/hr backstreets, off-peak, for local errands only, upgrade to a brand-name bike after that. Petrol saved by this time next year (versus not using the Aussie-built VY); 220 litres, or around $340(Aus) - based on a mere 2000km.

I promise to be careful.

Regards, Matt B
Now, I'm off to arrange those bunches of flowers I just picked up for the wife...

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

GauharJK on July 14, 2008 - 4:18am

Buying a Motorcycle? Thats a great idea... Indian and Chinese Motorbikes are strong, ruff-&-tuff, and snappy. An average 200cc bike will easily give a 150+ miles per gallon. I suggest "Pulsar DTSi 200"

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

Richard on July 14, 2008 - 6:54am

GauharJK,

150+ mpg is a bit much I think. A 200 cc bike would do somewhere between 50-75 mpg.

Still much better than the average car, but not that good.

btw, a normal car that does better than 50 mpg can be bought now. No hybrid, just an ordinary ICE.

This one does somewhere between 50mpg and 60mpg. The secret is: It weights only 720 kg and has a 1 liter 3 cylinder engine.

Comments can no longer be added to this story.

GauharJK on July 14, 2008 - 10:55am

Thats very interesting... :) Cars are very important for the way of life to continue in some way. My parents are getting old, and they may not be able to drive a two-wheeler in a decade.

Generally, my 125cc bike (Bajaj XCD 125) gives a mileage of about 85 kilometers per liter, so I believe a 200cc bike would give arund 60 kmpl.