Passes & Canyons Blog

My only remaining bike, this 2006 Suzuki V-Strom 650.

Every year I total up all my motorcycle mileage and compare it to my car mileage, but this year is radically different than any previous year. Two years ago I had three bikes and one car. A year ago I had two bikes and a car. This year I have one bike and a car. Plus, it was a decidedly not-normal year. I knew all mileage was going to be low this year because there was a four-month period when I was under doctor’s orders not to drive.

The last time I put more miles on my car than on my bikes was 2014. Since then I have frequently put more miles on a single bike than on my car. Before I did the math I suspected I might have put more on the car this year. I totaled the V-Strom miles and it came to just 2,605. I checked the car and it had added 2,858 miles in the last 12 months. Dang.

But then I remembered. My Honda CB750 got smashed in June but I rode it at least six times–at least once a month–before that happened. How many miles did I put on it? I don’t know because when I went to visit it in the tow yard I did not think to check the odometer. But at least six rides? Just for a round number I’m going to guess 50 miles each, coming to 300. Add that to the V-Strom miles and you get 2,905. So that just slips past the car’s 2,858. Did it again! I guess.

I’ll tell you one thing, I intend to blast way past that number in 2026. I missed the whole summer riding season last year and I intend to make up for that. And who knows, maybe come this time next year I’ll be listing the mileage on two bikes again. For now that is a total unknown, but it could happen. We’ll see.

Biker Quote for Today

The world is a book, and bikers read the best chapters.

It was rides like this one with the RMMRC that put all those miles on my V-Strom in 2023.

I noted down the odometer readings on my vehicles on December 31 once I knew I wasn’t going anywhere else that day. Once again, as has been the case every year for quite a few years, I put a lot more miles on my three motorcycles than I did on my car. In fact, once again, I put more miles on one particular bike than I did on the car.

My mileage on the car was up about 500 miles last year, all the way to 3,062. That compares to 2,506 in 2022. But I put 3,940 miles on the V-Strom, which was 74 miles more than the previous year. That’s the third time the Suzuki has gone more miles than the car.

It used to be that the Concours was the bike that out-distanced the car, often by a heck of a lot. For instance, in 2010 the Concours to Elantra numbers were 10,004 and 5,581. In 2011 they were 6,875 and 3,556. In 2012 they were 9,437 and 5,061. But now apparently I ride the V-Strom more.

In fact, my Concours number was only 1,849 in 2023, compared to 2,354 in 2022. Part of that had to do with it being out of commission after overheating up by the Eisenhower Tunnel coming home from the OFMC trip. It was nearly two months before that bike was rideable again.

I know I’m not going to get big numbers on my CB750 so my target each year is to put at least 1,000 miles on it. Once again I was unsuccessful. I only racked up 672 miles on that bike in 2023, which was down from the 729 miles in 2022. I try to favor that bike for that very reason but I guess I just don’t do it enough. A new year’s resolution I’ll try once again to keep.

Altogether in 2023 I put 6,461 miles on my bikes. This is down a bit from the previous year, when I rode them 6,949. My total mileage on all four vehicles for 2023 was 9,523 compared to 9,455 in 2022. Are most people as consistent as I am?

Biker Quote for Today

Distance is just a number when you ride a bike.