Commuters Opt For Frugal Lane

Washington Area Residents Increasingly Turn to Motorcycles to Save Gas and Time

Long associated with counterculture, risk and rebellion, the motorcycle is being embraced by a growing contingent of Washington area drivers for, of all things, its practical benefits: high gas mileage and a speedier commute courtesy of the region's HOV lanes.

They're such riders as Chris Watson, an information technology worker from Alexandria who commutes by motorcycle to his job at a D.C. nonprofit organization.

"As soon as [gas] hit about $3.50, it was no longer really affordable," said Watson, 27, who recently bought a 2002 Kawasaki KLR650 for $2,600, took a rider training course and started commuting via motorcycle two weeks ago. He gets to work in as little as 15 minutes, compared with the hour it could take in his 17-miles-per-gallon Jeep Liberty, thanks to the HOV lanes on Interstate 395. His bike gets about 50 mpg.

"I love it," Watson said.

It's a long way from the image of rebel bikers rolling into town on growling speed machines branded into the American consciousness by such outlaw films as "The Wild One" and "Easy Rider" and by the bone-crushing stunts of Evil Knievel.

But as commuters seek relief from rising fuel costs and worsening congestion, what might have seemed like a foolish risk of youth -- braving highway and rush-hour traffic on two wheels -- might seem like a worthwhile trade-off.

Motorcycles make simple economic sense, riders and advocates say. A new, stripped-down motorcycle cost an average of $8,290 in 2007, and motorcycles typically get 40 to 60 mpg, said Mike Mount, spokesman for the Motorcycle Industry Council.

In recent months, motorcycle rider training schools in the region have seen enrollment soar beyond the normal warm-weather highs, and classes are booked months in advance. Program coordinators said a sizable number of students cite high gas prices as the reason they signed up, and some motorcycle dealers, typically tasked with selling the dream of the open road, are now emphasizing fuel efficiency.

Such benefits have not immunized the motorcycle market from the economic downturn; nationwide, sales of new motorcycles were down about 11 percent in the first quarter of this year, Mount said. But that doesn't account for people dusting off machines that sat idle for years or those looking to save cash by opting for a used bike.

Motorcycle registrations have continued to climb. As of May 31, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles recorded 44,304 new registrations in fiscal 2008, about a 3.5 percent increase over the same period last year. By June 5, total motorcycle registrations in Maryland for fiscal 2008 had risen about 8 percent since the end of fiscal 2007, according to the state Motor Vehicle Administration.

At Heyser Cycle in Laurel, which features a gas mileage savings calculator on its Web site, sales of larger, more expensive bikes are sluggish, but it's tough to keep smaller, fuel-efficient models in stock, salesman Chad Miller said. "The Honda Rebel, the Ninja 250, we don't have any more," he said. "That is unusual. . . . I just sold a 500 [cc bike] to a guy that we had to go to New Jersey to get because we didn't have one. He said, 'I want a 500. I'm using it to drive to work and I don't really care about motorcycles. I want to save on gas.' "

Even such high-end dealers as Harley-Davidson are looking to cash in on the trend.