cisco said...

doggie said...
Yea they look great for a scooter, not cheap tho!!

Maybe I missed a zero or something but I did look twice when I saw the base model (50 cc) advertised in a "Just Bikes" mag for less than $1,400.

How much are they really??

I looked into them about a year ago and they were $2200, you could buy them of the net cheaper I would expect.

I unfortunatly bought ford v8 and though it was the business.... now i dont care ill just deal with the fuel price . Thing is its a ute and like today i hired a 500 kilo compactor for 1 day and saved myself $$$$$$ (truck hire)
Keep the fuel guzler run it into the ground and leave it on the side of the freeway. i did the maths and i couldnt justfy selling it at a loss and buying into the dodgy new car used car dealership. used car sales are the most ripoff ****s ever.

Keep it wear it and run it into the ground.

frant said...

Convert to LPG.

I wish I could. Can't convert Subarus to LPG without wrecking them.

Should be getting a diesel 4WD again soon...going to convert that bitch to SVO.
I would love to get a motorbike too but Perth driver's have their heads so far up their ****ing asses it's just too dangerous.

subasurf said...

frant said...

Convert to LPG.

I wish I could. Can't convert Subarus to LPG without wrecking them.

Should be getting a diesel 4WD again soon...going to convert that bitch to SVO.
I would love to get a motorbike too but Perth driver's have their heads so far up their ****ing asses it's just too dangerous.

I can get 2-3 weeks in the city out of the Forester 2005 lower model - I don't use the E10 or what ever that crap is with the wheat in it (now that's a scam - we'll charge you less but you'll have to buy more wtf). Might trade it in for one of the desiels now we have the trailer because I'm getting really poor milage with the current car (4.5 tanks to get to coffs around and back over easter), I grew up with desiels back in Canada love'm.

In the end of the day Australia is a nice temperate climate - grab some spandex and a commuter or road bike, no traffic jams, good for the health/cardio, and faster commute times in peak hour. Just don't ride like a douch

One car I haven't seen much of here is the Merc Smart car - there tiny but they run on a ****tenth of desiel for ever and a day. Quite a few back at home.

Was in my local fruit & veg market yesterday and noticed they had 20 litre drums of vegetable oil for $46. So $2.30 a litre. My local petrol station sells diesel for about $1.50 a litre. Diesel engines will happily run on vegetable oil. Won't be long before it's cheaper to do it that way!

SomeOtherGuy said...

Was in my local fruit & veg market yesterday and noticed they had 20 litre drums of vegetable oil for $46. So $2.30 a litre. My local petrol station sells diesel for about $1.50 a litre. Diesel engines will happily run on vegetable oil. Won't be long before it's cheaper to do it that way!

They may run on Vegetable oil..but they wont happily do it.

While Im on my rant.
Why is the Slingy Fuel so expensive? It's such a good kite, yet it costs so much.

The answer is just keep doing what you are doing. As long as the demand is there THEY will keep supplying. Price WILL go up as it ALWAYS does.

Stop DEMANDING with the V8 utes and saloons and all the rest of the egotistical crap that we HAVE to have (ie 4 br homes for 2 people to live in etc etc) and the pricks will have nowhere to go.

If you demand it, do not complain about the price.

Ford Fiesta diesel, 3.7 litres per 100/km,problem solved.


Commordore 2010 factory gas 11.5 per 100/km,gas is half the cost meaning less than 6 litres per 100/km.

shi thouse said...

petermac33 said...

Ford Fiesta diesel, 3.7 litres per 100/km,problem solved.


Commordore 2010 factory gas 11.5 per 100/km,gas is half the cost meaning less than 6 litres per 100/km.

As a diesel car owner, this fuel has become a joke. This fuel is potentially greener, given its increased efficiency over petrol and is apparently less refined - hence should cost less to produce. However we are paying $0.10 to $0.20 per litre to purchase. Apparently China's demand for diesel has everything to do with it.

If you believe that you'll believe anything the fuel companies say like "a cold northern winter", "Middle Eastern wars" and so on. Yeah it blows how diesel is more expensive than petrol. Sometimes its cheaper but not often.

shi thouse said...
As a diesel car owner, this fuel has become a joke. This fuel is potentially greener, given its increased efficiency over petrol and is apparently less refined - hence should cost less to produce. However we are paying $0.10 to $0.20 per litre to purchase. Apparently China's demand for diesel has everything to do with it.

Although diesel is marginally less refined, the cost comes down to supply and demand. A refinery buys crude oil and makes two main products, petrol and diesel (and other products, but these are the main two). There is a finite amount of flexibility as to how much of the crude oil becomes diesel and how much becomes petrol. Diesel has a greater demand, and as such, the refineries are trying to maximise diesel production and make less petrol. In order to satisfy the consumers demand for diesel, the refinery ends up with too much petrol. We therefore have a massive demand for diesel with limited supply, and a smaller demand for petrol with an oversupply due to the refineries trying to keep up with diesel demand.

In the current environment, most australian refineries are making a small loss on petrol, but balanced by a profit in diesel.

As for turning vege oil into diesel, yes it appears to be economical. Lets assume vege oil today is $1.00 per litre. As soon as you put an order in for 10kL of vege oil per day, guess what happens to the price... (this is exactly what happened a few years ago).

Fuel prices are only going to go up as the world population increases and the cost of pumping oil out of the ground also increases. Either change your lifestyle to become less dependant/addicted to oil or shut up and continue to pay for what i consider to be a very underpriced product, when you consider how much energy is available in a litre of oil. A litre of oil will drive you and your 1.5 tonnes of junk for approx 10kms at 100kph. Try pushing your car (at 100kph) for 10kms and then have a think about how cheaply you can do that without having to push.

Diesel is a LOT less refined than petrol. Most Oz produced diesel is very little more than filtered and dewaxed light crude. When WAPET (are they still going?) were producing light crude in WA that's exactly what it was. I bought my first diesel vehicle in the late '70s, when it was <50% the price of petrol. Shortly after that the gummint decided to tax the stuff out of existence. They almost succeeded! Asia and Europe have had ultra economical, ultra green diesel cars for decades now.

dinsdale said...

Diesel is a LOT less refined than petrol. Most Oz produced diesel is very little more than filtered and dewaxed light crude. When WAPET (are they still going?) were producing light crude in WA that's exactly what it was. I bought my first diesel vehicle in the late '70s, when it was <50% the price of petrol. Shortly after that the gummint decided to tax the stuff out of existence. They almost succeeded! Asia and Europe have had ultra economical, ultra green diesel cars for decades now.

Diesel WAS less refined than petrol back in the 70s yes. Not any more. First of all, all those 'almost pure diesel' crudes are long gone (or very expensive), we mainly only have thick black sludge left now. Also, Back then diesel was allowed 5000ppm sulfur, now its only allowed 10ppm. (Petrol is allowed 150ppm I think off memory). Diesel is not simply filtered and dewaxed light crude. Modern diesel production includes distillation from crude oil + desulphurising to 10ppm (at 350 degrees and 80 times atmospheric pressure) and often involves a seperate hydrogen plant having to be built to supply the hydrogen for desulfurising. By comparison, about half the petrol at a refinery comes from the crude, and about half comes as a byproduct of trying to "crack" the heavy crude sludge into diesel.

But going back to what i said before, the diesel/petrol price gap has nothing to do with how more or less refined it is - it's all about supply and demand. Refineries end up with too much petrol trying to keep up with diesel demand, so diesel users are essentially subsidising petrol at the moment.

Here is an interesting article about Opel, the German GM company, planning to bring fuel efficient cars into Australia. The idea of the equivalent of a Barina running on LPG sounds pretty good. That great Aussie car company Holden, is a bit miffed as its being positioned as the cheap Korean car company.

http://smh.drive.com.au/green-motoring/amped-holden-volt-faces-opel-inhouse-rivalry-20110520-1evhg.html

I filled the truck up today. $272. On the company Shell card but it still depresses me, standing there watching the meter tick over. How long before they beam Fawlty Towers at you to raise your spirits?

It's an agi, Dinsdale, I started doing my HC but realised that I would never feel safe with 40 foot of freight swinging around behind me and the roads smattered with lunatics