Frugal Fuelers: Nine fun gas savers - First Look

Enough is enough! It’s time that the motorcycle take back its rightful place as one of the Greenest, most-economical vehicles ever to burn petroleum byproducts. Let the eco-elites prattle on about their hybrid autos saving the polar ice caps and lowering the oceans, but the fact is that a Toyota Prius’ carbon footprint–what it takes to produce the car and bring it to market–is positively King Kongsian compared to something like the economical, fun-to-ride motorcycles in this story.

We've polled the staff of Cycle World to come up with nine motorcycles that would be good choices for beginners, riders who want to have fun getting to work while saving a ton of money every year on gas. After all, Wednesday, July 16 is the 17th annual Ride to Work day, an event promoted by the non-profit Ride to Work Foundation, an organization that encourages the use of motorcycles and scooters as transportation.

So ditch that gas-slurping hybrid, wave bye-bye to the bus and check out nine inexpensive, fun and economical ways to get around.

Honda CRF230L »

Honda Nighthawk »

Yamaha XT250 »

Aprilia SportCity 250 »

Kawasaki Ninja 250R »

Yamaha WR250X »

Suzuki GSX650F »

Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 »

Suzuki SV650 »

How Not to be a Newbie »