2 wheels or 4?

bubbaspaarx

I am currently travelling in South East Asia and for anyone who has been here will have noticed the huge amount of scooters/mopeds that grace the streets here. In Vietnam alone, there are currently around 29 million of them. There is only one reason for this and its the cost.

Having never ridden a motorbike until i was in Malayasia (and thought it was incredible) I wanted to find out what the real cost of scooter/moped ownership is like in the UK. With costs for cars rising at a ridiculous rate, is a conversion to 2 wheels a sensible and cost effective solution?

To give people a head start, i created a neat tool for working out the approximate cost of car ownership which incorporated everything from servicing, tyres, loan costs and mpg (based on 15,000 miles a year) and ownership basically costs between 4,500 and 6,000 a year. Don't shoot me if you think this is incorrect as these figures were based on 'my' driving and compared only a few different car models (Mini Cooper Diesel, Ford Focus 1.6 petrol and Golf GTi 2.0).

Let me know what you think, what your experiences are and why you think it would/wouldn't work.

Hintza

Totally different way of life in the West.

Diferent climate, supermarkets, driving conditions, climate conditions, health and safety (you can't carry the wife, 5 kids and the fridge on a scooter in the UK).

Everyone in SE Asia will be aspiring to have a car but all they can afford is a scooter.

Sure it will work fine for a small minority in the UK.

andygb

As an ex biker, I would say that the main consideration today is safety, with practicality second. There are so many vehicles on the road, and it only takes one mistake (may not be yours) and you are hitting a hard surface very quickly. If you never have to worry about giving lifts, what you look like when you arrive (sometimes in filthy weather), then it may be a good idea.
The advantages are:
Cost of bike/scooter
Insurance
Tax
Fuel use
Spare parts

bubbaspaarx

Thought that might be the case. Guess when everyone rides scooters its a level playing field. Also, didnt really think about the climate. That kind of ruins it. Maybe a fair weather thing only. Going to be a cheap second hand car for me then when i get back.

Strider590

andygb wrote: »

As an ex biker, I would say that the main consideration today is safety,

This is probably the biggest issue!
I'd have a bike tomorrow but for the fact that on UK roads, small = less important. Even "filtering" is becoming more and more difficult, with drivers taking it upon themselves to block bikers from doing this (sometimes even opening car doors into them).

mikey72

Strider590 wrote: »

This is probably the biggest issue!
I'd have a bike tomorrow but for the fact that on UK roads, small = less important. Even "filtering" is becoming more and more difficult, with drivers taking it upon themselves to block bikers from doing this (sometimes even opening car doors into them).

Surely there would be a lot of cars with bent doors then?

SailorSam

You see pictures of them riding mopeds in Asia with their wives on the pillion; one child on the carrier and another on the handlebars, and they're all holding carrier bags full of shopping,
Can you imagine what the Police here would say if they saw that.

bubbaspaarx

There would probably be a round of applause but quickly followed by a lot of finger wagging. works like a charm over here though. Most people i've seen on one bike is 5. The 6th was the dog.