Motorbike for commute into London?

Arfa__

Just started a new job in South London, near London Bridge/Bermondsey, and the commute (from Dagenham) is turning out to be lot longer than expected. Mostly due to change time and almost a mile walk at each end.

So I was wondering about a motorbike... Costs, feasibility and at all recommended. Never ridden a motorbike before, so:

How much would it cost me to learn to ride?
How much should I budget on for a reliable, cheap to run, commuter bike? Recommended models?
How much should I budget on for paraphernalia: lid, leathers, boots, security measures etc.

Rough ball park numbers I guess, to compare against tube pass costs.

I do have full car driving license. I'm 33. Wife has full bike license and would like to share bike, but she's 5'2" and I'm 6'1". Bike would be parked on drive at home. Neither of us a much of a grease monkey, so probably won't be doing much maintenance ourselves.

spiro

Not a bike rider but 2 suggestions as neither are you: (1) Try a scooter first or (2) cycle as its only about 11 miles (fitter and cheaper).

Arfa__

Don't fancy cycling. It's about 12 miles actually. Have cycled into Soho in the past (for tube strikes etc), but it was hard going. A lot of the route isn't great and a lot intermingled with busy traffic. The Barking/Tower superhighway probably helps a bit though.

Other downsides of cycling:
Crap in the winter, or this lovely summer we're having.
No shower at work.
Doesn't save me any time, which is my main motivation.
Bike will have to be locked to rails outside office, or a least until some thieving scum find it...

That said, I am also toying with the idea of a folding bike to tackling the long walk at each end of my commute. But I'm dubious just how much time it will save, compared to hassle of lugging it (and lid) on tube and the outlay of a Brompton.


The Scooter idea probably isn't so bad. But my wife would never be seen dead on a 'bog seat'! Her last bike before we moved to London was an old Honda VT 250 import. She deems a scooter false economy, as I'd probably want to upgrade to a proper bike later anyway, so may as well fork out for one up front. The nurse in her always scorns those on scooters in suits/dress and shoes (but also those in t-shirt and trainers on crotch rockets). She has vivid memories of scrubbing gravel out of wounds on those who had come off their bike and gone skidding down the road...

Anyway, what advantages would a Scooter give me over a real bike? All I can think of is the twist'n'go gear might be a spot easier for first couple of weeks.

spiro

Arfa__ wrote: »

Anyway, what advantages would a Scooter give me over a real bike? All I can think of is the twist'n'go gear might be a spot easier for first couple of weeks.

Thought it might be quicker/cheaper to get started and less wasted if you then decide its not a good idea.

Arfa__

spiro wrote: »

Thought it might be quicker/cheaper to get started and less wasted if you then decide its not a good idea.

I guess it saves doing a full direct access bike course (is that right). But then, if it didn't work out, my wife would have the bike to herself and she'd be happy! Probably the main reason she's pushing me to pursue this idea...

fivetide

Arfa__ wrote: »

Probably the main reason she's pushing me to pursue this idea...

she's not taken out any life insurance policies lately has she?

:A

5t.

rtho782

Bikes are fun, do it, you will never look back. Give it a few years and you and the Mrs will be touring europe!

Anyway, DAS cost me around £600 all in including theory/CBT/mod1/mod2 etc.

As for a bike, you can go new or used.

Used, if you just purely want to commute, the popular options are the same bikes used for training, generally 500cc twins like the Honda CB500, Kawasaki ER-5, GS500. You might consider an inline 4 600cc such as an Thundercat, CBR600F, or maybe an XJ600.

You can pick up one of the 500cc twins for anything from £800 to £2000, around the middle of that will get you something pretty bulletproof. A Thundercat or a CBR600F is going to be more expensive, both to buy and to run, you are looking more like £1500-£3000.

New, you can get a brand new Suzuki SV650 - http://www.suzuki-gb.co.uk/bike/sv650sl0/ - for around £4400-4500 on low rate finance (so 2-3% APR depending on term) if you haggle a bit. Usually £1 deposit too for Suzukis.

Suzuki use Close Motor Finance, so if they turn you down you can try either Kawasaki/Yamaha, who both use Black Horse, or Honda who use their own in house finance.

There are of course other manufacturers, but a Triumph or a Ducati is going to work out a lot more expensive!

As for insurance, it's generally cheaper than a car but you will get rinsed in London I should imagine as theft is quite high. Fit an alarm, look at a massive chain (almax immobiliser series iv for example) if you have secure parking at work that would be ideal.

My first year on a brand new bike having just passed my test at 28, was £750 fully comp, but that was with two recent car accidents and 3 points. Had I gone for third party only/TPFT, it would have been around £200. Unlike with cars, there is a big difference between TPFT and FC.

Out of my XJ6 I get a minimum of 40mpg (and that's if I've done 200 miles on the motorway at 120mph+) and more like 60 if I stay sensible. The 500cc commuters are supposed to be around 60-70mpg.

Lid, buy one that fits. Price doesn't increase safety, rather it makes for better soundproofing, less wind noise, better visor seal, and less misting. A well fitting £30 helmet will protect you much better than a poorly fitting £450 helmet.

Jacket/Trousers, if you go textile it will be cheaper and better in poor weather. Leather gives generally better abrasion resistance but both have armour and your risk is more likely to be being hit by something than skidding down the road at 100mph. To be honest I rarely wear proper trousers and although I do own Kevlar jeans (cost £85) these don't get bothered with commuting.

I know, all the gear all the time, but I actually wrote off my fist big bike on the M4 at ~75mph, wearing just normal jeans, and other than a cool looking scar on my shin, I had no lasting injuries and was back at work the next day.

Jackets are about £50 and upwards.

Gloves are about £30 up.

I wear leather magnum boots, only cost me £50 and if polished I don't need to bother getting changed when I get to the office.

Tax is £55 a year under 600cc (the 600cc bikes are mostly 599cc so this counts)

Lizling

If you do go with just a 125 for commuting (for now), fully comp insurance is likely to be very roughly £500 in the first year, or £400 for 3rd party, fire and theft if you're riding with L plates (not sure what the discount is for full licence.) £100-ish to take a CBT in London. £2400ish for a reliable new commuter bike. Probably a bit under £10 a week for fuel, at that distance.

Mine's a YBR125. It's reliable, it's cheap, it's common enough that repairs and servicing shouldn't be a problem, but it isn't very exciting but it's a lot better than the tube.

Trebor16

Why not do the CBT first to see how you get on and if that works out then get yourself sorted with a bike.

Commuting from Dagenham to Bermondsey could easily be done on a 125. I don't know if you would find it easier to drive there via the Rotherhithe Tunnel or another option is the Woolwich ferry. You can go straight to the front of the queue at the terminal on a bike.

As you are over 30 the insurance costs shouldn't be too bad for you on a 125. Rather than buy new a good second hand 125 would do the job, such as a Honda CG125 or Yamaha YBR125.

If you are looking at taking your test at some time your options are either take it on a 125 (until 18th January 2013 when it changes dramatically), where you would be restricted to a 33bhp bike for two years then no limits after that, or Direct Access, which would mean taking the test on a 500cc bike. This changes in January next year as well but the main change you will notice is the bike requirement changes to a minimum of 595cc and 53.6bhp.

Road tax on a 125 is about £16 a year. The 125's listed above would probably need a service every 3000 miles, which would take about one hour. If you use a good independent then it will help keep costs down.

rtho782

Buying a 125 new is more expensive than buying a second hand 500 and doing your license, and is, in my opinion, a waste.

Buying a 2nd hand 125 is no cheaper than buying a 500, so you are only saving ~£500 or so (license, but still need CBT/Gear) and getting a lot less for your money.

Fuel economy will be better on a 125 but you'd be surprised about insurance, you will probably find the 500 the same or cheaper as 125s are commonly nicked/crashed by chavs. In the same way that a popular boy racer car like a Saxo can be more expensive to insure than say a Mondeo.

Arfa__

Cool, lots of good info, thanks all.

Sounds like direct access and decent 2nd hand 500 is the way to go. A 500 would also give me more flexibility should I want to get out of town and keep my wife happy, as she was limited to 33bhp and never got round to riding anything bigger after the two years.

Regarding insurance, will my current no-claims on my car help me on a bike? Currently have 3 years no-claims built up.