Motorbikes? Yay or Nae

westwood68

& always look where you want to go, not at the obstacle you want to miss.

If you see a pothole and stare at it, you will hit it.

patman99

In the past, I looked at getting a bike if I had got the job I had been for an interview for as it was on a notorious industrial estate with huge queues of traffic at knocking-off time.
One bike that caught my eye was a Piaggio MP3/400. It is basically a 400cc scooter with twin front wheels, so no need for a CBT or bike test (or indeed a helmet if you are suicidal/stupid).
Never got the job or the bike.

alastairw

A 125cc motorcycle, (£2200-£3000) plus all the riding kit, (£500-£1000) and training costs (£600-£800) to pass CBT and get a licence etc is not cheaper than a small used car for commuting. It is slightly more fun, although you would soon get frustrated with the lack of power and weedy brakes which most 125s have.

Many 125cc bikes struggle to return more than 75mpg when ridden flat out, or stop-starting, and that is how most 11-14bhp motorcycles have to be ridden to keep up with traffic in a 40mph limit zone.

Although a small car may only return 55-60mpg, the tyres last 20K miles, not 5K, plus you don't need brake pads, drive chains, chain lube, fork seals, batteries and a whole list of other cheaply made replacement parts so often with the car, as you do with the bike.

Many spares for bikes are far more expensive than the identical parts for cars - brake discs are a good example. And you may have to wait for up to 6 weeks for spares to arrive at a dealership.

125cc class bikes and scooters are very easy to steal and are the most stolen two-wheelers, by class, in the UK. If you go to and from the same location each day, then thieves will watch where you park and remove your bike/scooter in under 90 seconds.

Most `heavy duty' locks and chains can be dealt with within 120 seconds, I won't say how exactly for obvious reasons. Nobody will intervene if two burly guys are loading your bike into a van. The Police are totally uninterested in looking for stolen bikes.

If you commute all year round you will probably fall off in the winter. Even a skilled rider cannot stay upright on ice, unless you're an ice speedway racer. Most drivers are aware that if they hit you, and kill you, they will not go to prison - it all makes commuting a higher risk activity than motorcycle road racing.

Motorcycles are leisure transport and best enjoyed well away from urban traffic. Ride for the joy of it, the freedom, the acceleration and the camaraderie of other bikers. Buy a used Honda Jazz for 2K and commute in that... ;-)

Richard53

alastairw wrote: »

Motorcycles are leisure transport and best enjoyed well away from urban traffic.

No method of transport is perfect. There are drawbacks to commuting by bike, and there are also massive advantages. Where the balance lies is a decision for the individual. But I can't agree that bikes are just 'leisure transport'. I ride mine 52 weeks of the year, and only admit defeat and take the car when there is ice on the ground or fog - both of those push the risk factor higher than the fun factor for me. But otherwise, it's two wheels all the way.

A Honda CG125 will do better than 100 mpg no matter how you ride it. And with regular oil changes it will go on for ever.

Stooby2

alastairw wrote:

A 125cc motorcycle, (£2200-£3000) plus all the riding kit, (£500-£1000) and training costs (£600-£800) to pass CBT and get a licence etc is not cheaper than a small used car for commuting. It is slightly more fun, although you would soon get frustrated with the lack of power and weedy brakes which most 125s have.

So don't buy a new bike or even kit - other than a your helmet & gloves. Plenty of second hand stuff out there

Many 125cc bikes struggle to return more than 75mpg when ridden flat out, or stop-starting, and that is how most 11-14bhp motorcycles have to be ridden to keep up with traffic in a 40mph limit zone.

That's completely wrong - a 125cc will happily trundle at 40mph without being thrashed. Get up to 60mph and you're starting to get to their limits

Although a small car may only return 55-60mpg, the tyres last 20K miles, not 5K, plus you don't need brake pads, drive chains, chain lube, fork seals, batteries and a whole list of other cheaply made replacement parts so often with the car, as you do with the bike.

But most modern small cars are pretty difficult to service yourself and you're reliant on an expensive mechanic to do it for you. And there's an awful lot more to go wrong on a car

Many spares for bikes are far more expensive than the identical parts for cars - brake discs are a good example. And you may have to wait for up to 6 weeks for spares to arrive at a dealership.

Never had to wait 6 weeks for anything. On the smaller bikes brake discs aren't too bad, admittedly when you get to the bigger bikes they are expensive - but then so are brake discs on bigger performance cars. There's plenty of online shops - Wemoto, M and P and reliable Ebay sellers that will get parts to you in a couple of days.

125cc class bikes and scooters are very easy to steal and are the most stolen two-wheelers, by class, in the UK. If you go to and from the same location each day, then thieves will watch where you park and remove your bike/scooter in under 90 seconds.

True enough but they don't wait around. They just turn up, usually in a van and have the bike away in minutes.

Most `heavy duty' locks and chains can be dealt with within 120 seconds, I won't say how exactly for obvious reasons. Nobody will intervene if two burly guys are loading your bike into a van. The Police are totally uninterested in looking for stolen bikes.

Last part of that is nonsense and how do you know this?

If you commute all year round you will probably fall off in the winter.

Nope, been riding for about 25 years and not fallen off in winter yet. If there's ice on the roads I take the train (or the car if it's so bad the trains aren't running) which was a sum total of two days last winter.

Even a skilled rider cannot stay upright on ice, unless you're an ice speedway racer. Most drivers are aware that if they hit you, and kill you, they will not go to prison

Not anymore since "Causing death by Dangerous Driving" and "Causing Death By careless driving" hit the statute books. And drivers are going to prison for these offences.

- it all makes commuting a higher risk activity than motorcycle road racing.

Probably true, but maybe not so for the Isle of Man!

Motorcycles are leisure transport and best enjoyed well away from urban traffic.

Nonsense. I could get the train to work quite easily, but I much prefer to ride, even through south London traffic. It's great to go out for a good run through the countryside but give me a bike over car for commuting anyday

Ride for the joy of it, the freedom, the acceleration and the camaraderie of other bikers. Buy a used Honda Jazz for 2K and commute in that... ;-)

And enjoy the wonderful hours of queuing traffic, diversions, tailbacks, delays...or get a bike and just go past all that and be home an hour earlier.

So no. Bikes are for all weathers (excepting snow and heavy ice) and all purposes.

longbowgilly

Stooby2 wrote: »

So no. Bikes are for all weathers (excepting snow and heavy ice) and all purposes.

I rode mine in snow and ice as it was the only transport I had, it was a bit "lively" at times and I did end up on my ear at a junction once, I was stationary and my foot slipped out from under me :rotfl:I was glad I was only on my Suzuki DR400 and not my Harley Sportster!

Jo_F

My Honda PCX 125 will happilly pootle along at 60, and we are getting something very close to the manufacturer's claim of 130mpg.

But.... I do hate the idle stop mode and have to have that switched off.

Richard53

I've ridden plenty in ice and snow, but that was when I was younger and bounced more easily. Now I am nearer 60 than 50, I try to avoid situations involving involuntary contact with the tarmac.

Fog scares me, if only because I know how stupid some drivers are, and because my one small rear light is going to be almost invisible.

I am seriously considering a small (100cc) trail bike for next winter. At well under 100 kg, you could pick it up and carry it home if you had to. That ought to be fun in the snow.

(On the economy thing - my current bike of 660 cc will return 70+ mpg while being ridden enthusiastically on NSL roads, and I can't see a 125 doing worse than that.)

longbowgilly

I always used to wear reflective stuff in the fog, anything that would catch light was useful.
I used to have a trial bike (I did trials many years ago) a TLR200 and that was pretty light but I would not want to carry that home!:rotfl:
This thread is making me miss bikes even more!

Richard53

longbowgilly wrote: »

This thread is making me miss bikes even more!

It's working, then

My current bike is a big trailie (Yamaha XT660R) and it's brilliant for commuting. I don't need rocket-ship speeds, but it is light (comparatively), economical and a lot of fun to ride in traffic. But I wouldn't fancy manhandling it through a bend on black ice or a foot of snow. That's where the sub-100 kg bike comes in. If it starts to go, you just put your feet down and carry on walking