Commuting to work on Motorcycle

henrygregory

Hi there, with ever increasing costs, I am finding it harder and harder to afford to get to my job in London. I currently commute a 90 mile round trip each day to work.

I have been considering getting a motorcycle and the appropriate license and breaking my week up a little by biking in to work.
Apart from the obvious safety aspects and costs of learning and passing the theory and practical tests, are there any motorcycle commuters on here who could help me answer the following:

• What are your motorcycle running costs for driving a 90 mile round trip 2-3 days per week, per year?
• How regularly do you need to service your vehicle? Is there a particular mileage interval?
• Is there anything else worth knowing?

Thanks :j

spacey2012

45 miles on a motorbike through built up traffic will be an exhausting experience.
Factor in cold and wet and you wont be in any fit state to work.
Pity they went back on the free parking for electric cars promise, after people had bought them.
You might be better looking for a local job and cutting things down a bit.
How much is your free time worth you spend commuting.

Strider590

A bike (unless it's a scooter) doesn't do much better MPG than a car, but provided nobody tried to swipe you for "queue jumping", you'll get to work that little bit faster on congested roads.
To be honest as a new rider your other costs are likely to be the same as having a small 2nd car. Servicing is down to the make/model and whether it's chain driven, belt driven (Harley) or shaft driven (some BMWs).

Speaking not from experience but from research and a brother who had a bike for some years.

fivetide

henrygregory wrote: »

• What are your motorcycle running costs for driving a 90 mile round trip 2-3 days per week, per year?

You are probably looking at an average of 40mpg on most bikes factoring stop start traffic (50+ if you had a bit more freedom/motorway) so filling up every two days at least.

• How regularly do you need to service your vehicle? Is there a particular mileage interval?

Each bike will have its own but a lot seem to be around 6000 miles for an oil change. You'll find tyres are the big cost. You'll need a rear tyre at about the same sort of interval depending on how powerful the bike is, how much upright riding you do and what type of tyre you buy. Front should last twice as long as the rear (roughly)

• Is there anything else worth knowing?

Thanks :j

When I commuted in London it still took ages. Parking is a nightmare unless you get in very early or have off street parking somewhere.

The issue with london is while you can skip through the lines of traffic you still have to stop at all the red lights etc and there are a lot of them in the capital.

If you are based on the outskirts, it might be well worth it. If you already drive in then you will cut a good 30 minutes off your journey I'd reckon.

My commute is a mix of motorway and town driving. It's 30 miles and takes 45 minutes on a bike. You do need to factor in time to get suited up though!

Probably more as I think of it. Just talking off the top of my head at the moment!

kwmlondon

henrygregory wrote: »

Hi there, with ever increasing costs, I am finding it harder and harder to afford to get to my job in London. I currently commute a 90 mile round trip each day to work.

I have been considering getting a motorcycle and the appropriate license and breaking my week up a little by biking in to work.
Apart from the obvious safety aspects and costs of learning and passing the theory and practical tests, are there any motorcycle commuters on here who could help me answer the following:

• What are your motorcycle running costs for driving a 90 mile round trip 2-3 days per week, per year?
• How regularly do you need to service your vehicle? Is there a particular mileage interval?
• Is there anything else worth knowing?

Thanks :j

I used to ride a motorbike the 17 mile round trip into work. It took about 30 minutes. I now cycle in and it takes 40. Public transport can take anything between 30 and 40 minutes.

Fuel? I was lucky to get 45mpg, but in stop-start traffic that's good for a motor vehicle.

Service? Hmph. My Yamaha needs oil every 4k (gah!). Tyres? Still on the first set after 12k - that's what happens when you hardly ever go above 30mph!

I'd advise getting a scooter if you really want cheap motoring. Not much can beat a Honda Dylan or Vespa, and up to 30mph there's not much can beat them. I'm not a fan of scooters, but they are really nippy and cheap.

Strider590

kwmlondon wrote: »

I'd advise getting a scooter if you really want cheap motoring. Not much can beat a Honda Dylan or Vespa, and up to 30mph there's not much can beat them. I'm not a fan of scooters, but they are really nippy and cheap.

Or maybe compromise with something like a Honda Silverwing? (which I was considering a few years ago).

londonTiger

im surprised at the 40mpg to be honest, i thought it would be closer to 80's.

How does a bike that weighs 20% of a car do so little fuel economy wise?

Is it just down to the way riders ride? I know that when people upgrade from a NA to turbo car their fuel economy drops because they just drive more aggressively - if they drove exactly the same way as before they would get better economy.

Arfa__

Dunno what bikes you all rode, but my Yamaha Fazer 600 does around 50mpg, and that's a 10 year old 4 cylinder! 13 miles each way from Essex border into London centre. Takes about 30-40 mins, depending traffic. Tube is 1hr+. I generally put in £23 fuel every fortnight and often give wife a lift into town too.

To the OP: what is your route, how much of that 45 miles is motorway/swift A-roads and how much congested London? The bike will certainly be the quickest option, but battling London traffic is not for the faint hearted.

For that kind of journey, you will want a decent bike, some with faring to protect you. For economy a Maxi-scooter will be a good option, as will some of the Beemers and the new Honda NX700 - all of which should get 70-80mpg.

For that kind of distance though, you'll get through a lot of sundries, don't forget to factor in:-
Tyres every 10K ish, if you don't get punctures sooner.
Chain/Sprockets, probably 1-2 years ish.
Chain lube every few hundred miles.
Oil.
(consider a Scottoiler to auto oil chain, extending its life and for convenience).
For winter use, heated clothing.

You'll be filling up every 2-3 days too. Maybe consider a shaft drive for longevity too. On some Beemers and Honda Deauville.

But certainly, don't let us put you off. Just be realistic on cost, it may not be quite as cheap as you first suspected. However it'll be better than sitting in a traffic jam, more fun than a crowded and delayed train, and it can turn into a great pastime for the weekends too. Plus, you might find your partner has a 'thing' for you in leathers... ;-)

Strider590

londonTiger wrote: »

im surprised at the 40mpg to be honest, i thought it would be closer to 80's.

How does a bike that weighs 20% of a car do so little fuel economy wise?

I'm not sure, but it's probably due to them being higher revving, an engine doing 4500rpm is using half as much fuel as one doing 9000rpm.

Stooby2

spacey2012 wrote:

45 miles on a motorbike through built up traffic will be an exhausting experience.
Factor in cold and wet and you wont be in any fit state to work

That's complete rubbish. I do a twenty mile trip into central London and then out without any issue - a 40 mile round trip. Where I work guys ride in from all over the south east, the furthest I think is Chelmsford in Essex. None of us having any trouble working after our ride in.

As for the OP I'd go for a Fazer 600, Honda Deauville, Suzuki Bandit 600 - that kind of bike. You'll be looking at 50mpg minimum from them. I run an old XJ900 Diversion which does about 47mpg, but it is on 107000 miles and still going strong. For around the £1500 mark you should be able to get fairly decent commuter. There are loads on eBay.

Tyres are the major outlay. About £200 every 7-8000 miles depending on the bike and how you ride. Learn how to do basic maintenance - oil and filter, air filter, plugs, brake pads, and you'll save a small fortune. A half faired bike I find gives a good balance of weather protection and ease of access for repairs & servicing.

But you need your licence first...

fivetide

Arfa__ wrote: »

Dunno what bikes you all rode, but my Yamaha Fazer 600 does around 50mpg, and that's a 10 year old 4 cylinder!

Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird. Also a 10 year old 4 cylinder just 1100cc so 40mpg mixed (10 miles motorway and 20 miles of city traffic) isn't too shabby at all!

13 miles each way from Essex border into London centre. Takes about 30-40 mins, depending traffic.

Which is why I said the OP needs to be aware it might not be as fast as they think. You do 13 miles in the time it takes me to do 30....

For that kind of distance though, you'll get through a lot of sundries, don't forget to factor in:-
Tyres every 10K ish, if you don't get punctures sooner.

I was a bit more conservative with my estimate. If you go for a harder touring tyre you should be able to do this. If it comes with sporty stuff you'll have them squared off in no time!

But certainly, don't let us put you off. Just be realistic on cost, it may not be quite as cheap as you first suspected. However it'll be better than sitting in a traffic jam, more fun than a crowded and delayed train, and it can turn into a great pastime for the weekends too.

Yep. will give you something to go and 'tinker with' too. Staying on top of maintainence is important, especially in winter. Rinse the salt off before you put it away, things like that. It is fairly intensive to look after a bike properly.