Cost of having a Motorbike?

forgotmyname

After a few days commuting you will wonder if your insvisible to car drivers and to a lot of them you wont be a 2nd thought. or a 3rd or the 15th.

More important things will be littering their brains. Did i put the cat out, Did i lock the front door, texting a friend to say what a hangover they have as they drive to work etc etc..

If you live in a high crime area. Then you need a backup plan for when your bike gets stolen.
BIL had 3 nicked.

Dont leave chains / locks where you park the bike. You may come home and find the locks dont work. They do that so you leave it unlocked that night.

Arfa__

AdrianC wrote: »

Because, of course, the North Circular _never_ has delays...?

Motorbikes are exempt from delays and traffic jams. :-P

AdrianC wrote: »

You DO know they [music & AC] won't be an option on a bike, right?

The tune from my bike engine is all the music I need! If you're getting too hot, you ain't going fast enough. Seriously though, bluetooth helmet setups are pretty cheap these days (not that I'd agree with that distraction in London, fine on long open roads though). Kevlar jeans are a bit cooler than leathers. Motorcross style impact armour is an option (though not so good for sliding road rash protection).

AdrianC wrote: »

You happy to be stomping around wherever you meet in leathers carrying a helmet?

You not seen a top box on a bike. Mine fits my wife and my helmet comfortable. Combination of Kevlar jeans and restaurant cloakroom solve the rest.

AdrianC wrote: »

Sure, but it seems a bit odd to choose the most expensive and inconvenient option, then complain about the expense and inconvenience, asking for an option that won't save much cost and will increase the inconvenience, particularly in areas that you then use to justify the inconvenience and expense.

Going to work in general is an inconvenience. Going by bike does bring some extra inconveniences that you get get with other methods of transport (donning and removing gear, security etc), but the same is true the other way: tube has delay, smelly people, crowding, strikes etc. Car has jams, road closures, parking etc. Which is most inconvenient is down to personal preference.

BeenThroughItAll

Arfa__ wrote: »

Mine fits my wife and my helmet comfortable.

Wish I could get my wife in mine. She could polish my helmet whilst she was in there.

Shielder

Zukkini wrote: »

In the 1st one and a half year, I accumulated a total of 33,000 miles on my brand new financed car. I have had this car since the day I joined the company because I thought it would be a good thing to drive to work (dependant on which route I take, it can be 50-120 miles round-trip). I commute from East London to just past Heathrow. Now, personally, this was the worst financial decision I could have ever made. Not only am I restricted to 30,000 miles in my 3 year contract, I am stuck on this contract and i've done that much in one year alone! It costs me £200 a month for the car, £180 a month for fuel, and £100 a month of saving for next years car insurance, including around £200 a year for car maintenance/cleaning etc... So, this year in November I am voluntarily terminating my contract (which I would've paid 50% of the contract by then).

I'm a little confused by this statement. If you are halfway through a finance agreement with the finance company, yet you have gone over your total mileage allowance already, how on earth are you getting out of your contract? The finance company (assuming this is leased, rather than on HP) will have priced the contract according to the value they will get from the car after 3 years and 30,000miles.

Have you spoken to the finance company to get their opinion on your plans? You may find that there will be cancellation fees that could be up to half the remaining value of the finance deal and the excess mileage charge (which will vary depending on your contract, but could be up to 20p+ per mile).

If your car has been bought via a PCP scheme or via a loan, then you will almost certainly be out of pocket, unless you have already spoken to the finance company.

Andy

Zukkini

Shielder wrote: »

I'm a little confused by this statement. If you are halfway through a finance agreement with the finance company, yet you have gone over your total mileage allowance already, how on earth are you getting out of your contract? The finance company (assuming this is leased, rather than on HP) will have priced the contract according to the value they will get from the car after 3 years and 30,000miles.

Have you spoken to the finance company to get their opinion on your plans? You may find that there will be cancellation fees that could be up to half the remaining value of the finance deal and the excess mileage charge (which will vary depending on your contract, but could be up to 20p+ per mile).

If your car has been bought via a PCP scheme or via a loan, then you will almost certainly be out of pocket, unless you have already spoken to the finance company.

Andy

Please read on the previous page. There is no excess mileage charge due to the Voluntary Termination clause on PCP contracts. I have this in writing also from VW, they are aware of the situation. And for the record, it's only 4.4p per mile. 20p per mile would be on an exotic car, not a VW Polo.

Herzlos

Zukkini wrote: »

Public transport is an option but not an ideal option. I’ll have to make 4 changes which sums upto about 2 hours and it is very expensive as I am travelling from the last stop in Zone 3 to the last stop in Zone 6, which I have to pay for a monthly Zone 1-6 card. On top of this, it takes 10 minutes walk to get to the first train station near my house. Then when I reach the other end of Zone 6, I have to take a shuttle bus to the office (which takes around 15 minutes). All in all, it is expensive, tedious and tiresome.

That does leave you open to a lot of delays. How frequent are each of the links?

Can you cut any of them out by with a bicycle? You can easily cut the 10 minute walk to the first train to 3/4 on a bike, and you can skip the shuttlebus to the office as well, it might take a bit longer but you won't need to wait on it, but can you do the same with other steps?

I've never really tried to get about London beyond using the underground system.

Shielder

Zukkini, sorry, I don't know how I missed that post. I had a funny feeling when I wrote my post that I was going to be wrong, but I had missed your extensive post. (Note to self, read entire thread rather than assume you've read it all...)

Anyway, I can vouch for the sheer enjoyment a motorbike can bring commuting to work. I've only got a 125 Intruder, but when it's back on the road, it can do 70 down the motorway and is brilliant for filtering through the traffic.

You will get told this repeatedly on the CBT, but you are invisible to cagers (car/lorry/bus drivers, snug and warm in their metal cages). When they do notice you, you're either 6 inches away from the side of their car as they cut you up, or sprawled across the tarmac.

Some are very good, and notice the headlight and high vis jacket, most are not. Get a good set of leathers/textiles incorporating armour in all the joints. If you want, get an under jacket armour 'vest' to provide some protection for your back and decent motorbike gloves. Mine have armour in the knuckles *evilgrin*

Always always ALWAYS wear proper motorbike boots. Others will tell you that army boots, steel toed boots or doc martins are fine, they're not. Steel toecaps will amputate your toes in an accident and ordinary boots will fly off.

Finally, get a good helmet. I'm not talking about the latest fashion, or Guy Martin lookalike helmets, a 4 or 5 star rated helmet that fits your head snugly, but not tight. It will mould to your head shape over time.

Andy

P.S. While your bike might sound brilliant as you're riding along, just remember that the exhausts are approximately 1-2m away from your ears, and will be LOUD. Get some ear plugs, or you'll find your hearing getting damaged

P.P.S. have you looked at bikechatforums.com? Very helpful guys and gals over there who can walk you through the whole process, including giving you tips on how to pass and ride safely.

macman

If you were employed to work in central London and are now contracted out to LHR, then surely your company is compensating you in some way for the additional cost of the journey?

Shielder

Should be 45p per mile up to 10,000miles and 25p per mile thereafter, according to the HMRC. Individual companies policies do vary however and they may offer you less depending upon the size of the car.

Motorbikes are different and you don't get as much.

See http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/rates/travel.htm

Zukkini

macman wrote: »

If you were employed to work in central London and are now contracted out to LHR, then surely your company is compensating you in some way for the additional cost of the journey?

No, they are not sadly.