Selling 2nd car for moped/small motorbike

ShandyAndy_2

Been toying with the idea for a while now, more so now both of our cars are 10 years old and constantly needing repairs at the cost of hundreds of pounds. It's a big weight around our necks at the moment. I commute 6 miles to work and the wife commutes between 15-20 miles each way and also uses the car whilst at work if needs be so she has to have one. I was thinking about doing the Direct Access bike test as I'm 31 years old. I have ridden bikes before up until I was 19 and passed my car test. I had a 50cc scooter and a 125cc geared sports bike so I know how to ride. I don't really want to go down the CBT route again as its £100 every 2 years and I'd be restricted to what I can ride. I was also considering an electric scooter like on the Eko bikes website (save on fuel and tax), and lastly an electric bike which would be the cheapest option but take longer obviously as restricted on speed, the area is rural and very hilly and the winters would be long and hard I know. I have thought about push bikes but I'm restricted a bit with time as I work long hours and have to pick daughter up once I get home from work. Any opinions please.

Thankyou

RS2000.

50cc scooter in the winter won't be fun and about as much use as a pedal cycle for picking up your daughter.

root

Regarding the DAS, i've heard since they book both practical tests up front, and you need to pass the mod1 to be eligible for mod2 - if you fail the first one you lose the mod2 fee.

root

Sorry missed the last bit about picking your kid up - It sounds to me like you need a car tbh. Is your daughter going to carry her own lid for when you need to pick her up? Do you really want your daughter riding pillion?

MEM62

Venturing into the world of PTW's is always a good idea in my world. :-) But then I am a motorcycle enthusiast!

ShandyAndy_2

I wouldn't be using the bike to pick my daughter up, it's a 5 minute walk away!. What is a PTW?.

BeenThroughItAll

ShandyAndy wrote: »

I wouldn't be using the bike to pick my daughter up, it's a 5 minute walk away!. What is a PTW?.

Powered Two Wheeler.

wiltsguy_2

Motorbikes= better MPG, lower road tax, normally free parking, no such thing as a traffic jam ever again, lovely to feel the breeze in summer.

Only con is horrid in the winter-but a decent set of thermals, waterproofs and dare i say it 'heated grips' would make it more bearable.

I have been a biker for 27 years and have loved every moment, my wife loves riding pillion and the kids started to from about 12 years old! it's now part of the family!

:cool:GO FOR IT!

Richard53

A quick word in favour of ebikes. I started commuting on one last year and although I took the winter off I am doing it again now. 13.5 miles each way, very hilly, rural roads, takes me about 55 minutes. You are no faster on the level or down hill (by law the assistance must cut out when you reach 15 mph or stop pedalling), but on the uphills you get a bit of a push that helps you keep your speed up. I'm feeling great, I'm losing weight, and each day's trip costs me about 7p in electricity. The nice thing is that you don't need to change at work - because of the assistance, you don't get as hot and sweaty as you do on a pushbike.


I'm really enjoying using it to get back into cycling, and I would recommend it to anyone. A good one isn't cheap, though. I reckon mine cost as much as a decent s/h moped.

ShandyAndy_2

I really fancy a small moped/motorbike if I'm completely honest. The electric bikes although good might struggle in the winter on bad roads and then it's how long the battery would last, been looking at an electric bike which is £1099 and a replacement battery would be £360 if it packed up. I have also seen an electric moped- Yamaha EC03 which has a range of upto 20 miles then needs a 7 hour charge on a std 3 pin socket. These are around same price as the electric bike. The only thing that concerns me with having something electric is the range and the cost of the batteries. If say for example I had to do a 20 mile trip and the wife had the car I would be very anxious of the batteries running out and effectively being stuck at the side of the road, at least if it's petrol you can push to local station and carry on your journey. The Peugeot Vox 110 cc 4 stroke looks reasonable at £1299 on the road. Been pricing up Direct access bike tests and been quoted upto £900!, but then at least once I've done it I have it for life rather then doing a £100-£150 CBT every 2 years. Decisions decisions...............

ShandyAndy_2

Went to local bike shop yesterday and fell in love with Suzuki vanvan 125, at £2495 though it's pricey, they didn't have any cheapies in but the man is going to order me a Peugeot vox in, £1374 on the road brand new with a 2 year warranty, fingers crossed I like it!.