you could also get the SV ACF50’d for the winter, and it probably wouldn’t suffer too badly.

Tyres always proved the expensive part of commuting by bike fore me, but given you’ve got such a short commute I’d imagine it would be hard to recoup the saving on a super scooter. I’d stick with the SV.

Just run the SV.

I find that on a big-scoot you are sat too low and they are wide for filtering (no room to put your feet down).

If you’ve not got heated grips, put some on ASAP, plus a top box.

I never worried about the impact on my bikes of an everyday commute (mine was a 90m round-trip), as the money I saved due to gaining a couple of hours per day plus additional earnings more than covered it.

I would agree on what br said regarding the heated grips.

I’ve not long got a 12GSA with them fitted and they make a HUGE difference when it’s chilly. I can ride in my summer gloves no matter what the weather is doing.

I can’t see a £2k SV losing much more money now where as a £5k scooter will still have quite a bit of depreciating to do. You could probably commute for the next 12 months on the SV and it would still be worth around £1.5k.

Cover it in ACF50 and just give it quick a hose down with cold water when you get home.

I think the servicing intervals are a bit more frequent on some of the big scoots- more days off the road to account for! stick with the SV- buy it a load of acf50 and treat it as a hack

If you’ve got a hankering for new wheels for rush hour commuting and have 5k to spend, then buy one of those rorty 690 KTMs.

Otherwise stick with the SV.

Heated grips are amazing, my winter hack seems to have expired taking my heated grips with it and I really miss them!!

Yes. Scooters are a lot harder to crash.
I don’t even own leathers any more, just textile stuff. Leathers are useless to me.

This is simply a stoooopid idea. Utterly impractical in every way. Fun? Yes. Commuter? No.

————————————————

Anyway, for what the OP wants a good scooter will piss all over the SV.
We’ve got this

IMG_2187 by PeterPoddy, on Flickr

And this:

Untitled by PeterPoddy, on Flickr

As for suggestions of commuting by supermoto and that something else will be more ‘fun’ then you’re talking rubbish 🙂
Out of those two, the scooter is waaaaay better for commuting. It absolutely thrashes the pants of the ST3s in every way imaginable.
Cheaper servicing and less often
Less tyre wear
25-30mpg MORE then the bike easily
220mile tank range
Better weather protection than any bike (This is the key)
Massive storage space
ABS and traction control (The ST3 has ABS too)
£115 to insure
ASTONISHING headlights (Don’t underestimate how useful that is)
Better instruments (incl. USB port for phone charging and neat satnav mount for phone)
More manœuvrable
More comfortable
Slimmer
No gears to mess with.
And actually top fun to ride, even 2-up. It barely notices a passenger.

I could go on…..

I recently did a 120 mile round trip every day for 2 weeks that was 65% motorway/25% Fast A road/10% town and it was superb in all weathers. It cruises beautifully at motorway speeds, handles tidily until it starts to scrape the floor and had enough poke to overtake any car I’ve yet to come up behind. I took the bike once and it was a pain in the arse.
We can go into town, chuck helmets AND jackets into the topbox and under the seat and wander off in normal clothes.
Youve gotta be absolutely crackers to have the money and nouse to think of a maxi scooter and then go get a bike.

By the way, that’s a Piaggio X10. 350cc, (Brand new engine design) 33bhp, quiet, smooth, very pokey, 70+ mpg (It’s even got an ‘Eco’ switchable injection map!) and they’re only £5100 brand new, and it’ll hold its value well because they’re rare. Having had 4 Italian scooters I’d stick with them too. Parts are cheap and easy to get should you need them, for a start. It’s a waaaay better bike than a T(K?)- Maxx

🙂

Make of that what you will…. 🙂

Yep, that’s an X10. Very rare bike actually, the only one I’ve ever seen!

It is. That’s why people suggesting using a naked bike all year round are wrong. I can go into town in steady rain with no waterproof trousers on, and still have mostly dry legs, certainly drier than cycling or walking there. The only downside is the screen is a bit low for me and I get some buffeting around my face. Earplugs sorts it if I’m going far or fast. 🙂
I’ve had 5 scooters now (Gilera VXR 180, Peugeot Elystar* 150, a 150 Aprilia, a Vespa GT200 and this) I wouldn’t be without one now. For me it’s either the Italians or Honda for scooters, with the Italians winning because they have the best engines and the best style. Lowest I’ve had on the X10 is 70mpg (Actual, not trip computer) and the best was the last fill at 77mpg, which was all at motorway/fast A road speeds.

*The Pug was absolute shit. Avoid.

Does seem the most sensible option. 300 miles per week will surely have a big effect on its general condition, but hey ho.

Its a £2k m/c, you can barely buy an MTB for that 🙂

This was my last commuter, bought specifically for the job – and what a good job it did. Any m/c will commute, in the past I put 50k on a zx9r doing 100 miles per day into London.