So for the last ten years I have been commuting to work on my push bike (10 mile round trip)

A new job and new shifts have me wondering what the costs would be to shift from a bike to a moped

It’s all 30mph limits and I would need to do a bike test, I have no motorbike kit whatsoever, just wondering how much I should budget for:

Bike lessons
Bike tests
Moped (50cc or 125cc)
Safety gear
Tax
Insurance
Running costs?

Has anyone recently swapped from push bike to moped for their commute?

ski – Ive got a 125cc scooter for getting me to Pershore train station. I also use it to get to Worcester for college.

I get 110mpg on average, and that’s mostly at 60mph. The alternative is my van at 35mpg.

I think I paid £100 for my CBT (renewable every 2yrs)
My insurance is £110pa
Service £50 pa
VED £17 pa

And I think my kit (coat, helmet, gloves) cost about £150ish

I got the bike on 3yr 0% finance. I worked out that the fuel savings cover all the additional costs, and at the end of 3yrs Im up on the residual value, which Im going to use on PEx on a big bike when I’ve done my big bike test in a few weeks.

I ride in all weathers, and prefer it to the van most of the time 🙂

Don’t get a 50cc, you’ll be stuck in the gutter, 125cc will be much better at becoming a part of the traffic flow.

DIY electric bike conversion? No test, still a bike, bit more power and range.

If it is a moped (moped is only 50cc) then it can be ridden without L-plates on a full car licence.

Go and check on the exact licencing requirements for your age and car licence. Ask a local training school.
30 mph max on a 50cc moped , be it a scooter or a motorcycle style thing , will be painful once you get past the fact that its a touch faster than a pedal cycle.

Thats not really true too tall

Diy electroc bike with no test or mot is still limited to 15mph on leccy – good luck assisting it to 30+

good luck assisting it to 30+

Not much point as he said the route is all 30mph.

You need a scooter that can do 60mph to get you out of trouble in an emergency
😛

If it is a moped (moped is only 50cc) then it can be ridden without L-plates on a full car licence.

Depends on your licence (it’s a minefield, IIRC really old licences you don’t, others the CBT doesn’t expire, others you need a CBT every 2 years) and I’d get a CBT anyway just for the training whether you need it legaly or not.

Get a 125, they’re still dog slow (limited to 12hp) but will do 60.

You need a scooter that can do 60mph to get you out of trouble in an emergency

On a bike it’s more true than a car though, not “I need 200bhp” true, but if some dozy **** pulls out on the motorway into you it’s better to be instantly doing 100 in the fast lane than brake into the car behind you. Whereas in a car they’d see you and not pull out (hopefully).

You need a scooter that can do 60mph to get you out of trouble in an emergency

I once had to whack the brakes on max at 70mpg to save a Motorcyclist who’d assumed he could out accelerate cars. We’d both gone from the lights in different lanes and he then decided to change lane without looking, assuming he’s left all the cars miles behind. Only I was along side him. He got quite a shock when he realised mid manoeuvre that he was about to drive into the side of my car….

whats your point ? he wont get anywhere near 30 assisting a DIY E-bike.

yes he could modify the motor and cruise along at 30 and hope he doesnt get pulled over 😉

I once had to whack the brakes on max at 70mpg to save a Motorcyclist who’d assumed he could out accelerate cars. We’d both gone from the lights in different lanes and he then decided to change lane without looking, assuming he’s left all the cars miles behind. Only I was along side him. He got quite a shock when he realised mid manoeuvre that he was about to drive into the side of my car….

So if he’d had more power he’d have been safer 🙂

I once had to whack the brakes on max at 70mpg to save a Motorcyclist who’d assumed he could out accelerate cars.

Good mileage!

2 guys driving like **** nearly have accident shocker- had you both accelerated to 30 just as quick it would have been the same outcome.

I was i the shop down the road at the weekend and they have a demo A2B bike. It could do 42kph! 40 mile range, I’d be buying that if it were me.

assuming you can get it zero rated taxed , and MOT’d i assume 😉

^^^ Ignore all the above! ^^^

Get a 50cc moped – if it’s step thru’ – you’ve got some weather protection. It will probably be an automatic – less to worry about – and you can focus on not hitting anything / sliding on stuff. If you come off at 30mph it will hurt a lot less than 60mph on a 125cc. They are lighter too – so easier to maneuver and generally less intimidating.

This comes from someone who used to do ~50k miles per year for 8 years on all sorts of bikes from 50cc – 1300cc.

Especially as it’s 30 zones all the way – as a commuter option – mopeds rule! I wouldn’t ride a proper motorbike ever again, but I would consider a moped.. 😀

Get a 50cc moped – if it’s step thru’ – you’ve got some weather protection

TBH that is what I was thinking of, a simple twist and go.

Its only going to be used on 30 mph routes anyway.

Do I need to take a CBT for a 50cc, if I passed my driving test back in 1986?

Planning to do some lessons anyway, so doing a CBT is not an issue, just curious?

I wouldn’t be tempted by a 50 – I had a 125 and commuted 20+ miles each way into Birmingham for a couple of years, and the 125 was fab. Step through (although I don’t remember much in the way of protection from the weather!), dirt cheap to run, and fun to ride – that’s the biggest issue I’d have with a 50, I think it’d get prety dull pretty quick. You’re hardly going to be ripping up the tarmac on a 125 scooter, but they’re nippy enough round town.

No idea about the licence, deffo worth checking with DVLA as it is a minefield – I had to do CBTs with a 1992 car licence and whilst they cost a few quid, they are a good, useful course. Made me a more observent and hopefully safer car driver, too.

Might help:

https://www.gov.uk/cbt-compulsory-basic-training/overview

thanks for the link Chris

CBT isn’t a qualiication/licence, it’s a 1 day trainning course, at the end of it you either get a bit of paper that says you’re competent enough to go out and practice on your own or asked to come back for more training (IIRC it’s free untill you either ‘pass’ or they tell you you’re a no hope).

Step throughs are good for keeping legs warm in winter and people who can’t lift their leg over a bike, that’s about it. The handling is crap, there’s very little frame holding the two ends together and usualy have single crown forks (on a bike weighing 100kg + rider!). They’re Ok for pootling round town, but really not upto much, cornering’s how I imagine driving one of those quarry trucks with articulated links between the cab and tipper for steering feels.

Something 125cc and fourstroke will be almost depreciation proof (think I ‘lost’ £100 in 18 months on an almost new CG125, the original owner only lost £300 off the RRP selling ti to me! And it’ll still feel slow after you have your first go on a ‘big’ bike, which is probably what the school will give you to ride if you go back after your CBT for more training.

To put it in context, Caverndish puts out the same power as a moped through a 23mm tyre, and 50cc is smaller than a single espresso! That’s the power output.

a single espresso is generally seen as 30cc.

<pedant award of the week?>

Rachel

nope pedant of the week is asking who “caverndish” is and why we care what his power output is….

I am, however, in the process of working my way up to a motorbike…

I have an old style car driving licence (even says I can drive 7.5 ton lorry with a great big trailer on the back) buy still went and did the CBT. Learned a few things that were useful and on Thursday I’m borrowing a 125cc bike to ride randomly around Norfolk for the day to get some miles in before my Direct Access MOD 1 and MOD 2 days at the end of the month.

125cc bike doesn’t feel all that quick, really, but would probably be okay for commuting. Not sure I would want to be out in traffic on a 50cc moped. Not at all…

edit: trail_rat – good point, well made!

Rachel

a single espresso is generally seen as 30cc.

<pedant award of the week?>

Rachel

we actually work to 40cc. 25cc is a ristretto. 🙂

Step throughs are good for keeping legs warm in winter…

They’re really not.