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for commuting to work when I don't cycle.
My commute is 20 miles each way, 4 days a week. My car does on average 35mpg.
A Honda PCX125 will do (according to reviews) about 100mpg. Insurance is £200 approx. The bike will cost around £2500. Honda have a 3 years 0% deal on at present. Even taking in the finance costs and insurance I will still be quids in right from the start.
An I missing something?
(never owned a motorbike/moped before by the way)
You'll be killed. Horribly.
Buy a car.
WINTER
Spend the extra money on a more efficient car.Everyone on the road is out to kill you.
yeah - thanks for that. Any more likely than on a bicycle?
Causing your mother untold worry
Rain and you'll die riding it. Two reasons for the price of one
yeah - thanks for that. Any more likely than on a bicycle?
Hell no. Much safer than a bicycle.
The solution is a car.*
*I've commuted by motorbike.
I would say that 35mpg for a petrol people carrier is quite good - and being as this is necessary this isn't an option.
I may be moving jobs from a location which is straight through motorway trip to a city centre commute of the same distance which is one of the big drivers for this.
I will still have the car to fall back on when the weather is truly awful
Go for the bike! They rock.
Also, in city centre traffic, is a motorbike actually much quicker?
Get a crosser and off road it to work.
Factor in unlocking the bike/getting it out of the garage, getting kitted up. Locking it up, getting the kit off. Add rain, sleet, snow (or driving during). Don't forget to add the cost of helmet, gortex, heated grips, locks. Add in the chance of death.
As sensible means of transport go bikes struggle to make sense. Better than a bicycle obviously, but crap compared to a car.
As a toy they're great.
Depends on the type of roads on your 20 miles, as a 125cc might be economical but a bit of a drag on that distance + you need to factor in the cost of helmet, boots, protective gear etc. Also, I found it a right pain getting all the gear on (and off) compared to just jumping in the car.
Great in the summer, often very miserable in the winter and you need to be [b]very[/b] aware of idiots to avoid coming to grief.
An I missing something?
No, get a bike. I miss mine desperately.
You will have too much fun, do your full test and buy something with a bit more grunt... thus negating much of the cost saving.
But you will be smiling 🙂
Seen too many dead motorcyclists.
Loddrik. In one shift in Sydney in 1985 I helped fix 4 pretty like those.
it's funny isn't it - had I asked "give me a reason not to cycle to work', the responses would have been far more moderated with no gory photo's.
Seriously, for a 125 on <40mph roads, is it that much more dangerous?
Seriously, for a 125 on <40mph roads, is it that much more dangerous?
No. Less dangerous.
A car is still better though. The clue is all the other cars. People choose them over bikes for a reason.
How about this, i was a naughty boy wen I was younger and had to go on a course for driving offenders. One of the scare tactic they used was to show you still of accidents, each book had about 40 still of each accident. The Policeman had 5 books and as he gave out the last one, I got a serious shiver! It contained detailed photos of one of my best mates who'd killed himself 10 months earlier smashing his bike into a sandstone wall at 60mph. His head and helmet were smashed to pieces and the only way he was identifiable was by his scars. The Officer said in 20 years of doing it he'd never had that happen before and I was excused from the course and offered councelling.
Scary stuff indeed!!
You'll die, loose limbs, wailing and gnashing of teeth will follow you wherever you go.
B*llix.
The faff of unlocking / locking, donning / removing gear etc is a fair point, but for distances too far too cycle (every day at least) a motorised 2 wheeeler makes perfect sense. Cars are sh!te for commuting, unless it's rural.
Ignore the predictable naysayers, get appropriate training, buy decent protective gear, and go for it.
I can see that changing as the fuel prices increase. I can see lots in my situation who need a car for the family, but will choose to commute by moped/motor bike.
A 60% reduction in petrol cost isn't to be sniffed at.
The faff of unlocking / locking, donning / removing gear etc is a fair point
Unless you're doing extreme distances that faff cancels out any speed benefits a bike offers.
I wouldn't look at a bike unless the commute was over an hour. Even then I'd need someone else to pick up the bill (assuming I was keeping the car as well).
Having had a couple of bikes, the main reason is the cold. Think of the coldest you've been on a bike, then imagine being that cold and sitting in a cold bath as well.
It's cold on a motorbike.
Disagree. I had a 13 mile commute a few years ago.
Cycle: 45 mins.
Motorbike: 20 mins.
Car: Up to 90 mins plus nowhere to park.
Hence I cycled in 3 days, used the motorbike 2 days a week.
Disagree. I had a 13 mile commute a few years ago.Cycle: 45 mins.
Motorbike: 20 mins.
Car: Up to 90 mins plus nowhere to park.Hence I cycled in 3 days, used the motorbike 2 days a week.
You live somewhere strange and alien. 😯
Yeah, I'd use a motorbike in that scenario too.
Actually I'd move.
crikey - Member It's cold on a motorbike.
Yes, but there's plenty of good kit, and heated kit. Not cheap admittedly, but riding all year round is perfectly feasible with the right clothing.
currently I get changed at work anyway as I keep all of my work clothes at work in case I cycle in - so that won't change.
As for the duration, the 20 mile commute by car could well be an hour if the new job happens - commute from near Kidderminster to north of Wolverhampton at peak time (coming home). Currently I commute to east Birmingham which isn't too bad especially as I finish at 4.
5thElefant - MemberYou live somewhere strange and alien.
Yeah, I'd use a motorbike in that scenario too.
Actually I'd move.
I took the easier option - new job 20 mins walk from home 🙂
Get a monkey bike. I had one, and they are the bestest thing ever.
Yes, but there's plenty of good kit, and heated kit. Not cheap admittedly, but riding all year round is perfectly feasible with the right clothing.
Expensive though.
If the main aim is saving money on a (trivial) 20mile commute and you're not selling the car I don't think it makes any sense. At best it'll be cost neutral. Which is OK if you want to justify buying a toy, but if you really want to save money? Nah. Crap idea.
As for the duration, the 20 mile commute by car could well be an hour if the new job happens
40 minutes plus 20 minutes fannying around on a bike. Potentially good if parking is an issue though.
It cost serious money to get trained properly, decent kit cost many hundreds, most motorcycles are not that much more efficeint than a car.
However its great fun ( unless the weather is horrid) its far quicker than a car, did i say its great fun?
i would have a scooter rather than a small bike tho
The pcx 125 is a scooter.
3 times more efficient than my car.
The clothing and other kit is noted though and needs factoring in. I had considered a helmet and decent jacket
You could always cycle 5 days per week, perhaps with the occasional public transport when you want some recovery. Yes, I've done that. It depends on how many hours you work and if (like teachers...) you work a million hours after work too.
cycling every day isn't an option as I need to get home to pick kids up from nursery. I can only ride on a Thursday when the missus doesn't work.
You obviously like the idea. Go for it. There are all kind of factors that will come into it but it'll be tougher than you imagine and cost more than you think, but until you try it you won't know if it'll work for you.
Do it then - you know you want to! I would if I had te spare cash to learn etc etc. I can't seen how it is more dangerous than me cycling the A167...
I'd say go for it. Just don't buy the bike new, unless you desperately need the 0%, bike depreciation is the most powerful force on earth.
5thElefantUnless you're doing extreme distances that faff cancels out any speed benefits a bike offers.
It takes me about a minute to gear up. Textile suit over work clothes, dead easy. If you're a congenital faffer or messing around with the wrong kit then yes it can take a while but it doesn't have to.
(also, some people talk about the weather... I arrive in the office in my goretex drier than the people who've run in from the carpark in their office clothes 😉 )
Time yourself. Normal clothes to car. Car to pavement.
Now try that with a bike. Including getting the bike out of the garage.
It takes me a good 5-10 minutes (each end).
I got a Daelim S1 - Insurance is £90, Heated grips Priceless. I considered the PCX but could get similar quality and more storage for less at Daelim. Commuted all winter only beaten by the snowy days. I find its warmer than my transit van and needs no ice scraping! Tank costs £10 to fill and runs for 2 weeks. Bike has survived down to minus 18 with no problems and only needed oil changes and filters.
No more dangerous than urban cycling. Obviously high speed roads same risk as a "real" biker.
One reason not to buy a motorbike?
90% of society will treat you like a social leper, and try to convince you you're about to die from a horrible disease (riding a motorbike) anytime soon...
But if that doesn't bother you, go ahead and buy! You're probably safer commuting on a motorbike than on a pushbike in my experience... Though a bright yellow Ducati with a straight through exhaust might have helped other road users notice me though! 😉
5thElefant - MemberTime yourself. Normal clothes to car. Car to pavement.
Now try that with a bike. Including getting the bike out of the garage.
It takes me a good 5-10 minutes (each end).
I know how long it takes me 😕 Literally as long as it takes to take my boots off, take my overtrousers off and put my work shoes on. A minute? 2 tops. Getting the bike out of the garage is faster than getting the car off the driveway most mornings but even if it wasn't, it only takes about a minute to get it out. Genuinely have no idea how it can possibly take you 10 minutes unless you have to be sewn into your gear.
Get a motorbike/scooter, the best commuting vehicle bar none.
I commuted for 8 years, 5 miles on busy urban roads (Meanwood to Calverley) in Leeds, then for two year from Meanwood to Halifax, busy urban with lots of queues with wide open road inbetween.
A motor bike (or in my case a scooter) was by far the fastest way to do each commute. On the shorter and slower commute you just put up with the elements to a great extent so no faffing (and how long does it take to put on an oversuit and get a bike out of a garage anyway? five minutes? it took me that long to get onto Otley Road in a car).
On the longer commute my colleague had to leave his hovel in Cleckheaton before I left Meanwood to travel a 1/3 of the distance to work, I used to regularily buzz past him sat in a queue. Don't underestimate how much time you spend in queues in a car, on a small bike you can filter through anything and unless your bike is seriously pathetic you can get the jump on just about any car at a set of lights!
My scooter did 80mpg and was at full throttle all the time 55mph. Saved me I reckon about seven hours and £20 a week on the longer commute and that was at 1999 fuel prices.
I now have a company car and drive long distance, I was so much happier going to work on two wheels, bikes rock. It depresses me how few people I see commuting on powered two wheelers these days, I occassionally have to sit on the Edinburgh bypass in the heart of the rush hour, seldom see a motorbike. these ****wits that surround me must leave their house everyday knowing they're going to be sitting in god awfull traffic and none have the sense to get a bike, unbeleivable.
Spaceman -It depresses me how few people I see commuting on powered two wheelers these days
Pop down to The Big Smoke and observe, everyday, the hordes of people with engines between their legs 🙂
If I could trust myself not to get fat and lazy, I'd get a ped. Watching how they thrash every other form of transport in London is recommendation enough. Then again, I do love my bicycle...
Anyway, just to repeat the best advice so far:
5thElefant -You obviously like the idea. Go for it. There are all kind of factors that will come into it but it'll be tougher than you imagine and cost more than you think, but until you try it you won't know if it'll work for you.