I’ve nearly convinced Mrs P that a scooter would be the least worst way to get to work, the only real sticking point is the complete unknown coat of ongoing maintenance.

My crappy train service is stupidly cheap at £72 per month. I’ve been doing the sums and I think I can probably do the commute on a nice little 125 for about the same cost but am I being optimistic?

Commute is 40 miles round trip, I’m thinking probably £8 a week in petrol.
Insurance is £150ish a year. And Im hoping maintenance would be less than £100 per year.

I’m planning on doing as much as possible myself, is this feasible? I’m quite handy with spanners, bit how much spannering does a scooter need?

Any knowledge on here?

Main roads or back streets?
If you are only around town a 125 will still be frustratingly slow but will do the job, if you have any main roads to contend with then I wouldn’t bother. Take a test or buy a 3 wheeler you can ride on a car licence.
Also don’t underestimate the cost of riding gear. Helmet, 2 or 3 pairs of gloves if you are year round riding. For winter riding a proper jacket will run you at least £350 up to £1000 if you want to stay properly warm and dry. Boots £150 trousers £100+. Decent chain £200 plus disc lock £100 assuming you have bike thieving scum where you live too.
I do a 26 mile commute on an adventure bike, saves me loads of time but motorcycling is no longer the cheap means of transport it used to be. I’m expecting service costs of £1100 this year (don’t buy triumph!)
125 scooter will probably be a couple of hundred a year servicing, if you do it yourself probably £50 in oil and filters.

I do about 40 or 50 miles a day on my 125. Got a jacket for 50 quid off eBay Waterproof with s thermal liner. Trousers off Amazon with the same for about 60 quid. Helmet was 90 quid off ebay. Gloves about 20 but they are getting to be too warm now.
It can feel a bit slow but it beats sitting in Birmingham traffic every day. Probably about a tenner a week in fuel but the tank only holds about 4 or 5 quid on my bike anyway so a bit frustrating keep having to go to a petrol station.
I got a few locks with chains and a wall anchor to secure it over night but it’s a fairly old and tatty workhorse so not a huge target I’d imagine.
I serviced it myself and was easy and changed the rear brakes pads which was also easy. If you’re handy with a spanner then you should be alright to do most of the work yourself

The three wheeler is a good shout, there’s a couple of them at work seem nice bits of kit. If you don’t have motorways a 125 might be doable but a 300cc three wheeler may be a bit more relaxed. I scooter commute but on a 250. The waterproof leg covers you can fit are a good shout as are heated grips. Kit wise I use Oxford stuff which is waterproof, warm and cheap. Boots I’m just using dewalt safety boots.

Its a mix of suburban urban and the bits in between.

Ive been cycling it for the last 3 years, max speed limit is 50mph and that’s only 10 minutes cycling time, i don’t think it would be too bad on a 125, wouldn’t want to do it on a 50 though.

Wasn’t planning to spend that much on a jacket though, was hoping that a screen would keep the worst of it off. Might have to do more research.

Looked at 3 wheelers, too expensive to buy, insure and run. No way I can get one of them past the FPO.

I whole heartedly recommend that you don’t
A) buy a used helmet and
B) buy it online

Sounds like on that journey a 125 might be fine

No definitely wouldn’t be doing that.

Looking at paying less than a grand for a used Honda or similar. Helmet I’ll get from local bike shop. Jacket and trews probably used, or in a sale from somewhere.

Was going to go for pogies too, as well as gloves rather than going mad on decent gloves because my fingers are too short for my palms.

Who the heck would want a three wheeler?

Used to commute on dual carriage A roads on a 125, it would sit fairly comfortably at truck speeds so your commute sounds fine. 🙂

Who the heck would want a three wheeler?

I was in Nice at the end of last year and the number of them was really noticeable.They also seem to be being used a lot on the Giro at the moment. Remember that in Europe just as with mountain biking people have a habit of buying the thing to do the job they want to do rather than to express their fantasy self, one of the reasons we need to leave, we can’t have that kind of nonsense spreading here `:-)

I genuinely thought this was going to be a thread about those bloody electric scooters that seem to be taking over the roads (and cycle tracks and footpaths) these days.

Carry on. As you were.

consider 80cc scooters as well – cheaper and there is an 80cc class on the mainland. Should do 50 ish

@sailor74

If you are only around town a 125 will still be frustratingly slow but will do the job

I don’t really follow your reasoning here. I rode 125s for years – around town they were quicker than just about anything else as they accelerate so fast.

if you have any main roads to contend with then I wouldn’t bother

This makes a bit more sense to me, but I’m still not convinced. My friend and I lived quite close and worked at the same place, about 45 minutes away. Our ride started in town, moved onto a dual carriageway then an ‘A’ road, then finished in town again. We used to ‘race’ to work and we arrived at pretty much the same time – she’d be faster on the big roads but I’d make up so much time in town that I’d catch her up. If there was any sort of congestion I’d usually get there first.

@prawny

was hoping that a screen would keep the worst of it off

I’d be careful with a screen. I used to have trouble with those on windy days. If you have a good jacket (I’d look for one that has removable lining) then you should stay dry.

I agree with sailor74 about the helmet, Spend more than you think you should, don’t buy it online, get to a decent bike shop and try a couple on.
I always liked helmets that had a moveable front section – they are a bit heavier, but I like being able to open it up.

Interesting about the screen, hadn’t thought about that. I like flip front helmets too, but I can’t think of an occasion when I’d need to flip the front and they’re about £50 more than a fixed one. Biggest thing I want is the flip down sun shield thing, they’re ace.

@big yim i missed your post yesterday, might see you out there soon, I’ll be heading into the city centre from Cannock way, I definitely don’t think a 125 will struggle speed wise for the last 6-7 miles, because nothing else is moving.

I ride a 125 scooter for a 16 mile round trip through traffic. Should have done it years ago, commutes by Nike for years but got knocked off one too many times, and not going near a road on a pushbikes again.

Helmet and parka style coat with protection was £120…£7 week in petrol.

Through traffic like a ninja

@sc-xc do you have to do much in the way of ongoing maintenance during the year?

Mrs BS commutes 10 miles each way on a little 115cc Yamaha. Bought at 90miles old for £1100. She’s now done over 4K miles on it.

£82/yr for insurance, £19/yr tax, £4.50 a week on fuel. It’s had 2 oil/filter services at £40 a time done at home for cost of parts.

Will do 60mph downhill with the wind behind it. Cuts her commute time in half.

Cmc Cannock have some good kit in the sales although you will have missed it this year now. But they do have a sales outlet in Chesterfield which is worth a look at if you go up that way, I bought an Agv helmet , waterproof textile jacket, trousers and gloves last year all with 50% off.
Fair play for cycling that far every day for 3 years!

Righto!!

CBT is booked, helmet is bought, just need to get a jacket and I’m good to go.

Oh and I bike yeah. Need to keep it below a grand, been looking at Yamaha Vitys and boring stuff like that. Also there’s a few YBRs and CBF 125s in my price range. Mrs P isn’t keen on me having a ‘motorbike’ so I’ve been focusing on the scooter market, but I’m wondering whether a bike might not be more reliable? I don’t know.

Scooter pros
Drier feet
Automatic
Better storage

Bike pros
Bit cooler
Bigger wheels are betterer

Any tips?

scooter every time. Reduced maintenance, hose it down to clean. keeps you clean and dry. can fit a windscreen ( essential for winter IMO) less likely to be knackered, crash better than bikes ie cosmetic damage only not damaged engines and controls

Don’t forget to include a decent lock in your budget – at least £100 ( unless you get a peugeot speedfigth that has an good inbuilt cable lock)

Ooh yeah, I’ll pick up a lock soon, although I do have underground parking at work that I can use, so it’s not super essential straight away, depending on how annoying getting out of the carpark at night is and how in the way the bike is in the garage at home.

I commuted on a 125 for about 2 years until I passed my full test and got a motorbike.

It was a 26 mile round trip and scooter was plenty quick and fast enough and I weighed about 15st at the time. As mentioned above faster than cars from the lights.

To answer your scooter v bike. I’d go scooter first up for ease of pretty much everything. But they do get knicked…

I wouldn’t be too swayed by the “cool” factor, and bigger wheels are only likely to be an advantage on lumpy tarmac. I’d also be thinking a YBR or CNF would be slightly more likely to be nicked – if you’re in traffic for much of the journey, scooter FTW. 🙂

the complete unknown coat of ongoing maintenance

Is that a book title?

I’d also be thinking a YBR or CNF would be slightly more likely to be nicked

I’m not so sure about that, YB/CB/GN are all proper little commuter bikes with gears and everything, if you’re anywhere with significant scrote-crime then a twist and go step through is far more useful to them, as not having to worry about gears is a as a good thing when you’re out mugging people as when you’re stuck in traffic.

Maintenance in theory hardly any – but mine had faulty charging regulators, vulnerable fuel tank and pump systems that cost as much as the bike to repair from new.

Nobody stole it despite sitting abandoned for ages. I gave up because my first used scooter dodnt work and the one I bought from new didn’t work either. Too much faff and expense.

How cerebral is she? Scooter riding is hard work. If you are not the sort of person to see riding driving as a skill dinnae bother.

125 motorbike maintenance basically boils down to an oil change, check the spark plug (it’ll be fine), check the valve clearances (they’ll be fine), wash the air filter under a tap. That will pretty much be it until the chain wear out somewhere around 50,000 miles. CG125’s make old nokia phones (the ones that could survive a nuclear war) look disposable.

Scooters……….

The exhausts rot because they’re not nice chromed things you can see and want to polish clean.
They often have fancier dashboards, and anything electrical on a motorbike is basically waiting to get wet and die, or be shaken to bits and die, or fall on the floor and die (you get the gist). CVT belts wear out. I’m not convinced by TJ’s argument that they crash better, there’s acres of expensive plastic, a CG125 lands on the foot peg, handlebar and pillion handle, nothing else touched the floor unless you land on the exhaust side, I’ve tried it.

Having said that, a scooter with a windscreen in winter is by far and away the best option. You can even get those covers that you step into and keep your lower half dry, they make you look like a granny in an invalid chair, but they keep you half warm and dry.

So if you want to spend £1000, and then absolutely nothing else and sell it for £999 in two years time get a 125 with the least amount of extras possible. If you want two years of comfortable commuting, get a scooter, but accept that there are more points of failure and when (it is when) you crash it, it’s basically written of the moment it touches the ground (but not structural so get the payout and buy it back off them and keep riding).

If it were me:
125 motorbike for the summer, sell it in september (there’s always a market for them unlike big bikes which are only popular in summer).

Then decide if you want to take your restricted/full test. Been a while since I did mine but I think you can still get an A2 licence (plenty for a big scooter) if you take the test on a 125? Which then converts to an A after 2 years?

Then either get a bigger scooter, or bigger motorbike. There’s nothing wrong with 125’s, but it’s a bit like commuting on a BMX, for the effort involved you could go faster.

I’m working on the assumption that resistance to crashes isn’t an issue, I really don’t like falling off bikes. I did it one a few years ago and it wasn’t fun at all.

There’s loads more choice of geared bikes in my budget, but I do think a scooter would be better for me commuting in traffic. Plus the luggage carrying would be handy.

I love motorbikes though, there’s an er5 on FB for just under a grand and I’d have that in a heartbeat. But SWMBO isn’t a fan at all.

Definitely planning to do my full license, whether A2 or whatever just so I don’t have to keep redoing my CBT

CBT is done, I enjoyed that immensely. It’s definitely confirmed to me that I want a scooter for getting to work, changing gear all the time would be a ball ache in stop start traffic.

Hasn’t put me off getting a full licence though, I’d love a maxi scooter now.

Well done 👊

CBT is done, I enjoyed that immensely. It’s definitely confirmed to me that I want a scooter for getting to work.

Well done on the cbt!
I was looking at bikes (triumph bonnevilles) on auto trader on Friday, but I can’t see any being better for my commute than my scooter, very pleased I bought it.

Scored me a Yamaha Vity 125 of Facebook this afternoon. It’s the cheapest bike I own 😂!

It was a 10 mile jaunt back, handled very nicely should do the job nicely for going into Brum. Sadly can’t fit it in my garage so I’m going to have to get a good cover for it, don’t want a wet arse every morning. Looking forward to the first commute in the morning, no idea how long it will take.

First day done.

Took me just under an hour each way, saved me the best part of an hour’s commuting today 😃

Negatives, I’m not sure I’ve bought the right bike, it’s great in town, but on the open roads it’s a bit nervous, I reckon something a bit bigger (physically, not engine) would be much nicer on the A roads, but then wouldn’t be as good in traffic. We shall see.

Also, I’m amazed that car drivers still feel the need to overtake even when I was well to the centre of my lane, doing 30 in a 30 zone with houses either side.
Zero points for guessing the make of car he was driving.
Still as soon as we got to the next traffic queue I took great pleasure in breezing by.

Think I’ll go on the train tomorrow, my ticket is still valid and there’s a yellow weather warning so I’ll be cautious until I’m really used to the bike.

All in all, a happy bunny.

I used to commute from Rossendale to Rochdale daily on an 80cc Piaggio. Me and our kid had just finished years of MX racing so I knew how to derestrict/tune a 2stroke. It used to wheelie away from lights up to 30mph, would do an indicated 70mph and once beat a CBR600 in a traffic light GP. Bloody loved that thing! But I crashed it a few times then got rear ended at a set of traffic lights. Good fun though!

3 month update, I’ve changed jobs and I’m only working 8 miles down the road in Stafford now.

I’m still on the Vity, it’s not got much better, it’s a hairy ride across the chase, the road is bumpy and twisty, a change for something with bigger wheels is definitely on the cards when I can afford it. The headlight is awful though so I’m not looking forward to the clocks going back, there’s also no back up public transport so if the weather is awful my ‘safe’ choice will be the MTB straight across the chase.

Mrs P is steadfast in her ‘no motorbikes’ rule, so I’ll have to test ride a few different scooters and see what feels best.

I’m going to get a full licence over the winter hopefully and maybe look at getting a slightly bigger scoot, maybe a 300 or something, I’ll see what works later.

8 miles, can you cycle?

I use a Yamaha tmax 250 for my commute into central London when not on the bike, excellent bike, fast acceleration, light to push around out of tight parking spaces, good weather protection and a real hoot to ride. Bag of work kit goes under the seat and it sips fuel. I quite fancy a bigger scooter maybe a 400 or 600 but not sure I’m going to go back to motorbikes any time soon.

I really miss my yamaha dtr 125. I sold it because I was doing silly things on it. It was so much fun to go full out on it wheelie etc. 0 to 50 it was as fast as anything out there. After 50, not so much. I think if I hadn’t done the sensible thing and sold it, I wouldn’t be here now.

I don’t really see the difference between a 125 scooter petrol engine and a 125 motorbike petrol engine?

Isn’t that just like saying a hybrid and a gravel bike are different?

Have you been using it in bad weather? What’s it been like?

Decent kit, heated grips and one of those big skirt things on mine make it fine – better than my old Kawasaki!