Winter - Bike or Car?

[NexusDragon]

So I know there a few topics like this going on at the moment, but I wouldn't mind a little advice on something.

I currently have a 1994 Astra 1.4i Auto and a new 08' FZ6 S2. Now I barely ever use the car, probably once a week to pick someone up and pop down the supermarket. I'm paying for a car (Insurance, Tax, fuel guzzler) that I barely even use, so my thoughts were to get rid of it and buy a winter bike of some kind to go with my naked Fazer. My local dealer had an old 1993 Kawa ZZR600 for sale and I thought it would be a perfect, cheap winter bike that I wont need to worry about dropping or damaging.

Anyway.. My question is if you had a car already, would you sacrafice selling a perfectly fine car (albeit expensive to run) for a full-faired winter bike? I'm so sick of driving the thing, yet I have this feeling that the second I sell it I will suddenly need a car for something.
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DAS Passed 19th April 08. 07' YBR125 > Yamaha FZ6 S2 '08 > 1998 YZF600R ThunderCat

[The Shaggy D.A.]

If you don't use it, sell it - you can always hire a car if you need one, might work out cheaper in the long run. Then again, have you been through a winter on a bike?
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Previously : CB100N > CB250RS > XJ900F > GT550 > GPZ750R/1000RX > AJS M16 > R100RT > Bullet 500 > CB500 > LS650P > Bullet Electra X & YBR125 > Bullet 350 "Superstar" & YBR125 Custom > Royal Enfield Classic 500 Despatch Limited Edition (28 of 200) & CB Two-Fifty Nighthawk > ER5

[NSR Mick]

There is now way on earth I would give up my car now.

I did my fair share of winer riding when I where younger and It's not nice.

I know it's not really cold at the moment but I think you may regret selling the car when you wake up one morning and it's -5 and white outside.
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If you dont like the way that I ride.......Stop trying to keep up!!!

[Whosthedaddy]

I sold the type R so that I now just have the bike (and the wifes car if needed). I had various reasons other than just not using it and spending a fortune for the pleasure.

[Tonka]

I'm all for not being a wet blanket and riding in all weather, but I'm not sure I would be able to ride today even if I had to. The rain is horizontal and the roads around here are just treacherous with mud and leaves, let alone car drivers all steamed up and careless . I'm quite certain that I would be having an uncomfortable close up of the tarmac on a day like today

Best advice would be from the hardened winter riders, but I'm keeping my 4 wheels for days like today
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[veeeffarr]

[Jai466]

Sell the cars and buy a cheap 1.4 which you can use if needed.

But keep the bike.

[Barry_M2]

[s44678]

Maybe this is being bit simplistic (and controversial for a bike forum) but if you used the car more often then it wouldn't seem so expensive.

Either have it, and use it regularly. Or don't have it at all. Having it and using it once a week is expensive (as you are finding out).

You either need it or you don't. If there are other ways you can get the shopping or pick people up, then flog it and get a winter hack. On the other hand, if you can't be without it even for these occasional times, then you need to start using it for other things to make it worthwhile.

[Bofh5]

2 choices for me

1. take the car spend between 1 and 2 hours trying to get to work but will stay dry although ready to maim and kill after all that stationary time queueing.

2. take the bike get wet for 15 minutes. hang gear up to dry during the day get wet for another 15 minutes going home.

still the bike for me unless it was really really end of the world bad
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(L)users...Disk space is to good for them.

Bikes: Honda 50 / CB125-TDC / 93 CBR600 F2 (Stolen & Trashed) / 2001 SP-1 (Sold) / 95 CBR600 F3

[cicatrez]

if you can get access to another car (i.e partners car, or parents car), then sell it, and use there car when needed.
if it was me, I'd keep the car. Only if it was proving too expensive to use the car would I then keep mine off the road (or in your case sell it). until i had more money.
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'02 Honda City Fly

[_Will_]

Done my winters of riding, looking at the weather today it only reinforces my decision to buy a car to use aswell
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Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[NexusDragon]

Thanks for all the replies! Mixed opinions I see, I can understand that the weather will get worse, I suppose I'm lucky that I dont need to commute (I live a five minute walk from my workplace) so in reality both the bike and car are actually wants rather than needs. Selling the car would save me monthly debits and not having a car at all will make me wonder 'Do I need to go out at all?' thus possibly saving more in travel costs. Partner will just have to get the train over instead.

Actually owning two motorcycles would still be cheaper than my current predicament. I suppose I just want to take that one extra leap in to the riding world by selling my four wheels, though perhaps right now wouldn't be the best bet.
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DAS Passed 19th April 08. 07' YBR125 > Yamaha FZ6 S2 '08 > 1998 YZF600R ThunderCat

[craigs23]

For a 5 mile trip I'd buy a scooter, or cycle.

I'd buy a car when I feel the need to use one; like when I'm older with kii#ds and need to push a trolley around a supermarket once a week. In the mean time I'll continue riding. A little rain and a few extra layers of clothing won't stop me riding my bike.

[Louise]

I will always ride through winter - even tho I dont enjoy it.
I dont want a car, but due to having a child its needed.

[mentali-juan]

Keep the car for the real shitty days and if you need to pick up stuff.

But a good hack for £500-£1000.
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Charlie dont surf!
Nemo me impune lacessit

[veeeffarr]

[Fahd]

[steppen22]

There's something a little lame about this thread.

I think some of the comments do lend credence to the suggestion that motorcycles are "toys" for many people.

It's never that cold and it's never that wet in the UK. The UK has a fairly boring climate. If the climate of the UK has you running to your air conditioned cages, you ain't made of very strong fibres, I'm afraid. No madcap adventurer are you!

Oh my, to think that little over a 100 years ago people didn't have cars! How did they cope! Their hats must have been soaked right through! yesterday's luxuries become today's necessities... eh?

To the opening poster, have you considered a bus? You'l need a facemask and ear plugs to block out all the nastiness, but public transport seems to be the resolution of your insurance, tax, etc, woes. (Obviously you can run through with yourself all the excuses as to why it is not)
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no regrets, no retreat, no apology.
I've made mistakes in the past, and I apologise for FUCK ALL.

[Al]

I've just got my bike and scooter now, I sold my car to save some money, I'm about £125-£150 per month better off now
It would have probably been more practical to have sold my bikes instead but the car was just transport and the bikes are transport and my only real hobby.
So I'm back to commuting in the cold, I've done it for 8 winters already so its not such a big deal.
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[Fahd]

[dabigginger]

I don't mind riding in the rain (as long as it's not really mega pissing down) and as long as it's above freezing it's fine. However, when it's pouring down, or super icy outside, you'll want the car. I was determined to ride through a winter earlier this year (after buying my work hack) and it's not massively fun. The bike doesn't grip that well, cold hands are horrible.

I've decided to drive when it's really wet or cold. I want to enjoy riding, not resent it.

[The Shaggy D.A.]

[djr]

well... i was going to go back to riding bikes for the winter as my car insurance runs out soon and i'm trying to save up for a house at the moment but i got on me bike today and after riding about 5 miles (25 mile each way to work) into my journey and filtering up a queue of traffic a van driver decided "oh f**k this" and started pulling a u-turn and i went into the side of him... I'm not sure that insurance will even bother repairing it now tbh .

[stevo as b4]

I can see the points both ways in some aspects here.

1, If the guy has what is a cheap old car, and it's all paid for, then it's not a huge expense to run and keep on the road. Shame it's an auto, as that will give you 5-10mpg less everywhere. i have the same car but manual transmission, and i get 45mpg, It's £120 per year to tax, and insurance is relativley pennies. I do less than 4K a year in it, so thats one basic service and a £50 MOT a year.

You can't run some bikes for the cost that a small cheap car can incurr these days.

2, Bear in mind that a £500 budget will buy you much more of a winter hack car wise than it would a bike. i'd not want to ride a knackered old saggy bike thats got some power, as it could be dangerous. I don't think £500 buys a much in the way of a decent reliable bike really anyway TBH.

3, If you ditch the car, and get 2bikes, then it's still 2lots of tax and insurance, unless you only tax your decent/best bike for 6mths of the year and vice versa. The option of getting a really small bike, scooter or a push bike is better than buying a 500cc+ winter bike that is impossible to justify for most uses. If you sell the car and buy a C90 then your saving money all the time, but sell the car to get a 600cc bike and i can't see where the economics come into it?

4, If you really only need a car for one journey a week or to fetch the shopping etc, then like others have said consider buying a bus or train monthly pass, which is cheaper and would get you about for less than running a car that is sat idle for days or weeks, but costing you money none the less. Even one taxi trip a week is going to be cheaper than running a car for the occasional trip.

If you do keep the car, then i'd say use it more than once a week, so that you can justify it. If you don't need it for work, then your over half way there to not needing it at all, and not needing to have the expense of it, taking up valuable wages every month, that you could be spending on something you enjoy or want more.