Reading to London; pondering the commute. Advice?

[Hevra]

Hi guys,

Been a while since I last posted but have been lurking. Passed my MOD1 in October and MOD2 in November last year, on my 125, so on a restricted licence for a while.

Have been riding for a little over a year, mostly short distance commutes to work on country roads/dual carriage ways (if anyone's familiar with the area, from Finchampstead to Bracknell).

I'm now a mature student at uni in London, WC1E, and although I qualify for a young persons railcard again (the secret of eternal youth, go back to uni), it's costing me £20 more or less a day to get in, and next year I'll have to be in every day.

Lecturer tells me riding in London isn't signing my own death warrant; (old Divvy 600); course mate (collection of old Moto Guzzis) tells me to (wo)man up and get a bigger bike.

Anyway, enough rambling.

1 - How do you work out running costs beyond petrol?
2 - Is riding in London going to kill me?
3 - What would you recommend for a mix of motorway and A roads, relatively cheap (ie sub £3000) that is reliable and comfortable?

Looking at the AA, they reckon it's just over an hour from home to uni, which will halve my current journey time...

Any advice or inane ramblings gratefully received...

H
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_MJS_ : TLDR; MTFU, RTFM, DIY, tits and Gary. It's the only way you'll learn
CBF125 > XJ600S > V-Strom 650

[instigator]

First off, why spend so much money!

I'd be looking for a low mileage GPZ500 or CB500s for 1200 maximum and retain the rest for running costs which should last you a while.

Riding in London is far different from riding in Reading, more cars (naturally) and more people doing the same commute as you, desperate to get to/from work in a hurry.

[Muscle Bike Rider]

Where you going to Uni, UCL? riding in London is fine, I commute everyday to WC1E with no problems, just keep your wits about you and ride your own ride, Divvy will handle the commute fine or as suggested a cb500 or gpz, theres no parking charge in WC1E bays and if you are at UCL you know theres bike parking covered by cctv right?, buy a cheap commuter, decent lock and a good set of textiles, boots & gloves and just maintain your bike well.
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Previously Known As A5tra_G
Old Bikes :2010 Kawasaki ER6 F & 2000 Honda VTR Firestorm
Current Bike : XJR1300

[Imonster]

All year round for a Reading -> London commute? Get a Gilera Fuoco 500 - they're ugly, but ride like a normal bike and consequently go through London traffic nice and easy. But with twice the stability and the option to stick on one of those weatherproof coveralls over the top.

Genuine suggestion, don't knock them till you've tried one. (and once you've graduated you can get a fun bike).
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Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

[Hevra]

[Richtea]

[Pete.]

Don't spend 3 grand on a commuting hack. Less than a grand will do the job and the heartache is a lot less when it gets nicked or bashed.
My last commuter bikes were:

04 Bandit £270
98 Divvy £500
01 GSXR600 £1500
82 Xj1100 £300

All but the xj1100 were repaired cat c bikes and all did at least 7k miles in a year without letting me down.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Wibbler]

I know that route well having driven into London quite a bit from J10 of the M4.

Honestly, I don't think London is your worry... I'd be more worried about the craziness of the M4 in the morning (unless you're going to try and do it on the A roads!).

[Bendy]

Riding in London is no big thing. Like anywhere, you assume nothing and keep your wits about you. Frankly I'd trust London drivers to be aware of bikes far more than the numpties you get in Reading.

Gear wise the only thing I've found is that dressing to be warm on the motorway bit can leave you a bit too warm when you get into town, or vice versa. (I'm junction 12 so have a reasonable motorway bit to do). I would definitely choose a bike with a bit of a fairing, the difference in keeping the cold and wet off is immense.

Running costs - well fuel's a no brainer. Then look at the mileage you'll do each day and see how often you'll need to do oil changes. Buy something that doesn't eat chains and tyres (I use a gsxr1000 to do Reading > Soho once a week, I wouldn't if I was going every day) and that's pretty much it.

A personal bugbear of mine is tank range. When you know what the distance to-from will be, I'd be keen to find something I could get 2 trips out of a tank rather than one if possible - if you're anything like me you won't want to be stopping for fuel in town, you'll get it at the beginning or end of your trip. Doing it every day is a drag.

Also, choose something you're happy to filter on. I used to have a Sprint ST and while the motorway bit was lovely, I didn't really like it in town - it was too big and heavy. Changing to the smaller, lighter GSXR (crap steering lock excepted) made filtering and parking and general arsing about much easier.

[Hevra]

Thanks Bendy

Will look out for something semi-faired at least - also I think a screen would be useful. I've never done motorway riding before but I assume spray and wind buffeting are an issue.

A good point on the tank range - I don't want to be fannying around twice a day filling up. I'll be riding past a petrol station before I get on the motorway so would prefer to only have to fill up one way.
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_MJS_ : TLDR; MTFU, RTFM, DIY, tits and Gary. It's the only way you'll learn
CBF125 > XJ600S > V-Strom 650

[Muscle Bike Rider]

[The Shaggy D.A.]

[Hevra]

Thanks Shaggy, those are very useful figures, appreciated.
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_MJS_ : TLDR; MTFU, RTFM, DIY, tits and Gary. It's the only way you'll learn
CBF125 > XJ600S > V-Strom 650