commuting

[jellb79]

Hi everyone,

Not sure if this is in the right area on the forum but I'll ask anyway.

Just a quick question about commuting. I currently commute by car to London which is about 40 miles each way and want to get a bike to get through traffic.
What's the furthest other people commute, and what bike do you ride?

Cheers
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No Bike NoCBT No Licence No clue

[goto10]

I commute from Hockley to London (W1) everyday (40 miles each way, A13) using an ER5.
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'12 NC700S & '12 CB600F Hornet [Stolen by some dickless twat] Suzuki GT500 shed

[Derivative]

I do not commute to work, but I do make a regular-ish 200 mile journey to University using a CB500. 10-20 times a year.

[dungbug]

I commute about 8 miles each way to work on the Thundercat, did the same run with the GN for nearly a year. The GN did quite a few longer trips, 30-40 mile trips with no real bother. Just bear in mind that a bike with L plates isn't allowed on the motorway, so if you're not using the motorways it's all good.
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CBT: Pass 25/06/2011 Theory Test: Pass12/06/2012 Mod 1: Fail 08/07/2012
Mod 1 Retest: Pass 15/0702012 Mod 2: Pass 03/08/2012
Suzuki GN125 (Sold) ~ Current bike: Yamaha YZF 600R Thundercat

[Flatbadger]

For what its worth I have a reasonably new Suzuki 125 (2009) and it consistently gets 110mpg. Or £7.50...

You'll work a 125 hard doing all those miles though, unless you're doing DAS/less mpg with a larger bike.

[_Iain_]

For getting to london i'd have my GS500. 80-90mph cruising no problem. Stable on the motorway.

Actually in the city? YBR all the way. It's light, the clutch is light, it's narrow, easy to flick about etc.

Have taken both up there.

If soley for commuting and getting to london, and you can promise yourself not to break 70-75mph on the motorway then probbably the CBF250, or YBR250's are worth looking at. Midway between the two bikes, and the 125's quoted 100mpg goes to shit when you look at a motorway.
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Please be aware that the above post may be full of complete nonsense.
Riding: '07 KTM Duke II, Baotian BT49QT-20 Driving: '88 Volvo 340

[GSTEEL32]

I do about a 40 mile round trip up the a23 as far as the city then hang a right over to canary whalf.

Currently use a ducati 900ss but have used a fj1200 and a 900 trophy without any problems.

I don't think there's any "correct" bike to use as such. I'd go for something comfortable, cheap and reliable.

[Teflon-Mike]

Dont tell me: car driver, fed up with the costs of fuel, parking, & conjestion charges, and you have the idea that a bike will do 3x mpg, and not cost anything to park?

If so, before going any further; check the REAL costs, because, its not that simple.

Cost of getting trained and a licence in your pocket, getting all the 'gear' to ride a bike in all weathers adds a big 'start up' investment, that can take a long while to get back from 'savings'; all weather commuting, will also see you wear that kit out fairly frequently, so its not a once and forever overhead, and then, actual running costs on bikes frequently have a lot of hidden costs by way of expensive and short lived tyres, brake-pads and high maintenance demands.

Meanwhile; 40 miles across busy city congestion is not going to be fun; especially in poor weather.

Many riders like the idea of riding better than the reality, even in ideal Sunny-Sunday conditions.

Bikes & 40 mile commutes, bit of a Random place to start, so excuse me for asking if this is a fully thought through 'plan' or merely chasing an idea.... if so, then before looking at what bikes might be more or less useful, there's a heck of other stuff to ponder, first!

BUT.... for 40 miles each way, 80p miles a day, 400 miles a week?

That's a LOT of miles, JUST to get to and from work......

Have to be a big comfy, low maintenence 'tourer' like a Honda Duville, or Pan-Euro for me to contemplate them miles, and certainly shaft drive....

Most bikes have service intervals in the order of 1000miles....

Hard worked in stop start city snarl, would shorten than, hammering chains, tyres and brake pads... a conventional commuter-twin like a CB500, would be being hammered and if I was DIYing my own maintenence, for that sort of mileage and use, it would demand a half a day of my week-end to keep on top of it, or an expensive Dealer Service every fortnight...... Even a larger less demanding shaft drive tourer would still need a lot of attension and 1600 miles a month, would suggest a day in the dealers every pay-day......

That's 20,000 miles a year, which would be high miles for a car; which as utiliterian transport average around 15,000 a year.

Bikes, more often sold as 'local' commuting machines, bus-fare beaters, or as more occasional 'leisure' vehicles, average mileage is are more often in the region of 3-6K miles a year.

That sort of mileage suggests BIG fuel savings... but service intervals will rapidly errode them, and bikes that will be easier to live will will not deliver such big fuel savings and probably errode what they do offer fairly fast in maintenance costs.

ONE thing is fur sure... not something you are going to comfortably do on a 125cc twist and go scooter!

I used to commute, just shy of 20 miles a day into Birmingham..... didn't save me any time, when I added the time to suit up at the beginning, and get changed at the end, and it certainly didn't save me any money!

So many variables, BUT... mate that I shared the last five miles to work with did his 25 mile run every day on a BMW R80..... He reckoned for him it was cheaper than the train or a car..... but readily admitted, that that 'saving' didn't cover what he spent at the NEC show on new gear and goodies every year! Let alone the 'Away From the Wife' Rallys on the weekends..... but you wouldn't get to do them if you had a car.....

Bottom line is; we do it because we enjoy riding. Commuting we do because we have to; and its frequently a good 'excuse' to justify owning a bike.... which on pure A to B travel eccconomics it probably wouldn't earn its keep from.
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?'

[_Iain_]

In all fairness mike, you told me much the same.

I currently have the same income & spend half as much on fuel as in the van. I do the same mileage. Had i not had a crash i'd be laughing right now. You also told me that i was foolish thinking that any car/van experience would be totally irrelevant.

I enjoy my job more on the bike, i look forward to going out on the jobs.

So what i've got to pay £25 to service it once a month? The £1700 a year it saves me on insurance alone more than makes up for it. Then theres the £250 a week fuel bill thats cut to £70-80. Then i dont get stuck in traffic. I can go faster than any car i could insure, i can accelerate faster. And all of this costs me less and makes me money.

Spend a week driving a car into central london during peak times and tell me that it makes no sense for him to do it. Honestly - i'm no seasoned expert biker, but i was in said position, and i deal with the traffic he's avoiding on a daily basis. I've spent nearly a year doing the same in a variety of cars & vans.

I reckon matey should be going for it.
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Please be aware that the above post may be full of complete nonsense.
Riding: '07 KTM Duke II, Baotian BT49QT-20 Driving: '88 Volvo 340

[Derivative]

Central London means that a Harley would win, by virtue of saving £10/day on the congestion charge.

[gsmunn]

I do 25 each way, all weathers, mix of roads, great fun. Going from spending 48quid a week on trains to 15 for petrol, and the sheer enjoyment of it. Commuting by bike wins.

[Teflon-Mike]

[blito]

The reality of 125 riding at NSL is that the fuel efficiency drops to 70mpg or so rather than the 100mpg or so we can get if we tootle along at 40mph.
The big thing people need to remember with commuting on a bike is that at 6am on a January morning, its dark, its raining and the air-temp is below freezing... a bike is NOT the place to be sat!
40mile each way commute? Take the car or train.
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2012 Zontes Monster

[Kradmelder]

I worked out my costs and the running costs (including depreciation), are much the same, if not more on my bikes than my cage. Granted I ride expensive bikes that are heavy on fuel and tyres. I ride because I love to ride. i ride everyday, all weather, 30-40000 km per year.

My commute is 11 km each way. But I also have to travel for business, and some trips can be up to 1000 km round trip.
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2011 KTM 990 Dakar
2009 BMW 1200 GS

[JoeDougieDoug...]

[symonh2000]

You also have to factor in the stress of commuting on the bike.

Sitting in a warm car listeing to music is a lot less stressfull than riding a bike in all weathers, dodging careless drivers and cyclists who are trying to knock you off.

Biking for me is a fun thing, and I wouldn't consider commuting on a regular basis much fun.
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Four strokes is two strokes too many.

[map]

You do not say what qualifications you already have. Assuming you have no bike entitlement on you licence then you must accept the comments about the cost (CBT, training, clothes, gloves, helmet, the bike, tax, maybe MOT, insurance, fuel and service costs). Add a ballpark £500-£600 to that if you want to get training and the tests for a full licence.

You must also think if you will progress to bigger bikes or will be happy on a 125cc. From experience a 125cc will be pretty limited after the first rush. It's not the top speed but the acceleration and flexibility a bigger bike gives. Surprisingly they also are easier to ride.

That said, many people are happy to commute on a 125cc and just pay £100 or so every 2 years to renew the CBT.

My choice for commuting in a city would be one of the larger style scooters. A 125 would be ok but I'd aim for the 400cc+ versions that are out there.

A scooter like this gives you a lot of storage space, more if you add topbox. Plus it has better weather protection, this cannot be understated . Still allows you to get up to NSL speeds and filter through traffic. Downside is smaller wheels so you may feel the potholes, however, for the larger scooters these do have the slightly larger wheels.

If you want to commute on your car licence there's always the 400cc Piaggio MP3 (example click here, review click here). It is classed as a trike, but narrow track so can just about filter through traffic. However, it's not the cheapest option, I mention just for completeness (there may be other of this style, some research may be needed. I just know the big MP3 can be ridden on car licence).

HTH
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...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[Shall78]

Hi

I currently come in from Maidstone, Kent on a 125, I am still on L plates and have to use the "whole of the A20" for 40 miles each way.

takes about the same time the train does, but at around 20% of the cost.

it is not the most comfortable journy on a 125 and has sparked me into action to take my tests, fingers crossed all goes well and i can get something a little more comfortable on the backside and can eat up some motorway miles.

[Billo63]

Currently commute 60 miles per night on ER5 & once per month a 350 mile round trip on either Er5 or ZZR
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I might not be a gynecologist, but I know a cunt when I see one

[WindyMiller]

[goto10]

[goto10]

[JoeDougieDoug...]

[barrkel]

I average about 12,000 miles a year on my SH300, most of those in London city (well inside the M25). I wouldn't consider a big bike a great match for rush hour; scooters work much better with heavy traffic, and make filtering and tight lane changing in stopped traffic much easier. The weight is carried much lower and the steering lock is usually far more generous. The weight is also further back, and fork dive isn't dramatic; sharp braking at low speeds unsettles a scooter far less. My scooter also has ABS. The whole combination lets me be more optimistic in looking for gaps, because I have the confidence that I can brake sharply without losing any control (so much so that when I'm on my ER6f, I have stoppied a few times in what I'd consider only mildly hard braking scenarios for the scooter). It's such fun in the city I deliberately take longer and more varied routes.

A light 125 geared bike or a supermoto can also be fun in the city; the former feel almost like powered bicycles, but they are very slow, while the latter are a bit too popular with thieves for me to consider. For a 40 mile commute, which will probably involve a stretch of fast A road or motorway, I'd consider 250cc the minimum, and for all year riding, I wouldn't go without ABS.

With respect to maintenance, the SH300 has a 4K mile service interval for oil + filters, 8K for plugs and rear tyre, 12K for front tyre, drive belt (though I change mine at 8K, I have lighter variator weights in and it wears quicker) and brake pads / fluid, and 16K for valve clearance / major service. I do my own servicing except for changing the tyres and major services. I find the general servicing fairly easy; you don't need to faff around with a lot of fairing removal except for the handlebar cover to get at the brake fluid reservoirs or to change the headlight bulb. Even the spark plug is accessible within 30 seconds - just undo two screws.

I've toured on my SH300 to Ireland and back, and up the east coast to the top of Scotland and back down the west coast. I find it comfortable for 300 miles a day, doing speeds of 60 with ease (it tops out at somewhere around 86mph measured by GPS) and 75 odd on the motorway with relative ease (I do not have a screen on mine) - it's no worse than a naked bike. Overtaking at speed on single carriageways is a lot harder than on a bigger bike, however. The feel of higher speeds is a little odd on a scooter as you have nothing between your legs. But you get used to it.
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Bikes: S1000R, SH350; Exes: Vity 125, PS125, YBR125, ER6f, VFR800, Brutale 920, CB600F, SH300x4
Best road ever ridden: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2MhNxUEYtQ

[jellb79]

some great replys there guys, thanks for that.
I'm not really put off by the fact its going to be cold and wet as i do a lot of mountain biking through all sort of conditions and it just adds to the fun. sounds like we just have a few fair weather riders on here that scared by an ominous looking cloud in the sky!
The main idea was to try and save some money but looking at some of the responses sounds like it may not be quite a lot but the amount of fuel that I probably use in stop start traffic will probably reduce by being able to get past it all on a bike.
I didnt really think i was much of a biker but after doing my CBT I cant wait to get back on one and I think now would be a good time just bite the bullet and do it.
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No Bike NoCBT No Licence No clue