A question for Londoners or them that commute.

[Polarbear]

There is a good (and I use the word good rather tongue in cheekly) possibility I will have to spend a year working in the London office of my company which is situated in the Strand.

That means I will have to commute from Milton Keynes and while the train is the obvious solution, a yearly ticket from London Midland is in excess of £5000. Now that isn't so much an issue as my company will pay a large percentage of my travelling expenses but the thought of a train full of smelly humans, and fighting the underground every day leaves me cold.

So I have a hack in the form of a w reg fazer 600 and my questions are -

Is this going to be suitable to commute on? It will be fine for the motorway but once i get into London will it be too big? Should I get something like a 400cc maxi scoot? (a good excuse to get another bike )

Which would be the best way to get to the Strand from the M1 on a bike. I am familiar with London from the underground point of view but have no idea of the roads and google maps doesn't show any obvious route, plus I have no idea of one ways etc. I have a tomtom, should I trust that.

Or should I just get the train ticket and forget the bike?
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[Whosthedaddy]

No reason why a Fazer wouldn't be ideal for both motorway and inner London traffic.
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Current : MSX 125 Past : CBR 900RR Monkeybike : c50 LAC : ZXR750 H2 : FZR600 : ZX7R P3 : YW100 : TRX850: Trophy 900 T309 : GSXR 600 L0: Monkeybike : XJ6S Whosthedaddy

[Minty]

I commute on a old Fireblade. No issues.
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My fingers smell of your mum.

[c_dug]

The Strand from the M1 is easy, basically a straight line as far as regents park and from there is is all main roads.

Bloody long commute though, maybe look at parking the bike up at a station near the M25 and getting the train as far as that? I've done 90 miles a day before and that was a real killer in the winter, 110 wouldn't be any nicer.

Also for a year you are looking at the best part of 30,000 miles, depending on the current mileage and condition you need to really consider whether the bike is up to it?
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[Muscle Bike Rider]

Fazer will be fine round London, tom tom will be ok, once you do the route a couple of times chances are you'l find your own variation I suspect.

Try M1- A406 north circular- A41- A501 marleybone rd - A4200 upper woburn place - A4 to the strand.

Thats the most direct I can think of to get you started.
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Previously Known As A5tra_G
Old Bikes :2010 Kawasaki ER6 F & 2000 Honda VTR Firestorm
Current Bike : XJR1300

[Kris]

I don't commute far North of the river so can't really comment on route (although the Strand can be a nightmare due to the bus lane) but I would say the Fazer is one of the best bikes I could think of for that commute - except for the shit headlight.
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NSR125RR - ZXR750H1 - ZX9R E1 - GSF600S - GSF600SK3 - VFR400-NC30 - SV1000N - ST1100-R - CBR900RR-R - GSF1200SK5 - GSF600SK1 - VFR1200FA - GSXR1000K2 - ZZR1400 D8F
www.prisonplanet.com

[Andy_Pagin]

I commute from Enfield to the city on a Fazer and It's fine for the job, also I do regular runs to Aylesbury and It's great fun for treks around Bucks.
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They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa, hey-hey,
the men in white coats are coming to take me away.
Yamaha Vity -> YBR125 -> FZS600 Fazer -> FZ1-S Fazer

[pepperami]

One of these perhaps? Mr bear?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PINK-SCOOTER-50-LEARNER-LEGAL-PH50-BOATIAN-COMMUTER-PARTS-OR-RESTORE-PROJECT-/160971441107?lgeo=1&clk_rvr_id=451691907381&vectorid=229508
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I am the sum total of my own existence, what went before makes me who I am now!

[cromwell]

No problem with a fazer at all, riding London is generally pretty hassle free, once you get used to avoiding people left right and canter and a set of traffic lights every few hundred metres. Cheap on petrol though
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"unbelievable"
Current - Suzuki Bandit 600
Ex's - Yamaha YBR 125

[Polarbear]

[Nope.]

I commute from Leighton Buzzard to Euston on the train. Yes it's expensive, but it takes me at most 45 mins to get into euston (if I catch the slow train) where as it would take me in excess of an hour on a bike, plus then I'd have to find somewhere to park it and get changed at the office etc. IMO the train is much easier and so long as you catch the right trains you can usually get a seat.

I'm lucky in the fact that I can walk to the office from Euston because it saves me around £120 a month but you need to work out if its cheaper just to get an oyster card and use that everyday or if it is cheaper to get a season ticket with zones 1-6 on it.
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Former: Derbi GP1 50, Sachs XTC 125, Suzuki GSXR 400 GK73A, Kawasaki ZX7R, Suzuki DR250, Yamaha RD350
Current: 2011 Yamaha XT660Z Ténéré, 2003 Yamaha YZR-R1 5PW (In Build), 2009 Kawasaki ZZR1400

[Vracktal]

A Fazer will do fine in London. To be honest, any bike save for a massive pannier'd cruiser or a low 'n' lazy Harley will do fine in London, as long as it's slim enough to filter and tall enough to see over traffic.
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2007 BMW R1200R: On road
2009 BMW G650X Challenge: On road
1975 Norton Commando 850: Off road, awaiting recommissioning

[hellkat]

Only get on the train if you absolutely can't stand the traffic. It ages you and drains your energy.

I come in (admittedly only 11 miles each way) from Excel to Chelsea every day, rain or shine (but not snow) on a 900 Diversion and even I can wiggle through most traffic ... albeit somewhat slower than everybody else.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[Wonko The Sane]

A friend of mine used to commute from Hitchin into the centre on a fazer.

Not sure where in London he worked, although it was north of the river, took me 15 mins to get there from Tower Hamlets.

I know he used to go down the A1
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[jonbee56]

Just watch out in the bus lanes.

Some are buses & pedal bikes only & some include motorbikes, so keep an eye on the signs
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CBF125 > Hornet 600 (x2) > CBR600F -- slowly getting better
"If you can't turn it, then burn it"

[Easter Bunny]

M1, right to bottom, A406 east to A41 Finchley Rd (using the bus lanes)

Straight over the lights at Swiss Cottage down to Regents park, round the inside of regents park (considering the 30 mph limit as they often have traps) to the east joining Euston road for a short while right at Euston Station on to Upper Woburn Place and straight down

about an hour and 10 minutes not going silly

I did MK to Waterloo for about 10 years every day


Polar bear did you get the PM I sent you?????
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The light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train!

[barrkel]

Long trip on motorway etc. would be better on the fazer, and that's coming from a scooter aficionado. I think in and around the city is better on a scooter, but I wouldn't want to do the distances you're talking about on one, daily. On my 12 minute commute, I don't wear more than helmet, jacket and gloves, and part of the reason I can get away with it is because it's all 30 / 20 mph roads.

In your position, I'd be suited and booted, so that takes away the convenience factor. And relatively speaking, central London will be a smaller proportion of your journey, so the gains from what a scooter is good at aren't as large.

Hopefully you'll enjoy the cut and thrust of the London bit. When you learn your route, it can turn into a bit of a game of getting ahead. Morning and evening commutes are the favourite parts of my day. But I don't have to do motorway on top of that, and I'm glad of 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

[Shall78]

I go in to cannon street from Maidstone each day, I use an FZ6 no problems, just watch out for pedestrians on phones, people with headphones on at traffic lights who don't look, cyclists who have death wishes and angry car drivers and you'll be fine

[nowhere.elysium]

[calyx]

[Easter Bunny]

As you come off the M1 at Staples corner and head onto the Edgware road their is very often a copper with a speed gun, I am convinced that 50% of the people in the area from here down to Kilburn high road got someone else to take their test
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The light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train!

[Easter Bunny]

[tracks]

[Shaft]

[c_dug]