Commuting in London

[ice.shark]

Hi,

I have to travel frequently in London to the Oxford Circus area. Is it advisable to travel on a 125 around London year-round? I would like to avoid the tube which is what I've been using. I unsure of 2 things:

1. Is motorcycling in central London safe-ish? Is central London full of tw.ts, taxis and buses who don't give a shit or is there at least some decency and road etiquette?

2. There is a permit holders only on the street. Is motorcycle parking in London free and without permit? Do I have to pay any charges (congestion charge, low emissions etc)?

Pardon my ignorance - I've never motorbiked in London and I'd like to start doing this. I do not plan on getting anything more powerful than a 125 - I find 125 powerful enough and allows me to learn good riding style. Maybe a 250 after a while and then a 500 vtwin but that's long in the future.

Lastly - any advice would be read and appreciated!

[gorillaonabik...]

I commute all year round and a lot of the time travel through Central London. It's fine and sure, there is the occasional idiot but have been accident free for the last couple of decades. Had some accidents before this but I rode like an idiot.

No congestion charge or any other charge for entering / riding around Central London.

Around Oxford Circus you need to park in either bike bays which have a daily charge of £1 or alternatively in certain car parks which are free. As a note, the price drops if you pay weekly (£3), monthly etc... I pay because in the area of Westminster I currently need to go into, there are no car parks.

Westminster's parking prices: https://www.westminster.gov.uk/pay-motorcycle-parking

I know one chap who parks on 'private property' and this means he pays nothing. However, it is worth putting up a 'private property' sign because the traffic wardens are @rseholes and will ticket you. He has had numerous parking tickets quashed but they still keep coming although he is legally parked.
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FZR400 (blown engine), ZXR750 (blown engine), ZX6R (accident), CBR600 which had engine issues after which I learned to change gear..., CBR900, CBR924 (stolen), CB600, CB1300 (everything blew up), BMW K1300GT (written off, hit from rear while stationary), Bandit 1250 for a couple of months, Triumph Sprint ST 1050 (nicked) and somewhere in there, I wrote off a Ducati 748 at Cadwell.

[Ariel Badger]

motorbiked is not a verb.
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[ice.shark]

[ice.shark]

[Rogerborg]

Have a look at some of Royal Jordanian's Daily Observations.

That shows what you can do with a bike in London, including recently a small 125.

It's also a cautionary tale - he's been building up to that for years. Try that without understanding what you're doing and why and you'll be deader than disco in short order.

Give it a shot, take it very easy and don't feel pressured to filter until you're comfortable with the bike, the traffic and your route: there's little sense in clawing your way a few vehicles ahead if you still get stuck at the next red anyway.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Pete.]

There are 83 free bike parking spaces in Cavendish Square underground car park just 100m from Oxford Circus and 131 in Queen Anne Mews.
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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

[MC]

[ice.shark]

[ice.shark]

[barrkel]

[MC]

[ice.shark]

[chickenstrip]

Ride a bike? In London?! Are you mad?! It's pure suicide!

I've only ever ridden in central London a couple of times, and actually, it wasn't road-raging, inconsiderate or blind car drivers, taxis and buses I had problems with. I just didn't know my way around, and had to juggle watching the traffic with trying to catch glimpses of the direction signs for where I wanted to go. If you know your route, and keep an eye out for the usual twattish driving, you should be ok.

The only other thing I would add, is in that kind of traffic volume, don't ever get complacent. But you probably know that already.
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[hellkat]

Fuck, how many conditions do you want to set before you ride?
Just ride into town and see how it feels.

If you want perfect riding conditions, DON'T RIDE IN LONDON.

If you want to increase your skill at riding in almost every tricky condition you can think of, and gain man-points (even if you are a girl) then RIDE IN LONDON.

Helpful hints:
1. Learn and remember which times you are allowed in which bus lanes cos they *still* haven't yet regularised that.
2. Bicycle lanes are for pussies.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[barrkel]

[Val]

[barrkel]

[G]

- S1000RR, presuming you don't have to park with the proles. (Though now the Ducati has been upped to 1.3l, it might have got some midrange back to offer competition for the ultimate commuter ).

On that - cyclists and pedestrians offer significant danger too.

[Frost]

Taxi drivers usually learn the knowledge wizzing about on a scooter so they're pretty good around them. Other scooters on the other hand can be pushy twats. Cyclists filter too and need to be watched out for. Your main danger around oxford circus is pedestrians. The crowds can get big, the traffic lights timing doesn't suit people perpetually late for work like me and as a result it's easy to have a close call with a pedestrian.
Learn the back streets and you'll find it a quiet enjoyable ride.

[deadwolf]

I've only ridden in London once. I crashed.

One thing to keep in mind: make sure you reserve a bit of attention to traffic lights. I once got so 'in the zone' while filtering between lines of cars, gave too much focus to things happening in my peripheral vision and failed to realise there was a junction coming up ahead until I almost ran across it.

Turns out I was relying too much on the cars next to me as a speed gauge, drivers here are in the habit of braking reaaally late at stoplights so I had to brake hard as well. Not smooth at all

If you find yourself focusing too much on stuff close to you, might be a sign to ease off the filtering until you're experienced enough to be able to look ahead at the same time.
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Motorsapien Art

[Scootaloo]

I have a video for this... probably best left not posted...



I would say anything 500cc or less... Wouldn't use a super-sports and refrain from large bikes as some parking bays can be very hard to get into.

I wouldn't find a 125cc limiting in London, when properly ragged it will best most things off the lights... by the time you've hit 20 you're at the next Que of traffic.

I would vote for CBF 125/250 - got enough go in them, dull enough not to be a target for crims and very lightweight with generous steering lock.
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(CBF125 - 09) (CBF125 - 11) (CB-1 - 89) (CBF500 - 06) (Push Bike) (CB-1 - 90) (XL125 - 01) (VF500 - 83) (GPZ500 - 94) (GPZ500 - 95) (GPZ500 - 87) (XV535 - 94) (XV535 - 94) (GPZ500 - 87)

[ferrisio]

Don't assume you can ride in all the bus lanes - cost me £60 to realise this.

Scootays are a menace.

Otherwise it's fun, so hectic it's like a big computer game. Except you literally 'lose a life' if you cock it up.
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BMW R1100R

[esullivan]

I've been commuting through London for a bit more than three years now. I currently park in Finsbury Circus, near the City, and commute from the north west (a few junctions inside the M25), so about half of the 20-ish miles each way are urban and half are filtering on very congested dual carriageways.

I started on a 125 scooter, then a 125 geared bike and then my current NC700. I prefer the bigger bike because it's more comfortable, especially on the dual carriageway part, and has more presence in the road (cars give it a bit more room and seem to see it better), but the 125s were fine too. I prefer a geared bike because I like the very fine control you have when balancing the throttle, clutch and rear brake, but I didn't ride the scooter for long, so I might have gotten more comfortable with that over time.

My main advice is to take it easy. Don't be trying to emulate the riders around you, especially the scooters, until you are very comfortable with the commute and the traffic. Pretend you are a car for a while -- that's usually pretty safe -- and try alternate routes. It won't be long before you will be filtering passed a few stationary cars here and there. But take it slowly. The aim is smooth, steady and 100% in control. No cringe-and-hope-for-the-best moments. If you aren't 100% sure you can fit through that gap and (importantly) get through to a safe spot afterwards, just hang back.

Someone recently compared London commuting with a Rugby match -- it's rough and violent, but people rarely get badly hurt as long as everyone behaves in expected ways (note: that's not the same as playing by the rules). Throw a lost tourist into the mix, or something else out of the ordinary, and that's when someone gets hurt. It took me probably a year before I understood what's expected and another year to learn to expect the unexpected, and I'm still caught out once in a while.
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Current: '14 VFR800X Test passed 31/10/12.
Previous: '12 NC700S, '11 CBF 125, '04 SH 125.

[Amber Phoenix]

Central London riding is pretty unique TBH. Do give it a go, just take it steady and keep your wits about you. Don't be tempted to ride beyond what you can and don't even consider trying to emulate what the kamikaze scooter folk do!

That said, from my experience, Central London drivers aren't so bad. Everyone is aware they're in the centre and are generally quite attentive. It's as if few people are in their comfort zone in the centre and very much aware of the volume of other cars, bikes, cyclists etc whizzing past them, so most are alert and expecting you. You're biggest risks are taxis: black cabs will pull spontaneous U-Turns right in front of you. Private cabs will suddenly slow to 5mph for 100m, then just as you're about to overtake them, they'll park up on other side of road... That and the buses, coaches and tipper trucks, just give them a wide berth.

Conversely, I generally see the worst driving when you get out into the 'burbs. People seem to relax, they're more tired by the time they get out of town, as their nearer home they become complacent and attention wanes. This is where most incidents occurs.
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