Reading to London City commute

[sdalgarno]

Hi, I’m thinking of doing this on a motorcycle instead of by train + bicycle. Any idea roughly how long it might take? Does congestion charge apply? Is it safe to do it all year round.

I have somewhere to park once I get there. Wondering if this is a sensible option & if it could save me time or take much longer.

Thanks,
Shaun

[Easy-X]

Depends on the bike. 125 scooter? Probably a bit much. Classic 650 street bike and upwards? Much better proposition, probably quicker too.
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[sdalgarno]

Season ticket is about £4.5k a year, thinking of using that money to get something half decent that can cope with regular motorway speeds. Be interested to hear if anyone does that route currently (M4) and how long it takes. Or anyone who tried it but would advise against it. Cheers.

[Andy_Pagin]

[WD Forte]

Reading to central London is probably the best part of 50 miles
At legal speeds about 1 hour on empty roads (which will never happen)
so 2 hours on a good day depending on traffic, route, bike and rider skill.

CBT/125 not allowed on M4 so could be 3 hours+ on A4 with all the traffic,stops, queues etc
if riding at peak times.
If you can travel at non peak times it might be quicker.

Even on a big bike with mad filtering skills, its still not/cant be, as fast
as typical cruising speeds on clear roads.
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bikers smell of wee

[stacker]

Yes, I do this!
Depending where in London, it's about 60 miles door to door but I don't work on the same site.

Takes about 1hr20-1h30 to get to Liverpool St, probably the furthest part of Central London from Reading!

On a 500cc bike, obviously as the M4 is 50mph average at the moment there isn't much speeding to be done, but quite often make progress on cars especially down the A40/A501 bus lanes where the traffic is often standstill at rush hour!

[Ste]

If you're leaving at 5am then the traffic is very different to if you're leaving at 8am or 9am. [/stating the obvious]