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MahatmaAndhi |
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MahatmaAndhi Traffic Copper
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wots |
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wots World Chat Champion
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Posted: 20:28 - 14 Apr 2017 Post subject: |
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181cc MSX 125, had it over a year, bought secondhand with 3K on it, for an absolute steal of £700, then spent the same again pretty much to get 181cc and other modifications such as shock and re-gap of forks.
Brilliant to 60, then saunters to an indicated 70-75.
So much torque it's incredible.
Wife gets about 110-120 to a tank (£6), I get about 90-100
Done about 5K and over a year on the BBK. Absolutely awesome, however the chances of getting it anywhere near budget are slim. ____________________ Currently: Yamaha DT 125 LC2,Repsol Fireblade, and Bumblebee MSX 125 |
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ocatoro |
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ocatoro World Chat Champion
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Bubbs |
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Bubbs World Chat Champion
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Posted: 21:42 - 14 Apr 2017 Post subject: |
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I just saw. Money not available for a few more weeks otherwise I'd have jumped at that. This thread was more to generate potential options. ____________________ Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. |
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Bubbs |
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Bubbs World Chat Champion
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Posted: 21:50 - 14 Apr 2017 Post subject: |
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wots wrote: | 181cc MSX 125, had it over a year, bought secondhand with 3K on it, for an absolute steal of £700, then spent the same again pretty much to get 181cc and other modifications such as shock and re-gap of forks.
Brilliant to 60, then saunters to an indicated 70-75.
So much torque it's incredible.
Wife gets about 110-120 to a tank (£6), I get about 90-100
Done about 5K and over a year on the BBK. Absolutely awesome, however the chances of getting it anywhere near budget are slim. |
That sounds like so much fun. Very tempted by a grom. Would look top big bore in the future. Is 2 up possible on one of them? Ha ha, I bet it looks weird if it is. ____________________ Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. |
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thx1138 |
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thx1138 World Chat Champion
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Posted: 23:17 - 14 Apr 2017 Post subject: |
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actually yeah it does sound cool, standard one sounds too meh, but that sounds like a hoot |
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nowhere.elysium |
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nowhere.elysium The Pork Lord
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
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nowhere.elysium |
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nowhere.elysium The Pork Lord
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wots |
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wots World Chat Champion
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Posted: 10:02 - 15 Apr 2017 Post subject: |
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Bubbs wrote: | Is 2 up possible on one of them? Ha ha, I bet it looks weird if it is. | It is actually, do look ridiculous, with the better rear shock (£70+) it copes. I would say there is more space than some Supermoto's I've been on.
The strange thing with the grom, the bike itself isn't that small, it's the 12 inch wheels that make it low. The 120 and 130 wheels mean you can actually lean on them, whereas most 125's are scary. Good choice of alternative tyres.
The biggest thing, it's one of those bikes that once you've gained speed on the A roads, you don't need to scrub it much. Just hurl it at the corners and carry on. ____________________ Currently: Yamaha DT 125 LC2,Repsol Fireblade, and Bumblebee MSX 125 |
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Bubbs |
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Bubbs World Chat Champion
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Northern Monkey |
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Northern Monkey World Chat Champion
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wots |
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wots World Chat Champion
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linuxyeti |
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linuxyeti World Chat Champion
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Northern Monkey |
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Northern Monkey World Chat Champion
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Alpineandy |
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Alpineandy World Chat Champion
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Bubbs |
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Bubbs World Chat Champion
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Teflon-Mike |
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Teflon-Mike tl;dr
Joined: 01 Jun 2010 Karma :
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Posted: 16:22 - 16 Apr 2017 Post subject: Re: High MPG bikes which are fun? |
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Bubbs wrote: | Probably asking too much but basically want to have a cheap to run bike that is also a bit of fun for my commute to work, i'll get a weekend bike in the future (z1000 or cb1000r) |
Carts & horses, but do you have a bike licence? If not, then worrying about any bike is pretty irrelevant at this point, and your research would be better directed at licence schemes and training courses.
As for the bike? "Cheap & Fun" tend to be some-what mutually exclusive; you can have one or the other or a bit of both, bit rarely much of them together at the same time.
Fuel tends to be most people's largest annual motoring cost, at around 1/3 to 1/2 of their all up spend on vehicles. But quoted MPG figures are at best a wet finger in the wind. Power is an expression of rate of change of energy... miles per gallon, then is an expression of 'power', but power used, rather than potential power available.... and more you got to play with, more you will likely use, especially if you are trying to have 'fun'.
Eg: I have a 750, that the book says should return somewhere around 50mpg... I also have a 125, the book says should return something in the order of 90mpg..... I regularly better 70mph from the 750, 'cos when I pick that one it's usually for a longer run, and a more sedate 'sight seeing' tour, where it doesnt tend to get thrashed too hard... I rarely get more than that from the 125.... 'cos I grab it to pop to the shops, and am up and down the gearbox, reving the knackers off it in every gear to make it 'go' and hammering it on the brakes every time a nose pops out of a side turn or petrol station..... If I take it out of town... it's even worse, and 'for fun' ragging it top the red line in every cog, thrashing the pants off the thing for shear grins and giggles....
Both, in all uses, are curiously 'fun' in their own way; but if I wanted to save pennies, then one or other would have to be laid up, and the other ridden with a lot more prudence and careful consideration of the 'fun' and miles just for it!
Ie in the big bag of costs; what BIKE you choose wont automatically find you savings.... only you can do that, using your spend wisely, avoiding unecesary miles, and being a bit seriouse about savings, not having 'fun'.
Almost 20 years ago; running a car and a bike, the missus wanting her own mota to cart kids about and trying to get a mortgage; My solution was to lay up the bike; and trade the car in for a pair of older bangers; one hatch for her to do the shopping and a knackered old estate for me to do DIY and cart the family to the beach.
Two older lower insurance, lower tax cars, worked out not a lot more expensive on the annual overheads than one higher insurance, higher tax mota; savings on the bike, more than covered the difference.... and justified me reconditioning the old trials iron and doing about 20 events a year, where no tax, MOT or insurance is required, points mean pries not fines, and it was ALL just for fun, without having to dodge myopic idiots in tranny vans and taxis!
BUT, costs did go up.... not a lot.... but they did go up, mostly due to extra miles, as family demanded wider ranging, and house demanded more trips to B&Q etc etc etc....
Which is to say, that IF you really want to find savings, its still most likely found not in the vehicle, but cutting out the unnecessary miles and 'leisure' travel.
Other big place to find savings is ditching credit.... fancy car and bike on bank loans, were costing around 20% more a year than they cost just to borrow the money to have them! Trading down to a pair of older banger, paid for cash, was effectively a no-cost swap, and those credit charges were avoided... this was 20 years ago, and I only had around £2.5K on the knock; but even so, trading down to older cars I owned outright, saved me about as much as the insurance on one car.... knocking the monthly payment plan on the head on that, and paying the premium 'up-front', again, saved a chunk more money..... and THEN looking at how the credit card getting used for fuel, wasn't getting cleared every month, so lamming me interest, when I found I 'needed' a new drill or step-ladders or something for DIY about the house..... was a revelation..... I think I was running something in the order of a £1500 rolling credit card debt, costing me almost £500 a year!! And that was mostly fuel....
BUT moral of the story is, you don't save money by spending money... you save money by NOT spending money... and when it comes to the bigger picture, you will likely find that there are an enormous number of ways to more efficiently cut your cloth and get the most for your money, than 'just' looking at quoted MPG numbers and guessing that must mean money in the bank....
Bottom line is we naturally spend whatever we have in our pocket; murphey's law says clutter expands to fill space available, work expands to fill time available, and expenditure has a habbit of expanding to consume 110% of the funds available, and whatever you do to try and stem the flow, entropy will kick in to make another leak to see it dissapear by another route...... entropy? or spouse? One or the other... maybe both... but you get the idea.
So, conclusion is that backing up and looking at the bigger picture, a bike might not be the best way to save money; especially if you have to pay big money to get a licence, and gear first; but even if not; the old toy or transport dilemma will likely give Murphy the opportunity to ruin your best laid plans and see you ultimately spend more by switching to a bike, especially if you hold onto the notion it should be for fun, in the frustration of trying to find 'savings' with it.
So, tackling the question posed... my answer is 'pretty much anything you want'! by way of a bike. IF you are prepared to crunch the numbers and work the numbers so that you CAN find savings, and dont waste even more money, then you can have pretty much whatever bike you like, and use it for as much 'fun' as you want.... it's all to be found in what you DONT buy, not what you do....
And like I said, dedicated competition bikes are pretty much as much balls out four-star, high octane 'fun' as you can get with your cloths on... and they dont need an MOT, or road tax or insurance, and for a few hours a week-end, they don't sup much fuel, or wear out too many tyres or chains...... and it's ALL 'fun' without fear of the rozzers spoiling any..... if that's your bag.
If not, road bikes will consume as much cash as you let them, and the more 'fun' you go look for on them, more cash they'll waste. It don't come for free. BUT, cover needs before wants rather than trying to piggy back them, and? Well, I run my 750 for around £500 a year ALL IN, including fuel, 'just for fun'....
Its a cheap old knacker to start with, which helps, and I have had it over a decade; so it's all paid for and not costing me anything on the credit. And it gets filled from 'cash'. If I don't have any, then, no go have 'fun' on it. Sort of keeps the leisure miles in 'check' that one, not using credit or debit card at the pump... and IF you want to find savings a tip I thoroughly recommend... use the cash point! It's old, and so am I so insurance is peanuts, aided by not having to check the box for "Including Commuting" on the renewal, that would likely double the premium, as would adding commuter miles and more leisure miles.....
On the numbers; it works well, and running another old banger of a 'cheap' car, that's decidedly NOT 'fun' so little inclination to do added miles in it, saves enough to pay for the bike 'just' for fun... the bike doesn't do it all on its own... I do! and that's the key to making it work; putting in the effort to find where the real savings are to be found, and the discipline to keep the costs in check, not expecting the vehicle to do it for you, buy and forget... probably on credit!
Heed that lesson, and the remit is wide open; go get whatever takes your fancy you can afford, and ride it for as much fun as budget will allow.... on which notion, idea of Sunday fun litre needn't be a dream for another day... IF you can make the scheme work at all, you can probably make it work to have that right here, right now... if not, then you are probably on a hiding to no-where and you likely will never find any real savings to roll forward to such bigger and better schemes, you'll be in the trap of frustration, trying to make the savings to pay for your fun and not finding much of either......
But back to top... if you dont already have a licence, security devices, riding kit, then the start up costs to get on a bike at all, are likely to screw much chance of seeing any saving for a very long while, especially if you resort to the credit card to get things moving.....
Personally? If I lives, as I guess you do in Wales, and was 20 years younger and less stiff in the joints, I think I would probably be looking to do as I did 20 years ago, and trading down on the car as grunt transport to find savings and stay dry in the welsh rain you send to Brum..... and trying to find the savings for a dedicated 'toy' for green-lanes, which picking something older and scraggier and already pre-crashed needn't bee too expensive, or saving it up for the week-end and going for a dedicated comper, in my case probably trials still, as its Sooooooo cheap... seriously, four or five hours ride time to an event, that costs maybe a tenner to enter and a gallon of go juice, before any bent levers or broken plastics you soon get cautious to preserve! enduro is probably the next cheapest option other than pit or mini-biking; event costs I believe are about the same as for MX, but you get much more ride time for your money, and it's still 'reasonable' compared to the annual tax and insurance on a larger road bike.... I would certainly be checking out the competition, non road bike options, to fullfil the 'fun' requirement; separating 'toy' and 'transport' between dedicated bike for toy and 'cheap' car for grunt transport.
In the last 30 years, per mile, I have NEVER owned a bike that costs less than a 'cheap' car run on bangernomics...... and miles cost, end of. You dont get owt for nowt, and that spoucal/entropy thing will kick in, and see any 'savings' you make in one place wasted in another, unless YOU do the work to keep it in check, not expect the stats in the sales brochure to do it for you AND find your fun into the bargain.....
But all hinges on the question at the top, really.... I'm 6'3" and tall seat 'crossers, tend to crucify my knees as the seat's a long way from the floor... before you sit on it, but footpegs tend to be pretty close to the seat; could be fun on the Wayfarer, but not on motard tyres.. well... that could be subjective actually... how much road stone's been laid lately? YBR250's are rare as hens teeth; as is the 200 I can count to Van-Van... whilst I wouldn't want to buy a new, over priced 'funky' MSX to start modding the thing and ruing reliability with Chinky big-bore bits AND expect it to get me to work every day! and I would totally detatch notions of 'cost' and 'usefulness' from the engine displacement; when even though my 750 costs £90 a year to tax compared to £17 for the 125, all in, on tax insurance and MOT, there's bog all between them, and the big bike is actually cheaper to insure, and returns as many MPG as often as not! 'savings' aren't tpo be found in teh spec sheets but the balence sheets; and keeping tabs NOT spending money on stuff you dont really need or get best value from.
And if your budget is £1500 for a bike.. and if you dont have a licence yet; dont have riding kit yet, and are going to be trying to juggle the books between bank loans, monthly installment plans, and split that between DAS courses, riding gear, security measures AND a bike? the bike is actually the last thing on the list you need worry about, and probably the least important and significant in the equation! And choice is likely to come down to hobson's at end of the day, with how much cash you got left, after sorting all the up-front stuff, and what comes along to suit at that price, rather than what you think, now, might best suit.
Sorry not to offer prescription solution or inspiration, but hopefully some practical food for thought. ____________________ 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?' |
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Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg nimbA
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Ste |
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Ste Not Work Safe
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wots |
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wots World Chat Champion
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Hahadumball |
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Hahadumball World Chat Champion
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Posted: 17:02 - 16 Apr 2017 Post subject: |
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my bros 400 was fairly good fun and decent on fuel
failing that get a fazer 600 theyre cheap as chips now mine returned 55mpg most days and had plenty of poke and decent handling
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get a vtr settle for 20mpg amazing fun and new valves weekly ____________________ Fin: no matter how much I look at It I can't understand what was going through my head, all I remember is going about 80 and redlining it to stop it seizing.
360 Deg... Five 1/4 turns. :- Teflon-Mike 18 Jan 2015 |
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Bozzy |
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Bozzy Traffic Copper
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Ste |
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Ste Not Work Safe
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thx1138 |
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thx1138 World Chat Champion
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 6 years, 348 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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