Newbie question

Greetings all...

I recently moved out of the Big Smoke, ie London, and I'm finding the
joys of car commuting into London for work a little, shall we say,
over-rated!

My constant whingeing and whining about it has, finally, caused 'the
Mrs' to relent and agree that I should get a motorbike...and so I
would greatly appreciate some advice about which 'bike' would be most
suitable for a soon-to-be ex 'flamin car driver' purely to commute
with.

I'm not looking for a Uber-vavavoom 'my jockstrap is bigger than
yours' superbike. I expect I need summat that is reliable, economic,
adequate for motorway speeds... and 'good value' (nice phrase for
CHEAP).

Any recommendations for a good bike dealer in the Harlow/Bishops
Stortford area would also be excellent.

Thank you in advance..

Chipshop

 

heh, let's hear how you feel about that at the end of January. In the
meantime I'm assuming you have a full bike licence.

Can you quantify your pikeiness? £500.00 cheap or £2,500 cheap. You
also need to budget for some good wet weather clothing and a helmet.

I'm in Hatfield Heath and have used http://www.dcbutler.co.uk/ in
Stanstead Abbotts but you could also speak to Station Garage, 50
London Rd, Bishop's Stortford, CM23 5NF 01279 507175.

 

a lot of this stuff is in the FFAQ (www.ukrm.net/faq), but in general,
you'll want an unfaired (or minimally faired) 500/600cc bike -
something like a Suzuki GS500E, Suzuki Bandit 600, Kawasaki GPZ500.
Or, as you'll be doing reasonably high miles, something a little
larger with a shaft drive, say BMW R80, Yamaha Diversion 900.

Which bit of London do you work in, wouldn't getting the train be
quicker/cheaper?

 

Sounds like you've passed your test, then? If not, then you won't find
a 125 any good on motorways and you'll need to do the Direct Access
test to get a half-decent capacity/power bike.

IMHO, if you want a bike that'll keep up with motorway traffic you
need a 250 minimum, and preferably a 500. My own little CD250 commuter
hack will cruise at 65, and has another instant 10mph in reserve for
overtaking trucks, but that's it. A basic 500 twin (Honda CB, Suzuki
GS, Kawasaki ER) will cruise easily at 80 and top out at 115+.

Or the basic 600cc four roadsters will do 130+.....

Cheap? A Suzuki GS500 twin: reliable as all hell, cheap to run and
insure, maybe £600+ for a decent 'un. Honda CB500 twin - more power
than the GS, faster, handles better, better built, consider £750 as a
minimum for a good bike.

What's your budget?

 

On 25 Sep, 09:48, TOG@toil,,

My guess, given his nick name, is he'll need 500cc minimum

 

Plus it's not my idea of a cheap bike. Good as a basic plodding
commuter, mind.

 

Yamaha Diversion. 600, or 900 if you want the shaft.

 

If you are tallish then add the 600cc single cylinder trail bikes to that
list e.g. Yam XT600, BMW F650GS

Although, the F650 is available in other variants which are suited to
shorter people. You might even get a belt driven F650CS for around £2000,
or a reasonably tidy Funduro for £1500.

If you want cheap then buying from a dealer is not the way to do it

 

I always fancied its sportier cousin, the Bros/Hawk. A nice, slim everyday
bike, before V2s became fashionable. Shame it was never officially imported
in Europe.


Geo

 

I've seen ER5's for under 600gbp but CB's still command a high price.

Yes, yes and yes. From around 700gbp but that will be an older version. I've
been told these engines don't last that well.

 

That's because they are singularly horrible. I had a loaner from a
dealer a few years ago and was very very pleased to give it back.
I've ridden better damped and handling pogo sticks.

 

Really? I've not heard anything desperately untoward of the type.

 

Don't expect commuting on a bike to be any cheaper than the cage/train,
just quicker.

As others have said the 500 market is as good a place as any, relatively
cheap and enough fastness to cope with the M11. Fairing is a bad idea
inside the M25 as it is a given that you will be involved in minor
scrapes and dings until you get the hang of it but even then it is not
unknown to leave the office at night and find your pride and joy on it's
side in the parking bay.

From Harlow to the City you will be doing about 300 miles a week plus
weekends for at least 40 weeks of the year which will take it's toll on
your machine so an existing high mileage bike, although cheaper, will
need a lot of TLC to keep it roadworthy for any length of time.


However much you spend on the bike though you will need to budget for
decent weatherproof clothing for the winter and something a little
lighter for the summer. Another expense.

 

Champ says...

"What is the dullest bike ever built?"

--
Lozzo
Triumph Daytona 955i SE
Suzuki SV650 K3
Honda CBR600 F-W
Suzuki GSX-R750L
Yamaha SR250 SpazzTrakka

 

AW says...

The early curvy models suffered from engine failures at around 25K if
not maintained properly. This was down to a lack of oil capacity and the
fact that they got very hot. Couple this to less than stringent
servicing/oil changes and you have a blown motor at 25K miles.

The later pointy models, like mine, got greater oil capacity and an oil
cooler, which has helped matters no end - they don't blow up any more.

--
Lozzo
Triumph Daytona 955i SE
Suzuki SV650 K3
Honda CBR600 F-W
Suzuki GSX-R750L
Yamaha SR250 SpazzTrakka

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Lozzo

Tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick...

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (Fallen apart)
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Honda ST1100 wiv trailer Norton 850 Commando
Kawasaki GTR1400

 

Wicked Uncle Nigel says...

Fuggoff you cahn.

Mine's not on the road at the moment, fucking front wheel bearings have
collapsed, just a couple of days after I was demonstrating a safety
check to my students using the SV. Every one of them, myself and a
colleague declared the front wheel bearings to be fine at the time.

--
Lozzo
Triumph Daytona 955i SE
Suzuki SV650 K3
Honda CBR600 F-W
Suzuki GSX-R750L
Yamaha SR250 SpazzTrakka

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Lozzo

He shoots! He scores!

See, I've always said safety checks are a waste of time...

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (Fallen apart)
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Honda ST1100 wiv trailer Norton 850 Commando
Kawasaki GTR1400

 

I rode a 650 Bros, and thought it was a superb bike. An SV650, years
before Suzuki got there. Only downer was the stupidly small fuel tank.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Champ

Oh. How disappointing. I was playing "Champ on Pahnd Island".

Oh well.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (Fallen apart)
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Honda ST1100 wiv trailer Norton 850 Commando
Kawasaki GTR1400