Does anyone commute into central london
Discussion
Renn Sport said:
Yes it is in my mind. Not brain busting loud, but loud enough that if someone hasn't seen you then potentially hearing you would be a good thing?
Again just my opinion based on commutes.
OP: Maybe a sport bike from late 90's or early 2000's would be the ticket? Japanese for reliability?
I quite agree with your thinking!Again just my opinion based on commutes.
OP: Maybe a sport bike from late 90's or early 2000's would be the ticket? Japanese for reliability?
shielsy said:
Don't forget to budget for some half decent gear
Yeah I won't 
Luckily I have most of my biker gear from before, aside from a visor for my helmet.
I would probably buy some nice textile top and bottoms and maybe some new winter boots.
I have full summer scratching gear from before but I'm a bit more podgy than I once was so probably won't fit me anymore haha.
sjtscott said:
Not sure what route you have planned for the central london bit.
However suggest if you're coming in on Chelsea/Victoria Embankment after Earls Court you get across the river at either Vauxhall Bridge or you could do Lambeth Bridge too if you want to come along Millbank a bit, but you def need to be across the river before Parliament/Parliament Square which is one big delay with its sets of lights.
What I tended to find with doing a regular commute is testing all your possible logical routes on the central london part to see which ones work best both in terms of time/lights/junctions/traffic. Some roads however busy with cars are just easier to filter on than others. Its also good to have all of these learn't because roads gets closed from time to time, ultimately you won't need satnav you'll just learn all the routes/roads unless you really have zero sense of direction.
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Newbury,+West+Berkshire,+UK/54-62+Great+Suffolk+St,+London+SE1,+UK/@51.4768443,-1.2732549,9z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x487402002f595ba9:0xc6646baff4a75c50!2m2!1d-1.3231139!2d51.401409!1m5!1m1!1s0x487604a59493b7cd:0x832b0ae0ec4a39b1!2m2!1d-0.1013377!2d51.5031588!3e0However suggest if you're coming in on Chelsea/Victoria Embankment after Earls Court you get across the river at either Vauxhall Bridge or you could do Lambeth Bridge too if you want to come along Millbank a bit, but you def need to be across the river before Parliament/Parliament Square which is one big delay with its sets of lights.
What I tended to find with doing a regular commute is testing all your possible logical routes on the central london part to see which ones work best both in terms of time/lights/junctions/traffic. Some roads however busy with cars are just easier to filter on than others. Its also good to have all of these learn't because roads gets closed from time to time, ultimately you won't need satnav you'll just learn all the routes/roads unless you really have zero sense of direction.
That is the defacto route from Google.
Where it goes down to the A3212 is a route I've used before, except in the past I've travelled to Battersea, this is going further along.
I'm pretty good with directions haha. I would just use satnav the first couple of times just incase.
Would you have any recommendations based on your experiences from the above?
On the bike front I've been looking at the following (faried variations if there are naked alternatives)
- Yammie Fazer 600 - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-Fazer-FZ6-/172162... or the older shape , although really hoping I can hold out for the newer model.
- Honda CBF600 / Hornet - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-CB600-HORNET-/2819...
- Suzuki GSF600 - Similar to this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suzuki-bandit-600s-gsf-k...
I think a newer shape FZS600 would be the best because I could also enjoy it as a weekend bike.
Primarily however the bike is to get me to and from London, if I can then get back into biking recreationally then that would be a bonus.
Edited by xjay1337 on Monday 18th April 12:11
supercommuter said:
My opinion is get a thin bike that isn't super fast. I use a CB500x.
^^^ThisI use an RC390. The only negative being that the standard mirrors don't flick in and out and require readjusting if you have to pull them in. But if you've got to that stage then it's probably a bit too tight to really bother attempting it.
Renn Sport said:
OP: Maybe a sport bike from late 90's or early 2000's would be the ticket? Japanese for reliability?
Was looking at ZX6Rs but insurance can go up quickly and while I do like sports bike it's my first time riding in about 6 years so probably something a little more sensible and easy to get me back into it!dibblecorse said:
Hi
I do J8/9 M4 to Central London regularly, one thing I can say is you won't be doing it in anything like 1hr 15mins from Newbury.
I was doing Caversham to Smithfield Market in 1hr to 1hr10 depending on light sequences and the slow'ish filtering speeds once you hit the A4, you can make decent progress but it won't be quick.
As others have said get over the river early as there's less congestion and just play with the routes to find one that works.
Also make good friends with Bob at FWR in Kennington as he will be your best 'repair my puncture' stop as they will be a regular occurrence.
Hopefully not!!! But thank you for the tip I do J8/9 M4 to Central London regularly, one thing I can say is you won't be doing it in anything like 1hr 15mins from Newbury.
I was doing Caversham to Smithfield Market in 1hr to 1hr10 depending on light sequences and the slow'ish filtering speeds once you hit the A4, you can make decent progress but it won't be quick.
As others have said get over the river early as there's less congestion and just play with the routes to find one that works.
Also make good friends with Bob at FWR in Kennington as he will be your best 'repair my puncture' stop as they will be a regular occurrence.
I'm sure that will save my bacon.Thanks for the time update. I can do Newbury to the end of the M4 in 1 hour, I have probably under estimated the time once you get into london!
CaptainSlow said:
If going for a Fazer go for the face lifted phase 1 (Fox eye), I wish I hadn't sold mine. The FZ6 wasn't an improvement.
If I could get a later model FZ6 for about the same would it not be worth it?I had the older model FZS600 (the darth vader one) and it was fine but the headlights were absolutely s
te.I don't think I could live with a CB500 or similar, not enough wind protection and too piddly for me. If I had a much shorter commute I wouldn't have an issues but 50 miles on the motorway on a 500 parallel twin isn't for me lol
May consider something like a Thundercat or Honda CBR600F....
Edited by xjay1337 on Monday 18th April 12:32
Edited by xjay1337 on Monday 18th April 12:33
xjay1337 said:
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/Newbury,+West+Be...
That is the defacto route from Google.
Where it goes down to the A3212 is a route I've used before, except in the past I've travelled to Battersea, this is going further along.
I'm pretty good with directions haha. I would just use satnav the first couple of times just incase.
Would you have any recommendations based on your experiences from the above?
Thats not too bad suprisingly, its directing you across Lambeth bridge already. Give it a go peak time, you may need to adjust to surrounding roads once in the local office area as needed, but learn them all and test them out. I've found rat runs and cut throughs by using gmaps streetview to 'test' them out for restrictions before trying them for real.That is the defacto route from Google.
Where it goes down to the A3212 is a route I've used before, except in the past I've travelled to Battersea, this is going further along.
I'm pretty good with directions haha. I would just use satnav the first couple of times just incase.
Would you have any recommendations based on your experiences from the above?
Fixed editing issue
Edited by sjtscott on Monday 18th April 13:49
xjay1337 said:
If I could get a later model FZ6 for about the same would it not be worth it?
I had the older model FZS600 (the darth vader one) and it was fine but the headlights were absolutely ste.
No, the FZS600 is better and the "Foxeye" has the better lights which I why I recommended it.I had the older model FZS600 (the darth vader one) and it was fine but the headlights were absolutely s
te.might be worth splashing a bit more $$ and getting a newer bike. I got a 2007 Hornet for just over £2k. Look at the government emissions rules, in 4 years there will be a charge for bikes/cars over 13yars old, my 2007 makes the cut off on the reg check.
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2015/march/lond...
As for commuting I've never had a problem parking anywhere, even after 9am, you might have to park a few streets away but there is always somewhere available.
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2015/march/lond...
As for commuting I've never had a problem parking anywhere, even after 9am, you might have to park a few streets away but there is always somewhere available.
lindrup119 said:
supercommuter said:
My opinion is get a thin bike that isn't super fast. I use a CB500x.
^^^ThisI use an RC390. The only negative being that the standard mirrors don't flick in and out and require readjusting if you have to pull them in. But if you've got to that stage then it's probably a bit too tight to really bother attempting it.
I would go with the zx7r. I usually use my k on the s1000rr I can really get through traffic. A narrow bike is really worth it and you will be grateful of the fairings. Get a nice loud exhaust to wake up any lazy people that are not yet at work. At least that is my logic for 4am when I was asked by a nice police man!
kenloen said:
might be worth splashing a bit more $$ and getting a newer bike. I got a 2007 Hornet for just over £2k. Look at the government emissions rules, in 4 years there will be a charge for bikes/cars over 13yars old, my 2007 makes the cut off on the reg check.
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2015/march/lond...
As for commuting I've never had a problem parking anywhere, even after 9am, you might have to park a few streets away but there is always somewhere available.
Thanks for this.http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2015/march/lond...
As for commuting I've never had a problem parking anywhere, even after 9am, you might have to park a few streets away but there is always somewhere available.
I'll probably have changed bikes by then. This is more of a short term investment to save money - if it works I'll splash out something better and newer in a year or so , seems silly spending more when it's my first time back in the saddle.
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