Does anyone commute into central london

[Reardy Mister]

Whilst the commuters are looking at this thread, can I ask if anyone knows of a good spot to park in or near Canada Square at the Wharf? I have to be there 3 days this week and permanently from about June. Which is arse.

[dibblecorse]

Reardy Mister said:

Whilst the commuters are looking at this thread, can I ask if anyone knows of a good spot to park in or near Canada Square at the Wharf? I have to be there 3 days this week and permanently from about June. Which is arse.

Hi,

My understanding is that there are bike bays in each of the underground car parks beneath Canada Sq, altthough make sure you take a chain and a decent lock as I know a few have gone missing, regards charges I think its about £3 a day.... have a look here ...

http://canarywharf.com/getting-here/parking/

[3DP]

I would avoid the ZX7R. They are getting a bit long in the tooth and are a bit of a pig in town. I've commuted through London (and been knocked off) on my old ZX7R. It's not pleasant in town. Something fairly upright, relatively light and narrow, economical, reliable and good value are key.

I'd personally be looking at Suzuki SV650S (faired ones) as top of the list. 60mpg, simple to work on, cheap to buy, fuel injected and relatively new, narrow etc. Otherwise - the perenial Suzuki Bandit 650 (faired one).

[dibblecorse]

3DP said:

I would avoid the ZX7R. They are getting a bit long in the tooth and are a bit of a pig in town. I've commuted through London (and been knocked off) on my old ZX7R. It's not pleasant in town. Something fairly upright, relatively light and narrow, economical, reliable and good value are key.

I'd personally be looking at Suzuki SV650S (faired ones) as top of the list. 60mpg, simple to work on, cheap to buy, fuel injected and relatively new, narrow etc. Otherwise - the perenial Suzuki Bandit 650 (faired one).

Good post ....

Loads of good advice here for the OP .........

[cpl_payne]

xjay1337 said:

turbopowerv10 said:

Just keep in mind that filtering or riding in general with a big heavy tungsten chain and lock in a backpack is a huge pain

Yeah that is not ideal. Id find something light or stick to the disk locks.

And here you have another reason why Fazer might be a good choice - it fits a 1.5m series III Almax chain with padlock in the storage space under the seat and still has enough spare room for a puncture repair kit. Edit - that applies to pre 2004 version as the newer one (FZ6) has less room under seat AFAIK.

[Reardy Mister]

dibblecorse said:

Reardy Mister said:

Whilst the commuters are looking at this thread, can I ask if anyone knows of a good spot to park in or near Canada Square at the Wharf? I have to be there 3 days this week and permanently from about June. Which is arse.

Hi,

My understanding is that there are bike bays in each of the underground car parks beneath Canada Sq, altthough make sure you take a chain and a decent lock as I know a few have gone missing, regards charges I think its about £3 a day.... have a look here ...

http://canarywharf.com/getting-here/parking/

I'll take a look, thanks for that.

[xjay1337]

Thanks for the insight - I've had an SV650S before. Was too slow for me. Although it handled lovely, it had Hagon springs, heavier fluid and a ZX10 rear shock. It was well sorted. For my budget I'd have to buy a "Curvy" one -

The main reason for considering the ZX7 is that it's a known quality and is local, and cheap. I will think long and hard. I would likely go with a FZS600 for a more upright bike as I really liked the old one I had but the suspension was tired! Bought it very tatty for £1100 and after 2nd gear went (they all do that, sir) put 20k on it and never let me down.

[dibblecorse]

xjay1337 said:

Thanks for the insight - I've had an SV650S before. Was too slow for me. Although it handled lovely, it had Hagon springs, heavier fluid and a ZX10 rear shock. It was well sorted. For my budget I'd have to buy a "Curvy" one -

The main reason for considering the ZX7 is that it's a known quality and is local, and cheap. I will think long and hard. I would likely go with a FZS600 for a more upright bike as I really liked the old one I had but the suspension was tired! Bought it very tatty for £1100 and after 2nd gear went (they all do that, sir) put 20k on it and never let me down.

what about trying to find one of the rarer SV1000's ? Although not as economical ....

[xjay1337]

Out of my budget
Not looking to spend more than £1750 really.

[supercommuter]

Sid Snot said:

Fleegle said:

Also agree. One of the reasons for sticking with the TRX is the ability to slip through gaps other bikes will struggle with, wide bars, panniers, etc

Whatever you do OP, don't use cameras because you might film yourself having a crash. If you don't believe me then take the above twunt's advice from my own thread, look on YT for bikers who filmed their own crashes...seriously, that's what this twunt Fleegle decided to hijack my own thread with on commuting into London. BTW don't confuse a bike with...err...a bike?

Fleegle, you're a t0$$er. Why are you not seeing if the OP of this thread is a "biter". Which bit of my original post got you jealous? My GoPros, the new bike or the C63?

Edited by Sid Snot on Monday 18th April 20:45

Edited by Sid Snot on Monday 18th April 20:47

Hahahahaha. Guy's, this bloke has multiple GoPros, a new bike AND a c63. What an absolute hero. Did you win the lottery? Did you work super hard to obtain such trinkets of wealth.

What a moron.

[supercommuter]

xjay1337 said:

Out of my budget
Not looking to spend more than £1750 really.

Get a mechanically sound, but tatty, R6 or R1 and a back pack.

Like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-YAMAHA-YZF-R6-5EB-J...

[xjay1337]

supercommuter said:

Get a mechanically sound, but tatty, R6 or R1 and a back pack.

Like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-YAMAHA-YZF-R6-5EB-J...

Would the R6 be better than the ZX7?
R1 is too fast for me.

[TT Tim]

A few comments...

I'm a daily commuter into C.London (Southwark/Bankside), from Kent coast.

Don't dismiss bigger bikes, I use an FJR1300 and very rarely get stuck, and can get through some surprisingly small gaps. it's virtually bullet proof and racks up the miles without breaking a sweat.

Southwark is becoming a bit of a pain with the Cycle Super Highway, so look to avoid that if possible. It's also 20mph just about everywhere, so watch the cameras.

You don't need loud exhausts, many are anti-social and make no difference to your visibility.

Get decent gear, nothing worse than getting to work looking like you've pi***ed yourself! My experience has been Goretex = Great.

Plenty of bike parking around Blackfriars Bridge area, just need to take a look around.

Good luck

Tim

[xjay1337]

Thanks for your input Tim - Appreciate it

I am looking up on RIDE website for their best-buys. I remember having subscriptions and their recommended kit seemed to be quite good.
I have full leathers but I fear I'm too fat for them now lol. I will try them on soon (they're at my mums).
Gear wise I am probably going to buy new all weather top and bottoms. They need to fit over my trousers so will try.

Boots wise I'm eyeing up some RST Tractech Evo CE - http://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/c...
Top and bottoms wise I'd like some zip togethere stuff (not sure if all the top and bottoms are zip together) but the Oxford range looks to be quite cheap and have good reviews. - http://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/c...
Although no mention of bottoms.

Regarding the suggestion of an R6 above - It's twice as much to insure :\

looking up backpacks , tank bags and disc locks now. I hope to be able to buy most of the stuff from one place in the hope of a discount haha.

Edited by xjay1337 on Tuesday 19th April 12:17

[3DP]

xjay1337 said:

Thanks for the insight - I've had an SV650S before. Was too slow for me. Although it handled lovely, it had Hagon springs, heavier fluid and a ZX10 rear shock. It was well sorted. For my budget I'd have to buy a "Curvy" one -

The main reason for considering the ZX7 is that it's a known quality and is local, and cheap. I will think long and hard. I would likely go with a FZS600 for a more upright bike as I really liked the old one I had but the suspension was tired! Bought it very tatty for £1100 and after 2nd gear went (they all do that, sir) put 20k on it and never let me down.

Fair enough - I've only ridden an 07 FZ6 Fazer and it's very revvy. Has some go at the top, but not really quicker than a bandit or SV at commuting speed and revs.

As for the 7R, some of the in town issues - heavy on wrists and long stretch to bars, heavy, poor steering lock, heavy, high pegs, heavy and heavy. I really found mine a pain in town. Joking aside, their mass is not the main issue - it's more the riding position and bars don't allow you to lever the not inconsiderable mass around very easily.

If you are wanting decent go and bulletproofness, then Bandit 1200s come up cheap often. Engines go forever. Or, find a decent 90s Yamaha Thundercat or CBR600F.

[mitzy]

Reardy Mister said:

Whilst the commuters are looking at this thread, can I ask if anyone knows of a good spot to park in or near Canada Square at the Wharf? I have to be there 3 days this week and permanently from about June. Which is arse.

Hello
I work in Canary Wharf
There is a car park at Waitrose which is underground and that has bike parking and camera's and i think its £2 a day.
Not sure there is anywhere else round there that does bike parking , think there is a canary wharf estate car park for the shops but never been in there tbh as I have secure underground parking for bikes where I work.

If you need any other advice about the area let me know

Mitzy

[Alex@POD]

xjay1337 said:

Yup, certainly looks like it.
I used to drive into Earls Court a few times a month. Was always... um... fun, shall we say (in the car).

I've google mapped my route and it seems quite easy. Go past the big Tescos, turn right, go along the river (one of my old clients is along there) . Could be worse I suppose.
Noisy can is a given haha. As well as heated grips and a tank bag for my nav.

I've tried having a satnav in the tank bag while touring, and found I always had to look quite a way down to see where I was going. I wouldn't want to do that in London!

I'd like to know what tank bag you would use for this, that could come in handy! I've had to resort to putting the satnav on the handlebars, not ideal.

[lindrup119]

Alex@POD said:

xjay1337 said:

Yup, certainly looks like it.
I used to drive into Earls Court a few times a month. Was always... um... fun, shall we say (in the car).

I've google mapped my route and it seems quite easy. Go past the big Tescos, turn right, go along the river (one of my old clients is along there) . Could be worse I suppose.
Noisy can is a given haha. As well as heated grips and a tank bag for my nav.

I've tried having a satnav in the tank bag while touring, and found I always had to look quite a way down to see where I was going. I wouldn't want to do that in London!

I'd like to know what tank bag you would use for this, that could come in handy! I've had to resort to putting the satnav on the handlebars, not ideal.

If you can deal with having headphones in while riding, I use Google Maps and let the lady tell me where to go. No looking at maps required.

[xjay1337]

Yeah I used to ride with earphones in .. will be doing so again - That may help then haha.

[Alex@POD]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Thats what I've got now. I could never get on with listening to directions, usually by the time the turn is announced, I'm in the wrong Lane and it would be dangerous to change! Much prefer to "see" what's coming up and how far it is.