Discussion
Currently I have to use expensive and unreliable trains or buses/coaches to get anywhere and then I don't have much freedom to move around when I get to where I am going. I've had enough of this public transport sillyness for travelling anywhere of any distance so I've been weighing up whether to get a car licence or a motorcycle licence to save me stress, hassle and probably money in the long run.
So far I have come up with the following list:
Cars
Benefits
- Car test is about £10 cheaper a pop.
- I already am familiar with cars so shouldn't be difficult to pass.
- second hand cars would appear to be cheaper than a bike or at least roughly the same price at the low end of the market.
- Car is probably safer, can be used for actual practical things like shopping, taking luggage and is comfortable for use in most weather conditions.
- No special clothing/equipment required to use it.
- Am reasonably familiar with cars and their mechanics, so it's far more of a 'known' quantity to me
Downsides
- Cheapest insurance for even the crappiest of cars is about £900, plus tax and mot and car cost so probably a minimum of £1500 to get a cheap £500 car on the road for a year, and that car will likely only be a Fiat Panda or something else unimpressive
- Parking is a bit of a pain, costs money and difficult to find (parked on street in London)
- Not as economical as a bike
- Waiting time for practical car tests is 5 weeks in my area.
- Not really much use for commuting so probably wouldn't get used for most of the week.
Bikes
Benefits
- Good for getting through traffic
- No cost for parking in bike bays(I think?)
- Frugal
- Fun to ride and generally much quicker than equivalent car
- No congestion charge
- Waiting time for practical bike test at my nearest centre is only 1 week
- I just have an unfathomable urge to ride a bike on nice days
- I could probably use it for commuting on occaision
- I would probably look a lot cooler on a bike than the equivalent car
(not that it really matters...)
Downsides
- Risk of death or injury due to mistake from me or other road users much higher
- Require more concentration and awareness
- Not really suitable for all weather conditions
- Require expensive safety equipment, leathers helmets etc
- Requires carrying a helmet, safety equipment around when you reach destination
- Can't carry much on it
- Requires two practical tests rather than one, CBT and then proper motorcycle one I think
- I'm not very experienced with bikes or as a rider, I haven't a clue what to look for when buying a bike
- My parents (ok my mum, my dad will probably be quite pleased) and other relatives would pretty much blow their top if they found out I had a bike, I wouldn't hear an end to the nagging about how dangerous it is.
- It's not a matter of if you fall off but when.
I estimate all up cost of getting a car and licence on the road will end up around £2000 (slightly pessimitic estimate). For a bike I'm not all that clear, bikes would appear to be slightly more expensive for something cheapish, though I haven't much of a clue what I'm looking at bike wise.
I think bike insurance should be a fair bit cheaper than a car? (23/male/no insurance or riding history).
I think most bike bays are more or less free to park at, though most of them are quite full in my area. So a bike is probably cheaper to buy and run all things considered, but then the licence itself is more expensive and you need to get stuff like leathers and a helmet which is expensive, so I guess it probably isn't that much cheaper than a car in initial start up costs.
So are my assumptions correct? Anything I've forgotten to consider? Any info on typical costs to start as a bike rider would be appreciated.
My main consideration is something that I can use for travelling reasonable distances and general entertaining weekend drives/rides, basically a toy rather than something practical, though any practicality is more than welcome. I actually have a drivers licence but it is a foreign one and I can't exchange it now (been here too long) so if I go for the Motorcycle licence at least it's something different to what I already have. OTOH if I get the car licence then I will essentially have a 'spare' licence that could come in handy in some circumstances should I lose it.
I have ridden bikes before, though never really on the road, mostly offroad trail bikes and stuff like that. I didn't like them much because they were a bit big for me and usually had fairly peaky engines, apart from a small 125cc trial bike, which wasn't too bad if a tad slow on any open space/road. Then I got a ride on an old classic Triumph and quite liked it, relaxed and cruisy, nice torquey engine, that seems more my sort of thing.
I dont suppose there is anywhere that you can have a go on a bike before getting your licence? I would quite like to have a proper go on a bike rather than shelling out for a motorcycle licence only to find I don't actually like it that much.
How hard is it to pass the motorcycle test? Easy enough to do in one go or will it most likely require multiple tries?
So far I have come up with the following list:
Cars
Benefits
- Car test is about £10 cheaper a pop.
- I already am familiar with cars so shouldn't be difficult to pass.
- second hand cars would appear to be cheaper than a bike or at least roughly the same price at the low end of the market.
- Car is probably safer, can be used for actual practical things like shopping, taking luggage and is comfortable for use in most weather conditions.
- No special clothing/equipment required to use it.
- Am reasonably familiar with cars and their mechanics, so it's far more of a 'known' quantity to me
Downsides
- Cheapest insurance for even the crappiest of cars is about £900, plus tax and mot and car cost so probably a minimum of £1500 to get a cheap £500 car on the road for a year, and that car will likely only be a Fiat Panda or something else unimpressive
- Parking is a bit of a pain, costs money and difficult to find (parked on street in London)
- Not as economical as a bike
- Waiting time for practical car tests is 5 weeks in my area.
- Not really much use for commuting so probably wouldn't get used for most of the week.
Bikes
Benefits
- Good for getting through traffic
- No cost for parking in bike bays(I think?)
- Frugal
- Fun to ride and generally much quicker than equivalent car
- No congestion charge
- Waiting time for practical bike test at my nearest centre is only 1 week
- I just have an unfathomable urge to ride a bike on nice days
- I could probably use it for commuting on occaision
- I would probably look a lot cooler on a bike than the equivalent car
(not that it really matters...) Downsides
- Risk of death or injury due to mistake from me or other road users much higher
- Require more concentration and awareness
- Not really suitable for all weather conditions
- Require expensive safety equipment, leathers helmets etc
- Requires carrying a helmet, safety equipment around when you reach destination
- Can't carry much on it
- Requires two practical tests rather than one, CBT and then proper motorcycle one I think
- I'm not very experienced with bikes or as a rider, I haven't a clue what to look for when buying a bike
- My parents (ok my mum, my dad will probably be quite pleased) and other relatives would pretty much blow their top if they found out I had a bike, I wouldn't hear an end to the nagging about how dangerous it is.
- It's not a matter of if you fall off but when.
I estimate all up cost of getting a car and licence on the road will end up around £2000 (slightly pessimitic estimate). For a bike I'm not all that clear, bikes would appear to be slightly more expensive for something cheapish, though I haven't much of a clue what I'm looking at bike wise.
I think bike insurance should be a fair bit cheaper than a car? (23/male/no insurance or riding history).
I think most bike bays are more or less free to park at, though most of them are quite full in my area. So a bike is probably cheaper to buy and run all things considered, but then the licence itself is more expensive and you need to get stuff like leathers and a helmet which is expensive, so I guess it probably isn't that much cheaper than a car in initial start up costs.
So are my assumptions correct? Anything I've forgotten to consider? Any info on typical costs to start as a bike rider would be appreciated.
My main consideration is something that I can use for travelling reasonable distances and general entertaining weekend drives/rides, basically a toy rather than something practical, though any practicality is more than welcome. I actually have a drivers licence but it is a foreign one and I can't exchange it now (been here too long) so if I go for the Motorcycle licence at least it's something different to what I already have. OTOH if I get the car licence then I will essentially have a 'spare' licence that could come in handy in some circumstances should I lose it.
I have ridden bikes before, though never really on the road, mostly offroad trail bikes and stuff like that. I didn't like them much because they were a bit big for me and usually had fairly peaky engines, apart from a small 125cc trial bike, which wasn't too bad if a tad slow on any open space/road. Then I got a ride on an old classic Triumph and quite liked it, relaxed and cruisy, nice torquey engine, that seems more my sort of thing.
I dont suppose there is anywhere that you can have a go on a bike before getting your licence? I would quite like to have a proper go on a bike rather than shelling out for a motorcycle licence only to find I don't actually like it that much.
How hard is it to pass the motorcycle test? Easy enough to do in one go or will it most likely require multiple tries?
r988 said:
I dont suppose there is anywhere that you can have a go on a bike before getting your licence?
Yes, there is. It's called a CBT and will cost you around a hundred quid for your first day's riding instruction (including use of the bike and all the kit, which makes it something of a bargain). The advantages of this are threefold:
a) If you like it, then it counts towards your bike training for the L-test.
b)It's impossible to say how easy you will find the bike test. Some take to it quicker than others. However, a day's CBT will give you ideal insight into how easy it you'll find it.
c) If you don't like it, you'll learn much of value for your car driving. All bikers to wish that car drivers had at least done a CBT, because it would make them better car drivers
Just check out motorcycle schools in Yellow Pages (or yell.com) and book a CBT.
Enjoy!
Edited by SVS on Friday 4th August 22:31
Regarding the percieved higher risk of death injury etc with bikes. I think this is just a case of the stats skewing the actual risks in favour of the car, due to new age bikers stuffing it through hedges cos they just watched WSB prior to their sunday ride.
Most old cars arent going to offer much protection in a head on with an high NCAP rated car and in such crashes u could be looking at nasty leg lower torso damage if the cars foot area collapses.
A biker might end up with similar injures but also might have been able to avoid it .
If of course you ride like u stole it then its likely ur bike injury risk is higher as its easier to crash with or without other road user intervention. So I would say if your road aware they bike may be a better bet?. That said winter adds a whole new risk problem but that depends where u live what roads you travel on.
Most old cars arent going to offer much protection in a head on with an high NCAP rated car and in such crashes u could be looking at nasty leg lower torso damage if the cars foot area collapses.
A biker might end up with similar injures but also might have been able to avoid it .
If of course you ride like u stole it then its likely ur bike injury risk is higher as its easier to crash with or without other road user intervention. So I would say if your road aware they bike may be a better bet?. That said winter adds a whole new risk problem but that depends where u live what roads you travel on.
Agreed with above, a modern big with decent capacity is more to run than a car. I have a 60 mile each way commute and do it in a Diesel Corsa Van. It uses less fuel than either of my bikes, tyres last seemingly for ever, and the type of road I'm on means it's just as quick getting to work usually, especially when you factor in getting leathers on etc.
Can't really compare Bike to Car, they are so different. But if you have a relatively short drive which is always in heavy traffic, a bike makes sense. You'd need a car as well though because a bike is not so much fun in the freezing cold or the wet.
Can't really compare Bike to Car, they are so different. But if you have a relatively short drive which is always in heavy traffic, a bike makes sense. You'd need a car as well though because a bike is not so much fun in the freezing cold or the wet.
fredd1e said:
Regarding the percieved higher risk of death injury etc with bikes. I think this is just a case of the stats skewing the actual risks in favour of the car, due to new age bikers stuffing it through hedges cos they just watched WSB prior to their sunday ride.
Most old cars arent going to offer much protection in a head on with an high NCAP rated car and in such crashes u could be looking at nasty leg lower torso damage if the cars foot area collapses.
A biker might end up with similar injures but also might have been able to avoid it .
If of course you ride like u stole it then its likely ur bike injury risk is higher as its easier to crash with or without other road user intervention. So I would say if your road aware they bike may be a better bet?. That said winter adds a whole new risk problem but that depends where u live what roads you travel on.
Most old cars arent going to offer much protection in a head on with an high NCAP rated car and in such crashes u could be looking at nasty leg lower torso damage if the cars foot area collapses.
A biker might end up with similar injures but also might have been able to avoid it .
If of course you ride like u stole it then its likely ur bike injury risk is higher as its easier to crash with or without other road user intervention. So I would say if your road aware they bike may be a better bet?. That said winter adds a whole new risk problem but that depends where u live what roads you travel on.
Please please please don't underestimate the potential risk of riding motorcycles.
Deeply ingrained in every car drivers subconcious is an ancient primitive desire to kill you, they just can't help it!
Ride like everyone of them IS going to try and kill you by doing something really stupid and you'll PROBABLY be OK.
cuprabob said:
Car for the boring commute and bike for the fun.
If it's one or the other, sadly it has to be the car. Winter warmth, practicality, safety etc.
Go for your CBT and have some fun.
If it's one or the other, sadly it has to be the car. Winter warmth, practicality, safety etc.
Go for your CBT and have some fun.
Have to agree with that, except in a few exceptional circumstances.
I am lucky enough to have both a car and a bike. A few years ago i was working in Edinburgh, and live in Glasgow. I used the train to commute the 50 miles but i still had a 10 mile journey to the train station. Enter the scooter. It was the ideal commuter tool. For journeys less than 15miles i would say nothing could beat it. 125cc 4 stroke is all you need in city traffic, will do 50mph on the m-way too.
I ended up getting the 7.00am train and would leave the house at 6.40. Just used wet weather gear, no traffic about in the morning.
On the other side if i was not using the train to commute the 50 miles then i would choose a car, and probably car share with someone to split the miles.
Forget big bikes they are significantly more expensive to run than a cheapo car.
Scooters are defiantly cheap to run.
r988 said:
- My parents (ok my mum, my dad will probably be quite pleased) and other relatives would pretty much blow their top if they found out I had a bike, I wouldn't hear an end to the nagging about how dangerous it is.
My response to this is to tell them to mind their own business and if they persist to point out that by being overweight they are inexorably heading towards an early death so they should get off their high horses. Quietens them down for a while 
I think you're analysing this a bit too much frankly. If I was in your position I wouldn't consider passing a bike test and getting a bike and then immediately using it as your main transport. I think that it takes time to get in to the groove of using a bike and you'd be best served getting a car to be your transport and then doing the bike thing over a period of time unless you're naturally adept at it.
I bought an old 125, did my test, got a slightly bigger bike, did a few more miles and built up slowly. Now I use my bike purely for the commute and never use it for fun apart from the odd trip to france.
As for the comments like you'll need a car for winter... I think that as you're going from a standing start this is good advice as you need to be smooth over winter, not be in a rush and confident in your ability to stay within your limits. Once you're there then I think that if you enjoy riding to work and back in the summer then you can enjoy riding in the winter too if you have the correct weather proof gear. A lot depends on where you live mind as the winters down in Berkshire are a lot drier than the ones up in Cheshire.
In short, if you're the hard adventurous type then just go for a bike if that's what you really want to do. If you're not then get a car and if you want to take up biking then do it a stage at a time.
Imo.
Mark
Andrew Noakes said:
denisb said:
Deeply ingrained in every car drivers subconcious is an ancient primitive desire to kill you, they just can't help it!
Perhaps many - but not every.
I have been hit by cars driven by the most dyed in the wall bikers you will ever meet, including a central London bike courier.
And yes, I have nearly hit bikes before, and I have so far clocked over a 1/4 of a million miles on the things and so should know better.
It isn't intentional, it isn't personal, it just is.
No idea why.
I commute daily over the Runcorn Bridge and it is a well know trouble spot for flowing traffic.
I bought a bike three years ago, mainly for fun, and have a well spec'd Touareg as a company car.
Despite this, I use the bike every day apart from snow and ice simply because I love using the bike and hate driving the car now.
The Touareg now seems to live in the garage as I so rarely use it.
If you buy a bike, you will find yourself using it more and more cos it's so addictive...
I bought a bike three years ago, mainly for fun, and have a well spec'd Touareg as a company car.
Despite this, I use the bike every day apart from snow and ice simply because I love using the bike and hate driving the car now.
The Touareg now seems to live in the garage as I so rarely use it.
If you buy a bike, you will find yourself using it more and more cos it's so addictive...
Gassing Station | Biker Banter | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff