Advice on buying a commuter scooter
Discussion
I was wondering if anybody could offer any advice on this? I live in south London (East Dulwich area) and work in the City and have become sick to death of my train commute (crowded, unreliable, smelly and expensive) so I have been wondering about commuting by scooter instead.
The crazy cost of train travel means it wouldn't be that much more expensive and the extra cost is well and truly offset by the added convenience of my own transport for getting to work.
The problem is I know nothing about scooters at all - I think I now understand how people end up buying Protons!
It would be really useful to hear from people who commute in a similar way - is it an as easy and convenient way of commuting into central London as it looks?
Also what makes a good scooter and which are the ones to go for/avoid? I would be doing about 8 miles each way in almost all weathers and it will be parked on the street overnight in south London (is it very likely to get robbed?), so my priorities are reliability, boring looks, cheapness to buy/run and I guess security (as far as it goes) and fast enough to keep up with London traffic. My incredibly basic research so far consists of eyeing up what the couriers are all riding - generally Hondas so guessing these are reliable and durable.
Any advice would be much appreciated!
The crazy cost of train travel means it wouldn't be that much more expensive and the extra cost is well and truly offset by the added convenience of my own transport for getting to work.
The problem is I know nothing about scooters at all - I think I now understand how people end up buying Protons!
It would be really useful to hear from people who commute in a similar way - is it an as easy and convenient way of commuting into central London as it looks?
Also what makes a good scooter and which are the ones to go for/avoid? I would be doing about 8 miles each way in almost all weathers and it will be parked on the street overnight in south London (is it very likely to get robbed?), so my priorities are reliability, boring looks, cheapness to buy/run and I guess security (as far as it goes) and fast enough to keep up with London traffic. My incredibly basic research so far consists of eyeing up what the couriers are all riding - generally Hondas so guessing these are reliable and durable.
Any advice would be much appreciated!
I was going to say go for it. a Honda SH125 will go on for ever and very reliable. Yamaha Aerox, looks good and a great machine and the peugeot Jet Force has a supercharger !!!.
Don't , do not , stop. never get a Chinese bike it will fall to bits in weeks.
If you have never ridden in London it may take some getting used to, very dog eat dog and a little scary, but once you get used to it , it would be great fun...fancy leaving all manner of cars at the lights for the first 50 yards hehe.
But then you said 'It'll be parked outside overnight
A scooter weighs about 90kg It'll just get picked up and put in a van m8. I have (had 
)
my bike In a garage with alarm, an anchor bolted to the floor with 2 locks on and a disc lock on the rear wheel. and still used to check it every morning.
You must find somewhere to store it. simple.
Don't , do not , stop. never get a Chinese bike it will fall to bits in weeks.
If you have never ridden in London it may take some getting used to, very dog eat dog and a little scary, but once you get used to it , it would be great fun...fancy leaving all manner of cars at the lights for the first 50 yards hehe.
But then you said 'It'll be parked outside overnight
A scooter weighs about 90kg It'll just get picked up and put in a van m8. I have (had )my bike In a garage with alarm, an anchor bolted to the floor with 2 locks on and a disc lock on the rear wheel. and still used to check it every morning.
You must find somewhere to store it. simple.
Post in Biker Banter - There are a few scooter riders in there.
To put it simply - three types. Cheap Chinese, Good enough korean/thailand/Taiwan, and very good Jap and European.
Chinese are very cheap - it could work out more cost effective to buy brand new scooter and chuck in skip at end of year and buy another brand new one, than go by train. (They aren't very reliable - you will probably wind up chucking it in a skip anyway...)
Other orientals - quite a bit better, but not as cheap.
Jap and european - reliable, fuel efficient, vaguely fast, in small capacity scooter terms. Most expensive though. You can get scooters which do 126 mph, with 800cc now.
To put it simply - three types. Cheap Chinese, Good enough korean/thailand/Taiwan, and very good Jap and European.
Chinese are very cheap - it could work out more cost effective to buy brand new scooter and chuck in skip at end of year and buy another brand new one, than go by train. (They aren't very reliable - you will probably wind up chucking it in a skip anyway...)
Other orientals - quite a bit better, but not as cheap.
Jap and european - reliable, fuel efficient, vaguely fast, in small capacity scooter terms. Most expensive though. You can get scooters which do 126 mph, with 800cc now.
I commuted that distance when my wife had the car.I bought a brand new Italian scooter,had numerous problems with it failing to start,think it was this particular scooter as they have a good rep on the whole.With hindsight i would have bought Honda.
When the weather was fine i quite enjoyed it,but i started to lose my nerve after a couple of near misses with cars either not seeing me or deliberately not giving a toss.Sold it after 2 years,made a large loss but think it was the right decision.I can see they have a place but maybe just not for me.
When the weather was fine i quite enjoyed it,but i started to lose my nerve after a couple of near misses with cars either not seeing me or deliberately not giving a toss.Sold it after 2 years,made a large loss but think it was the right decision.I can see they have a place but maybe just not for me.
STash07 said:
I've been thinking about this lately as well with the price of petrol and only commuting 6 miles round trip, but with a cbt doesn't it only last 2 years?? Can you just do cbt again once it expires??
Yep - nothing to stop you re-doing CBT after two years. Unless you want to go on motorways and/or carry passengers. Or do more than 75 mph on the flat on a four stroke, which you will get because it is not economic to run a two stroke as a commuter... (Though two strokes are faster, both in acceleration and top speed. And that matters, and I'm not just saying that because this is PH...)
Obviously, different laws apply if your not in the UK.
CBR JGWRR said:
Yep - nothing to stop you re-doing CBT after two years.
Unless you want to go on motorways and/or carry passengers. Or do more than 75 mph on the flat on a four stroke, which you will get because it is not economic to run a two stroke as a commuter... (Though two strokes are faster, both in acceleration and top speed. And that matters, and I'm not just saying that because this is PH...)
Obviously, different laws apply if your not in the UK.
75mph in a London city? Where about could you do that?Unless you want to go on motorways and/or carry passengers. Or do more than 75 mph on the flat on a four stroke, which you will get because it is not economic to run a two stroke as a commuter... (Though two strokes are faster, both in acceleration and top speed. And that matters, and I'm not just saying that because this is PH...)
Obviously, different laws apply if your not in the UK.
martynr said:
CBR JGWRR said:
Yep - nothing to stop you re-doing CBT after two years.
Unless you want to go on motorways and/or carry passengers. Or do more than 75 mph on the flat on a four stroke, which you will get because it is not economic to run a two stroke as a commuter... (Though two strokes are faster, both in acceleration and top speed. And that matters, and I'm not just saying that because this is PH...)
Obviously, different laws apply if your not in the UK.
75mph in a London city? Where about could you do that?Unless you want to go on motorways and/or carry passengers. Or do more than 75 mph on the flat on a four stroke, which you will get because it is not economic to run a two stroke as a commuter... (Though two strokes are faster, both in acceleration and top speed. And that matters, and I'm not just saying that because this is PH...)
Obviously, different laws apply if your not in the UK.
Anyway, middle of the night, say 3, 4 pm, there are a few places where its possible. Not safe, but possible...
CBR JGWRR said:
Yep - nothing to stop you re-doing CBT after two years.
Unless you want to go on motorways and/or carry passengers. Or do more than 75 mph on the flat on a four stroke, which you will get because it is not economic to run a two stroke as a commuter... (Though two strokes are faster, both in acceleration and top speed. And that matters, and I'm not just saying that because this is PH...)
Obviously, different laws apply if your not in the UK.
Thanks for the quick reply :thumbsup:Unless you want to go on motorways and/or carry passengers. Or do more than 75 mph on the flat on a four stroke, which you will get because it is not economic to run a two stroke as a commuter... (Though two strokes are faster, both in acceleration and top speed. And that matters, and I'm not just saying that because this is PH...)
Obviously, different laws apply if your not in the UK.
It would solely be used to commute the 3/4 miles to work and then the 3/4 miles home again, so no motorways involved and no passengers. But saying that I'd most probably get the bug after a few months on a scooter and want to go on to bigger and better things
But would be good to at least do a year on a scooter/small bike to get used to riding on the road as my riding experience consists of riding around fields when younger.
STash07 said:
Thanks for the quick reply :thumbsup:
It would solely be used to commute the 3/4 miles to work and then the 3/4 miles home again, so no motorways involved and no passengers. But saying that I'd most probably get the bug after a few months on a scooter and want to go on to bigger and better things
But would be good to at least do a year on a scooter/small bike to get used to riding on the road as my riding experience consists of riding around fields when younger.
If you think you might want to move on, do your test this year. If you are over 24, then this bit doesn't matter, but the EU have brought in some new legislation making bike licences into a 4 tier system - Provisional <125cc, A1 full <125cc, A2 47 bhp, and full A licence, each with a two year gap between them after getting A1 done. Direct Access Scheme age rises from 21 to 24.It would solely be used to commute the 3/4 miles to work and then the 3/4 miles home again, so no motorways involved and no passengers. But saying that I'd most probably get the bug after a few months on a scooter and want to go on to bigger and better things
But would be good to at least do a year on a scooter/small bike to get used to riding on the road as my riding experience consists of riding around fields when younger.
It comes in January the 19th next year.
If you are over 24, then there is no change.
I believe the OP is looking for a scooter to travel to work and not to reach the top speed in London's traffic.
I would say any up to 125cc would be the best bet. Although I found some Sukida a bit cramped, the steering bars were too close... Never drove any 125cc in my life apart from learning to get the full license.
I would say any up to 125cc would be the best bet. Although I found some Sukida a bit cramped, the steering bars were too close... Never drove any 125cc in my life apart from learning to get the full license.
I would go for it but be careful, my dad got knocked off through no fault of his own on lompit vale in lewisham on his way back from the city to Orpington....his bike was a big NV700 so wasn't hard to see....causing a huge number of broken bones, nearly a year later and he is still not back together fully....
Remember that you cant go out drinking either, the number of times I have ended up at the anthologist/planet of the grapes without intending to and being grateful for the train.
I would still be tempted but with the summer, now I'm banned from motorbikes/scooters, I cycle to and from the city from Orpington so dulwich should be a breeze!
Remember that you cant go out drinking either, the number of times I have ended up at the anthologist/planet of the grapes without intending to and being grateful for the train.
I would still be tempted but with the summer, now I'm banned from motorbikes/scooters, I cycle to and from the city from Orpington so dulwich should be a breeze!
Edited by kiethton on Thursday 5th April 22:33
I've been commuting by scooter for a couple of years now. Similar distance - 12 miles each way. I started with a Vespa GTS which I'd recommend. It lived outside and I used it in all weathers and it never let me down. It's also a bit stylish and you can sell them on very easily if you don't like it. I've now got an American electric scooter, a Vectrix. It's so cheap to run it is literally cheaper than walking, about 2p per mile all in. Again it lives outside and I have put a weatherproof power socket at the front of my drive to charge it.
One thing that, regardless of what scooter you get, will make a big difference to the experience is getting the right clothing. I wear reinforced textile jacket and trousers. The jacket has various removable sections depending on how much warmth or waterproofing you need. It's cool enough in summer, and warm enough in winter with extra layers underneath. A well ventilated helmet is also a must, it's no fun not being able to see where you're going when it's raining or cold.
I can't imagine having to commute any other way now. It takes me 25 mins to get to work, and the train would take more than twice the time and cost 24 times as much.
One thing that, regardless of what scooter you get, will make a big difference to the experience is getting the right clothing. I wear reinforced textile jacket and trousers. The jacket has various removable sections depending on how much warmth or waterproofing you need. It's cool enough in summer, and warm enough in winter with extra layers underneath. A well ventilated helmet is also a must, it's no fun not being able to see where you're going when it's raining or cold.
I can't imagine having to commute any other way now. It takes me 25 mins to get to work, and the train would take more than twice the time and cost 24 times as much.
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