Newbie 2wheeler!
Discussion
Hi there.. i regularly cycle, but im lately finding that i need to go further afield for work porpouses, i have access to a car, but only gaurenteed at weekends... which doesnt help.
I have been looking at some 125cc Vespa Mopeds situated at a local Indie dealer.
i was just wondering
what kind of MPG should i expect from a Vespa.
Is a vespa the "best choice" for a scooter i plan on covering rather alot of miles on?
Is there anywhere in Birmingham sandwell that i can do my CBT at and how much will that cost me.
this purchase is based soley on a £/per mile basis vs a car
I have been looking at some 125cc Vespa Mopeds situated at a local Indie dealer.
i was just wondering
what kind of MPG should i expect from a Vespa.
Is a vespa the "best choice" for a scooter i plan on covering rather alot of miles on?
Is there anywhere in Birmingham sandwell that i can do my CBT at and how much will that cost me.
this purchase is based soley on a £/per mile basis vs a car
SystemParanoia said:
Hi there.. i regularly cycle, but im lately finding that i need to go further afield for work porpouses, i have access to a car, but only gaurenteed at weekends... which doesnt help.
I have been looking at some 125cc Vespa Mopeds situated at a local Indie dealer.
i was just wondering
what kind of MPG should i expect from a Vespa.
Between 70 - 100 mpg, I would guess.I have been looking at some 125cc Vespa Mopeds situated at a local Indie dealer.
i was just wondering
what kind of MPG should i expect from a Vespa.
SystemParanoia said:
Is a vespa the "best choice" for a scooter i plan on covering rather alot of miles on?
Depends whether those miles are all in town or not. I'd have thought a 125 Vespa would be a bit slow for A roads, and pretty nasty on anything faster. Why not take a full bike test and get something a bit more useful? The bigger scooters - Burgmans etc - seem to be popular and highly rated, if you don't want a 'real' bike.SystemParanoia said:
Is there anywhere in Birmingham sandwell that i can do my CBT at and how much will that cost me.
http://www.begin-motorcycling.co.uk/c_westmid.htm lists trainers near you. No idea what they're like, I'm afraid. Know anyone local who could give you a recommendation? Should cost about £100 for CBT, and about £500 for a full licence. See the FAQ's on the main page for details.HTH
As a full time and dedicated motorcyclist I am sorry to say that £/per mile, you are cheaper getting a small car (if you can already drive).
A "cheap" bike is still more expensive to buy than an old banger.
Insurance costs are higher, service costs are higher, spares prices are higher, tyre costs are higher, even the oil is more expensive.
Add in compulsory basic training before you get on the road (£100 to £150), then do it again in two years if you haven't passed a test (with theory test as well) and the odds are stacking up against you.
Cheap helmet; £50, cheap jacket; £100, cheap gloves; £25. I drive my car in jeans and a tee shirt which were already in my wardrobe and cost £30 from TK max.
Yes, fuel consumption is often less on a small capacity bike, but not significantly so when you take all the above into consideration.
You get wet when it rains, cold when its, erm, cold, and I'll tell you what; I've never fallen off my car yet!
But hey, motorcycling is an addiction, and I'll guarantee if you start you'll enjoy it!
A "cheap" bike is still more expensive to buy than an old banger.
Insurance costs are higher, service costs are higher, spares prices are higher, tyre costs are higher, even the oil is more expensive.
Add in compulsory basic training before you get on the road (£100 to £150), then do it again in two years if you haven't passed a test (with theory test as well) and the odds are stacking up against you.
Cheap helmet; £50, cheap jacket; £100, cheap gloves; £25. I drive my car in jeans and a tee shirt which were already in my wardrobe and cost £30 from TK max.
Yes, fuel consumption is often less on a small capacity bike, but not significantly so when you take all the above into consideration.
You get wet when it rains, cold when its, erm, cold, and I'll tell you what; I've never fallen off my car yet!
But hey, motorcycling is an addiction, and I'll guarantee if you start you'll enjoy it!
Rubin215 said:
As a full time and dedicated motorcyclist I am sorry to say that £/per mile, you are cheaper getting a small car (if you can already drive).
A "cheap" bike is still more expensive to buy than an old banger.
Insurance costs are higher, service costs are higher, spares prices are higher, tyre costs are higher, even the oil is more expensive.
Add in compulsory basic training before you get on the road (£100 to £150), then do it again in two years if you haven't passed a test (with theory test as well) and the odds are stacking up against you.
Cheap helmet; £50, cheap jacket; £100, cheap gloves; £25. I drive my car in jeans and a tee shirt which were already in my wardrobe and cost £30 from TK max.
Yes, fuel consumption is often less on a small capacity bike, but not significantly so when you take all the above into consideration.
You get wet when it rains, cold when its, erm, cold, and I'll tell you what; I've never fallen off my car yet!
But hey, motorcycling is an addiction, and I'll guarantee if you start you'll enjoy it!
I’m sorry, but I don’t agree with that. If you are buying a small bike/scooter then the costs per mile will be less than running a small car. Yes, it will need servicing, tyres etc. more often than a car but the fuel costs will be significantly less, the tax is less, the insurance is less, parts are cheaper and the costs per service will be less. You can easily by a brand new 125 scooter for less than £1000. You would be very very lucky to buy a second hand reliable small car for that sort of money.A "cheap" bike is still more expensive to buy than an old banger.
Insurance costs are higher, service costs are higher, spares prices are higher, tyre costs are higher, even the oil is more expensive.
Add in compulsory basic training before you get on the road (£100 to £150), then do it again in two years if you haven't passed a test (with theory test as well) and the odds are stacking up against you.
Cheap helmet; £50, cheap jacket; £100, cheap gloves; £25. I drive my car in jeans and a tee shirt which were already in my wardrobe and cost £30 from TK max.
Yes, fuel consumption is often less on a small capacity bike, but not significantly so when you take all the above into consideration.
You get wet when it rains, cold when its, erm, cold, and I'll tell you what; I've never fallen off my car yet!
But hey, motorcycling is an addiction, and I'll guarantee if you start you'll enjoy it!
As has been said the down side of any bike/scooter is that you get wet when it rains and cold when the temperature drops but £250 can buy clothing to help stop both of those happening. The up side is that if your journey involves any amount of slow moving traffic then you have the option to filter and save a significant amount of time.
If you run a small bike/scooter then it will struggle to keep up with traffic anywhere outside of town. It really isn’t fun on a small bike that is being bullied by other traffic out of town because it’s not moving ‘fast enough’.
If you need to do some open road riding then I would suggest you need a bike/scooter that has a larger capacity. I would say that about 250cc is a practical minimum. At that sort of capacity the cost difference between a bike and a small car are becoming less defined but the fun element of the bike is increasing substantially.
mmm Interesting my wifes got a 55 plate 1.4 fiesta bought a few months ago for about the same as the new monster I've just bought.. I'll see if I can keep a record of the costs over the next year or so. It might be interesting.. to see. for a start the mpg on the festa is crap, stuggling to make 30 on the urban run... and only just into 40 on an economy cruise...
plus ford servicing doesnt seem that cheap !!
G
plus ford servicing doesnt seem that cheap !!
G
thank you for your input guys.
The scooter will be urban use only.
delivering packages around the city, i dont think i'll ever take it onto a duel carriageway.
the filtering thing is what has drawn me to the scooter in the first place... i.e if i have to get a package across town at 4pm in 1hr... i have NO chance in hell of doing it on time in a car.
to sum it up, the bike will be a "Working Bike" as im still planning to get a car for the day to day stuff like taxi'ing the sprogs about.
on an average car i pay about £450 p/a Ins £190 p/a tax ( cant afford a new car ) and pretty much constant maintenance. also 30mpg
im 24 ( 25 @ wk end ) with 2yrs NCD.. what kind of insurance price should i expect
ETA : if things go well, i may purchase more scooters to deal with increased demand. would a fleet of vespas be cheaper to run than a fleet of old fiesta's/corsa's/chincuchento's?
The scooter will be urban use only.
delivering packages around the city, i dont think i'll ever take it onto a duel carriageway.
the filtering thing is what has drawn me to the scooter in the first place... i.e if i have to get a package across town at 4pm in 1hr... i have NO chance in hell of doing it on time in a car.
to sum it up, the bike will be a "Working Bike" as im still planning to get a car for the day to day stuff like taxi'ing the sprogs about.
on an average car i pay about £450 p/a Ins £190 p/a tax ( cant afford a new car ) and pretty much constant maintenance. also 30mpg
im 24 ( 25 @ wk end ) with 2yrs NCD.. what kind of insurance price should i expect
ETA : if things go well, i may purchase more scooters to deal with increased demand. would a fleet of vespas be cheaper to run than a fleet of old fiesta's/corsa's/chincuchento's?
Edited by SystemParanoia on Thursday 5th June 12:00
You'll have to sit a CBT every Two Years if you don't pass your bike test. and another bit of bad news... Your car NCD doesn't swap to a bike or Vice Versa.
I'd say running a scooter is going to be cheaper than a car as one main selling point is the Tax/VED at £15 for the year it's way cheaper than an old dog of a Fiesta.
Oh and Biking is an addiction after getting a CG125 (Have you thought about those?) to commute to work on I've now passsed my test and stepped upto a 1200 Bandit.
Best move I ever made.
HTH
I'd say running a scooter is going to be cheaper than a car as one main selling point is the Tax/VED at £15 for the year it's way cheaper than an old dog of a Fiesta.
Oh and Biking is an addiction after getting a CG125 (Have you thought about those?) to commute to work on I've now passsed my test and stepped upto a 1200 Bandit.
Best move I ever made.
HTH
black-k1 said:
Rubin215 said:
As a full time and dedicated motorcyclist I am sorry to say that £/per mile, you are cheaper getting a small car (if you can already drive).
A "cheap" bike is still more expensive to buy than an old banger.
Insurance costs are higher, service costs are higher, spares prices are higher, tyre costs are higher, even the oil is more expensive.
Add in compulsory basic training before you get on the road (£100 to £150), then do it again in two years if you haven't passed a test (with theory test as well) and the odds are stacking up against you.
Cheap helmet; £50, cheap jacket; £100, cheap gloves; £25. I drive my car in jeans and a tee shirt which were already in my wardrobe and cost £30 from TK max.
Yes, fuel consumption is often less on a small capacity bike, but not significantly so when you take all the above into consideration.
You get wet when it rains, cold when its, erm, cold, and I'll tell you what; I've never fallen off my car yet!
But hey, motorcycling is an addiction, and I'll guarantee if you start you'll enjoy it!
I’m sorry, but I don’t agree with that. If you are buying a small bike/scooter then the costs per mile will be less than running a small car. Yes, it will need servicing, tyres etc. more often than a car but the fuel costs will be significantly less, the tax is less, the insurance is less, parts are cheaper and the costs per service will be less. You can easily by a brand new 125 scooter for less than £1000. You would be very very lucky to buy a second hand reliable small car for that sort of money.A "cheap" bike is still more expensive to buy than an old banger.
Insurance costs are higher, service costs are higher, spares prices are higher, tyre costs are higher, even the oil is more expensive.
Add in compulsory basic training before you get on the road (£100 to £150), then do it again in two years if you haven't passed a test (with theory test as well) and the odds are stacking up against you.
Cheap helmet; £50, cheap jacket; £100, cheap gloves; £25. I drive my car in jeans and a tee shirt which were already in my wardrobe and cost £30 from TK max.
Yes, fuel consumption is often less on a small capacity bike, but not significantly so when you take all the above into consideration.
You get wet when it rains, cold when its, erm, cold, and I'll tell you what; I've never fallen off my car yet!
But hey, motorcycling is an addiction, and I'll guarantee if you start you'll enjoy it!
As has been said the down side of any bike/scooter is that you get wet when it rains and cold when the temperature drops but £250 can buy clothing to help stop both of those happening. The up side is that if your journey involves any amount of slow moving traffic then you have the option to filter and save a significant amount of time.
If you run a small bike/scooter then it will struggle to keep up with traffic anywhere outside of town. It really isn’t fun on a small bike that is being bullied by other traffic out of town because it’s not moving ‘fast enough’.
If you need to do some open road riding then I would suggest you need a bike/scooter that has a larger capacity. I would say that about 250cc is a practical minimum. At that sort of capacity the cost difference between a bike and a small car are becoming less defined but the fun element of the bike is increasing substantially.
Have you actually compared the costs of insurance between a small car and a small bike recently? I guarantee the bike will be more expensive for the same person.
Yes, vehicle excise duty is much less, but fuel costs are negligible unless you do a high mileage (and how many scooter riders will do more than 3000 miles per year?)
Cheaper parts and servicing? No chance.
So many companies now manufacture pattern parts for everyday cars that the common service items are dirt cheap. How many do the small volume required for bikes? Certainly not enough to bring the price down significantly.
A pair of rear shock absorbers for my car? £45. Tell me where you can get a pair of bike shocks for that?
Front pads? £7.90.
Oil filter? £2.32
Oil? 5 litres for £10.99.
Greasy floor garages are everywhere; my local chap takes £25 an hour and can turn my car around in an hour and a half for a full service including valve clearances, with service intervals every 10,000 miles.
Try getting a bike shop to match either the price or the service time; some scooters take an hour for panel removal and replacement just to get to the engine!
And how often do they need serviced? Most are every 3-4000 miles.
My car brakes have been stripped once in all the time I have owned it; my bike needs done every year minimum. My car tyres last the best part of 30,000 miles at £30 a go; bike tyres are lucky to last more than 10,000 at significantly more (even for a scooter). Even a full exhaust system was less than £100; you won't even buy the end can for a scooter for that!
Lucky to buy a second hand reliable car for a grand? Mate, if you can't buy a reliable car for five hundred you shouldn't be trusted with money! Cars are cheap as chips these days; just have a look in your local supermarket cards or free paper!
Next time you need a car, give me a call; I'll grab you a bargain!
To our original poster;
If you're going to get a bike, be realistic.
It will cost you more than a car from the outset, and once the addiction really takes hold you will end up spending fortunes on it.
You will get wet and cold, and if you fall off it hurts.
But you will love it.
dave87 said:
RE: NCB
Some insurers I spoke to are happy to accept bike no claims on a car policy (and, I'd guess the other way round) as long as they are not in use on two policies at one time.
Carole Nash will also do a policy that covers both. It does vary by insurers though
Dint know that cheers Some insurers I spoke to are happy to accept bike no claims on a car policy (and, I'd guess the other way round) as long as they are not in use on two policies at one time.
Carole Nash will also do a policy that covers both. It does vary by insurers though
SystemParanoia said:
will do.
also, with the CBT, i have a full drivers license.. wouldn't doing the CBT just permanently add the entitlement to my drivers license, or will i still have to re-do it every 2 years anyway unless i get a full bike license?
You get a full moped 50cc entitlement which you wouldn't have if you past your car licence after Feb 2001.also, with the CBT, i have a full drivers license.. wouldn't doing the CBT just permanently add the entitlement to my drivers license, or will i still have to re-do it every 2 years anyway unless i get a full bike license?
I wouldn't bother with a Vespa as a serious mode of transport...they look stupid, sound stupid and they're pretty horrible to ride (small wheels=instability). But I guess that's part of their charm for some people.
You're best bet is to look at what you can get on eBay, brand new for less than £1000 on the road.
The market is flooded with cheap CG clones, and despite people thinking they will be crap just because they're cheap - I tell you what, they're actually very good and just as reliable as the old dogs they're based on!
Despite what has been said, it WILL definitely be cheaper than a car to run. 100+mpg (maybe even up to 120mpg), cheap tyres which last ages, oil changes you can do yourself in 5 minutes, very little maintenance required - you'll be laughing all the way to the pub. And let's not forget the time you'll save by being able to filter through traffic!!
The only down side is that once you get the biking bug - you WILL want a bigger bike. So what started out as a money saving scheme will quickly become and expensive hobby
You're best bet is to look at what you can get on eBay, brand new for less than £1000 on the road.
The market is flooded with cheap CG clones, and despite people thinking they will be crap just because they're cheap - I tell you what, they're actually very good and just as reliable as the old dogs they're based on!
Despite what has been said, it WILL definitely be cheaper than a car to run. 100+mpg (maybe even up to 120mpg), cheap tyres which last ages, oil changes you can do yourself in 5 minutes, very little maintenance required - you'll be laughing all the way to the pub. And let's not forget the time you'll save by being able to filter through traffic!!
The only down side is that once you get the biking bug - you WILL want a bigger bike. So what started out as a money saving scheme will quickly become and expensive hobby
Rubin215 said:
black-k1 said:
Rubin215 said:
As a full time and dedicated motorcyclist I am sorry to say that £/per mile, you are cheaper getting a small car (if you can already drive).
A "cheap" bike is still more expensive to buy than an old banger.
Insurance costs are higher, service costs are higher, spares prices are higher, tyre costs are higher, even the oil is more expensive.
Add in compulsory basic training before you get on the road (£100 to £150), then do it again in two years if you haven't passed a test (with theory test as well) and the odds are stacking up against you.
Cheap helmet; £50, cheap jacket; £100, cheap gloves; £25. I drive my car in jeans and a tee shirt which were already in my wardrobe and cost £30 from TK max.
Yes, fuel consumption is often less on a small capacity bike, but not significantly so when you take all the above into consideration.
You get wet when it rains, cold when its, erm, cold, and I'll tell you what; I've never fallen off my car yet!
But hey, motorcycling is an addiction, and I'll guarantee if you start you'll enjoy it!
I’m sorry, but I don’t agree with that. If you are buying a small bike/scooter then the costs per mile will be less than running a small car. Yes, it will need servicing, tyres etc. more often than a car but the fuel costs will be significantly less, the tax is less, the insurance is less, parts are cheaper and the costs per service will be less. You can easily by a brand new 125 scooter for less than £1000. You would be very very lucky to buy a second hand reliable small car for that sort of money. A "cheap" bike is still more expensive to buy than an old banger.
Insurance costs are higher, service costs are higher, spares prices are higher, tyre costs are higher, even the oil is more expensive.
Add in compulsory basic training before you get on the road (£100 to £150), then do it again in two years if you haven't passed a test (with theory test as well) and the odds are stacking up against you.
Cheap helmet; £50, cheap jacket; £100, cheap gloves; £25. I drive my car in jeans and a tee shirt which were already in my wardrobe and cost £30 from TK max.
Yes, fuel consumption is often less on a small capacity bike, but not significantly so when you take all the above into consideration.
You get wet when it rains, cold when its, erm, cold, and I'll tell you what; I've never fallen off my car yet!
But hey, motorcycling is an addiction, and I'll guarantee if you start you'll enjoy it!
As has been said the down side of any bike/scooter is that you get wet when it rains and cold when the temperature drops but £250 can buy clothing to help stop both of those happening. The up side is that if your journey involves any amount of slow moving traffic then you have the option to filter and save a significant amount of time.
If you run a small bike/scooter then it will struggle to keep up with traffic anywhere outside of town. It really isn’t fun on a small bike that is being bullied by other traffic out of town because it’s not moving ‘fast enough’.
If you need to do some open road riding then I would suggest you need a bike/scooter that has a larger capacity. I would say that about 250cc is a practical minimum. At that sort of capacity the cost difference between a bike and a small car are becoming less defined but the fun element of the bike is increasing substantially.
No, I don’t delight in disagreeing with people but I don’t like to see completely wrong information being given out as ‘good advice’, especially when it is being given to self confessed ‘newbies’. 
Rubin215 said:
Have you actually compared the costs of insurance between a small car and a small bike recently? I guarantee the bike will be more expensive for the same person.
Yes, vehicle excise duty is much less, but fuel costs are negligible unless you do a high mileage (and how many scooter riders will do more than 3000 miles per year?)
Cheaper parts and servicing? No chance.
So many companies now manufacture pattern parts for everyday cars that the common service items are dirt cheap. How many do the small volume required for bikes? Certainly not enough to bring the price down significantly.
A pair of rear shock absorbers for my car? £45. Tell me where you can get a pair of bike shocks for that?
Front pads? £7.90.
Oil filter? £2.32
Oil? 5 litres for £10.99.
Greasy floor garages are everywhere; my local chap takes £25 an hour and can turn my car around in an hour and a half for a full service including valve clearances, with service intervals every 10,000 miles.
Try getting a bike shop to match either the price or the service time; some scooters take an hour for panel removal and replacement just to get to the engine!
And how often do they need serviced? Most are every 3-4000 miles.
My car brakes have been stripped once in all the time I have owned it; my bike needs done every year minimum. My car tyres last the best part of 30,000 miles at £30 a go; bike tyres are lucky to last more than 10,000 at significantly more (even for a scooter). Even a full exhaust system was less than £100; you won't even buy the end can for a scooter for that!
Yes, vehicle excise duty is much less, but fuel costs are negligible unless you do a high mileage (and how many scooter riders will do more than 3000 miles per year?)
Cheaper parts and servicing? No chance.
So many companies now manufacture pattern parts for everyday cars that the common service items are dirt cheap. How many do the small volume required for bikes? Certainly not enough to bring the price down significantly.
A pair of rear shock absorbers for my car? £45. Tell me where you can get a pair of bike shocks for that?
Front pads? £7.90.
Oil filter? £2.32
Oil? 5 litres for £10.99.
Greasy floor garages are everywhere; my local chap takes £25 an hour and can turn my car around in an hour and a half for a full service including valve clearances, with service intervals every 10,000 miles.
Try getting a bike shop to match either the price or the service time; some scooters take an hour for panel removal and replacement just to get to the engine!
And how often do they need serviced? Most are every 3-4000 miles.
My car brakes have been stripped once in all the time I have owned it; my bike needs done every year minimum. My car tyres last the best part of 30,000 miles at £30 a go; bike tyres are lucky to last more than 10,000 at significantly more (even for a scooter). Even a full exhaust system was less than £100; you won't even buy the end can for a scooter for that!
OK, let’s look at the situation closely shall we? As examples I have chosen to compare a Ford Ka 1.3 with a Honda CG125. In both cases these can be picked up second hand for under £1000 and would, I think, be considered as ‘middle of the road’ in their class and are the offerings from the main (by volume) manufacturers.. There are newer/cheaper options for both and I’m happy for someone else to offer alternatives. I have used myself as an example for insurance purposes.Assuming 3000 miles per year the figures for the Ka are:
Insurance £214.20 Tesco
MoT £50.00
Tax £120.00
Petrol @ £116.6 £87.45 40 mpg
Service £100.00
Tyres £30.00
Total £601.65
Information sources are:
http://www.wisebuyers.co.uk/motoring/car-reviews/F...
http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/fuel/
http://www.marshallweb.co.uk/offers/?gclid=CKuonNe...
and for the CG125 are:
Insurance £68.00 Bennetts
MoT £27.15
Tax £15.00
Petrol @ £116.6 £41.15 85 mpg
Service £150.00
Tyres £35.00
Chain £10.00
Total £346.30
Information sources are:
http://htdig.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm...
http://www.citybikeservice.co.uk/?gclid=CPnP7o2r35...
A quick check on the Internet using google for parts on a CG125 gives the following:
Shock Rear £47
Brake pads £12
Battery £20
Exhaust £60 Complete system
All of which are pretty close price wise to the car costs so parts should be no more expensive.
This makes the car cost per mile almost double those of the bike!
Rubin215 said:
Lucky to buy a second hand reliable car for a grand? Mate, if you can't buy a reliable car for five hundred you shouldn't be trusted with money! Cars are cheap as chips these days; just have a look in your local supermarket cards or free paper!
Next time you need a car, give me a call; I'll grab you a bargain!
And there are some real piles of crap out there too which can end up costing you way more to keep on the road than they did to buy! I have bought some really good cheap second hand cars that have been superb but I have also bought some real dogs. In my opinion it is a bit of a lottery where the odds can be stacked slightly in your favour if you do a lot of work but can also be stacked against you by unscrupulous sellers.Next time you need a car, give me a call; I'll grab you a bargain!
Rubin215 said:
To our original poster;
If you're going to get a bike, be realistic.
It will cost you more than a car from the outset, and once the addiction really takes hold you will end up spending fortunes on it.
You will get wet and cold, and if you fall off it hurts.
But you will love it.
I would say that you will get wet, you will get cold. It does hurt if (when?) you fall off but it is very likely going to be cheaper and it is going to be quicker. If you're going to get a bike, be realistic.
It will cost you more than a car from the outset, and once the addiction really takes hold you will end up spending fortunes on it.
You will get wet and cold, and if you fall off it hurts.
But you will love it.
Oh, and yes, you will love it!
eek, didnt mean to spark off a full blown debate!
The reason im looking at vespa's is because thats all that that small indi dealer sells, and i have no intention of driving half way accross the country to find a dealer with a bigger range.
they buy vespas in, completely refurb them including respray, and then sell them on with tax + mot, whilst providing maintenance etc.
the one i was looking at was going for £550, with full 12mth tickets 125cc engine, and they would even fit a suitable custom rear cargo rack that would suit my needs.
if i can expect 90+mpg then it would definitely be more desirable than a car. ( well more desirable than manually filling a diesel car's fuel tank with cooking oil every 3rd day of the week )
i expect to cover 12-15,000 in a year, all short local delivery journeys
The reason im looking at vespa's is because thats all that that small indi dealer sells, and i have no intention of driving half way accross the country to find a dealer with a bigger range.
they buy vespas in, completely refurb them including respray, and then sell them on with tax + mot, whilst providing maintenance etc.
the one i was looking at was going for £550, with full 12mth tickets 125cc engine, and they would even fit a suitable custom rear cargo rack that would suit my needs.
if i can expect 90+mpg then it would definitely be more desirable than a car. ( well more desirable than manually filling a diesel car's fuel tank with cooking oil every 3rd day of the week )
i expect to cover 12-15,000 in a year, all short local delivery journeys
SystemParanoia said:
eek, didnt mean to spark off a full blown debate!
The reason im looking at vespa's is because thats all that that small indi dealer sells, and i have no intention of driving half way accross the country to find a dealer with a bigger range.
they buy vespas in, completely refurb them including respray, and then sell them on with tax + mot, whilst providing maintenance etc.
the one i was looking at was going for £550, with full 12mth tickets 125cc engine, and they would even fit a suitable custom rear cargo rack that would suit my needs.
if i can expect 90+mpg then it would definitely be more desirable than a car. ( well more desirable than manually filling a diesel car's fuel tank with cooking oil every 3rd day of the week )
i expect to cover 12-15,000 in a year, all short local delivery journeys
Using the figures for the Ka vs the CG125 over 12000 miles then the difference is less defined:The reason im looking at vespa's is because thats all that that small indi dealer sells, and i have no intention of driving half way accross the country to find a dealer with a bigger range.
they buy vespas in, completely refurb them including respray, and then sell them on with tax + mot, whilst providing maintenance etc.
the one i was looking at was going for £550, with full 12mth tickets 125cc engine, and they would even fit a suitable custom rear cargo rack that would suit my needs.
if i can expect 90+mpg then it would definitely be more desirable than a car. ( well more desirable than manually filling a diesel car's fuel tank with cooking oil every 3rd day of the week )
i expect to cover 12-15,000 in a year, all short local delivery journeys
Honda CG125
Insurance £68.00 Bennetts
MoT £27.15
Tax £15.00
Petrol @ £116.6 £164.61 85 mpg
Service £450.00
Tyres £105.00
Chain £20.00
Total £849.76
Ford Ka
Insurance £214.20 Tesco
MoT £50.00
Tax £120.00
Petrol @ £116.6 £349.80 40 mpg
Service £150.00
Tyres £55.00
Total £939.00
The majority of the bikes cost are the servicing but you may want to check with your local dealer that these figures are accurate.
The other thing to consider is that because the bike has a smaller service interval then it will need to be serviced (thus off the road) at least 3 times per year rather than the once that will be required for the car.
Would you really take a CG125 to a dealer to be serviced though?
They're as basic as a basic thing...anyone who has a working pair of hands and a basic Woolworths socket set can change the oil on a CG125.
I suppose changing the chain and sprocket is a tad more involved, but it's still not beyond the realms of a competent DIY'er.
Other than adjusting the chain, replacing the pads (very easy) and changing the spark plug every few years...what else is there to do?
They're as basic as a basic thing...anyone who has a working pair of hands and a basic Woolworths socket set can change the oil on a CG125.
I suppose changing the chain and sprocket is a tad more involved, but it's still not beyond the realms of a competent DIY'er.
Other than adjusting the chain, replacing the pads (very easy) and changing the spark plug every few years...what else is there to do?
Edited by Hyperion on Friday 6th June 10:57
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