Should i convert??
Discussion
I posted this in gassing station but probably get a better response here.
I was born into a family of bikers. Even my mother rides an R1. I dabbled with motocross until my late teens when my passion for cars overtook bikes. I always vowed i'd never ride on the road as its too fking dangerous. I currently drive a 4.0 V8 Range rover and enjoy taking it off road. But i'm now starting to pine for a bike. I know the test is getting harder/changing as of sep 29th so its kind of do it now or never.
Heres the catch, i can't afford the RR and a bike so i would have to downgrade to a small "runabout" for the mrs and a bike for me.
Am i being niave thinking that i can use a bike every day for commuting and the like? It sounds fine at the min but i'm worried after 6months i'll just want my RR back
Does anyone here use a bike on a regular basis and how do you find it??
Thankyou muchly
I was born into a family of bikers. Even my mother rides an R1. I dabbled with motocross until my late teens when my passion for cars overtook bikes. I always vowed i'd never ride on the road as its too fking dangerous. I currently drive a 4.0 V8 Range rover and enjoy taking it off road. But i'm now starting to pine for a bike. I know the test is getting harder/changing as of sep 29th so its kind of do it now or never.
Heres the catch, i can't afford the RR and a bike so i would have to downgrade to a small "runabout" for the mrs and a bike for me.
Am i being niave thinking that i can use a bike every day for commuting and the like? It sounds fine at the min but i'm worried after 6months i'll just want my RR back
Does anyone here use a bike on a regular basis and how do you find it??
Thankyou muchly
Quite a few of us use a bike as our main form of transport and commute all year round except in snow.
It's fine as long as you have decent clothing to protect you from the elements. You'll save loads of time on your journey if you work in a city or big town but won't save much in money because what you save in fuel, you'll spend on tyres and chains/sprockets etc..
Commuting in deepest, darkest winter isn't for everyone though and many lock the bikes away when the temperature drops and you start getting more wet days than dry, but I'd rather save ten hours a week in the rain than sit in traffic in a car.
It's fine as long as you have decent clothing to protect you from the elements. You'll save loads of time on your journey if you work in a city or big town but won't save much in money because what you save in fuel, you'll spend on tyres and chains/sprockets etc..
Commuting in deepest, darkest winter isn't for everyone though and many lock the bikes away when the temperature drops and you start getting more wet days than dry, but I'd rather save ten hours a week in the rain than sit in traffic in a car.
shouldbworking said:
You wont get a test in before the new ones now unless you are extremely lucky.
I booked my test a fortnight ago and the earliest i could get was the 16th.
Thanks for replies....i can get a test in september mate, i live in the north of Scotland, the population is about 6 lolI booked my test a fortnight ago and the earliest i could get was the 16th.
My instructor reckoned that to start, to deal with the majority of the london area, there'd only be about 2 test centres ready, each running 4 bike tests per hour. Yowch. Glad I got mine over and done with!
As for your real question, I suppose I'm not really qualified to answer yet. I'll be picking up my k8 650 on thursday with any luck -- whatever the weather. I can imagine though that not being able to lug oodles of kit and stuff round will be the biggest thing you miss. But maybe the runabout will pick up the slack, and I'd hope the bike'd make up for it in terms of sheer fun.
As for your real question, I suppose I'm not really qualified to answer yet. I'll be picking up my k8 650 on thursday with any luck -- whatever the weather. I can imagine though that not being able to lug oodles of kit and stuff round will be the biggest thing you miss. But maybe the runabout will pick up the slack, and I'd hope the bike'd make up for it in terms of sheer fun.
I can't say what it will be like in bonny old Scotland but I haven't owned a car in 4 years and use the bike (where reasonable) to do everything. I go to work, come rain or shine, I moved to university in Liverpool from Jersey, I visit my Grandparents in Wales, I hoon, I swear, I sweat, I live, I laugh and I enjoy it more than a car. Best part of my working day. Get the right gear and you won't regret it, be sensible and you could do it for the rest of your life.
Only use the car for work when I'm being paid expenses (ppm is twice for a car what it is for the bike and I get paid parking away from base 50mpg diesel car against 65mpg on the bike) or when its icy.
You learn to travel light and get very organised about what you have in different places if you cover more than one site, for example my suit jacket (uniform) stays at work mon-fri and comes home for cleaning at the weekend. I have work shoes that live under my desk and when they need replacing I buy them where I work not where I live, one less thing to carry.
Today the traffic into Harrogate was awful (Great Yorkshire Show), for a 22 mile journey at least 12 of it was slow or stationary traffic, it would have taken close on 3 hours by car, it took 45 minutes by bike... Door to door including parking, locking up and changing. I'd sooner do that in the rain than get frustrated in a near stationary car.
On saying all that, I wouldn't be without the car, taking rubbish to the skip or doing any decent clothes and shoe shopping requires carrying space!
You learn to travel light and get very organised about what you have in different places if you cover more than one site, for example my suit jacket (uniform) stays at work mon-fri and comes home for cleaning at the weekend. I have work shoes that live under my desk and when they need replacing I buy them where I work not where I live, one less thing to carry.
Today the traffic into Harrogate was awful (Great Yorkshire Show), for a 22 mile journey at least 12 of it was slow or stationary traffic, it would have taken close on 3 hours by car, it took 45 minutes by bike... Door to door including parking, locking up and changing. I'd sooner do that in the rain than get frustrated in a near stationary car.
On saying all that, I wouldn't be without the car, taking rubbish to the skip or doing any decent clothes and shoe shopping requires carrying space!
Edited by pretzel on Wednesday 9th July 18:22
Only just (after 37 years) got back on a bike, due purely to the exorbitant cost of fuel €1.60 for 95 octane here. Am a bit rusty so I'm taking it easy!So the Porsche is used for distances, the to-fro to work on a new 125 Yamaha YBR. Difference in cost? Porsche in town driving up to 18l/100km, Yammer 2.5l/100!!! Nice little bike, but I've noticed a lot of ignorance (much more than in the 60s and 70s) by car drivers! Ride aware and be safe!!
As most people have said above the rain isn't a problem to commuting (you just need to go a bit slower round the bends) and it's when it's raining that the traffic is stationary the most so that's when a bike provides the biggest benefits.
Mine only stays at home when it's icy.
You might also be surprised about the cost depending on the distance of your commute. My bike pays for itself (insurance, servicing, tax) in just 3 months fuel savings.
Mine only stays at home when it's icy.
You might also be surprised about the cost depending on the distance of your commute. My bike pays for itself (insurance, servicing, tax) in just 3 months fuel savings.
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