Hi All - Advice wanted

[johnp]

Hi and welcome aboard.

[wozza]

I'll quite happily do a 120 miles round trip for fun on a 300, but wouldn't dream of it on a daily basis. ....

Ditto that.

[Dexter]

Hi Folks, my name's Chris, i'm 45 and live in West Yorkshire.
....
I've just started a new job and commute about 120 miles per day. We have a Diesel car which returns about 50 mpg for the journey but i'm wondering if a maxi scooter would be a viable and cheaper alternative to using the car every day?
How often would I be re-ruelling? - I wouldn't fancy having a trip to the petrol station every day!!
I've ridden bikes before (125's) but I've not got a full bike licence so that would have to be sorted first.
Would a maxi scooter be a viable alternative to the car and would you lot feel safe riding the M62 every day?
Chris

Hi Chris, I am also 45 and live in Hampshire.
I have been commuting 100 miles per day, year round, for 6 years on bikes (ZRX1200, XBR500, VFR, Tiger, RE 500 Bullet, Deauville, BMW R1100S).
Service costs are not a big deal so long as you can change the oil and filter yourself, petrol bike engines are simple compared to diesels and don't incur the high maintenance costs.
The latest bike tyres last about 12k miles, but you only have half as many as a car.
You will be refuelling every 200 miles, but only 14 litres which is quick and cheap.
If you look at a Burgman 400 or Yamaha Majesty they will be quick enough for the motorway and are plentiful and cheap 2nd hand.
The high milage means cost per mile is quite low.
The biggest win for me is I know my journey takes 50 minutes because when the cars stop, the bikes filter.

[Whatsisname]

Or you could move nearer to work....

[halfabusa]

I agree that a 250/300cc scooter might be a slightly more economical alternative in terms of overall gas mileage, but that's not the only consideration. You'll be maintaining and insuring an additional vehicle - assuming that you keep your car on the road. You'll be buying your riding gear. And once you own the scooter, you'll always find something to buy to trick it out a bit.

In my case, my Burger gets twice the mpg of my car, but when you add all of the other costs in, the money that I save on my 25 mile daily round trip commute is negligible. The justification that my wife buys is that the 7,000 miles or so that I put on the scoot extend the life of the car, which is the much more expensive vehicle to purchase and maintain. And she also buys that it's a fun hobby that keeps me out of her hair.

spot on! Some time ago i made a comparison of the annual total cost of maintaining my bike vs annual train pass to and from the office, and it turned out to be very similar overall. However, bike always wins over, as the train station is 15-20 mins walk from home which means i had to take the car or bicycle there and back, get stuffed in a train like sardines in a tin, probably get flu 8 times a year, smell everyone's fart and sweat and feel like a sheep within flock while queuing up for the ticket machines.

Plus i get to use the bike on short shopping trips on evenings and weekends which makes it a more economical alternative to having only a car.

Apart from fuel and maintenance costs, there's also road tax/mot/insurance/biking gear to think about, as mentioned by others already...

The feeling of freedom from the flock is priceless though.

[CitizenEra5ed]

Hi folks, many thanks for all your reply's. After careful consideration, I've decided to carry on commuting with the car.

Chris

[richie the 1st]

Or if ????? when the sun comes out,for 1 day a week use a 125.