Motorbikes for Commuting

mountainyman

I have recently moved from Dublin to Maynooth. I commute into Dublin.

I think that I will shorten my commute of I commute by motorbike, also I think a motorbike will be cheaper to run and greener.

I would be grateful if someone could tell me if I am correct and also what would be a good starter bike.


Thanks

MM

Hotblack Desiato

mountainyman wrote: »

I think that I will shorten my commute of I commute by motorbike

Definitely

also I think a motorbike will be cheaper to run and greener.

Compared to what? Taking the bus is probably cheaper and possibly greener but slow and inconvenient. Smaller bikes are pretty economical to run, larger bikes can be as expensive as a high performance car to run, tyres can cost more per year than fuel! Insurance is expensive even on small bikes if you have no experience, although the older you are the less of an issue this is.

I would be grateful if someone could tell me if I am correct and also what would be a good starter bike.

A good starter bike is one that's not new (too expensive, will lose a lot of value in its first year, and you will almost certainly drop it sooner or later) but not too old to be unreliable or hard to get parts for. Ideally unfaired to reduce the cost of minor drops (falling over when going into or out of a parking spot is embarrassingly common.) It needs to fit your physique, most bikes are not adjustable therefore you will never fit all bikes on the market, no matter how tall or short you are. Enough power to be able to keep up with the traffic is good, too much power is bad for a total beginner, but your licence will restrict you power-wise anyway. You will have to be able to afford the bike, and have enough money left over to buy good protective gear for yourself, insure it, tax it, and keep it properly maintained. And to get proper lessons.

In short there is no one answer, a lot depends on your budget, build, preferences (cruiser, sports, retro, scooters, touring, off road, etc. etc.) and the use to which you will be putting it. (e.g. city commutes, national routes, long trips, short trips?) There are a lot of similar threads here on this topic so you will probably get some ideas from them.

banditboy

go for motorbike;)

jackhammer

My advice would be that once you have your provisional licence or permit (whatever it's called nowadays), get some training from someone who will provide a bike with the lessons.

There are a number of trainers around the Dublin area who provide bikes (but the training is more expensive).

That should give you an indication as to whether you'll take to biking (some don't). The training bikes I've seen around are usually good commuter bikes (typically naked 250cc/500cc models), so you'll get some experience as to whether you like that type of bike.

Gumbo

mountainyman wrote: »

I have recently moved from Dublin to Maynooth. I commute into Dublin.

I think that I will shorten my commute of I commute by motorbike, also I think a motorbike will be cheaper to run and greener.

I would be grateful if someone could tell me if I am correct and also what would be a good starter bike.


Thanks

MM

a scooter is ok for inner city commuting.
if you want something bigger then a yamaha TDR 125 is a big comfortable big, will run out of steam very quick on the motorway due to high revving but if your only commuting then you ok.

if you want something even bigger that will last longer then a suzuki bandit 600, honda hornet 600, suzuki SV650, suzuki GSR 600, kawasaki ER6, there loads to choose from.

have a look over on www.biker.ie and search around there.

faceman

No matter what you choose OP, do the lessons!

finto

I Dont know dublin too well,but do you not have to travel on a motorway for that commute? Whats the restrictions on a bike for a motorway cc ?

Dont get a light bike anyway, the wind will have you thrown from side to side in the winter..

unklerosco

Sure you can't ride on the motorway till you have a full licence... As for the cc restriction its 50cc

rameire

ill give you my two pence worth,
i live in athy, and have done for the last 2 years,
i didnt want to drive to work by car to leopardstown, so i bought a bike,
a yamaha x-max 250, its an automatic bike, and i must say was great. could get the speed to the end of the clock 160kmh, obviously only on private roads.
cost 5k new, in the 18 months i drove it, i did 50,000km, which is alot for that type of bike, but it is 80km each way a day.
but i did have a few problems to say the least, the engine was rebuilt twice, the coolant system was repaired a number of times and recently the immoboliser was replaced, thankfully all this was under warranty.
all those problems meant the bike was not usable for 3 months in total, which was a pain.
i now have a new deauville 700, ooooooohhhhhh, tis great.
but to start off i would go for a bike like i did, something you can drive into the ground, something that is cheap, but something that has alot of protection, from wind and rain, and easy to drive.
but look around, dont go for the first bike you see.
and good luck

GaaTec

Spam deleted

Hotblack Desiato

:rolleyes: 4 posts in Motorbikes forum, 4 posts pimping that place. Reported.

Run_to_da_hills

kceire wrote: »

a scooter is ok for inner city commuting.
.

A scooter is not a motorbike.

Chipboard

I think this guy is looking for a recommendation for a particular make/model.

My vote goes to the Suzuki GS500.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_GS500

Someone will probably differ with this but I had one 10 years ago for commuting from Lucan to Dublin city centre and I found it ideal. Used to be able to make it from the door in Earlsfort, Lucan to work in Baggot St in 13 minutes. I also used it for commuting to Roscommon (200 miles round trip) at the weekend and it worked for that too. It took a fairly decent sized tank pack and wasn't too hard on juice. It was reasonably fast though - I never found it wanting and it handled fine.

I don't know much about the licencing laws as I have a full licence for years but I'd imagine you would need to have a licence for a smaller bike for a year or two first before you could get a 500. Maybe someone could enlighten me....

skapegoat

If your only starting on Bikes and want something reliable I would reccomend a Honda varadero 125.
Low insurance, cheap to run and there are a good few second hand about.
Dont buy new for your first bike as all the mistakes happen on your first bike.
Also factor in the price of good gear> Helmet, gloves, trousers, jacket and boots.
Go to a bike shop try on for size and then buy the same off the net or an ebay store for less!

rgfuller

If/When you start on the motorway I would recommend a bigger engined bike than a 125, even though some will do 120kph, it'll be flat out and knowing the N4 you'll find it's probably not quite fast enough, and with any headwind you'll be a good bit slower.
125's are fine for starting/learning but for motorway runs get a 250 or bigger.

mmalaka

I live in kilcock and I work in Ballycoolin I am using a virago 250 on the back roads from kilcock->dunboyne->clonee->Ballycoolin. no motorways

I highly recommend using the bike, do not forget the training and good gears

Hotblack Desiato

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

A scooter is not a motorbike.

Can you define a scooter though? There are automatic 'motorbikes', and 'scooters' with gears. Even the big wheels vs. small wheels distinction is getting blurred. You could say if the engine is on the swingarm it's a scooter, but what about the T-Max?

Your post is just pointless snobbery tbh.

Hotblack Desiato

Chipboard wrote: »

My vote goes to the Suzuki GS500.

I had one. Build quality was terrible, major gearbox fault at 15000 miles due to a design fault. Rust all over the shop within two years. Warranty and parts back-up from Priory was very very poor. I'd never buy a Suzuki again. Get a CB500, Honda know how to make bikes properly.

Popeleo

ninja900 wrote: »

Can you define a scooter though? There are automatic 'motorbikes', and 'scooters' with gears. Even the big wheels vs. small wheels distinction is getting blurred. You could say if the engine is on the swingarm it's a scooter, but what about the T-Max?

Your post is just pointless snobbery tbh.

I've had 'discussions' with that guy before - he just has an issue with scooters. Maybe a scooter touched him in his private place? :eek:

I've had a Tmax for the last 4 years and a few weeks ago I got an Aprilia Mana - 17" wheels, 850cc engine, motorcycle body, automatic. It's a great commuter bike and it's not bad when you open it up either.

Hotblack Desiato

Popeleo wrote: »

I got an Aprilia Mana - 17" wheels, 850cc engine, motorcycle body, automatic. It's a great commuter bike and it's not bad when you open it up either.

But is it a scooter though?

Popeleo

ninja900 wrote: »

But is it a scooter though?

How dare you - it's a moped!

Disguised well though:


Now if they bring out a Hayabusa disguised as a Honda 50, I'm getting one too.

kowloon

Buy what you like, you're the one driving it. I would urge you not to go for the biggest bike you can get, there's always some exceptional eejit who started out on a boss hoss but most of us started out small and it has served us well.
My personal advice would be:
If you plan on getting into bigger bikes it pays to get something with a standard gear layout.
Avoid anything with a drum brake on the front as your first bike.
Spare no expense on a helmet and gear.
Take a course such as the star rider course, the others will know what is currently being run and where.
Don't expect to be filtering up moving traffic at rush hour in the near future, you will end up in trouble.
Go out for spins on the weekend and get used to the bike in a rush free environment.

unklerosco

I thought a scooter was defined byt the fact there's nowt between your legs... n I aint talking about your manhood...