The ACTUAL cost of a car

[sabian92]

I dont intend on doing the full Monty with regards to motorbikes. I will probably just stop when I have a 125. There is no need for anything more because I already have a full driving license. The motorbike is just to keep me mobile when I need to go places which I cant on my bike.
In summer the bike probably wont be used much (saves on fuel I suppose). Tonight I am going to do a few insurance checks on bikes on ebay.

Do you have an idea as to how much a CBT would cost? (I imagine about the same as a driving test).

Mine cost £120 I think so a bit more than a driving test. Keep in mind you'll spend nearly 8, 900 quid on gear (helmet, jacket etc) a chain and padlock, all that. Motorcycling, as cheap as it is, has relatively high start up costs. Don't go for full comp though, not worth it. Stick to fire and theft.

And get the very best protective stuff you can afford. Don't skimp on it as it isn't worth it. Also get a full face helmet as it offers much better protection. I spent over £1000 on protective gear when I had a bike 12 years ago, though that did include two helmets and wet weather gear.

Also don't forget a decent lock and chain. And get someone who knows a lot about bikes, and is sensible, to assess your first bike to make sure it is actually safe to use. My first bike wasn't, and that was new from a dealer.

Will this will now lead into a thread about the ACTUAL cost of motorbiking?

Indeed. I've spent nearly £900 on protective gear and I need boots yet! Got a good almax chain, padlock, decent jacket and lid and gloves.

Found this little gem: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-KEEW...3043101?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item2c721cad9d
Insurance comes out at about £550. Well within my budget.

I am not buying it now as I dont want to jump the gun, plus I am just viewing the market.

In terms of insurance, there are a lot of licenses out there. So after doing my CBT, will I have a provisional motorbike license or just a full moped one?

Please, DO NOT buy blind. Go and see it, ask to start it, feel the exhaust - some wanting to get shut quickly will warm it up before you turn up so any problems starting cold won't be obvious. I'd avoid scooters too as generally they're ragged a lot more and easier to crash as you can't hardly lean over on them. A 125 will do 60 or so - you need to able to lean.

After a CBT you have a provisional bike licence entitling you to ride up to a 125cc bike on L plates. A full moped licence entitles you to ride only 50cc scooters and is a completely separate thing.

On your driving licence you have an A category - a CBT validates that provisional entitlement so you can ride small motorcycles. In the list, choose "provisional" even though you have a full car licence. Your car licence doesn't matter at all. Equally, any no claims for one don't count for the other.

 

[MarkF]

I've never needed safety equipment to ride a small capacity transportation machine, neither does anybody appear to need any in Spain (where I've just spent a month riding) not even the policemen, in a country where 50-125cc machines are used far more regularly. Apart from a helmet and gloves (for cold days) I don't possess any motorcycling specific clothing and I've been riding 30+ years.This need is only a need in the UK, it's up to the individual to assess the real risks (stats and information) and act accordingly, just like with a cycle helmet.

If £900 (sans boots) is spent on safety gear before you feel able to throw your leg over a small capacity commuting machine then the point has gone, just buy a car.

 

[Matthew_T]

Mine cost £120 I think so a bit more than a driving test. Keep in mind you'll spend nearly 8, 900 quid on gear (helmet, jacket etc) a chain and padlock, all that. Motorcycling, as cheap as it is, has relatively high start up costs. Don't go for full comp though, not worth it. Stick to fire and theft.



Indeed. I've spent nearly £900 on protective gear and I need boots yet! Got a good almax chain, padlock, decent jacket and lid and gloves.



Please, DO NOT buy blind. Go and see it, ask to start it, feel the exhaust - some wanting to get shut quickly will warm it up before you turn up so any problems starting cold won't be obvious. I'd avoid scooters too as generally they're ragged a lot more and easier to crash as you can't hardly lean over on them. A 125 will do 60 or so - you need to able to lean.

After a CBT you have a provisional bike licence entitling you to ride up to a 125cc bike on L plates. A full moped licence entitles you to ride only 50cc scooters and is a completely separate thing.

On your driving licence you have an A category - a CBT validates that provisional entitlement so you can ride small motorcycles. In the list, choose "provisional" even though you have a full car licence. Your car licence doesn't matter at all. Equally, any no claims for one don't count for the other.

Thanks Sabian. Its really cleared things up for me. Online sites just ramble on and dont explain themselves at a basic level.
I think having a small bike would probably improve my mechanical know how. Because I could do things and fix bit on the bike which in tern, I could pass on when I eventually get a car.

 

[donnydave]

bah, if your getting a bike, at least get one that looks like a bike, YBR or how about my old pretend-racebike TZR? Good for 70 with your chest flat to the tank. My TZR was de-restricted so was a 19bhp of pure ecstasy and would do an indicated 83. Tax was £15 IIRC 5 years ago. Insurance was something daft like £150 but I was 23 at the time. Bear in mind on L-plates you can't go on the motorway.

Extra top tip - carpet your garage, its awesome!

 

[akb]

Dont forget the cost of the new GoPro dash cam....!

 

[sabian92]

Thanks Sabian. Its really cleared things up for me. Online sites just ramble on and dont explain themselves at a basic level.
I think having a small bike would probably improve my mechanical know how. Because I could do things and fix bit on the bike which in tern, I could pass on when I eventually get a car.

No worries, I've spent the last 6 weeks going through it all and basically sitting there with a blank look thinking "So, can I ride that or not?"

Bikes are cheap to fix (apart from the plastics which are insanely expensive) and cheap to run. Keep it clean and the chain oiled with regular servicing (which you can do yourself) and it'll run forever.

bah, if your getting a bike, at least get one that looks like a bike, YBR or how about my old pretend-racebike TZR? Good for 70 with your chest flat to the tank. My TZR was de-restricted so was a 19bhp of pure ecstasy and would do an indicated 83. Tax was £15 IIRC 5 years ago. Insurance was something daft like £150 but I was 23 at the time. Bear in mind on L-plates you can't go on the motorway.

Extra top tip - carpet your garage, its awesome!

Unfortunately now the idiots in Brussels have limited CBT riders to 14.6hp so no derestricting is allowed now.

I've never needed safety equipment to ride a small capacity transportation machine, neither does anybody appear to need any in Spain (where I've just spent a month riding) not even the policemen, in a country where 50-125cc machines are used far more regularly. Apart from a helmet and gloves (for cold days) I don't possess any motorcycling specific clothing and I've been riding 30+ years.This need is only a need in the UK, it's up to the individual to assess the real risks (stats and information) and act accordingly, just like with a cycle helmet.

If £900 (sans boots) is spent on safety gear before you feel able to throw your leg over a small capacity commuting machine then the point has gone, just buy a car.

When you plan on getting a 600 or something in the next few years it makes sense to buy decent stuff now anyway. I'd still really rather not chance it if I come off at 60mph - a hoodie and a t-shirt won't do squat. Plus here in the UK our weather is usually piss-poor and arriving wet and cold isn't a good look.

 

[cd365]

Its not possible to use my parents' car. It would be my mums but I need it in the week (she works) for college. College and work are the two main biggies, plus I might get another job which might involve more travel. Travel which I wouldnt be comfortable doing on a bicycle (I already hate cycling in winter to college. The weather around here is awful).

Being on a motorbike in the winter is not pleasant at all. If you do get some bad weather around your way then I would not even consider a motorbike. Most bikers put away their bikes in the winter, I have tried to ride through a winter but I gave up, it was not nice.

 

[mark st1]

bah, if your getting a bike, at least get one that looks like a bike, YBR or how about my old pretend-racebike TZR? Good for 70 with your chest flat to the tank. My TZR was de-restricted so was a 19bhp

AKA

 

[donnydave]

AKA

Don't knock the two stroke awesomeness, third class motoring is better than first class walking!

 

[Matthew_T]

Being on a motorbike in the winter is not pleasant at all. If you do get some bad weather around your way then I would not even consider a motorbike. Most bikers put away their bikes in the winter, I have tried to ride through a winter but I gave up, it was not nice.

But at least if I get all the kit, I will be nice and warm by the time I got to where I am going. Plus it will be a lot quicker than cycling in a 20mph headwind.

 

[MarkF]

When you plan on getting a 600 or something in the next few years it makes sense to buy decent stuff now anyway. I'd still really rather not chance it if I come off at 60mph - a hoodie and a t-shirt won't do squat. Plus here in the UK our weather is usually ****-poor and arriving wet and cold isn't a good look.

But the OP has not memtioned getting large capacity motorbike. Advising somebody to spend £900 on safety gear is crackers, after all, my bicycle often goes faster than my Vespa, should I wear a leather suit & boots on that?

 

[akb]

Have a look for insurance policies that include break down cover.

Also, have a look at who you bank with. Im with Barclays bank, they have breakdown cover (among other things) as part of their package. I pay about £15 per month which also includes travel insurance, phone cover and other bits and bobs. Im certain other banks do this as well.

 

[MarkF]

Thanks Sabian. Its really cleared things up for me. Online sites just ramble on and dont explain themselves at a basic level.
I think having a small bike would probably improve my mechanical know how. Because I could do things and fix bit on the bike which in tern, I could pass on when I eventually get a car.

Then you need a Vespa or a popular Honda/Yamaha commuter, maybe even a C90. How long will parts be readily available for a very cheap throwaway Chinese scooter (which I would not touch with a bargepole)? Parts for long term produced commuters cost peanuts.

 

[dellzeqq]

I passed my test two month ago now and have started saving for a car. I thought that £100-£200 into a savings account would allow me to have enough in one years time to afford a car.
So I would have about a £1500-£2000 budget for one.

Purchase of car: £500 mark
Insurance: Normally about £1500 but depends on the car (can save about £300-£400 if I insure my dad on my policy).
VED (I will try to get a car with some already on): Probably £80 for a small car
Fuel (Depends on how much I will be driving it, which wont be all the time): About £20/30 a week.
MOT: Dont know, depends on what quality the car is in.

Anything else?

So out of the £2000 budget, I should be able to afford a car (if I get a very good deal on insurance).

yes. 22% of the land area of cities.

 

[sabian92]

There's a lot of opinion unsupported by facts.

I've been riding motorbikes of all capacities from 50cc up to 1200cc over the past 38 years. Small capacity machines are perfectly safe. It's their riders who make them dangerous. The same applies to larger motorbikes. There's nothing wrong with two stroke engines. They perform as well, if not better than, four strokes at the smaller capacities the only faff is having to remember to add two stroke oil at regular intervals.

Not at all.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...lled-moped-crash-calls-hit-run-driver-up.html

Ignore the hit and run - she was on a scooter on a road with a 70mph limit. I wouldn't ride a bicycle on that sort of road and that has the potential to be quicker than a scooter so why ride a scooter on it? Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. They're slow enough around town so you'd have to be sadistic or mentally deficient to want to ride one on what is effectively a motorway.

Honestly - scooters are there because 16 year olds can't have a 125. They are loud, irritating, anti-social and ridden by yobbos called Damien. If you're 17 there is *no* reason to own one. Unless you live in Barcelona or the Côte d'Azur.

But the OP has not memtioned getting large capacity motorbike. Advising somebody to spend £900 on safety gear is crackers, after all, my bicycle often goes faster than my Vespa, should I wear a leather suit & boots on that?

Personally I'm of then opinion that if you can afford it - buy it. You can scrimp but at the end of the day there is not a cost you can put on your own life. A Vespa does what, 30mph? Coming off at that speed hurts but doubling that speed (even slightly more than that) on even just a 125 is going to do you a lot more damage.

http://www.rockthegear.org/index.php?/testimonials/view/brittany_morrow_the_roadrash_queen/
*Slightly NSFW*
That's why you should spend if it if you can afford it. Google her name for more photos.