The ACTUAL cost of a car

[Arch]

I have done a check and the vehicles isnt stolen, and the VIN meets the numberplate.

Generally things I think you're advised to do BEFORE you buy it...

Have you not told your Mum you're buying a bike? She WILL go mental...

Anyway, good luck, take care and as in all driving, assume everyone else is an idiot - you'll be right 90% of the time...

 

[Boris Bajic]

Well the bike arrived today. V5 wasnt with it but the seller has just sent me an email about it.

It does run (thank god!) and weighs a hell of a lot (I have already dropped it).
My dad is a bit worried that the age doesnt meet the appearances (lots of surface rust on the chrome for a 2.5 year model). We both agreed that my mum will go insane when she finds out.
My dad is also concerned about it being stolen.

Have fun with this machine Matthew. Motorcycling is wonderful. Whatever the machine, you will enjoy it.

But make this the last Chinese motorcycle you buy. As I posted earlier, it will have more than a little in common with '70s italian bikes. Quality is not a Chinese word.

Surface rust on the chrome will smarten up with some chrome cleaner and a polishing cloth. MOT at three years and the chrome on the fork legs will have to be pit-free and rust free. Before you ride it, make sure you are happy with the brakes (probably hydraulic disc front and cable drum rear, in line with other Chinese lightweight bikes).

If there is any issue with the V5, return the bike if you can (does eBay do this?).

 

[Matthew_T]

Turns out the mother does not approve (as expected).
She had a go about saving up for a car and whatnot. Looks like I will be selling it (might make a profit). I might improve it a little though (seller said it needed a run and new fuel).

I might still take the CBT just for the experience (any training is still training).

 

[IncoherentJeff]

Turns out the mother does not approve (as expected).
She had a go about saving up for a car and whatnot. Looks like I will be selling it (might make a profit). I might improve it a little though (seller said it needed a run and new fuel).

I might still take the CBT just for the experience (any training is still training).

My dad never approved, and still doesn't after 3 years. Initially I gave him a text once I'd arrived safely at my destination and slowly weaned him off the idea.

I even did it all without having a bike before passing my tests completed the CBT, theory test, Direct Access Mod 1 & Mod 2 to appease him and it didn't.
They'll get used to the idea eventually.
My 3 hour Monday morning commute was a hour of foggy A/B roads followed by 2 hours of very wet motorways with major traffic and I was still grinning like a Cheshire cat when I got to work. Do your CBT if you're grinning ear to ear after it then biking's for you. Make sure you get a good training school though!

As for it getting stolen, a good disc lock & chain are good visual deterrents. If it's going to live outside like mine then an all weather covers a good bet too, it keeps off the worst of the weather and your nice shiney bike is less eye catching to opportunist thieves.

 

[Boris Bajic]

I didn't learn until I was 28 and an expectant father myself that my widowed father had been utterly against the idea of my having a motorcycle from minute one.

I'd spent four years as a motorcycle courier in the interim, some of it while living under his roof. He just kept his trap shut and waited for the day when I'd stop.

It was the pregnancy test on the pillow when I went to bed that made me stop there and then. I haven't ridden since.

I have tried very hard to be that sort of parent myself, not always successfully.

I strongly counsel following your own route unless it causes serious ructions. You are old enough to vote (I think). You make your own money (I think).

You can choose your own transport.

Unless there are going to be massive domestic explosions and flying crockery, in which case I didn't write this post.

 

[MarkF]

It was the pregnancy test on the pillow when I went to bed that made me stop there and then. I haven't ridden since.

I celebrated the arrival of my third by treating myself to an XJR1200. After all, it was hard work. My kids love to look at pics of their younger selves sat on it.

Couldn't agree more with this sentement. I subscribe to the mantra AGATT (All the Gear, All The Time)

I subscribe to the mantra IILWIPSG (If it looks w.a.n.k.y it's probably safety gear), so I don't wear it. I'll stick with Ted Simon "All you need is a motorcycle and and old leather jacket, adventure will find you"..............

Matthew, clean it up, buy some ACF-50, coat the bike then ride it or sell it. If you make money on that then I'd advise a career in sales.

 

[Linford]

I celebrated the arrival of my third by treating myself to an XJR1200. After all, it was hard work. My kids love to look at pics of their younger selves sat on it.



I subscribe to the mantra IILWIPSG (If it looks w.a.n.k.y it's probably safety gear), so I don't wear it. I'll stick with Ted Simon "All you need is a motorcycle and and old leather jacket, adventure will find you"..............

Matthew, clean it up, buy some ACF-50, coat the bike then ride it or sell it. If you make money on that then I'd advise a career in sales.

Ted Simon did his big adventure on a 500 trumpet which had a top speed on a good day of about 50mph with all the gear he carried.

Matthew, buy the gear and wear it. Road rash isn't a cool look.

 

[Matthew_T]

Looking into getting a car again. Bike is a no-go.

 

[vernon]

Meh

 

[MarkF]

Ted Simon did his big adventure on a 500 trumpet which had a top speed on a good day of about 50mph with all the gear he carried.

Matthew, buy the gear and wear it. Road rash isn't a cool look.

Just to clarify........he said it recently, not in regard to his orginal journey, instead he was referring to today's daft obsession with saftey and in particular, people who think they need trans-continental machines (GS's) and full body armour before they feel able to actually ride anywhere.

 

[Boris Bajic]

Just to clarify........he said it recently, not in regard to his orginal journey, instead he was referring to today's daft obsession with saftey and in particular, people who think they need trans-continental machines (GS's) and full body armour before they feel able to actually ride anywhere.

Quite. Although it's been more than two decades since I rode, I do find myself gawping at some of the stuff one sees today.

I'm a big believer in cow skin boots, trews, gloves and jackets - but rarely wore the whole combo.

And I do giggle when I see people on litre-and-a-quarter BMW 'off-roaders' trying to get through traffic. I was quite taken by the Paris-Dakar look in the 1980s and even considered buying a Cagiva 750 Elefant (essentially a Ducati dirt bike). I had large off-roaders by the standards of the day, but they were NOTHING like the spaceships we're seeing from BMW and others. Even the original (and best) R80 G/S was unusable off-road for all but Schwartzenegger. It was a lovely, lunky, gentle tourer with sweet delivery and no melodrama, but at 5' 8" I needed a ladder to get on it.

Keep it simple and keep it small-cube.

 

[Linford]

Just to clarify........he said it recently, not in regard to his orginal journey, instead he was referring to today's daft obsession with saftey and in particular, people who think they need trans-continental machines (GS's) and full body armour before they feel able to actually ride anywhere.

If I dressed for the ride, I'd be wearing flip flops and shorts. However I've been riding on and off road for over 35 years, and have found out the hard way that safety gear does work. You can ride for 20 years and not fall off, but just that one time it goes wrong can give you life long injuries if you are not prepared for it....I've fallen off at speed on tarmac, on a race track both in full armour, and on the dirt at much lower speed, and the lower speed off in just a T-shirt caused me a lot more grief.
You still get friction burns inside a full suit when it grabs the tarmac, but they are clean wounds.
Break a bone in your leg, they pin it, it heals, break a bone in your foot or ankle and you can spend the rest of your life on sticks (like my mates stepfather)..wear proper armoured boots which give decent foot and ankle protection.

I live with a life changing injury from a motorcycle accident 30 years ago. There is not a moment goes past where it doen't affect me (major joint). It isn't rocket science to reduce the risks, and it is poor advice to tell others there is little value in changing the odds.

 

[asterix]

Cars are just boring.

I have owned a dozen or so, including a coupla sports jobs.

They are simply a means of taking your hard earned off you and handing to someone else so they can spend it on a car. The difference is that eventually you get to someone who has a raft of 'em and so much money they don't know what to spend it on except maybe another private island somewhere(with no cars).

 

[Crackle]

Looking into getting a car again. Bike is a no-go.

Would she feel the same about a scooter, they're far less threatening, more practical and don't be fooled by the fact it's a scooter, some of them are fairly impressive these days.

 

[Matthew_T]

Would she feel the same about a scooter, they're far less threatening, more practical and don't be fooled by the fact it's a scooter, some of them are fairly impressive these days.

No. It would have the same affect.
However, in a years time I would have the money for a car. I just didnt want to be commuting through another winter. I have explained this but she just said I can use public transport (i.e. buses). I hate going on the bus. Its tiring, boring, inconvenient, slow, and at 8/9pm there are some dodgy people on it.
Neither getting the bus or cycling through the winter is enjoyable. However, it looks like its my only option this year until I have the money for a car.