Commuting on a bike

[Green1]

I often have people telling me its cheap commuting on a motorcycle.
I beg to differ. I started of on the Aprilia the water pump packed up almost instantly. That went on the ramp for pump impeller oil and water seals and a full service,rear caliper rebuild new disk and pads and hoses
Out came the Guzzi got a puncture so on ramp that went. New rear tyre and a full service. Noticed the pads were low. So new pads front and rear. While waiting for parts out came the 750 full service.change of fork oil grease swingarm. Second service today new plugs and noticed the rear tyre is on the wear bar. But on the plus side the bike runs better than it ever has.
I've covered around 2600miles in 4 weeks and enjoyed almost every mile.
It's probably cost me more than £1200 in parts excluding fuel plus £700 to see the chiropractor twice a week to be able to ride.
 
Even after all that I'm dreading having to go back to commuting in the van

[Laverda Dave]

I used to commute on a CB400/4 from the outskirts of greater London (Uxbridge) into Camden Town (Chalk Farm Bus Garage) in the 1980’s because it only took 30 minutes but going on the train/bus would be at least 90 minutes or two hours on a bad day. Riding the bike was always a buzz and I didn't care how much it cost. In the late 90's and 2000’s I rode the CB250RSA to work in Earls Court and then to the job at Heathrow, what a hoot! I would arrive at work with a grin 😁 and feeling absolutely buzzing. It's not just the money factor to consider but the wellbeing feeling you get when riding a bike, I'd go for the wellbeing every time. As you said, you are dreading going back in the van. I sympathise, having to sit there in all the traffic and looking across at the person sitting alone in their car with only the drone of a radio for company when they could be having fun going to work on two wheels with an engine🙂.

[Athame57]

I never did bother with a car!  Being a London dispatch rider for ten years it goes without saying I would do my commuting up from Brighton to London on a bike when I lived there and the rest of the time internally to London. Weaving in and out of packed traffic I always did think London bikers were a superior species, like the Collies among the sheep!
 

[SteveD CB500K0]

I was a (sort of) dispatch rider too.

In the summer hols (from Uni) in 1977 I worked for a printer in Bedford.

Every day I had to ride to Fleet St to the offices of the editors of various weekly papers (I remember one of them was Angling Times) and collect the proofs and deliver them to the printer in Bedford.

It paid pretty well but the pickup had to be after 4:30pm so no chance of an easy ride up through Swiss Cottage and onto the M1.


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[SteveD CB500K0]

Also, for six months in 2005 I commuted from Wokingham to St Albans every day on my Triumph Sprint 955.

It was 50 miles door-to-door and a tank of fuel lasted exactly two days.

No way would I have ever tried it in a car.

Bike died at 48k miles when it spat the middle plug out on the Blackwater bypass.


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[Green1]

Been well chuffed with the way the bikes been going.
Until now stranded at the side of the road waiting for recovery.
Bike stalled no spark or oil pressure