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I moved to London from the North in August for a job and I brought my car with me, but it’s now just sitting there as I only use it to go to the gym (about 15 mins drive) and to Tesco when I want a “big shop” every month or two.
I’ve always wanted to ride a motorbike but I’ve always been pretty scared, but I was talking to a colleague of mine who rides a motorbike. He was telling me how great it is to get around London and in many places here there’s free parking.
I did some research over the weekend to try and get my head around it and what’s involved in getting a licence. I’f I’m right in thinking, the Direct Access Scheme would be the fastest way to get my licence and I’d be unrestricted on bike size?
Out of curiosity, I looked at insurance and it was about 3 times as much as my car insurance (I’ve been driving for over 11 years) - is it normal to be so incredibly high? I was using a Yamaha yzf-r125 as a guide but I’d be ideally wanting something a little bigger for the motorway I guess.
I’d ideally want to use the bike for commuting to the gym, work, heading out of the city and visiting the north when I can which is about a 4 hour drive.
I’m trying to weigh up costs involved - insurance, gear, bike, tax, etc and I don’t really know where to begin so I'd be super grateful if you guys were able to give me some directions.
Direct Access would be the quickest route to a full licence.
Motorcycle insurance WILL be a bitch, even when you've passed your test. Insurers will pretty much ignore any car insurance you've had (unless you've had lots of claims, then you'll really be screwed). London is horrific for insurance, but the best you can do is to have swathes of security, and park it anywhere but on the street, especially overnight.
With gear, you get what you pay for (mostly). Sportsbikeshop is really great for getting what you need at a fair price, but you might get a decent deal if you're getting it at the same time as a bike (if you're buying from a dealer).
In terms of machinery, I'd avoid a 125 if you're doing Direct Access. Even something like a 2nd to 4th-hand SV650 will do everything you need, without draining your bank account for insurance or repairs. Whatever you get, take an experienced pair of eyes with you to avoid overpaying or buying a lemon in disguise.
I lived in Islington in the 90s, and had a CBR600 when I was 19. Insurance cost me more than anything else... including the bike!
Yup. Insurers base their prices on risk. In London, there's a lot more risk of:
- own fault accidents (because riding like a twat in London is almost mandatory).
- accidents due to others' negligence (dare you try to find a cabbie or bus driver who will accept that they didn't even look and you weren't riding like a twat).
- Fuck knows how much more risk of theft (especially small to mid capacity bikes with less security).
I was fortunate that the last place I lived in the UK was Cambridge, so my rates were much lower compared to London (plus, I'm now over the magical 40yo mark). Then again, I'll lose all the NCB when I move back to the UK from Florida. sighs
Better make the most of that brand new ZZR1400 I'm eyeing up.
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Perfect!
If you have any spot that's out of sight and, preferably, lockable with minimal access, it should help with the premium. It's not only riding that increases the premium, but how well it's secured when it's not being ridden.
I used to park mine in a utility room that was supposed to contain wheelie bins for the flats, but was too difficult to access for that purpose. £50 to the building manager got me the key, and saved me quite a bit. The only downside was coming home at 5am, only to have to shift three or four bins to lock up.