Buy second hand because it’ll depreciate faster than you can calculate by how much and sooner or later you’ll either drop it or get knocked off it. It happens to the most careful of us especially if you’re commuting during peak hours.
Buy something that’s comfortable to ride (upright riding position) and reliable (low revving engine) over what it looks like because you want it to get up and go when your ready not when it feels like it.
Buy from a dealer because you’re less likely to end up with something less than desirable. It doesn’t have to be a main dealer, all dealers are bound by Law to offer motor vehicles of a certain standard, roadworthy and fit for purpose. Top tip here ask the dealer if this motorcycle is suitable for commuting 10,000 miles per year!
Buy a Euro 3 compliant motorcycle because of ULEZ 2021 is just around the corner and you’d expect any ride to last for more than a couple of years.
Don’t buy a commuter to save time or money over public transport because if you take all things into consideration public transport wins every time.
for the hornet not much can go wrong as long as it has had regular servicing.
somethings i’d look for:
make sure the clutch is ok - doesnt slip
no leaks from forks
camchain doesnt rattle too much (it shouldnt sound like a ducati)
and check for rust (doubt youll find much)
also other things to negotiate price down:
squared off tires
little life left on chain/ breakdisks/breakpads
also dont be afraid of high milages- my CB1K has 55k now and runs like a dream
I’ve been riding over twenty years and I see my premiums climbing inexorably upwards. I’m hampered by my postcode. Having a garage, ground-anchor, tracker, CCTV, all helps chip away the premium a little but it keeps increasing.
30 bikes being stolen every day is the real problem. In fact it is affecting my bike usage. I have to go to a meeting in Hammersmith this afternoon; no secure parking where I’m going, I checked Streetview and decided I’m gong to cycle instead. Doubtless better for my fitness and better for the environment but it’s the sort of journey which would be ideal by motorbike if only I could trust parking it on the street.
I’m probably biased but if I was commuting in London again I’d look no further than a little Honda CBF 250, an air cooled, single cylinder, cheap as chips to buy, service, insure and run mo’cycle that’s tougher than old boots. Its bigger slightly more expensive but still cheapish to run brother the CBF600 is also a good call. There is also a CBF500 twin but I’m not sure this meets the 2021 ULEZ standard.
Must haves for me would be half fairing, ABS and centre stand.
Apologies if this is something already mentioned in the comments but there’s too many of them to read through!
I don’t live too far from Stratford so our premiums are probably the same when it comes to the postcode. All I can say is that unfortunately you’ll have to persevere through the first 2-3 years until you get reasonable quotes.
My first bike was an MT-09 and it cost me £1300 to get TPFT. Fully comprehensive I think was almost twice that. I think even the Honda CBF125 I had before that was around £450.
No too long ago I sold it and got myself a brand new GSX-R750 and the following year my premium went down to £1150, then £850, £650 and two weeks ago I insured it for £325. Mind you, I’m not commuting on it anymore and it’s declared as social and domestic (without commuting) so I think that makes a huge difference. It’s also stored in a locked gated compound and I’m halfway through my thirties, which also probably makes a difference.
I know that not a single insurer was willing to insure a 1000cc sports bike in Stratford 3 years ago when I was looking at selling mine (even a 5 year old one) so unfortunately I’m not really surprised at your premiums.
TL;DR
Being older, having 5 years of NCB and not commuting drops the premium significantly.
P.S.
You’re lucky you have so many options to choose from. For some reason (maybe 'cause it’s a sports bike) I still only get MCE. No-one else wants to touch my money with a pole.
It’s not a grey area it’s very balck & white. If you’ve told the insurer you only want to be covered for SD&P as you wont be using it to commute on, then you won’t be covered if you do.
Damn, thats a colossal reduction for garaging. Mine is kept in my back garden through a locked gate, and my insurers treat that is being kept on the drive!
I think I’m probably going to put the idea of getting a bike on hold for a while because the cost is just so high and I can’t really warrant it. I’m not going to be commuting on it much from where I’m currently live, and I’m considering moving from Stratford to one of the new builds in Elephant & Castle, which I can walk to my office from in 25 mins.
So annoying as I’ve got such a burning urge to experience the pleasure of having a bike I can jump on whenever I want now that I have my licence! However, I’m glad I’ve got my test out the way so I can use my licence when travelling or in a few years time when I may not live in London anymore.
Such a shame about not being able to feel confident about where a motorbike is left .
Sounds awesome about your extra security. How did you tell the insurers about that? I only got asked about immobilisers and tracking, but not CCTV, ground anchors or other security devices like that. The comparison sites allow you to put in multiple security accessories you have, but a couple of the ones you’ve mentioned were not on there. Quite a few of them wouldn’t even let me put in the DataTool Tracker that came installed as a limited time offer on the Hondas.
Some insurers make a distinction between a locked garage and a shared parking area, like you typically have in the basement of an apartment building. Check the details with your insurer so you don’t invalidate your policy on a technicality.
Risky. Insurers will protect themselves from paying out. Up to you to take your chances. I think about this grey area as well. In my case I have a short commute being walking distance to work. Occasionally work takes me into central London or sometimes the outskirts at training venues in the country. Although it isn’t my regular commute to work, I wonder if that would invalidate my coverage simply because I was traveling to a “work” location during the “work week”. My suspicion is there’s some risk here.
I’ve been riding for 20 years but didn’t get my UK license until 3 years ago. Previous licenses were issued in other countries outside of Europe. So here I appear as a new rider on paper. First bike was a Duke 125 and the insurance cost a third the price of the bike! Factors affecting in addition to “new rider” on paper, east London address and shared parking space. It was ridiculous. I upgraded to a Street Twin last year and my insurance cost is almost the same with Lexham, but for a bigger newer bike. Switched to RAC this year for slightly better price.
There is a car park (with gate) behind where I live, and the insurance costs slightly more to park there than declaring it parked on the street. Presumably because they assess the risk of the area regardless, but see it being out of sight makes the theft risk slightly higher than it being left in public.
Anyway, to kylejm’s original problem, if you are only commuting within London, on 50 mph roads at most (which from Stratford or Elephant is unlikely), then you just do not need a big bike.
Get a 125 to build up no claims bonus before going for something better when it is more affordable.
I imagine most people within London do not. Why spend £700-odd on lessons, let alone the thousands on a new bike, when for the same money you can take the CBT and get something cheap to ride from Gumtree. You do not need pillions or use motorways to commute within London, so you lose nothing by being on an L-plate.
You really need to get a 125 then, because the high insurance will still be the same when you do finally get a bike.
Buy the cheapest bike you can find, so you do not care too much if it gets stolen, get the cheapest TPO insurance M.C.E. offer (because it will be from M.C.E.), then do not ride it if you do not need to. You will still build up a bonus, which will pay for itself when you are ready to get the bigger bike.
Mind, I suppose if you really are not going to ride it (though you can still have a lot of fun on a 125) then you could even keep it at your parents. That way you can insure it as being kept at their address to reduce the insurance even further. The bonus will still count. Plus you can go on rides when visiting your parents in a much nice area than around London. The Cotswolds and Wessex are lovely.
Edit: Just saw on the other thread that it sounds like that is what you did anyway!
Commuting only covers you to your normal place of work. Commuting to different places of work requires a level of business cover. Its not a big deal and most insurers will include it for no extra premium if asked, mine did when I did agency work commuting on the Bonne’. The downside is they take more notice of your estimated annual mileage.
I’ve got business class 1 insurance, which is for multiple places of work but not courier work.
It actually made my insurance more expensive when I tried to change it to one place, they then started asking for the post code and where the bike was going to be parked at the single place of work!!
Same old, when I stopped the business cover on the Bonne’ they (Carol Nash) wanted to know postcodes where the bike would be parked during the day/night and estimated annual mileage which they’d never been interested in before. I’m thinking when you change details the first thing they think of is fraud.
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