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Thread ID: 98947 2009-04-14 00:29:00 Motorbikes convair (13650) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
764766 2009-04-14 00:29:00 Is there anybody on here that uses a motorbike to get around?

If there is here is couple of questions

1. Do you find using a motorbike cheaper and easier to run compared to a car?

2. What is involved to get your motorbike licence?
convair (13650)
764767 2009-04-14 01:04:00 My experience isn't particularly recent, but it's going to depend on what you're using the bike for.

For instance, a motorcycle courier (approx 300km a day), will find a bike cheaper to run, for FUEL, than a car, but TYRES (pretty important if you want to keep the foot pegs from being damaged by the road) are - or were - about 4 times more expensive over the same distance a car travels (considering the fact that you only have two to buy, and they only do a small percentage of the distance that a car tyre will).

Easier to run? Yes, provided you buy a late model, low mileage, well-maintained vehicle and keep it in that state.

Licence: as I recall, you are initially limited to riding a 250cc bike until you get your ful licence. It's a silly restriction which was fixed in the UK many years ago by limiting the amount of power output you were allowed to have on your first bike. The fact is, many 125cc bikes can do horrendous speeds these days, and you are just as dead at 130km/h hitting a concrete truck going the other way on a 650cc as a 125cc.

I would recommend finding a riding school if you are serious about riding a bike - they will teach you things to help keep you off the deck, that could take years (if you last that long!) of ordinary riding experience to find out about.
johcar (6283)
764768 2009-04-14 02:12:00 www.landtransport.govt.nz
Google is your friend.
:)
Trev (427)
764769 2009-04-14 02:35:00 I don't use my bike (Honda VFR750) much these days, but when I did, it wasn't much more economical than my little car, possibly less. This is more to do with me not riding in a particularly economical fashion ;) (hard to resist the temptation to twist the throttle hard sometimes) - on cruisy trips the bike's more economical (down to ~5-6l/100k, IIRC). I think I got closer to 8-9l/100k when doing short-hop commuting.

On the other hand, if you get a small (<250cc, say) bike & ride sensibly, then you can squeeze a lot of k's from bugger all gas - probably 3l/100k would be easy to achieve, but its a loooong time since I've had a small bike...
MushHead (10626)
764770 2009-04-14 06:39:00 If you havent got your license then youl have to get 250cc or less and they are cheap as to run hueybot3000 (3646)
764771 2009-04-14 06:54:00 The police who used to have BMW cop bikes found out the operating cost was more than the a Falc/Commodore cop car.
A motorbike these days can cause a grand worth of damage just falling off its stand.
prefect (6291)
764772 2009-04-14 07:04:00 I think you ride a scooter on a car license? convair (13650)
764773 2009-04-14 07:16:00 Yup, 50cc or less. No warrant needed either. pine-o-cleen (2955)
764774 2009-04-14 07:54:00 Do scooters not need a warrant?

A grands worth of damage from falling off stand is a bit steep, mates 250cc fell off a trailer and other than bit of paint lost needed a clutch lever and foot peg...about 150 bucks
hueybot3000 (3646)
764775 2009-04-14 08:37:00 The police who used to have BMW cop bikes found out the operating cost was more than the a Falc/Commodore cop car.
A motorbike these days can cause a grand worth of damage just falling off its stand.

I can see that happening on a BMW as they have horizontally oposing cylinders a flat twin with the ends of the cylinders sticking out of each side of the bike.:)
Trev (427)
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