Should I replace my car with a bike?
 

Hello :)

I'm actually thinking of replacing my car with a bike. Now that I'm back working in the city I don't really have that much use for a car and to be honest, I'd rather have a bike. I'd get to work without having to brave the train and tube with the worlds most self-important people and actually get to work with a smile on my face :)

The thing is, I think I'd like to get a KTM 950SM! :o :eek:

It's that, or a multi, or something equally as harebrained. If I got one of those I'd get a nice waterproof topbox, and tank bag. Yes I'm getting old!

Not to mention I wouldn't be paying £38 a goddamn week for a travelcard!

So what do you reckon?

Replace the car with a KTM 950SM?
Replace the car with a Multi?
Stick with a car (a peugeot 307)?

Lay the reasons out on me too :D

Do you need th car for the kids ?

Oi, get out of here you! There's no room for being sensible here!

Actually I have thought about that. It would make things easier but it's not a necessity. We lived here for 2 years without having a car so it's not essential.

It's definitely a convenience factor, but then I've considered getting a £500 car or something sometime later. The thing is, I'm struggling to justify the car now I don't need it for work and not only would it be more fun to have a bike, it would be more practical because I could commute on it. Whereas the car just sat outside on the street all the time.

If I wanted a car for a weekend to take the kids away, and we couldn't go by train, then I'd borrow or hire one. I'd hardly need it.

what Lin said TP, would be useful for those wet days & tired kids - even if only every other weekend.
After all, at this time of the year, I dont get to use my bike much.
As am night blind, so cant ride to & from work - and having done quite a few years 'having' to ride & no car, I prefer the car now if wet/snow/heavy frost.

Having had the traction control kicking in several times on the way home in the car tonight as was v slippy:o am glad the bike was at home

C, the wuss:(

Sensible girlies - sorry TP :lol:

But yep you could hire one - but what you gonna pay for a sensible winter bike ? $1500 ?

I dunno - I just wated to join in :p

NEXT!

;)

Keep the car, buy a bike , SELL the kids !

mav

You can use the pit bike:-)

See - sensible Mav too :D

Oh dear :rolleye:

:lol: :lol:

Well at least its not nearly Winter!!! ;)

Go for the Duke - you will regret it!! - but you can always sell it later.

HTH
Tim

Well get voting, the poll looks bad at the moment! :D

I reckon you're pi55ed again - the Winters in the UK are friggin freezin - you;re not in Aus now!!!

I commuted into London on my 996 all through winter before so I know what I'm getting myself into. It was fine, you're all bloody wusses!

I recon Rattlers Rite!

TP,
you muckin fuppet!

thats why they say Aussies are upside down !

pmsl

mav

You clowns are no help! It's hard to find good help around here ... ;)

Help?
 

and you come on the DSC looking for help????

we all need help !


pmsl

Keep the car, buy a big trailie (like my lovely AT) for next to sod all and hack around happy as larry. :)

bike bike bike.

well thats what I will be doing in January, starting to look around now for a commuter, but appreciate you got the kids. But you know, London public is a great way to get around, and you can buy a bike for what a travel card costs, which is my reasoning.

From those 2 I'd go for the KTM, but think I will go for a Monster ma'sel

Said it before..if it's just for commuting, buy a superscoot with all the storage you need under the seat, twist and sort of go, you don't have to love it or wash it...just kick it into the shed when you get home...or just kick it

Bwahhahaa - sorry can't get that image oot me head now - TP on a scoot :lol: :lol: :o

you know my feelings after all I hav reiterated them ten times today and had them back up by the boss.

buy it, you know it makes sense!!

you can always sell it if it doesnt and you won't lose much cash if you do!!

A scooter! A SCOOTER!!!

A scoot wouldn't do really, the problem is that I need to get up to Silverstone, Rockingham etc quite regularly for the CSS as well as getting around the countryside socially so that rules a scooter out.

At the moment I have to say I'm leaning towards the KTM but I have been chatting to Lily and Freak who have one each so ... I'll look at it again in the cold light of day tomorrow and see what I reckon.

:)

I've also posted this on the KTM forum, I wonder what they'll advise me to do :D

Get the bike.

My cousin lives in Kennington, they belong to a "car club" with a small monthly subscription, can't remember what it's called, but when you need a car you book one online and pay for the time you use it by the hour / day, park it up and walk away. Works for them, very well, and the overall cost annually is a fraction of the cost of actually owning a car for occasional use.

Spoken like a true sagittarian :rolleyes:

Now that sounds VERY interesting, do you reckon you could find out some details for me?

Cheers :D

Mmmmmmm .... yum!

"Commute on me muthafcuker!!"

YEAH




Y E A H




Y E A H



KTM FOR YOU

You knows it ;)

Will do . . .

Quick search TP, I reckon it's this one

http://www.citycarclub.co.uk/default.htm

:) TP get a bike either would be good, you know it makes sense (ish)

:D ... if it works out, I reckon I'll get the bike. But there could be a few showstoppers ... we'll see.

Zimbo, that car club looks good ... cheap for what I'd need so it doesn't really make sense to own a car for me considering how often I'd use one. Cheers.

You've only just got a job again !
If you get a bike now you'll only crash it and be out of work again you dopey antipodean :lol:

That's one slap for you next time I see you ...

;)

If you had to decide which bike between the KTM and the Multi I'd go for the KTM as that was exactly the decision I made, if I had to chose between a car and a bike though over winter????

I thought you northerners were 'ard!

I've had a look at a couple of car club websites and to be honest, that makes much more sense to me because I only need to pay for a car when I need one and I get a fairly new car I can pick up close to me and it's quite cheap.

Then I get a bike I'll actually use, as opposed to buying a car that will sit on the road waiting for the occasional use and therefore not really justifying the investment.

And the biggest plus, I'll avoid London public transport and their exorbitant prices during the day. This morning I couldn't get on the first train I normally get on because no-one would move down into the carriage ... and then the same thing happened on the tube ... and then when I finally got onto the tube some merchant banker nearly had my eye out with the pointy end of his umbrella and when I slapped it away from my face he just grunted, didn't even turn around to say sorry or whatever. The people around me even started saying things. Unbelievable.

A bike = sanity!

I just hope I can get one, there is a large potential showstopper unfortunately ...

I've gone without a car for many years, and relied on bike only. Have all those advocating it done the same?

It's no fun lugging a heavy rucksack full of shopping back from Tesco's in the pouring rain/snow.

But, of course, it's do-able.

Personally, if it were me, I'd buy a 300 quid Fiesta and the best bike I could afford.

I guess this looks like throwing stones from a greenhouse but is KTM gonna be "durable", there's a recall out at the mo' for one model? Yes I know they survive Paris Dakar but are you gonna want to work on it every night back in the "home bivouac"

Whats security like where ya park the bike at work?

What about a monster, maybe I just notice 'em more in the smoke but ya see quite few about.

No cake and eat it option in the vote? Keep the car and buy a bike as well!!

Ray.

LOL.... you can't compare KTM's durability to Ducati's, I know which one I'd rather be stranded with and it would be orange not red, it's the first non Ducati I've had in 5 years (still got the 999) and I've 3000 trouble free miles in 6 weeks, think I managed 200 before the first coil went on the 999, then the battery, then the regulator....I still love the Ducati though