Light, cheap, NA and ICE?

[Skeptisk]

I switched from four to two wheels some time ago, but it seems to me that motorbikes make more and more sense these days.

When a “cheap” sport car, like the MX5, costs close to £35k, how does anyone justify having a toy for the weekend? And if you want something light, simple, ICE and NA there aren’t really many options other than the MX5.

The equivalent bike can be had for around £9k. Nowadays that buys you a bike with a full electronic safety net, including cornering ABS. You still have to be more careful than in a car but the upsides are huge.

[Nickp82]

Skeptisk said:

When a “cheap” sport car, like the MX5, costs close to £35k, how does anyone justify having a toy for the weekend?

You don’t have to buy a brand new one?

[Uncle boshy]

The answer is to get something older.

I picked up a TT roadster last year for £6k in good nick. Admittedly it’s 12 years old, but in good nick and drives well, perfect for a bit of weekend fun and cheap enough to run.

But personally don’t get the na bit, to me it’s how the car drives.

The tt replaced an old shed mgtf. Whilst there was a degree of fun with revving that engine, it ran out of puff where at higher revs the TT torque kicks in and makes it a much more enjoyable car to drive

[Skeptisk]

Nickp82 said:

Skeptisk said:

When a “cheap” sport car, like the MX5, costs close to £35k, how does anyone justify having a toy for the weekend?

You don’t have to buy a brand new one?

You don’t have to but it is nice to know the vehicle’s history from day one, to get a warranty, not have to worry about an MOT for a few years or deal with maintenance required to keep an old car on the road.

[SimonTheSailor]

'the equivalent bike' ?? - but it's not though is it. It's smaller, less comfortable, less practical, noisier, etc,etc,etc. Why people continue to compare them is bizarre - they're DIFFERENT !!!

[jhonn]

SimonTheSailor said:

'the equivalent bike' ?? - but it's not though is it. It's smaller, less comfortable, less practical, noisier, etc,etc,etc. Why people continue to compare them is bizarre - they're DIFFERENT !!!

Yeah, they're very different - you really need to have both, and use them when the appropriate weather/practicality/traffic conditions exist.
I've got bikes and also an MX5, you can have both without spending a fortune. They've both got their good points and bad points - neither is a good substitute for the other.

[Ken_Code]

Fortunately you don’t to justify having the weekend car to anyone (well, possibly your wife), so can have one as well as a motorbike.

[Deep Thought]

Skeptisk said:

You don’t have to but it is nice to know the vehicle’s history from day one, to get a warranty, not have to worry about an MOT for a few years or deal with maintenance required to keep an old car on the road.

Then you're going to pay a massive premium for that, over buying used.

My manager has just bought a new model MX5 - I think it's 2019 - top spec, electric blue, low miles, 1.5 engine. I think they gave £12995 for it.

Doesn't look, feel or drive any differently than a new one

[Ken_Code]

Deep Thought said:

Then you're going to pay a massive premium for that, over buying used.

My manager has just bought a new model MX5 - I think it's 2019 - top spec, electric blue, low miles, 1.5 engine. I think they gave £12995 for it.

Doesn't look, feel or drive any differently than a new one

Plus any day-1 niggles are taken care of.

I had my Emira for 50 miles before it had to go back to the factory for five weeks.

[rodericb]

Skeptisk said:

And if you want something light, simple, ICE and NA there aren’t really many options other than the MX5.

A lot of smaller cars have gone to turbocharging due to emissions. Mazda are hold-outs on turbocharging due to their Skyactive technology.

There's also the 86/BRZ. I don't think cars have sped ahead of bikes, cost wise. I don't know what the costs are now and back then but how has pricing between a CBR600 and a MX5 moved since 1991?

[Ken_Code]

Bikes are quite expensive now.

My first fireblade in 1999 cost £3,500, they’re now starting at £23,000.

[Trevor555]

Skeptisk said:

I switched from four to two wheels some time ago, but it seems to me that motorbikes make more and more sense these days.

I've run them as daily transport since 1995, little scooters for daily, sportsbikes for the weekend.

I'll only use a car if the temp drops below 11 degrees

Free parking at train station, cars £6.00 per day

Free parking all day in my local town, cars limited to three hours, and £1.20 per hour

Insurance a hundred quid for the daily, and was only £5500 brand new

Cars all stuck going nowhere? Filter right past them

Drivers are 99% really good towards the bike, ok I'm not in a city

Other bikers will stop if you appear to be broken down, and car drivers too

And even on this forum, I put up an enquiry about secure bike parking in a city, and a fellow Pistonheader offered his garage to me.

Aside from the obvious dangers, bike ownership is great, and even the smaller engined bikes are still great fun.

And they don't depreciate any where near as much as cars, I get a new one every two/three years and don't lose very much at all.

And an MX-5 now 35K??? Crikey...

[Earthdweller]

I don’t think you need new for a weekend toy

I bought a Z4 3.0Si, small, light, NA, ICE nearly 8 years ago for £8k. Today it’s probably still worth £8k

It’s cost me an annual service, mot, RFL and insurance plus a few bits I’ve chosen to do such as a suspension refresh

It’s sat in the garage on a ctek for the winter but because it doesn’t cost me anything on a monthly basis ( other than above ) it doesn’t bother me

Now if I’d paid £40k for it and was paying finance on It every month I might have a different view

[Neal H]

As a pure toy, bikes are so much more usable on the road than sports cars, and as mentioned represent extraordinary value for money compared to cars (as a fun toy). For years I ran Lotus’s - my last was an Elise 250 Cup - brilliant on track but just frustrating on the road. Now I just have bikes and although I sometimes miss the Elise, I wouldn’t go back.

[carinaman]

Earthdweller said:

I don’t think you need new for a weekend toy

I bought a Z4 3.0Si, small, light, NA, ICE nearly 8 years ago for £8k. Today it’s probably still worth £8k

It’s cost me an annual service, mot, RFL and insurance plus a few bits I’ve chosen to do such as a suspension refresh

It’s sat in the garage on a ctek for the winter but because it doesn’t cost me anything on a monthly basis ( other than above ) it doesn’t bother me

Now if I’d paid £40k for it and was paying finance on It every month I might have a different view

I really like the looks of the original Z4.

I am pleased someone mentioned the PCP versus owning outright issue.

Good info. from Deep Thought on the price of a 2019 MX-5.

I used the motorcycle the week before last as I had an appointment in work hours. The bike made getting to and from the appointment quicker and it avoided the nightmare parking once there for the appointment. Fortunately it was dry.

I am not sure there's a comparison between driving a car and riding a motorcycle when it comes to engagement and responsiveness. I've driven a couple of Caterham 7s. They don't drive like a motorcycle rides. I've only driven a 1997 88bhp MX-5 (the cheapie one) and while it was fun and a great accompanient and lifestyle prop for some fun days out it wasn't a motorcycle.

Since getting back on motorcycles, thanks Africa Twin PCP feeding frenzy thread, I've got back on a push bike for local stuff. I've been to the corner shop on it twice today. Push bikes can be fun. Motorcycles are more comparable to push bikes than any car.

Edited by carinaman on Saturday 30th March 11:42

[DKL]

Trevor555 said:

I've run them as daily transport since 1995, little scooters for daily, sportsbikes for the weekend.

I'll only use a car if the temp drops below 11 degrees

Free parking at train station, cars £6.00 per day

Free parking all day in my local town, cars limited to three hours, and £1.20 per hour

Insurance a hundred quid for the daily, and was only £5500 brand new

Cars all stuck going nowhere? Filter right past them

Drivers are 99% really good towards the bike, ok I'm not in a city

Other bikers will stop if you appear to be broken down, and car drivers too

And even on this forum, I put up an enquiry about secure bike parking in a city, and a fellow Pistonheader offered his garage to me.

Aside from the obvious dangers, bike ownership is great, and even the smaller engined bikes are still great fun.

And they don't depreciate any where near as much as cars, I get a new one every two/three years and don't lose very much at all.

And an MX-5 now 35K??? Crikey...

You almost had me convinced then that I needed a bike, lots of very good and valid points and then I was reminded why..

Trevor555 said:

Aside from the obvious dangers..

ah yes, danger of being squashed flat or sent flying through the air due to absolutely no fault of my own partly due to a significant lack of a tin can around me.

I don't think I can reconcile the pros and cons here, cons are rather (life) limiting.
Now cars can be very dangerous but at least you have some form of protection. I'm not that brave I'm afraid.
It's a shame as most cars have a single occupant so imagine the difference in traffic jams if bikes were safer.

[MDUBZ]

I went down the z4 route at the start of 2015; It really doesn’t owe me very much at all, but the bikes get much more use in the summer months as you can exploit more of the performance when riding for fun and are much better for the commute into london; obviously the car offers a bit more practicality (managed to get a weeks camping gear and starter beers for Le mans for 2 in), and the straight 6 is silky smooth, acceleration is very linear and it sounds rather good between 5K and the 7K and a bit red line; appeal suffered for not being as good as the boxster (brand image or dynamically) but i think they are still underrated which means they can be picked up for not a lot of money.

The previous posts made me get it out of the garage to wash the dust off this morning and it’s given me the opportunity to give it a once over to make sure everything is as it should be (sprung into life straight away) - it’ll go back in later the MOT anniversary is up tomorrow; It’s currently SORN’d and it will probably stay that way for the next month or so as for the 1st time all the cars/bikes seem to need servicing/tyres etc at the same time and as it gets used the least it’s at the back of the queue… key is currently charging on an elecy toothbrush charger so it’s ready for duty when the time comes.

DKL said:

Trevor555 said:

Trevor555 said:

Aside from the obvious dangers..

ah yes, danger of being squashed flat or sent flying through the air due to absolutely no fault of my own partly due to a significant lack of a tin can around me.

I don't think I can reconcile the pros and cons here, cons are rather (life) limiting.
Now cars can be very dangerous but at least you have some form of protection. I'm not that brave I'm afraid.
It's a shame as most cars have a single occupant so imagine the difference in traffic jams if bikes were safer.

It’s more likely something in the home will kill you - are you more at risk on a bike than in a car, yes, but you can mitigate a lot of that by the way you ride.

Edited by MDUBZ on Saturday 30th March 13:37

[Skeptisk]

Ken_Code said:

Bikes are quite expensive now.

My first fireblade in 1999 cost £3,500, they’re now starting at £23,000.

Er…you never paid £3500 in 1999 for a new Fireblade. They were around £10k

[Ken_Code]

Skeptisk said:

Er…you never paid £3500 in 1999 for a new Fireblade. They were around £10k

My memory may be a bit off, but wasn’t that the price about ten years later in 2009?

It was pre-registered by Carnell’s in London, and while it was a decent discount I think it was less than £1,000 off.

[Trevor555]

Ken_Code said:

Skeptisk said:

Er…you never paid £3500 in 1999 for a new Fireblade. They were around £10k

My memory may be a bit off, but wasn’t that the price about ten years later in 2009?

It was pre-registered by Carnell’s in London, and while it was a decent discount I think it was less than £1,000 off.

Bought a new CBR600 FL in 1991 and that was around £3800 from memory.

Blade came out soon after?

£7000ish? I think in early 90's