As fuel costs continue to rise, more commuters are turning to small motorcycles to get them to work on time, for pennies rather than pounds. Alastair Walker reports.

IF you fancy a new Honda PS125 scooter, XR125V Varadero, a VT125C Shadow cruiser, or a racy little CBR125R - the UK's best selling 125cc class bike - then now's the time to consider buying one, as Honda UK have a é99 down, plus low finance offer on all those models.

For example the CBR125R would cost you a deposit of é99 followed by 36 monthly payments of é71.56 making the full retail price of é2675.16. Against the on-the-road price of é2540, this works out at just 3.6 per cent APR. That's the kind of maths that even Carol Vorderman would be impressed by and compared to buying season tickets for unreliable public transport, or paying hefty petrol and parking costs for using a four wheeler in the city every day, the bike option starts to make sense.

My advice would be to check out exactly how much your insurance costs, plus the cost of all weather biking kit, helmet, gloves, bike lock/alarm etc is going to be - then add up what it really costs you in time and money to commute by train, tram or car.

If you can carve your way through the jams on a little 125 Honda, saving yourself say é500 a year as you beat the queues, then maybe it's time to think bike baby. For details of your nearest Honda dealer, go to website listed below.

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