Is Motorcycling dying?

[sidestand]

Not quite dying - but getting expensive for the young 'uns

Here's my boy picking up his CBF 125 last year B)



The bike was £2400 which I got on Honda's 0% finance - Cheapest fully comp insurance would have been £2700 hmy:

So at that price I told 'em it would be far cheaper for me to buy a new bike if he wrote it off - and we ended up with TPF&T for just under £500

Most of his gear (with the exemption of the helmet) is my old kit which seems to have 'shrunk' & kit he already had - he's been riding pillion with me since he was eight.

He's done over 5,000 miles on it in the last 10 months, including coming with me on camping trips to the Scottish borders & Wales.

We just need to get him through his test now - although we're waiting until he's 19 so he can get a 47bhp bike on the road
I've got a couple in the garage that are around that figure - so hopefully we can go on a proper tour next year

[-Ralph-]

I guess tests got extreme as the machines got faster

How were the machines new riders were riding getting faster? They are all restricted to 33bhp for two years, regardless of make/model.

[picos mestizo]

I guess tests got extreme as the machines got faster

How were the machines new riders were riding getting faster? They are all restricted to 33bhp for two years, regardless of make/model.

Sorry Ralph I think you missunderstood.
You're talking specifics whereas I was refering to bikes across the spectrum, 50 to 2300cc.

You see the authorities aren't motorcycle anoracks, they're accident statistic anoracks doing numbers.

[-Ralph-]

and another year on 125 will make your son a much better rider

IMHO mastering the riding with small lightweight, underpowered bike makes you a so much better rider. Because the kid is not afraid of weight or power, which he can not manage, he can relax, enjoy and progress, pushing the bike to it's limits. And as with pilots, you should clock in a certain amount of hours, before being allowed to go on a rocket.

I disagree I'm afraid. How can they learn to handle weight and power if they have no experience of it? A year is plenty of time to 'master' a 125 and they are more than ready to move up at that point. In terms of weight and power a new rider will be as green behind the ears at 19 having passed his A2 test as a 17 year old would have been last year moving onto a 33bhp machine.

Pushing any bike to it's limits is a recipe for an accident, especially a 125 on skinny tyres and crap brakes. I'd rather he was riding at the same speed on a bigger bike that was well within it's capabilities. Higher for better visibility, better brakes, better tyres, better centre of gravity and stability. He'd also be much safer from the perspective of being able to keep up with the flow of traffic, and not have cars and even trucks trying to overtake him every time he gets to a hill.

Experience/mileage will improve road sense, but they get that whatever size bike they are riding.

In my sons case, as it was when I was 16/17, getting a road legal bike will be a massive step down in weight and power anyway. I moved from a GasGas 327 to a MT50 at 16, then an MTX125 at 17, frustrated the hell out of me for two years. Getting an X7 was heaven. Then getting a CBR600F was probably a bit dangerous for my level of experience looking back on it and I wouldn't want my son riding something that powerful that young, but 85bhp is very different to my 43bhp at the crank, 33bhp at the wheel XT, which I'd hardly class as a rocket, it's more of a tractor!

[picos mestizo]

ralph wrote - I moved from a GasGas 327 to a MT50 at 16, then an MTX125 at 17, frustrated the hell out of me ........................................

The Gasgas327 wouldn't have been legally on public roads.

[-Ralph-]

We just need to get him through his test now - although we're waiting until he's 19 so he can get a 47bhp bike on the road

There's an interesting concept.

Is there any limit as to how long your CBT is valid for now?

When I did my CBT at 16yr old in 1992 they were only valid for two years, then you had to have a year off before you could do it again if you hadn't passed your test in that time period.

If it's not going to expire before 19, or you can just resit it, then why would any kid bother to sit the A1 unless you really needed to use motorways or carry a pillion (neither of which are great on a 125 anyway).

[-Ralph-]

The Gasgas327 wouldn't have been legally on public roads.

as it was when I was 16/17, getting a road legal bike will be a massive step down in weight and power

[Elle]

Here's my boy picking up his CBF 125 last year

Your lad is lucky - it seems that most teens rely on Bank of Mum & Dad to buy them their 1st car / bike & insure it. I know I've had to do the same with my daughter.

-------------

If the legal age to ride a bike < 125cc was lowered to 15 & insurance was cheaper, would it reduce the number of bike thefts?

[Buellie]

I am having to fork out £696 (luckily that was discounted) for my Direct to Access training and Licence. It's one big money making racket. Lucky I have money put away for this. No wonder the numbers are declining.

Mate let me tell you that it is not the trainers who are making the money.I have been doing it over 20 years now and things have never been so bad. We used to charge £99 for CBT including bike hire in year 2000. What do we charge today £100! 13 years later we are charging £1 more. The cerificate we give you costs us £5 more than in year 2000, the bikes and insurance that we supply is more expensive as is fuel, tyres, spares, road tax etc.thats without talking rent, business rates,phone, heating, lighting, public liability and professional indemnity insurance etc, etc needed to operate a school.Professional DAS instuctors expect to earn around £100 or so a day which is the going rate, more if using their own bike as you would expect.
Legislation has pushed up costs, we now have to run 50cc,125cc,500cc (A2) and 600cc (DAS)bikes.
You have theory test £31, mod 1 £15.50, mod 2 £75 included in your training fees 20% of what you pay goes to the VAT man (15% VAT in 2000). Our most expensive (6 full days) course is £799 which is a fair amount but when broken down is in all honestly not enough.
The best days for training schools were in the early 90's when people were paying £425 for a 5 day course on a 125cc bike.
Don't think thank we are all driving Bentleys around on our days off!

[Buellie]

We just need to get him through his test now - although we're waiting until he's 19 so he can get a 47bhp bike on the road

There's an interesting concept.

Is there any limit as to how long your CBT is valid for now?

When I did my CBT at 16yr old in 1992 they were only valid for two years, then you had to have a year off before you could do it again if you hadn't passed your test in that time period.

If it's not going to expire before 19, or you can just resit it, then why would any kid bother to sit the A1 unless you really needed to use motorways or carry a pillion (neither of which are great on a 125 anyway).

CBT certificate lasts 2 years for a 125cc and you can go straight into another one. You are right....no 17 to 19 year olds will bother testing under A1.