I have noticed the lack of young riders on the road now days meany a club have next to no young riders, most are in there late 30's i'm not saying this is every where but to me modon day riders don't now much about bikes they ride being as the bikes are so complex now days and with less time to ride a growing number of poeple don't now how to check there oil wheel pressor chain ajustments etc
i what to hear others views on this mater is bikeing going to die out or not i hope not .
Bikes are quite expensive now tho,the old 250 law should never have gone. The way things are going more bikes will be probably on the road.....well untill the gov.suss they're cheaper to run anyway.
So bikes really should be getting pushed as the other logical form of transport,less fuel - less 'pollution' (if your that way inclined)road damage gone.Less damaging than most things,buses,trains. Bike organisations should be pushing lobbying etc so should the industry-manufacturers/ dealers by seeing the chance.
Actually have to disagree with the OP 100%. With the rise in popularity of scooters and light weight bikes, there seem to be alot more young bikers than ever. Hey swas, what about rush hour? Those big scooters that are now about, they're doing 60-70 mph on the M/ways. I'm sure any bike instructors will put us right, but I'd imagine that courses are now getting pretty busy.
Toyally agree with the rush hour thing Dyna and the amount of lightweights around,but most of these aint gonna carry on riding going on to bigger/better.Those scooters are very cheap transport,still think the industry should be advertising and the gov,organisations should be behind them.I remember years ago a local mag rep when I lived further down was very pro-active,dont see much of that now.They seem to wait for you rather than going to you.
The govt. are pushing bicycles (hehe) not our variety, unfortunately. Yeah, I think your right, the lightweight riders will only use them for tab breaks and nipping down the bookies. Don't know about you, but union reps etc... all seem to be in the pocket these days. LOVE to vote out our GMB rep, total utter garbage, drives a nice car though , is there such a thing? Lol
Most younger riders dont use there bikes as we did years back IE main form of transport, thay go in the car with there mates when out at night due to the change in attitude towards drinking and driving.
Repairing a bike nowadays is a hole new ball garm same as your car so much you cant fix is a real pain I can remember sat in the middle od bodmin moor in the 70s on a broke down bonnie and fixing it with a bit of barbed wire and pair of plyers
Union Reps Dyna, couldnt agree more they dont want any hassel just a big paypacket.
Gov.can push pedal power all they want,no good for people with over a couple mile to do.
Absolutely right jp,things now should be easier to run,theoretically,but you learnt how to sort things tho didnt ya.
Looking out the college window which is next to a main inner town road im always dumbfounded at the incredible stupidity i see every day with young bike riders, and its a shame as they bring the biker community down,im not saying they all do before i get told off.
,the road outside i see is at a crossroad with traffic lights that are frequently jumped by said d*** heads,,constant revving to intimidate those crossing the road,one lad actually wheelyd and dropped the bikes front wheel onto a cars boot and then sped off.
Getting a full licence these days is costly so most youngsters just do the CBT and renew it every 2 years. Bikes should be being pushed by the establishment as the correct form of transport - cheaper, greener, less congestion etc. Which leads me to:
Why hasn't this site got someone to represent us as a lobbyist? Or at least a MAG liason?
According to the homepage there's 35963 members, that's a lot of voters and gobs to lobby policy makers with. Even if only half those members are active it's still a fair old amount of signatures to put on a petition. That together with other sites like this makes a hell of a lobby group.
Besides, if the policy wankers don't listen to our proposals (fix the roads, cheaper fuel, resist compulsory ABS, free helmets for all women etc) we can all get together and turn up outside their house every Sunday morning on our bikes.
My son is 19 has passed his full bike test 14 months ago but limited to 33BHP for another 10 months .. he has two bikes ..a 21 year old honda DAX (monky bike) in show condition ... and a 1979 250 honda superdream for work..he dose all his own mantenance and servicing and all though he has passed his car test last month he still uses the bike every day for work (even through the bad snow we had in dec 10)
he must get it from me as my harley FXLR is 21 years old and my chevy silverado pick up truck is 36 years old ..
so not all youngens in to scooters and just doing CBT every two years
The main reason all is that until ur in your 30's most are riding small cc bikes and don't do the trips we do. How many Under 30's will go to a meet miles away never mind Europe ? Most will spend their dosh in a pub or chasing "talent".
That being said I also find that a lot of bikers keep their bikes in a garage and then come out on a sunny day (usually to bin it on first corner). You always see them at meeting points dressed in their leather baby romper suits bragging about something
This is why I'm on here as we have a good crowd and pretty honest in what we do .
I'll get off me soap box now and no I don't think they are all the same but that's what the public sees
Hi Folks....I'm a MAG member and we are trying so hard to get more people to join and understand the consequenses of not sticking together, that is ALL bikers young and old. We all need to lobby the Gov as by about 2015....the way its going, all of us old school bikers are going to find ourselves no longer able to ride our bikes. The newest proposals are that all bikes will have to be serviced, MOTed etc by the original manufacturer or shop where the bike was originally bought from. All replacement parts will have to be original spec aswell. So those of us that have custom parts, different exhaust systems, cables, brake parts etc etc, will not be able to replace them as no after sales parts will be permitted, so the knock on effect will be, not only that our bikes will be redundant but the small businesses we rely on, will go bump, adding to the already, flat on the floor, economy.
There is also a campaign on the go called 'Get a Grip' where we need to make our local MP's aware of the dangers of the metal drain covers that cause bikers, and other road users, eg, horse riders and push bike riders, to have accidents when the slip on the metal grills. There is now a new drain cover made of man made material that is none slip, and will also, if used to replace the metal ones, prevent the scrap men from knicking them to tat them in. This in the long run, will save the utilities and councils money and save our skins. If we don't do something about some of the Gov's proposals now.....there won't be any young people able to afford to buy, maintain and ride new bikes and old ones will be illegal.
Rant over......phew!!!!
Metal drain covers being replaced is driving the ______ mad around here. During the nights the damn things go missing leaving HUGE holes in the road, so I for one would welcome the replacements on that alone. The NE is done with mining
Problem with MAG is they appear to be in the pocket like the unions and everyone else that could make a difference.
Dyna......I totally agree with the appearance of the MAG...thats why we need to do something about bringing it into the 21st Century....the branch I am in is trying to do that....it is a new section and has already upset a few old die hards who won't budge for anything....even though it is holding the cause back...they are both stubborn and selfish.
Was speaking to a bloke from MAG yesterday at the bike show in shepton mallet and they had one of those manhole covers on display,a good thing methinks and non slip all the way through so it never wears to a shiny surface.Anyway,signed his petition and am going to join MAG (Bristol branch).
As for the rest of it,I remember when I was growing up,you got your moped (mine was a fizzy)when you were 16.L plates,cheap in surance and away you go,you had freedom from busses etc.Then at 17 you got your 250,I had a honda G5.Meanwhile you took driving lessons and eventually got a car and for most,forgot about the bikes.They served their purpose of giving you freedom and independance because all you needed was L plates and a provisional licence to get on the road
Some never leave biking,some come back to it and some dont,I had a break of about five years until I rode a mates bike and the bug bit again.Been riding ever since,all year round,all weathers.
It's 25 quid at the moment to join MAG for a year.
Would it be possible to arrange a discount through this site to encourage people to join?
Also - could the mods sort a regular thread out and maybe a banner advertising MAG or the BMF or both?
Just an idea.
Re;New Proposals Seems to me the principles of democracy are out the window but its all been on the cards for years since being puppets of the Germans and French and your very own MEP's on their own gravy train.I happened to contact one of them last year....still waiting for a response.
Perhaps I'm a tad cynical but.. MAG?Where does the money go? Farmyard etc must be good profit.
Why aint they advertising?
Had a falling out with the MAG Friday night boss at Stormin once,what a numpty they were,no interest in the problem as long as youve handed your hard earned over.Seems to me gravy trains are getting longer
Good idea that contra,then maybe MAG could respond
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