Bike insurance has already experienced larger than average cost increases for the past year, and the pressures facing car insurers look set to affect motorbike insurers in the same way.

These pressures include increased personal injury claims, caused by the more prominent litigious mentality in recent years. Other pressures on car insurance premiums include fraudulent claims and uninsured drivers, the latter unfortunately being a particular problem amongst young motorcyclists and so likely to reflect in this year’s premiums.

For this reason there has never been more incentive to ensure you get as many motorbike insurance quotes as possible, and look to use insurance comparison sites to cover as many insurers as possible.

The increase could be down to a number of factors. The most obvious theory is that last year’s economic downturn has put more pressure on bikers to find the cheapest possible insurance deal. The ongoing recession has tightened most consumers’ purse strings, meaning much tighter budgets when it comes to finding the right deal.

There is also of course the fact that motorbike ownership has risen steeply in the last few years, meaning more and more insurance companies are prepared to move into the motorbike insurance market and so an increased number of companies to search through for the best deal. Add on top of this the limited number of motorbike insurance comparison sites available and you end up spending a long time going through all of the online quote engines.

While it sounds a lot of time, it never hurts to search as many providers as possible to ensure you get the best possible insurance deal for the next 12 months.

MCE are steadily increasing their involvement in motorbike racing, with the MCN Fantasy Racing League already being sponsored by the insurance firm.

Motor Sport Vision Chief Executive Jonathan Palmer said “I’m delighted that MCE Insurance will be the title sponsor of the 2009-2012 British Superbike Championship.

“BSB provides the greatest promotional platform for any bike-related product in the UK already and MCE have confirmed this with their long-term commitment and determination to use it in their strategy to become the UK’s number one provider of bike insurance.”

The first BSB weekend under MCE colours will take place August 9th at Brands Hatch.

Regarding the costs, it’s not just the face value of the motorbike to take into consideration but also variables like fuel consumption and insurance cover. To help with this, online motorbike insurance comparison website Insurancewide has compiled a list of the most popular one litre sports bikes and how much insurance quotes have been relative to each other.

These figures not only show which bikes are normally cheaper to ensure, but also gives an insight into what it may be like to own and maintain one. European manufacturers are renowned for difficulty in finding spare parts and are a common target for thieves. Insurers are obviously expecting a higher number of claims from owners of these motorbikes and this is indicated by the figures below:

Bike Make and Model (% difference compared to the top ranked bike)
MV Augusta F4 1000 R
Suzuki GSXR 1000 K9 (+5%)
Honda CBR 1000 RR Fireblade (+10%)
Yamaha YZF-R1 (+10%)
Aprilia RSV R Mille (+10%)
Kawaksaki ZX10R (+20%)
Ducati 1098 (+100%)
Benelli Tornado TRE 1130 (+110%)

The reason for the huge surge in claims has been put down to the heatwave experienced across the UK last month. The hot weather led to ideal conditions for inexperienced weekend riders to rush onto the roads, and with the majority of motorists not used to a sudden increase in motorbikes, accidents were almost inevitable.

Motorbike insurance companies are urging motorcyclists to be extra careful when getting back on their motorbikes for the summer months. It’s important to remember the basics, such as being prepared for drivers not looking, and wearing bright protective clothing to make them as visible as possible. It would also not be a bad idea for inexperienced motorcyclists to look into taking advanced riding courses, ensuring as much knowledge being with the rider as possible.

In its third year of running, bikers will travel hundreds of miles on monkey bikes on a route through Yorkshire that passes a number of famous film locations, in order to raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance service.

17 riders will visit locations such as Piece Hall in Halifax, the location of Brassed Off, the Cow and Calf Rocks at Ilkley (Calendar Girls), and Aysgarth Falls (Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves).

Monkey bikes – low powered motorbikes manufactured by Honda and made popular in the 1970s – have a seat height of about 24 inches, giving the rider a crouched appearance. It certainly won’t be comfortable ride for those taking part, but it is undoubtedly for a good cause.

These are worrying figures for the motorbike industry, despite seemingly weathering the current economic downturn – the market has seen a reduction in sales of only 6% on the same time last year, compared to a 24% decline in the sale of cars. The figures suggest vehicle history for a motorbike is more likely to be bad news than that of a car, as criminals like to target high end and powerful motorbikes.

The research shows that outstanding finance is a growing problem within the motorcycle market, with 1 in 10 motorbike checked by HPI showing unpaid finance. This is obviously a major problem for motorbike buyers, as any vehicle with outstanding finance still belongs to the lender meaning the buyer could lose bothh the motorbike and the money they paid for it.

Another major problem that has been highlighted by HPI’s research is the increase in written-off motorbikes reappearing on the roads. The combination of high powered motorbikes and young inexperienced riders leads to a high proportion of accidents resulting in the bike being written off. While some of these write offs can be legitimately fixed by professionals, many return unroadworthy and can present a real danger to the rider and other road users.

This all goes to show that when buying a used motorbike, performing a full HPI check is most important, providing you with a thorough report telling you everything you need to make an informed decision on buying a motorbike.

Events are being organised all over the country to showcase the opportunities available to riders, getting to know their bikes more and developing their riding skills. There will also be opportunities for non-riders to take that first step onto getting their bike licence.

National Motorcycle Week will also see ‘Ride To Work Day’ on the 15th July, encouraging as many riders as possible on the roads and riding to work. The aim is to convince that motorbikes mean more freedom, more fun and more convenience.

Organisers are encouraging all riders and non-riders to get involved in at least one activity during the week. Any riders who would like to organise an event of their own can down download a free organiser’s pack from the website www.mcia.co.uk.

Swinton motorbike insurance have suggested in a press release that improvements such as bend tightening, manholes being moved to better locations and better signage and sightlines at junctions would help greatly reduce the number of accidents involving motorbikes. Governments statistics even show that the majority of crashes are caused by poor road conditions and design, rather than speed as is often believed.

Obviously it would be unfeasible to have a complete overhaul of the UK road system, but slight improvements in key areas might help to achieve drastic reductions in motorbike accidents and motorbike insurance claims.

There were also 15 trade stands in attendance for punters to browse, as well as the traditional Farmyard Tour – a ride through the local area – partaken by many of the riders there.

While mostly an event organised for fun, the Motorcycle Action Group are a political party campaigning for fairer legislation for motorbike riders, particularly the restrictions imposed on young people wanting to take up bike riding.

The Farmyard Party has been running for over 20 years, the first event being way back in 1987. Despite the odd setback (floods in 2005 caused £300,000 of damage with insurance premiums much higher ever since) the event is still going strong, with next years event open to all bikers. Pedestrians and car drivers will not be allowed!