Riders in the West Yorkshire area will be getting on their bikes this month to take part in an annual charity motorcycle challenge organised by local insurance company Bankstone.
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.
Vehicle background check providers HPI are issuing a stark warning to motorcycle enthusiasts planning to buy a second hand motorbike this summer. Latest research from HPI suggests as many as 1 in 5 motorbikes currently on the road have a hidden history.
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.
Next month sees the annual ‘National Motorcycle Week’, which aims to promote the benefits of motorcycling including the social and environmental advantages. This year’s tagline is ‘Get More Out Of Life’, the aim being to get riders and non-riders thinking about motorcycling and encourage them to get active.
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.
While reductions in speed limits have no doubt had a positive effect in reducing the number of motorbike accidents on the roads in recent years, some believe that a lot more can be done to make roads safer, most notably improvements to the roads themselves.
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.
Last weekend saw over 8,000 motorcycle enthusiasts descend on the market town of Helmsley for the annual Motorcycle Action Group’s Farmyard Party, where attractions included jugglers, rock bands, a dance tent and a rodeo bull.
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!
