In the wake of the recent economic downturn, a significant number of UK motorcyclists are putting off potentially important motorbike maintenance in order to save money. This is causing real problems for some riders, as the important maintenance and repairs escalates to full blown problems that affect bike safety and motorbike insurance premiums.
Insurance companies are encouraging riders to stay on top of their bike maintenance after a recent study suggested as much as 78% of riders are putting off minor repairs and waiting until their MOT date before finding out the cause of strange engine noises and vibrations.
According to Swinton Bikes, there are three areas of motorbike maintenance that are most overlooked:
Motorbike Tyres
Failure to replace worn or damaged tyres is both dangerous and illegal, with a possibility of leaving your tyres in such a state leading to a fine or points on your licence.
Motorbike Chain / Sprockets
Riding your bike with a chain in need of replacing will affect performance, fuel consumption, and if particularly damaged could lead to the chain comin completely off the sprockets causing an accident.
Motorbike Oil
Not keeping your motorbike’s oil levels topped up will cause permanent damage to the engine and in some cases can cause the engine to seize up at the most inopportune time!
Keeping on top of motorbike maintenance issues will minimise the risk of problems, keeping your motorbike insurance premiums low and keeping you safe.
Motorbike insurance companies are advising bikers to make sure they declare any modifications made to their motorbike to ensure their insurance policy is up to date and correct. Modifying your motorbike without informing your insurance provider can void your policy and cause a lot of problems if ever you needed to make a claim.
With performance being a big factor in choosing your motorbike, many riders are turning to fitting upgrades or tuning existing parts of their motorbike to get more power and performance from it. One popular modification is to the motorbike’s exhaust – many performance enhancing exhaust systems are available for a variety of motorbikes these days, the exhaust system helping expel the burnt fuel from the engine more efficiently. However, a modification such as this is likely to lead to your insurer requiring you to pay a slightly larger premium to insure your now more powerful motorbike.
Other performance enhancing modifications include enlarging the engine capacity by more than 5%, modifications to the suspension and wheels, and fitting a nitrous oxide injection system. These are all highly likely to require a call to your bike insurance providers.
Another common theme seen amongst young riders who are still on their provisional CBT licence is to declare their bike as restricted to the required power limit of 13Bhp when in reality it isn’t restricted. This obviously means that the power of the bike is more than what the insurers are providing cover for, and more than that, there will be legal problems for the rider should they ever be found out.
However there are also modifications that can be made to your motorbike which do not need to be declared. These include such things as crash bars, crash mushrooms, upgraded braking systems and increases in engine capacity by no more than 5%.
Advice from motorbike insurance providers is to always check with your insurer before performing any alterations, just to be on the safe side and ensure you would still be able to afford your insurance premium.
The British Superbikes Championship have picked up a new title sponsor in the name of motorbike insurance company MCE Insurance, with the deal starting at Brands Hatch next week and running until the end of the 2012 BSB season. The deal is a great boost for the British Superbikes Championship, coming despite the current economic downturn.
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.
With the onset of the hot summer months, the major motorbike manufacturers are beginning to reveal their new models for the year. With so much competition now with top end sports bikes, there is little to separate the different makes and models other than cost and personal preference.
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 month of June saw a doubling in bike accident claims on the same month last year, according to specialist insurance broker Footman James.
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.
