The older generation tend to have more disposable income in recent years, as salaries increase or children leave home. This means they are often free to purchase their dream motorcycle such as a Triumph or Harley Davidson, or spend money on those motorcycle lessons they always wanted.

However when it comes to motorbike insurance, older riders will likely come across the same problems as all other riders, and that is finding a cheap insurance quote. The problem stems from the fact that insurance providers see bikers as a greater insurance risk than other vehicle drivers, and unfortunately traffic accident statistics back this up. While motorcyclists make up just one percent of all UK road traffic, they are involved in almost a fifth of road user deaths.

Older motorcyclists will have one obvious advantage over younger riders in that their age will normally mean greater road experience and less chance of making dangerous decisions than younger riders. This is evidenced by the fact that older riders tend to ride more conservative bikes like touring motorcycles rather than sports bikes, further showing they are less likely to turn into ’speed freaks’.

There are other ways mature motorcyclists can reduce their motorbike insurance premiums. Simple things like keeping the bike in your garage will help reduce insurance costs. If you don’t have a garage, it may still be financially beneficial to rent garage space for your motorbike. Failing that, investing in approved locking and alarm devices to beef up your bike’s security will certainly help. Basically, anything that will reduce the risk of a claim to the insurance provider is likely to reduce the bike insurance premium.

Another way of reducing insurance costs for older riders would be to accept a higher level of voluntary excess. This is the amount of money you would be prepared to pay out of your own pocket towards any potential motorcycle insurance claim. This would show the insurance provider that a claim will cost them less to cover and so would likely reduce the premium you need to pay.

The level of cover required will obviously also play a big part in the amount paid. The usual three options apply – fully comprehensive, third party fire and theft (TPFT), or third party only.

As ever with any motorbike insurance search, make sure to look at as many comparison sites and get as many quotes as possible to ensure you find the best possible deal. With some insurance companies specialising bike insurance for the over 50s, there’s a good chance you will find a great deal out there.

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.

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 easy-to-use service allows bike enthusiasts to compare motorbike insurance online from all the leading providers, including Bennetts, eBike, MCE and more.

Compare The Market has proved particularly popular and is one of the main insurance comparison websites in the UK, in many cases saving consumers hundreds of pounds.