Are we seeing the decline of motorcycling in the UK?

[Wooderson]

Does anyone else have a niggling feeling that motorcycling in the U.K, as we know it, is on a slippery slope towards oblivion?

I not taking about conspiracies for wholesale banning motorbikes from the likes Brake!, but more that a number of external/passive factors are interplaying that are/will lower the number of riders on the road and make motorcycling less attractive and/or less viable for transport or leisure.

Off the top of my head these factor concern me!

• Decline in the number of riders on the road and it becoming an increasingly old man’s game. At one end of the age spectrum people aren’t training beyond CBTs, while at the other end the generations of riders brought up riding during the golden era (1950s to 1990s?) are getting on a bit/dying off!

• Towns and Cities have, or are looking to, ban or punitively tax older vehicles, including bikes, from entering city centres.

• Blanket 20mph and 50mph speed limits curtail the joy ‘making progress’ and beating congestion.

• Mainstream media seems to consciously ignore motorcycle sport or actively promote motorcycling as a viable transport option. On a related issue, the likes of Sweden’s rather dystopian ‘Vison Zero’ seems to have absolutely no place for motorcycles within a civilized society.

• Sharing the road with inattentive drivers – mainly using phones - is getting farcical!

• Bike theft – especially in London - is beyond farce. I hate that I can’t realistically hope to park on the streets a ‘nice’ bike – be it a Panigale, a Street Triple or a GS - without a serious doubt that it will still be there come home time. I don't want to commute on an old stter!

• Bloody dashcams meaning that even a cheeky wheelie could see you on trial by social media and the Daily Mail.

While I appreciate new bike registrations have increased year-on-year for the past 4 years or so, is this not a due to the huge popularity of ‘cheap’ PCP finance? The impact of this huge shift in how we ‘own’ and live with our motorbikes has yet to be felt, but it strikes me that this system of leasing new bikes for 2/3 years at a time is instilling a totally different mindset and attitude towards, for example, home mechanics and modifying.

While it isn’t all negative, I do think that new technology will be the savior of power two-wheel transport – be it driver-less cars that are better at looking out for bikers than humans or the development of electric motorbikes and E-bike push bikes that will get more people onto two wheels of some form.

Sorry for slight negatively, but I’m genuinely interested to hear where and what BB thinks we’ll be riding in 20 years’ time

Edited by Wooderson on Thursday 29th September 12:50

[Wooderson]

hebegb said:

Based upon (SAS)Tom's final sentence above.....YES !

[Wooderson]

Quite surprised to see that the pass rate for Mod 1 & 2 have increased since 2009. Anecdotally, my understanding was that test centres had weeds growing and riding schools were shutting up shop every week.

Stats for Mod 1 passes 2009 to 2016



Stats for Mod 2 passes 2009 to 2016

[Wooderson]

black-k1 said:

I am convinced that motorcycling in the UK (and the rest of the Western world) is in decline and has been since the 1970’s/early 80’s. While bike (and clothing, equipment etc.) sales are doing quite well at the moment, they’re nowhere near the sorts of numbers they were in the 70s and 80’s. Worst still is the number of people actually passing their test which is a fraction of what it was in the 70’s and 80’s. The amount of “new blood” coming into motorcycling is way down on what it needs to be for long term interest to remain.

Biking in the UK is being propped up by aging old farts like most of those on here, me included. When we all get too old to ride a motorcycle, the market and motorcycling as a whole, is going to crash through the floor. No pun intended.

The EU, and world position on motorcycling is clear: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/speciali...

With the “highlight” being In the World Report, the World Health Organisation and World Bank have advised that care should be taken to avoid the adoption of policies which could encourage the growth of motorized two-wheeler traffic by giving advantages to motorized two-wheeler users.

I don’t think motorcycling will die tomorrow, or next year, but I would be surprised if it’s still going strong in 25 years’ time.

That's exactly the sort of passive manipulation of policy and regulation that is going to kill motorcycling off. An example of not giving an advantage to motorized two-wheeled users is the clusterfk that is motorcycle access to London's bus lanes. Why-oh-why are local authorities allow to individually prescribe their own restrictions? It's frankly amazing that TFL and the Mayor ever signed off of increased access in the first place

[Wooderson]

Biker 1 said:

I ride up to 'The Smoke' on a Sunday morning maybe two or three times a year, just to see the sites. Takes about an hour to reach Westminster bridge. I can't understand why some bus lanes are open to motorcycles, & others are not. Signage can be patchy & there are cameras everywhere. Strange.

TFL have control over 'Red Routes' and are quite liberal about bike access to bus lanes, but the majority of London's roads are Local Authority controlled and each one has their own mandate for access and regulation. Its bonkers and infuriating - and if anything makes it more dangerous with dangerous weaves in and out when you realise a camera is about to get you.