I think we need a "Why won't my 50cc scooter to eleventy billion KPH?" sticky thread...

I'm sure your sentiments ring true with very many of us Gemma.


It is one thing to say the current system is not adequate - but can any of us (myself included) propose aworkable and cost effective solution?

Can anyone come up with a motorcycle training legislation system which is both effective in reducing the "crotch rocket" problem and also acceptable in terms of cost (both to the individual trainee and to the tax payer) - how much can it cost before someone has to say "Why don't we just let the bad ones die?"

Before the howls of outrage about the last phrase, please read this: I've worked in print for 42 years and much of it has been to do with Pharmaceutical research. I have seen many confidential items which show where a new drug has to be priced so that it will be able to get into the market - above that line society will decide you have to let people die.

 

Yep I think it reflects a change in culture, because growing up I had a brother who fiddled around with bikes and I picked stuff up. Then friends started to get peds and it was just a culture I was growing up in. We all knew of someone friend/neighbour/relative who had had a serious bike accident, so we knew it was dangerous. Add to that we had already spent almost a decade of our lives on pushbikes, starting of with going on the roads with parents or older brothers and sisters then mates before getting motorised.

I just wonder though if the accident figures are genuinely falling because bikers are getting safer (il.e. having less accidents per hours of riding), or it is more a case that is the unattractive test system full of restrictions which makes most people opt for the car route and ignore the two wheel option. That is bad for all, as it means less bikes on the road and drivers even less aware that we are out there. i.e. is the current 'fix' actually making the whole thing worse in reality?

I do though fully accept your point, having produced a 'Playstation Generation' 16 year old of my own. Good job he has parents that are prepared to go out with him until he gets some road sense and also to remind him to check his oil! Don't agree on restriction though, doing 30 around here in 40 limits just invites problems from local car drivers.

 

I agree; 40 MPH would have enabled riders to hold their own in urban traffic and stand some sort of chance on dual carriageways. 35 MPH is just stupid when you can legally take it onto an A road with a 40MPH limit, where a slower bike becomes an obstruction and a possible danger.

 

Sadly I don't think there is one. The current system can cost riders hundreds as it it is and there is no guarantee of a pass. I know one guys who failed because he did not signal whilst swerving to avoid a car that U-turned in front him! It's a lottery around here doing the test. Like they want the perfect ride before you can pass. I rarely have a 'perfect' ride. I always come home and think, 'I could have done that better' or 'was that the right decision I made' - I'm guessing that is why I've managed to be out there a long time now. It's more about ones attitude to riding than actual raw ability.

I can only really see it changing if two wheels became a cost effective and simpler alternative to cars/public transport and we get lots more bikes back out on the roads. It seems the government sussed this out decades ago and has slowly been legislating bikes off the road in a very underhand way in my opinion. Making sure it never will be.


Biking can never be safe. It's dangerous by nature as is flying, rally driving, many sports, the thing is to develop safety awareness, not just trying to make the problem go away by making the whole thing inaccessible to as many people as possible.

Perhaps a local 'buddy' system for new riders could be a way to go? Rather than paying for formal instructions, go out with local groups as we all know there is safety in numbers. Costs are already very high for instruction and the quality of it in my opinion is very variable.

 

We don't need to guess... we know

 

They come in seven-seater and LGV versions too (apparently)...

 

Back in 1977 as a 17 year old I was able to buy a Honda cb 200 stick L plates on and go! No experience at all. As I remember it could do 80ish. Biking was just a very short lived thing for me, they wanted something like £200 for an exhaust (boy did they rust) that put me right off I can tell you (nearly 2 months take home pay). One nipper went out and bought a Suzuki X7 I think it was 200cc over a ton top end! Got everything on good old h.p. Yep you guessed within a month the bike was no more and so was the nipper very nearly! It's gone from one extreme to the other. I only ride a Sym Symply 50cc which is de-restricted so I can keep up with traffic in the 2 stretches of 40mph road on the way to work. Restricted to 30 is in my opinion bloody dangerous and I think CBT has got to a good thing as so many youngsters have very little road sense! They don't get to ride miles on the trusty treaders anymore (mummy and daddy think its to dangerous). So there you go. Hey great they've got Top of The Pops on Yesterday channel from 1977 as I'm writing this. Oh my look at those flares!

 

30mph is way too slow top speed for a modern road environment they should all be able to do 40 IMO. Am I right in thinking you can legally deristrict a moped once you pass 17 yrs old?

 

Yes, you can, but you'll need to tell your insurance, so that you don't get stiffed for an undeclared derestriction if you need to make a claim.