New Riders

[popsky]

Following on from the debate over the average age of us lot and youngsters joining our ranks in this months Ride magazine Page 7 May 17 issue a short article

"Training schools report a huge increase in the number of people taking A2 courses. The cost of taking a car driving test, then running a car, is rising for 19-23 year olds, while the growing number of A2 friendly 46.6 BHP bikes on affordable PCP deals is also helping to tempt younger riders"

Sounds good to me, if even a small percentage take up motorcycling then we could be in for a bit of a renaissance period.
There seems to me a multitude of bikes here in my neck of the woods, I can't remember ever seeing so many bikes out and about. We have a bike night on Wednesday in the summer in Minehead and there is usually in excess of 100 bikes, all sorts attend so let's hope that this situation continues.

[slparry]

I get very frustrated with BMW UK for not advertising the New Rider deal they've got running in the press etc.

http://www.bmwmotorradfinancialservices ... ider-offer

Basically for £500 the new rider gets £1300 of training and test, £1400 of BMW helmet, jacket, trousers, gloves, boots and then £199 a month for an F800R (other bikes available on the deal)

There's a BMW training centre in the south and in the north. The one nearest us is the one in Stoke.

[popsky]

I get very frustrated with BMW UK for not advertising the New Rider deal they've got running in the press etc.

http://www.bmwmotorradfinancialservices ... ider-offer

Basically for £500 the new rider gets £1300 of training and test, £1400 of BMW helmet, jacket, trousers, gloves, boots and then £199 a month for an F800R (other bikes available on the deal)

There's a BMW training centre in the south and in the north. The one nearest us is the one in Stoke.

Can I have that deal m8, I'm a new rider

[fontana]

"Training schools report a huge increase in the number of people taking A2 courses

Are you sure.

http://www.visordown.com/news/general/d ... -continues

This article is a couple of years old, so perhaps you could provide some more up to date evidence to support your claim.

If there has been an increase nationwide, I certainly don't think it's been huge

[popsky]

That was a direct quote from Ride magazine, I have no way of substantiating that and I don't need to provide evidence to you, but at least it's up to date according to the mag and not out of date by nearly two and a half years

[slparry]

I get very frustrated with BMW UK for not advertising the New Rider deal they've got running in the press etc.

http://www.bmwmotorradfinancialservices ... ider-offer

Basically for £500 the new rider gets £1300 of training and test, £1400 of BMW helmet, jacket, trousers, gloves, boots and then £199 a month for an F800R (other bikes available on the deal)

There's a BMW training centre in the south and in the north. The one nearest us is the one in Stoke.

Can I have that deal m8, I'm a new rider

I know, I've seen you ride, hells teeth tried to lose you in Aberdyfi once but you found us again ........ snigger .... excuse me I'm nissed

[tanneman]

Nearest one to me is near Royston.

[fontana]

It's a difficult thing to quantify.
Out of 20 young riders qualifying for the test, what percentage will carry on with it all their adult life do you think.
I've seen a good example on my road.
There was a group of five young lads who regularly met up here on their 125's.
That went on for under two years.
They're still here, but now they all drive hatchbacks.
This is a pattern that is very traditional in biking.
If they do eventually come back, they are what we call born again bikers.
I'll bet there's a few of those here.
I'm sure that there are plenty of people doing their tests, but I very much doubt that a significant number of them are young riders
I'm happy to be proven wrong.

[slparry]

According to here

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistic ... est-centre

It looks like the pass rates are going up tho' .... although the girls are letting the side down and it looks like there's around 50,000 new riders per year. Given the "obstacles" to passing the test (compared to when all us ancient riders started) it would be reasonable to think the new riders have a lot of commitment, which set them apart from a few kids on 50's and 125's who ride until they can afford a car. Maybe

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[kfrogzx7]

It's probably a good thing anyway , if there are more youngsters spending a couple of years going to work on scooters ( for economic reasons ), at least their road craft will be improved, and bike awareness will be instilled.
Unfortunately though society as a whole, and young people in particular, are getting "softer", and a warm hatchback with a sound system and your girlfriend sitting beside you texting is a much more appealing idea than a motorbike in the rain. This phenomenon is also evident in the types of jobs young people are willing to take these days, they expect so much more nowadays in terms of remuneration and employment. They'd rather be unemployed than they would be cold, wet and dirty ... thus none want to be farmers, builders or mechanics etc etc.
Parents also play a part, they are worried about their kids safety on the roads and are often willing to subsidise a first car, but not a first motorbike.
It's all a great shame because motorbikes are are a life enhancing and socially positive means of travel and road use.

[slparry]

It's probably a good thing anyway , if there are more youngsters spending a couple of years going to work on scooters ( for economic reasons ), at least their road craft will be improved, and bike awareness will be instilled.
Unfortunately though society as a whole, and young people in particular, are getting "softer", and a warm hatchback with a sound system and your girlfriend sitting beside you texting is a much more appealing idea than a motorbike in the rain. This phenomenon is also evident in the types of jobs young people are willing to take these days, they expect so much more nowadays in terms of remuneration and employment. They'd rather be unemployed than they would be cold, wet and dirty ... thus none want to be farmers, builders or mechanics etc etc.
Parents also play a part, they are worried about their kids safety on the roads and are often willing to subsidise a first car, but not a first motorbike.
It's all a great shame because motorbikes are are a life enhancing and socially positive means of travel and road use.

nods

[boxerscott]

It's probably a good thing anyway , if there are more youngsters spending a couple of years going to work on scooters ( for economic reasons ), at least their road craft will be improved, and bike awareness will be instilled.


It's all a great shame because motorbikes are are a life enhancing and socially positive means of travel and road use.

nods

Agreed. But most of all motorbikes are Rock `n ` Roll and sadly todays youngsters are weened on PaP new music that does not align itself to Hedonism and free spirit. It is not just an economic climate that is having an effect on decline it is also cultural.

I blame that lovable oaf Clarkson for the rise of the car era. Planting a dark seed in the minds of the young ones.

[fontana]

It looks like the pass rates are going up tho' .... although the girls are letting the side down and it looks like there's around 50,000 new riders per year. Given the "obstacles" to passing the test (compared to when all us ancient riders started) it would be reasonable to think the new riders have a lot of commitment, which set them apart from a few kids on 50's and 125's who ride until they can afford a car. Maybe

Clipboard01.jpg

Yes but this thread is about new riders.
Those figures are not an indicator of how many YOUNG riders are bothering to take their tests.
To reiterate what I said earlier

I'm sure that there are plenty of people doing their tests, but I very much doubt that a significant number of them are young riders
I'm happy to be proven wrong.

[slparry]

In the link I put earlier there's a spreadsheet showing age data for 16 to 25 year olds

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... sa1403.ods

if I added them up correctly it was 8237 passed in 2013 - 2014 for 16 to 25 year olds, so given there's around 50000 plus new riders per year almost 20% of them are 16 to 25 which seems reasonably healthy given the difficulty in passing the test nowadays

And as you say the thread is about new riders, nowt to do with age

[fontana]

Maybe it's me, but that link isn't showing me anything.
Could you copy and paste it ?
I found this quote from MAG.
Yes OK it's a couple of years old. but it's recent enough to be worrying.

Decline in young people taking the bike test - Working Group

From Oliver Rose, MAG National Clubs Officer: One thing at MAG we're obviously concerned about is the latest statistics from the department of transport that show the rate of young people taking up biking (based on test passes) is significantly down. As reported in July 2014 Government figures released last week show that in the year 2012-2013, 3,333 18-year-olds completed the practical motorcycle test while in 2013-2014 only 216 did.
This is something we'd love to see change, and one of the things we feel may be affecting the figures is the combination of tests required to get a full licence (the result of the EU Driving Licence Directives, and their implementation in the UK).
We're looking to put together an expert working group who can help us get to the bottom of this concern. We are looking for approved instructors and their employers who can assist us.
If you're in a position to help in anyway drop me an e-mail to oliver.rose@mag-uk.org
If it’s not for you but you know others that may be in a position to help, then share this and do your bit to help us get this disastrous legislation overturned to protect our way of life.