This week sees the 3rd birthday of THE BIKER GUIDE being live on the great world wide web... and what a three years it has been!

We have seen an astonishing amount of visitors to the site, with over 370,000 in just the last 12 months and with 2,888 in a single day in September 2011.

Our visitors come from 180+ countries, looking at over a million pages and have found the web-site from us handing out cards at shows and events, through our large facebook groups, promoting via various printed media and also from over 13,500 keyword searches... WOW - even we are amazed at the response!

We include an extensive lists of Whats On, news, bike club links, along with an easy to use Directory - think yellow pages for Bikers.

We also run regular competitions where we have given away many tickets to shows, ladies t's, holidays at Biker Friendly Hotels and B&B's and more...

We would sincerely like to thank all those who have visited our website in the past 3 years, contributed, commented and generally appreciate the many hours we spend on the development of THE BIKER GUIDE.

Last year over a 100,000 motorcyclists, coordinated by the French riders group The Fédération Française des Motards en Colère (FFMC – French Federation of Angry Bikers), demonstrated in France against their government’s plans to introduce a raft of road safety policies.
 
The proposal to make the wearing of high visibility fluorescent vests mandatory and the introduction of fines for non-compliance seemed to be the main focus of the French demonstrations. This was reported on and commented on by riders in the UK and Ireland.
 
After the demonstration, (which saw piles of high viz vests burned in protest by riders), French Government Officials claimed that bikers had totally misunderstood the proposed obligation for all to wear a fluorescent high visibility yellow vest!
 
Officials stated that it has never been a question of wearing that vest but rather to propose (not impose) to bikers that they wear a little yellow strap around their arm so that they can be better seen by motorists.
 
However FFMC now report that a new decree (NOR: IOCA1126729D No. 2012-3) on road safety has entered into force.
 
It was published on January 3rd 2012 and entered into force on the 4th January (2012).
 
French Decree
 
The decree provides that drivers and passengers of motorized two-wheelers (2WD) of more than 125 cm3 from 1st January 2013 must wear a retro-reflecting device with a total surface area of at least 150 cm ².
 
If riders fails to comply with the law they will be subject to a fixed fine of €68 which automatically leads to the reduction of two points from their driver’s licence. There is no mention of what the passenger faces for non-compliance, perhaps just a fine?
 
FFMC say that, “bikers already have four retro-reflective stickers on the helmet and they ride with the headlights on. In addition, a retro-reflecting device is useless in daylight … We also know that the issue of visibility is not a problem of lighting or colours of clothing, but a problem of inattention of drivers inadequately trained to coexist with PTWs which is more and more prevalent. Finally, why are only bikers of than 125 cm3 included? They are the best equipped of all PTW users.”
 
This year the political elections are due in France and “noises” coming from FFMC suggests that they are not finished with this issue.
 
Right To Ride Comment
 
At Right To Ride we wonder if riders visiting France will have to wear a reflective device; where riders will be able to purchase these; how much these reflective devices will cost and who will make a huge profit from selling these to 3.5million registered PTWs in France (Powered Two Wheelers – Motorcycles – Scooters – Mopeds – 2009 ACEM).
 
Meanwhile in the Republic of Ireland, MAG Ireland has published interesting preliminary results of their survey on Hi Viz. These results suggest that riders are very aware of their own mortality and that the majority take necessary precautions.
 
Perhaps the French (and Irish) authorities should spend more time consulting riders instead of mandating ridiculous arm bands (or vests).
 
When a government starts interfering with the clothing of a minority group, there may be trouble ahead.
 
Read the full article on Right To Ride EU

The National Association For Bikers with a Disability (NABD) is in its twentieth year with a very proud record of helping around 10,000 disabled people to enjoy the freedom and independence of motorcycling.

Throughout this time we have remained dedicated to our belief that registered charities such as ours should not spend vast amounts of money on wages, expenses and fancy offices. To this end we have remained a voluntary organisation with only two employees (two lovely ladies who take care of the office and daily administration) and we have one of the least generous and most restrictive system of expense claims in the charity world. Our office and storage facility is small industrial unit on an industrial estate. The NABD is also one of those extremely rare charities that have guaranteed for twenty years that 100% of every donation has been used specifically for the purpose it was donated.
 
Unfortunately, like everybody else, the NABD has been hit hard by this current recession and now we need your support more than ever before.

Many bikers all over Britain get involved in raising money for a wide range of charities but most seem to support massively oversubscribed charities that already have millions of pounds in the bank like Children In Need, Comic Relief, Help For Heroes or Cancer Research. We all know that these charities provide much needed services and support for deserving people but the fact remains that they have vast resources and they enjoy huge support from all parts of society.
 
To give you an idea of what I'm talking about; on just one day in 2011, Children in Need raised more than £26 million in the UK. Comic Relief raised £74 million in 2011. Cancer Research raised an almost unbelievable £433 million in 2010 and each of these charities gets huge support from within the motorcycle scene.
 
The NABD has to rely purely on support from within the motorcycle scene and although this support has previously enabled us to become the world leaders in the field of motorcycling for disabled people and this in turn has given us the ability to develop new and better solutions to the problems faced by disabled motorcyclists, we have recently seen a marked fall-off in support from motorcyclists and motorcycle groups. And we do not need millions; in fact the best financial year in our history featured total donations of little over £68,000.
 
One of the most important aspects of the services offered by the NABD is our system for making financial grants to help disabled riders to pay for the necessary adaptations to bikes, trikes and sidecar outfits. Now for the first time since 1999 we have been forced by the current financial situation to suspend this grants system due to lack of funds.
 
It is our fervent hope that this awful situation is a temporary one, but without a marked resurgence in support from within the motorcycle scene this much needed service, and others, will not be available to those fellow bikers who need it so much if they are to regain their freedom and independence through motorcycling.
 
Please don't leap to the incorrect conclusion that the NABD is in danger of disappearing, this is not the case and nor will it be the case in the foreseeable future. However, in the current economic climate, more people than ever are requesting our help and we have already paid or agreed to over £74,000 worth of grants in the 8 months of this financial year. To put that into perspective, our previous record in one entire year was just over £70,000. Whilst we can afford to pay for these, we cannot, at the present time, agree to any more. We simply don’t have the money.
 
The NABD needs your support now. If your club is having a party, why not make it a fund-raiser for the NABD? Why not ask your local bikers pub to run a raffle or a party to raise funds for the NABD? Or you could simply become a member of the NABD for £20 (you don't have to be disabled to join and support our aims). You can buy NABD supporters patches and other NABD merchandise via the shop on www.nabd.org.uk we also have You've Been Nabbed 21 rally tickets for sale via the web site or by calling 0844 415 4849

Please help the NABD in its hour of need, it's the biker’s charity and bikers are the only people who make it all work.
 
Donations can be sent to: NABD, Unit 20, The Bridgewater Centre, Robson Avenue, Urmston, Manchester, M40 7TE or you can donate on line www.nabd.org.uk or by phone 0844 415 4849
 
The NABD, is a biker's charity run by bikers for bikers with disabilities and it needs your help now...
 
Rick Hulse
NABD Chairman

Everything is ready for Dakar 2012. After the two days of scrutineerings, all is set for the big start in January 1st. Team Aprilia will be represented by the Chilean rider Francisco “Chaleco” López and the French-Malian Alain Duclos.

MAR DEL PLATA – The bureaucracy preceding the race is finally over and everything is set for the big show of the Dakar Argentina-Chile-Peru, which will start tomorrow with the first of fourteen stages. Team Aprilia will relive the adventure with last year´s amazing performance of Francisco “Chaleco” López, who has finished third and fourth in the last two editions.

“Chaleco” has totally recovered from the accident in Tunisia´s Rally and find himself motivated to face this new adventure. The Chilean rider will be accompanied by his “bodyguard” Alain Duclos, who will participate in the Dakar with Aprilia for the second time after his outstanding performance as last year´s fastest private rider!

The duo will take the new version of the Aprilia RXV 4.5 into the South American deserts specially prepared by Aprilia Racing that made this new bike faster and lighter. Many other technical changes were applied to adapt the bike for rally raid use, most of all concerning reliability, a very important matter in order to complete the 8391 kilometers of the race that will cross Argentina, Chile and Peru, where riders will reach the finish line in Lima next January 15th.

There will be also two other Aprilia RXV in the race, supported by the structure of Team Giofil: the French rider of thirty seven years old Arnaud Besnier that jumps into this extreme challenge, and also Edouard Boulanger, Dakar Challenge´s winner who will make his dream come true. The French rider living in Italy earned the free registration fees to participate in the Dakar after his great performance as private rider in Pharaons Rally 2011.

Tomorrow the Dakar 2012 will have its official start ceremony in Plaza Colón in Mar del Plata, in front of the Casino Municipal, where all competitors will greet the start and the first competitive stage will be a 57 km timed section with 763 of road connection to arrive to the first bivouac located in Santa Rosa de La Pampa.

APRILIA RACING RIDERS

FRANCISCO “CHALECO” LOPEZ

Francisco López was born September 15th, 1975 in Curicó, the southern center region of Chile. At the age of four, he starts riding a motorcycle, motivated by his father, Renato Lopez, a very brave motocross rider. López not only inherits the talent from his father, but also the nickname “Chaleco”, which means “sweater”, coming from the fact that his dad raced with a sweater knitted by his mother Ana María.

He started in rally raid in Por las Pampas in 2005, where he obtained a stage victory, showing its strength in this discipline. In 2007, he was crowned World Champion in 450 cc class with Honda. This result took him straight to take the place of an official KTM rider in 2007.

“Chaleco” became an official rider of Team Giofil Aprilia Racing in Pharaons Rally 2009 and took the Aprilia bike made in Noale, Italy, to the third place in Dakar 2010. That same year, López won the Rally of Tunisia and took the second place overall and first in 450cc class in the Rally of Egypt, finishing second in the world ranking.

The unfortunate end of Dakar 2011 is still in mind. López was on the third place overall, but some miles before the finish line of the last stage the rear suspension broke down and he could only reach the fourth place after two stage victories. Then, in Tunisia´s Rally last April, the Chilean was well placed overall when an accident cost him a long period of inactivity and time to recover from it.

Now, Chaleco is ready to race again, motivated to the highest point after his return to the races in Pharaons 2011 last October, his last test before the Dakar 2012 Argentina-Chile-Peru.

ALAIN DUCLOS

Alain Duclos was born on June 25th, 1971 in Bamako, Mali, from a French father and Malian mother. At the beginning of the 80´s, and as part of a very passionate family, he discovered the two wheel universe but he was still too young, so he decided to dedicate himself to BMX.

In 1982, the Dakar´s passage through Korghoro light the fire inside of him and he promised himself that he was going to participate on it once.

He practiced Enduro for years until he finally took part of the race in 2000, in the Dakar Paris-Dakar-Cairo. Duclos has always been improving results, he took the 14th place in 2005 and 7th in 2006, where he was the fastest private rider.

Also 6th in 2010, before starting with Team Aprilia, he alternated great stage results and technical problems during the last Dakar, where he was an outstanding support for the 4th position of Francisco López. Duclos arrives to the hardest race in the world highly motivated to take his new Aprilia RXV 4.5 to the top.

If you are looking to purchase a quad bike or already have one ready to take out, it is important to make sure that you have appropriate quad bike insurance from a provider such as MCE Insurance. There are many different levels of cover available, so seeking out insurance from such a reputable specialist provider will help to ensure that you have an appropriate level of cover for your activities. The quad bike insurance cover that you need depends on how you will be using your quad bike, so it is important to know the different options that are available to you.

What Are You Planning to Use Your Quad Bike For?

Before you seek out quad bike insurance, think about how you are likely to use your quad bike. With so many options and levels of cover available you need to consider your own circumstances. For example, will you use your quad bike on road? Do you plan on travelling abroad? Do you need cover for more than one rider? Answering these questions will help you avoid paying for extras that you don't need while staying covered for the activities you will be undertaking.

What Are the Basic Elements of Quad Bike Insurance?

Typically, the options available to you for quad bike insurance include off road cover, on road cover, options for multiple riders, and cover for accessories. You will almost always want off road cover - after all, that is what a quad bike is for! However, don't discount the benefits of on road cover. Will you ever need to ride on road in order to get to your destination? You may want to take advantage of a policy that offers a certain distance of 'commuting cover' within a defined area around your home.

Extra Cover for Businesses

If you are using your quad bike as part of a business you may also wish to obtain extra elements of cover as well. Such elements could include public liability cover, employers' liability cover and legal expenses cover.

What About Extra Cover for Sporting Events?

Liability insurance is not only needed if you run a business. Liability insurance covers you in the event that your actions cause an injury to another person. If you wish to take part in sporting events with your quad bike, the organisers will likely require you to have liability cover in case you injure spectators or other attendees.

Do You Need European Cover?

A standard policy will likely not cover you for using your quad bike overseas. You may wish to take parts in European events or just bring your quad bike with you on holiday for some fun on the continent. If this is the case you will need European cover. Typically, this extra cover is offered for a certain number of days from your preferred start date. Make sure that your policy will gives the level of cover that you require, and extend your cover if your trip runs over.

Get a free quote here...