There has never been a better time for companies to add bikes and scooters onto their vehicle fleet or incorporate them into their business...

An economic survey carried out for the MCI found that motorcycle support services, that includes leasing, publishing, insurance, couriers and training contributes £940 million in Gross Added Value to the UK economy. (1)

The medical profession is a field that has seen the many financial and social benefits of using bikes. The 'blood runners' who offer their services free of charge to the National Health Service have carried out 16,000 runs since their inception , saving lives across the UK. Providing an all -year round service they typically respond to around 2,000 calls per year saving the Health Service on average £300,000.  

The hire and leasing sector has an important role to play  as analysis suggests that this sub-sector has an annual turnover of around £38 million, just over half of which is estimated to be GVA (£20 million).

The motorcycle hire sector comprises the hire and lease of motorcycles for business or recreational purposes.  The lease and contract hire sector provides motorcycle rentals for business use and fleet lease management services.  Motorcycle leases are popular with many businesses as the rental is tax deductible and provides employees with a mode of transport that is cheap to run, is less affected by congestion and can avoid congestion charges.

The motorcycle courier industry has an annual turnover of  almost £800 million with added value of over half of that at £480 million providing employment for 20,000 people.  It is also estimated to provide a tax contribution of almost £200 million.

Motorcycle couriers provide a valuable service transporting items that require urgent, safe or discreet delivery.  They typically provide a same-day delivery service, or even quicker for source and destination locations within the same city.

There are currently around 100,000 people involved in courier work in the UK, 20,000 of which are estimated to be motorcycle couriers .  Motorcycle couriers are concentrated around heavily congested urban areas, where motorcycles offer customers a rapid and low cost courier solution relative to other modes of transport. 

Steve Kenward, the MCI's CEO commented, " Economic and practical factors mean that including a bike into modern business is a sensible option. As businesses have an increasing need to move items and people around quickly and safely a bike or scooter makes sense. Services such as motorcycle taxis in cities have lots of potential and organizations dealing with emergencies would benefit from deploying motorcycles. People from plumbers to the emergency services are seeing the value of motorcycles and we expect this to grow in the coming years."

With so much talk about disrupted flights, deficits and difficult times ahead, road safety officers are expecting many more people to take a ‘staycation’ this year. This will undoubtedly mean more people driving long distances, but a particular concern is for motorcycle riders who will load their bikes with pillion passengers and luggage, to ride to holiday destinations as far afield as Cornwall and Scotland.

Warwickshire’s Road Safety Unit is expecting to see increased numbers of motorcycle tourers travelling from – and through – the county during June, July and August, as Road Safety Officer Stephen Rumble explains; “Many local motorcycle riders will pack up and head for popular UK holiday destinations, as well as big motorcycling events such as the Isle of Man TT races, European rounds of Moto GP races and Superbike championships. Most probably don’t travel with a fully laden machine for 95% of the year and don’t regularly ride long distances, so a few hints and tips would help for safer long distance travels. Now is probably the best time to take a day off and polish up your riding skills. A perfect solution is offered by the county councils’ own ‘Take Control’ scheme; which includes a dedicated one-day assessment for full licence holders at a subsidised rate of just £30“.     

Information about the free and subsidised Take Control scheme for motorcyclists who live in, or travel through Warwickshire, can be found at www.takecontroltraining.co.uk Bookings can also be made seven days a week by calling 0845 370 91 91.

 

In accepting the cheque Rick said that "When people start up in business they have a lot of things on their minds and goals they have in place. In the first year of business for THE BIKER GUIDE, they have donated this cheque, as NABD is important to them".

Sharon Rollisson-Slaughter, from THE BIKER GUIDE, talked about how she had a crazy idea a long time ago to produce a Calendar in the style of the Calendar Girls, with Bikers included and how she was glad the calendar was not 'Scratch and Sniff'!

The main ethos whilst producing the Calendar was "Its all about the comedy value" and one particular comedy moment was when briefing the Royal British Legion Riders Branch group to how we would take the photograph, she said "We will position the Bikes and then you can strip down to your underwear", where she was greeted with blank stares and mumblings of "I thought it was naked and I have nothing on underneath". As Sharon composed herself and to avoid 'eye contact' with the baby Bikers (!) she tried to change the subject and mentioned that "Is it true that the RBLRB were larger down South than up North".

The calendar featured Motorcycle Clubs from around the UK, with volunteers virtually naked and carefully posed with their bikes, to avoid any embarrassment or envy and artfully taken in black and white.

During the summer months of 2009, the photographs were taken of various Motorcycle Clubs across the UK, including members of NABD, The Royal British Legion Riders Branch, Northern Harley Club, Jesters MCC, FELP, The Wrecking Crew, Unwanted MCC, Royal Oak Rejects, Salutation MCC and Bristol & Avon Roadrunners MCC. All in all, 121 Bikers in various forms of undress took part.

A big thank you goes to all those who took part and dared to bare, everyone who bought the calendar, all those who helped with the promoting and NABD for supporting this idea.

In association with THE BIKER GUIDE website (www.thebikerguide.co.uk ) they are now looking for Motorcycle Clubs who wish to take part in the 2011 Calendar.

The 50^th Anniversary bmf Show saw sun, smiles and bikers in their thousands turn out over the weekend for one of the best bmf shows of the century!

As Europe’s largest outdoors motorcycle show, the bmf show is the traditional season-opener for thousands of motorcyclists and this year certainly did not disappoint.

The bmf’s new event organisers the Mulberry group were determined to pull out all the stops to make this a show to remember and they succeeded big time. With an improved layout, more manufacturers and top-line traders plus fantastic sunny weather, it’s no wonder that over 60,000 people were smiling over the show weekend!

Advance ticket sales had been down on last year, but with the forecast good weather people turned up on the day and formed massive queues, so much so that for the first time ever, tickets ran out and the bmf show found itself with ticket touts! However, the organisers soon resolved that and showgoers gained admission without paying a premium!

With the official presence of BMW, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Triumph, Norton, Victory, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, plus Ducati, there were plenty of new bikes to look at and test rides to be had on BMW, Suzuki and Kawasaki.

Norton were there for the first time and Norton Sales Manager and top BSB racer Chris Walker, having sold four of the stunning new Nortons over the weekend, was well pleased commenting that “the bmf show has everything going for it with good organisation, a good crowd and good security. It’s a great place to be and to be seen,” he said.

On the other hand a regular exhibitor for the past seven years, Richard Spies of Victory Motorcycles, was also well pleased with the weekend. With a prime corner position in the newly defined manufacturer’s area Richard said it had been a “great show with a great crowd.”

BMW, currently riding high in the sales charts was similarly pleased with the weekend. “The bmf show is good for us with plenty of serious enquiries from serious enthusiasts” said BMW Marketing Manager Tony Jakeman.

On a completely different level, thousands come to the bmf show on a shopping expedition to buy their kit for the new season so smaller traders too reported brisk business. Chris Hawley of Baglux, a regular for the past 25 years and just one of the 300 traders on site, said that business had been good and that “there was a buzz about the place again that had been missing in recent years”  while Paul Burdass from Fat Skeleton said: “We’ve had our busiest Peterborough bmf ever in terms of revenue, reversing the general trend we've seen at both indoor & outdoor events over the past year.”

Someone really happy was Norman Ford, the winner of the bmf’s Win-A-Bike/Choose-A-Bike prize draw. Stunned that he had won, Norman is yet to choose which bike he wants to take home from either a Yamaha XVS1300 ‘Midnight Star’, a Suzuki GSXR600 or a Honda CB1000R.

Another winner on the day was David Light who having joined the bmf over the weekend, found that he was also the lucky winner of a Giacomo Agostini replica helmet in the bmf’s special membership promotion.

The stunning weather also made the perfect back-drop to two action-packed days of arena activities featuring Jason Smyth – The Adrenalin Tour, The Stanage International stunt display team and of course, old favourites the madness that is Moped Enduro and the thrills of Short Track racing.

On Saturday 19th June, the "No To Bike Parking Tax Campaign" has organised the first bike rally to make a complete circuit of the M25 - the Great Lap of London, departing at Noon from Ace Cafe and returning at 5pm, to pick up smaller bikes, L-plated bikes and scooters, for a further rally into the heart of London.