Unfair Government Pressure

[ZXR4Life]

Hi all,

Seems all of these magazines are going on about the government trying to impose unfair regulations for motocyclists and i for one am really annoyed about it.

I have a mate down the pub who has access to ABI vehicle write off data for the whole of the UK. WOW, you say, but i plied him with enough stella that he'd have a bash at getting me some form of stats as too what bike is most prone to write off. It didn't really come back with anything too conclusive, but he did notice that over 50% of written off bikes where 125cc or less.

I have it on very good authority (lets just say he met with Road Safety Minister) that there are plans afoot to hammer some more legislation onto the biking fraternity without really having a look at that statistic.

Surely this shows the substandard training that is given to a new motorcyclist. Fair enough seasoned riders go crazy and prang their machine and their bodies, but over 50%, come on, surely this points to something as the only people that ride bikes that size are city couriers and newbies.

Unfortunately there's also the problem of these bounced bikes appearing on the market, along with the stolen ones, so go check out my mates site if you want a motorbike history, as the dealer will sell anything unchecked but the insurance company will check anything that's been crashed.

http://ww.Vcheck.co.uk

Great site, think i'll hover for a while

Gordon

[technoboiler]

hiya gordon,,,,, would it be possible for you to introduce yourself ?

[Abb]

Hi, I'm Gordon the Lamo Spammer who is using this site to push my business cos I am too fucking tight to advertise properly.

[Jay]

Hi, I'm Gordon the Lamo Spammer who is using this site to push my business cos I am too fucking tight to advertise properly.

Huh, 2 Gordons, whats the chances of the eh?

[minxy]

The link doesnt even work! :o

[Strider]

Possibly cos he has forgotten a "w" and as I am a skinflint, you have to pay, bollocks to that !!!

[ZXR4Life]

Indeed i can introduce myself,

My name is Gordon and my wife says i'm an alcoholic. My ZXR 400 is sitting at the back of my house at the moment awaiting the day that i take it for it's MOT, loads of new bits, costin me a fortune, but hell, all worth it. Call me a spammer all you like, but i work for the GadgetShop and i certainly wouldn't punt their services.

The main reason i wrote this was after reading the nth article in Superbike magazine about the government getting ready to bring all sorts of legislation in, i found myself in the position that a mate of mine from the pub could actually query the stats for me. I then, recently, passed the stats onto Superbike magazine and was told that they had had a meeting with the Road Safety Minister and that they where somewhat annoyed (censored for abuse purposes) with the proposed plans for coming legislation. So i did what any concerned citizen would do and posted on a couple, in fact was going to post it on a couple of sites, got this far and just wrote on here.

I'm sure my mates business will do fine without me posting an ad on every forum i come across, it was just an information piece and as stated by Strider (hola), you do have to pay, so there it is, do what you will with the information and take, what you call spam, and shove it next to your eggs and reproduce a rather amusing Monty Python Sketch.

Other than that i'll cruise the forum, if that's ok, and if i have anything to say i'll say it and if i don't i'll just read and gain valuable information for my next tyrade on forums that need to be told about my mates business.

[Jonnyfp]

Can't see a problem with that..

welcome ZXR4for life.

could'nt access the link but would this be a type approval issue.

if so i believe our resident MAG official could tell you more. :)

[technoboiler]

well i CAN see a problem with someone posting a site that has to be payed for without warning the members of this,,,,,,and all that without even an introduction,,,,,thats just rude :(

[Jonnyfp]

Ah...i could'nt be arsed to put the 'w' in..

I'm sure ZXR4 would cut and paste for us so we can all see as it was important enough for him/her to start a thread about.

Course i'll take it all back if he don't.. :D


Hows you hun?

[kitkatman]

hello, the gadget shop ehhhh....i can never find my wifes gadgets in your shops :D

[Mitch]

Can't see a problem with that..

welcome ZXR4for life.

could'nt access the link but would this be a type approval issue.

if so i believe our resident MAG official could tell you more. :)

Which one? There' s at least three of us 'resident MAG officials' on here, plus who knows how many branch reps (hi FF!!)? :D

[ZXR4Life]

Well if i had have known about posting peoples links on the website i would have asked first, web etiquette ain't my string point. The link is pretty irrelevant as said before. The link has pretty much bugger all to do with the thread i posted as it is a vehicle checker and not a pay to see statistics thing and therefore for anyone who wants to use it or not, who cares, but i'll be the whippin boy for a while if ya like.

Like i say, t'was more the fact that there seems to be things in the post and the facts and figures, that my mate has crunched from government data, supports that there is a serious sub standard in the training offered to new riders, well CBT course. Problem is that the government will just blanket all motorcyclists as dangerous and legislate for us all.

So like i say, whip away, MODS remove the link, i'm just surprised that everyone concentrated on the link issue and not the issue put up for discussion. Hey ho

[Abb]

Ok, here we go.

It didn't really come back with anything too conclusive, but he did notice that over 50% of written off bikes where 125cc or less.

This could, as you suggest, be because new riders are crap, but could it not also have something to do with the cost of repairs? EG a new bike costing £1500 has a crash. It will cost £800 to repair. The insurance wrte it off as a grade 2 write off.

The more expensive the bike, the more likely it is to not cross the repair/write off threshold set by insurance companies.

Statistics can be misleading.

I have it on very good authority (lets just say he met with Road Safety Minister) that there are plans afoot to hammer some more legislation onto the biking fraternity without really having a look at that statistic.
I am sure MAG will oppose and consult on any new legislation aimed at curtailling our freedoms.

Surely this shows the substandard training that is given to a new motorcyclist.
It shows nothing of the sort. May I suggest before you make such a statement you provide accident data - let's see who was blame worthy in the majority of accidents.

Fair enough seasoned riders go crazy and prang their machine and their bodies, but over 50%, come on, surely this points to something as the only people that ride bikes that size are city couriers and newbies.

All city couriers I know ride 500's or bigger. I think you may find that plastic scooters are a large proportion of the problem - teenage twats on twist and go's.

Unfortunately there's also the problem of these bounced bikes appearing on the market, along with the stolen ones,

Depending on the write off category you can put a bike or car back on the road. Stolen bikes are a bigger problem again. One that has been looked at by MAG for a long time.

[Braces]

I would like to just say thanks for the link, im sure it may be of use to some of us. Dont be too harsh on these guys, they arn`t a bad bunch. Can you blame them for being a little suspicious of a stranger posting links without introducing himself, there are a lot of malicious spamers out there.
Anyway now that you are here welcome to the forum. Oh by the way im a Gordon too, and i bloody hate it, bloody parents. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Sir Ewok]

Welcome m8, you just came at the wrong time as we have had a case of 'Free Porn' sites that are full of trojans etc. So everybody was getting a bit paranoid about links with no intro.

Hang around and have a laugh, whinge or discussion, whichever takes your fancy.

By the way Ewokandtuck Trading Empire can beat Gadgetshop prices easily, We are at least twice as expensive ...... :rolleyes:

[ZXR4Life]

Just off the phone to pub chum and unfortunately he can only go so far with the figures as he's bound by a type of unofficial official secrets act, i.e. i'd have to pay to get that sort of info, no more stella for that c**t for a while.

I concede your point that the write off value to value ratio cost could be a factor, but the fact that that threshold has been crossed, points to enough of an accident for it to appear on the register in the first place and is more than just dropping it or rolling it on crash bungs for 50 or 60 feet. Guess it's something i'll never know for sure.

I know statistics can be misleading, but still believe that they show an underlying trend, some acknowledge the trend, some use the uncertainty of it to use it to debunk those on the side of light, pffff, swings and roundabouts i guess.

Again, based on the above statement i still think it points to a certain substandard of training given to new motorcyclists. I mean, you pay about 120 quid for the CBT, the equivalent of about 8 hours in a car. When i did my CBT (in Glasgow) i found that i was on the road for a total of 2 hours, so i was pretty surprised when they gave me the certificate. Even more susprised to see the guy that i was riding with pass after nearly falling off, stalling all over the place and generally not in very good control of the bike get his. Guess my view point is tainted by my experience, but again i see it as a trend.

I know a couple of couriers who bang around the city on wee Suzy 125 4 strokes, so again, experience tainted perhaps.

I know there are 5 categories, essentially 4 of them broken down into 2 grades of repair, but don't know the breakdown of write off data.

I'd be interested to find out more about these Stolen statistics as i might try to make this a hobby and try to get more figures to back up my arguments.

Thanks for the arguments

[ZXR4Life]

I didn't mean any disrespect to anyone, just felt wholly unwelcome, but hell i feel like that when i walk through the door at home so i'm pretty much used to it.

Well keep your prices nice and high as Gadgetshop is about to go out of business and i'm trying to source me a new job.

Thanks for the welcome, hope i can contribute

[r30]

hello if you want statistics try this site http://www.statistics.gov.uk/

[technoboiler]

did someone mention whipping boy,,,,,,,,,can i have one of those please :D :p ;)

[Wolfen]

did someone mention whipping boy,,,,,,,,,can i have one of those please :D :p ;)

Only the one, are you on a diet TB or just tired

[Jonnyfp]

In which case ZX welcome to the fold..

i'll have a newky b ta. :)

[Mitch]

I concede your point that the write off value to value ratio cost could be a factor, but the fact that that threshold has been crossed, points to enough of an accident for it to appear on the register in the first place and is more than just dropping it or rolling it on crash bungs for 50 or 60 feet. Guess it's something i'll never know for sure.
hmmm. Well if a bike going ten feet down the road on its side, sustaining slight damage (as in a scratch) to its exhaust pipe & shockers, as well as bent handlebars, a broken off engine cover and mirror (on an old GT750) can constitute a write-off, I must be missing something here.

Again, based on the above statement i still think it points to a certain substandard of training given to new motorcyclists. I mean, you pay about 120 quid for the CBT, the equivalent of about 8 hours in a car. When i did my CBT (in Glasgow) i found that i was on the road for a total of 2 hours, so i was pretty surprised when they gave me the certificate. Even more susprised to see the guy that i was riding with pass after nearly falling off, stalling all over the place and generally not in very good control of the bike get his. Guess my view point is tainted by my experience, but again i see it as a trend.
£120 for a CBT? I somehow don't think even the most stupidly expensive instructors in London would charge more than about £90 - I know the quality of instructors can vary. If they are under pressure to pass people (rushing them through the day, pushing them onto the road like a firm i used to work for), then a nice word may need to be had with the CBT department at the DSA in Nottingham