Kiwis prefer bikes over cars as fuel costs soar

[Bob]

New Zealanders responding to high petrol prices and a weak currency are turning to motorbikes according to the latest statistics from Land Transport New Zealand.

Motorbike sales rose for their 27th consecutive month, with sales for the first half of 2006 standing at 45 per cent ahead of the first half of 2005. In comparison, June car registrations were down 19.2 per cent on the previous year.

[avgas]

Hmmm last 6 months...... sold a motorbike (-1), sold a car (0), bought a motorbike (+1)....the maths....it works

[SARGE]

yup Bob .. im seeing that .. and its NOT just the GN250's and SJ50's .. selling heaps of gixxers and SV's

[N4CR]

yup Bob .. im seeing that .. and its NOT just the GN250's and SJ50's .. selling heaps of gixxers and SV's
No shit.. everyone keeps crashing the bloody things.

[Karma]

No shit.. everyone keeps crashing the bloody things.

Yeh, they should have a recycling station for them, drop off your crashed gixxer for a discount on the new one :D

[James Deuce]

Same here avgas.

For the record Bob, "they" aren't buying motorcycles, "they're" buying scooters. It wasn't until petrol went over $1.70/litre that "they" started riding them in bad weather either. Sarge can say what he wants but scooters are accounting for a large proportion of the two-wheeled registration figures.

Under 60cc figures
http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/statistics/motor-vehicle-registration/2005/table-21.html



Over 60cc Figures
http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/statistics/motor-vehicle-registration/2005/table-20.html

The scooter sector is going up in 100% chunks while the motorcycle sector is going up in 20% chunks

[SARGE]

No shit.. everyone keeps crashing the bloody things.



why do you think i sell Suzuki's and ride Yamaha's?

[Gremlin]

why do you think i sell Suzuki's and ride Yamaha's?
Because they're slower, hence not as dangerous for you??

Hell... no wonder you switched to selling suzukis... you could see the benefit of repeat customers. Have you started up something like, buy 5 in a month, get one free??

Not only are those cage muppets buying more scooters, they are crashing them more too (has been a news article hear as well I think), and guess what? Suddenly they are screaming about how slippery paint is.... no shit :weird:

Then again, if they survive, they may switch to bikes... which is good and bad as well :confused:

[BeakerRAT]

Yeah soon we'll have hordes of scooters zipping down the motorway, like in Malaysia.

:scooter: :scooter: :scooter: :scooter: :scooter: :scooter: :scooter: :scooter: :scooter: :scooter:

[Motu]

I don't see them out there.....At least not in the numbers we had in the last scooter craze in the late '80's early '90's,back then scooters were everywhere,everyone had one.We had one as a shop runabout were I worked,rather than use the thirsty Cruiser we jumped on the Nifty Fifty for local chores.

[SARGE]

Because they're slower, hence not as dangerous for you??


yea.. my bike is slow and has never been modified in any way..:blip: only runs on 3 cylinders..

thats what the rough idle is ... not a cam.. really..




Hell... no wonder you switched to selling suzukis... you could see the benefit of repeat customers. Have you started up something like, buy 5 in a month, get one free??


not good business man.. you know how many i'd be giving away?

[Finn]

Yes Bob. I usually see 5 motorbikes on my way to work each day. Today I saw 6.

[Motu]

I commute 85 km to work - I saw one bike today,who knows,tomorrow I might not see any at all.So where are all these bikes being sold?

[Biohazard]

So where are all these bikes being sold?

Sitting in garages waiting for the sun to come out and play i'd guess!

[Swoop]

Motorbike sales soar on fuel prices

Wednesday July 5, 2006
By James Ihaka and NZPA


Motorbike sales are rocketing as New Zealanders turn their backs on cars to combat the soaring cost of fuel.

Motorbike registrations rose for the 27th consecutive month in June, when 758 machines were sold. That figure is up by a third on sales at the same time last year.

And it is a 45 per cent increase in motorbike sales since January, compared with the first half of last year, Land Transport New Zealand figures show.

June car registrations are down 19.2 per cent on the same time last year.

Climbing fuel prices have been blamed on the rising cost of oil internationally. In June 2004, petrol cost about $1.20 a litre. A year later it was about $1.30 a litre. Yesterday the price was $1.70 a litre.

Mike O'Sullivan, of Mt Eden Motorcycles, said people were finding alternative transport options.

He said sales were "unbelievably out of control" as more "non-motorcyclists" bought scooters and motorbikes to combat crippling fuel prices.

"It's been three really good years of business and it's looking even better for the future.

"If a motorcycle dealer is not doing well, even though it's winter, they are doing something wrong."

High-performance and high-output motorcycles were the most popular among people with money to spend.

But others were being more frugal, buying smaller machines such as 50cc motor scooters.

Mr O'Sullivan said the lure of filling a scooter for between $6 and $10 was great when car owners had to spend close to $100 for a tankful.

"There's a big percentage out there buying scooters now," he said. "It's the frugal people who can't afford to fill their cars any more."

The Land Transport New Zealand figures also show car-buyers are increasingly opting for small vehicles.

These made up 40 per cent of cars sold in the first half of this year, compared with 30 per cent last year.

In the first six months of this year, 37,115 new cars were sold, compared with the 37,263 sold in the first half of last year.

Goldman Sachs JBWere economist Shamubeel Eaqub said the drop in registrations was a sign of economic weakness and belt-tightening, as the value of the New Zealand dollar had fallen 15 per cent this year.

But the Motor Trade Association said the sharp fall in car sales was not unexpected after booming sales last year and early this year.

"The drop in the value of the New Zealand dollar earlier in the year meant that car-buyers had looked to snap up lower-priced stocks before import costs rose," said the association's communications manager, Andy Cuming.

"Likewise, buyers choosing to downsize to smaller cars in the face of higher fuel costs had brought forward their buying decisions for maximum advantage."

Last year, registrations were buoyed by the strong domestic economy and lower car prices caused by the strong currency.

But slow car sales suggested the economy was struggling to grow, and Mr Eaqub said he was comfortable with his forecast of 1 per cent economic growth this year.

"While recent business surveys have been buoyed by improvement in export sector sentiment, the weakness in motor vehicle registrations is an important reminder of spreading weakness in the domestic economy and the household sector more generally."

[frogfeaturesFZR]

So why don't we get a better deal from LTSA & service organizations like the AA ?

[Ixion]

I commute 85 km to work - I saw one bike today,who knows,tomorrow I might not see any at all.So where are all these bikes being sold?

Go drive down Queen St or along Jervois Rd . You'll see heaps. People aren't buying them to ride 85km on main highwys, they're buying them to ride to work. (Yes I know your 85km is your commute to work, but we are talking the people who commute 5 or 10 km)

[Motu]

I also don't see many in my ''inner city fringe'' suburb (Mt Roskill) but it's industrial here,people are working for a living,not engaged in frivolous activities.So it must be an inner city thing - which makes perfect sense,if I lived and worked in there I'd ride a scooter too.

[Lou Girardin]

It's all good. And the best part is the slap in the face for the AA. Remember how they told everyone not to buy 'dangerous' bikes?

[Big Dave]

So why don't we get a better deal from LTSA & service organizations like the AA ?

Partly because we have no unified voice.
We are trying to fix that via BRONZ at the moment.

[James Deuce]

COuld you fix the BRONZ name while you're at it? I loathe the "Rights" part and all that it implies.

[Big Dave]

COuld you fix the BRONZ name while you're at it? I loathe the "Rights" part and all that it implies.


I don't think so - only because of so much that has already been done. And they have kicked some goals.

I think our rights is what the org should represent too. It's a political process - that's the issue.

I currently have a brief to submit a new logo. No guarantee it will be adopted.

explain 'loathe'?

[James Deuce]

"Rights" imply demanding our "due". We are owed nothing. Our very existence is a privilege. "Rights" are the last reserve of the mindless, ignorant reactionary.

[Lou Girardin]

"Rights" imply demanding our "due". We are owed nothing. Our very existence is a privilege. "Rights" are the last reserve of the mindless, ignorant reactionary.




The right to a fair trial.
The right to a jury of your peers.
The right to a fair days pay for a fair days work.
The right to practice the religeon of your choice.
Mindless unecessary stuff alright.

[James Deuce]

No one has rights under a Westminster Parliamentary system. You're confusing NZ's political system with the US again. Mind you they don't actually have the rights they used to either.

[steved]

No one has rights under a Westminster Parliamentary system. You're confusing NZ's political system with the US again. Mind you they don't actually have the rights they used to either.
Yes we have a Bill of Rights. Yes it is law. It even contains the word 'Rights' in it's title.

http://www.justice.govt.nz/pubs/other/pamphlets/bill_of_rights/bill_rights.pdf

[Karma]

I have a right.

but I tend to sleep on the left.

[James Deuce]

Yes we have a Bill of Rights. Yes it is law. It even contains the word 'Rights' in it's title.

http://www.justice.govt.nz/pubs/other/pamphlets/bill_of_rights/bill_rights.pdf

Unless you haven't noticed, it means squat. There are a bunch of laws that can be invoked in preference the the Bill of Rights that remove the rights if necessary.

Who invokes the Bill of Rights when they are breath tested without suspicion of wrong doing? When you are prevented from travelling from A to B because someone else is driving drunk somehwre? No-one because you can't. Your rights are superseded by another law.

A Constitution would fix that, but as can be seen in the US, even that can be conveniently side-stepped.

You have no rights in a Westminster Parliamentary system.

[steved]

Unless you haven't noticed, it means squat. There are a bunch of laws that can be invoked in preference the the Bill of Rights that remove the rights if necessary.

Who invokes the Bill of Rights when they are breath tested without suspicion of wrong doing? When you are prevented from travelling from A to B because someone else is driving drunk somehwre? No-one because you can't. Your rights are superseded by another law.

A Constitution would fix that, but as can be seen in the US, even that can be conveniently side-stepped.

You have no rights in a Westminster Parliamentary system.I suppose it depends on how much of a lawyer you want to be. In regards to the breath-testing thing, the Bill of Rights uses the words "You have the right not to be subjected to 'unreasonable search or seizure' and 'arbitary arrest or detention'". Do you think stopping people at alcohol checkpoints is a violation of this? Do you believe that it is an unreasonable seizure?

[James Deuce]

I suppose it depends on how much of a lawyer you want to be. In regards to the breath-testing thing, the Bill of Rights uses the words "You have the right not to be subjected to 'unreasonable search or seizure' and 'arbitary arrest or detention'". Do you think stopping people at alcohol checkpoints is a violation of this? Do you believe that it is an unreasonable seizure?

That's not thie issue. It always gets turned into a discussion about drunk driving, when the point I'm trying to make is NZ Politicians have no qualms or hesitation creating laws to sidestep other laws that may be inconvenient in implementing a policy.

How can we claim we have rights, when they can be removed at will by a collection of 120 people that most people on KB don't find to be representative?

My issue with the word "Rights" in the title of BRONZ is that it implies an attitude that Motorcyclists should be given special consideration over other road users. I don't like being associated with a Group that appears to want to impose its views on others. BRONZ didn't used to be representative of the "average" motorcyclist the last time I had anything to do with them in the early '90s, and given its moribund status in Wellington, I haven't seen a lot to indicate that that has changed.

Some of the things I have seen in Kiwi Rider over the last 12 months from BRONZ have been diametrically opposed to how I view myself as a motorcyclist, but BRONZ have the floor, so to speak, and getting involved in Wellington isn;t an option.

I am pleased that Big Dave and Ixion have stepped up though, because I KNOW them to be the sort of people I can trust to think before they speak an act.

[Lou Girardin]

No one has rights under a Westminster Parliamentary system. You're confusing NZ's political system with the US again. Mind you they don't actually have the rights they used to either.


I'm talking about common law rights and others that are included as simple human dignity.

[Lou Girardin]

I suppose it depends on how much of a lawyer you want to be. In regards to the breath-testing thing, the Bill of Rights uses the words "You have the right not to be subjected to 'unreasonable search or seizure' and 'arbitary arrest or detention'". Do you think stopping people at alcohol checkpoints is a violation of this? Do you believe that it is an unreasonable seizure?

The basic right infringed by breath/blood testing is the protection against self-incrimination.

[James Deuce]

I'm talking about common law rights and others that are included as simple human dignity.

In NZ? You must be joking.

[Lou Girardin]

In NZ? You must be joking.

Good point.

[marty]

you are entitled to refuse a breath/blood test though lou. it cannot be forced upon you.

but you know that.

[James Deuce]

If you want a free feed and a bed that smells like urine marty.

[Lou Girardin]

you are entitled to refuse a breath/blood test though lou. it cannot be forced upon you.

but you know that.

Yes, and you're charged with refusing. Kind of lose/lose situation really.
But I'm not arguing the rights or wrongs of the breath testing legislation. Just how easily basic rights are taken from us without a quibble.

[Gremlin]

Just how easily basic rights are taken from us without a quibble.
Give it a few years, and a couple more laws sneaking up on us, and it won't just be the basic rights...