Where do you want to see motorcycling heading?

**shrub** · 15th May 2010, 15:09

Thanks. You also need to consider the number of registrations relative to population and to car registrations.

**Headbanger** · 15th May 2010, 15:15

Originally Posted by peasea

http://www.nzta.govt.nz/resources/mo.../docs/2008.pdf

It looks like the motorcycle industry is in pain.

table 37, I assume is a tally of all currently registered bikes rather then new registered in 2008.

Total bikes 106411 and 30000 mopeds.

I wonder whose got their bike running on cng?

**Katman** · 15th May 2010, 15:19

These days it's common for motorcyclists to own more than one bike.

**peasea** · 15th May 2010, 15:23

Originally Posted by Headbanger

table 37, I assume is a tally of all currently registered bikes rather then new registered in 2008.

Total bikes 106411 and 30000 mopeds.

I wonder whose got their bike running on cng?

Haha, missed that.
And 30 'other'. Wonder who's running on chicken shit?

There's even a moped on cng, but where can you get cng these days?

**Woodman** · 15th May 2010, 15:23

Originally Posted by shrub

Sadly for our sport he is in the minority -

Something that bugs me here..... motorcycling IMHO is not a sport.
If you are racing a motorcycle in a proper race or trials competition, then it is a sport, otherwise it is a pastime or leisure activity or an interest, not a sport.
Sport has winners and losers.
Again...My opinion.

**peasea** · 15th May 2010, 15:24

Originally Posted by Katman

These days it's common for motorcyclists to own more than one bike.

Or, conversely, none, legally speaking.

**peasea** · 15th May 2010, 15:24

Originally Posted by Woodman

Something that bugs me here..... motorcycling IMHO is not a sport.
If you are racing a motorcycle in a proper race or trials competition, then it is a sport, otherwise it is a pastime or leisure activity or an interest, not a sport.
Sport has winners and losers.
Again...My opinion.

It's a mode of transport as well as a leisure activity. I ride to work nearly every day.

**shrub** · 15th May 2010, 15:27

Originally Posted by Woodman

Something that bugs me here..... motorcycling IMHO is not a sport. .

Good call, I stand corrected. Sadly for our hobby/lifestyle/preferred mode of transport/religion he is in the minority.

**Woodman** · 15th May 2010, 15:34

Originally Posted by shrub

Good call, I stand corrected. Sadly for our hobby/lifestyle/preferred mode of transport/religion he is in the minority.

yea well maybe we should call it a sport to save typing time.

**Berries** · 15th May 2010, 16:41

Originally Posted by Katman

And the way I see it, from here motorcycling has a choice of two paths to take.

One will take motorcycling from strength to strength and encourage more motorcyclists, thereby providing us with a voice that will be listened to.

The other will continue taking us along the same downhill slope that we've been on for some time now.

Encouraging more motorcyclists may not have the immediate effects you are after. To begin with a rising number of motorbikes will mean a rising number of injured riders - you can't deny that it is an inherently unsafe mode of transport for a variety of reasons. Hypothetically, the number would at some point reach a critical mass where car drivers would be expecting bikes everywhere they see, and the number of car vs bike crashes would go down, but the number of single bike incidents would be proportional to the number of bikes. So more bikes, more crashes, more pressure from Wellington. That may be the fastest way to hurry up the demise of biking. Hypothetically speaking that is.

Originally Posted by peasea

It's a mode of transport as well as a leisure activity. I ride to work nearly every day.

Pissed me off when a speaker at the Dunedin ACC rally was quoted as saying it was a recreational activity as well. Maybe it is that now for a large number, but if we want it considered as a legitimate mode of transport (which personally I think it is) we need to steer it away from being viewed as a recreational and leisure pursuit otherwise it won't be taken seriously.

**Katman** · 15th May 2010, 16:44

Originally Posted by Berries

To begin with a rising number of motorbikes will mean a rising number of injured riders

Sorry, did I forget to mention that I'd also like to see motorcyclists stop riding in a manner that makes them an accident waiting to happen?

**Berries** · 15th May 2010, 16:59

I'd like to go to the moon but that ain't going to happen either.

**T.W.R** · 15th May 2010, 17:02

Originally Posted by Katman

I'm intrigued to know how my choice of motorcycle has any bearing on what I've said here.

Perhaps you can enlighten me.

You seem to keep going on about the image & attitude portrayed by motorcyclists in general as a bad image to the general population, yet your beloved old tank was the first mainstream bike from Japan to set the head down arse up generation of go-fast idiots upon the motoring public

Even the Totally Wired piece could be related to a delightful movie about the demise of John Belushi "Wired" & the Cocaine + Heroin cocktail that killed him

**Katman** · 15th May 2010, 17:17

Originally Posted by T.W.R

You seem to keep going on about the image & attitude portrayed by motorcyclists in general as a bad image to the general population, yet your beloved old tank was the first mainstream bike from Japan to set the head down arse up generation of go-fast idiots upon the motoring public

Even the Totally Wired piece could be related to a delightful movie about the demise of John Belushi "Wired" & the Cocaine + Heroin cocktail that killed him

And the GSXR1000 is the modern day equivalent but I don't recall ever saying "don't ever buy a GSXR1000 because they portray a bad image".

(And the Totally Wired thing is actually a song by The Fall. Yes, still drug related but hey, I'm clean officer).