Re: New Riders and Big Bikes?
 

In France all bikes are restricted to approx 100bhp, so the likes of 600 Fazers and Hornets and large adventure bikes are very popular. Bikes such as the gixxer thou exist, but are supposed to be restricted so are much less popular than here.

Re: New Riders and Big Bikes?
 

Yes, we'd noticed on our trips to France that big adventure-type bikes were very popular. We've seen more Africa Twins and Tigers in France than anywhere else.

Re: New Riders and Big Bikes?
 

Interesting with France.

My former boss, whilst French and lives in Paris, Belfort and Grass. Has a Scottish wife (poor lass marrying a frog). He bought his 996 one warm afternoon when we skived out the office and down to the local bike shop for a quick look round.

He had it registered to his wifes family home in her name. I had the fun of collecting it and riding it down to Dover, where they met me to take the bike. There was no way he would buy a French spec bike as (his words) "They all have there balls cut off"

Re: New Riders and Big Bikes?
 

Everyone 'unrestricts' them....if you see a sportsbike its probably over 100BHP.

Its only a problem if the stromphe's catch you doing high speeds, or behavng especially naughtily. Thats my experience anyway......

Re: New Riders and Big Bikes?
 

whilst doing my iam observing I took an older guy out. he had had bikes as a young guy and gave them up when wife and kids came along. he read loads of magazines and decided to buy an R6. never even sat on a bike for 20 years. anyway he picked up bike and was sitting at traffic lights just outside garage. chavs pulled up next to him and he thought ill show them. lights changed he grabbed a handful and bike went straight up in the air, landing on him and breaking his pelvis. a year later he was back on bike and at iam. he was very cautious and decided a few weeks later that he was not enjoying it and gave up biking. But it is not right that anyway else decides what size of bike he can and cannot buy. training is the answer not prohibition

Re: New Riders and Big Bikes?
 

Training is a nice ideal, but given the reason that the guy broke his pelvis in the first place was a bad attitude, so you think that if he hadn't broken his pelvis he'd have been anywhere near the IAM?

Lucky for him the chavs arrived at stationary trafic lights really, they did him a favour. What if he'd decided to "show them" when they overtook him thrashing their GTI down a country road at 80mph?

Training's great, but a lot of guys who buy fireblades after DAS have a cavalier attitude, already think they are the best car driver on the planet, and IAM is nowhere on the radar and no-one will convince them otherwise.

I mentioned earlier the nut job at work (he's a customer but I'm a consultant and spend a lot of time working at thier offices) who wants to pas DAS and buy a fireblade. No way his mega ego would have him waste his time in McDonalds car park on a Wednesday night when the gixxer superhero mates who are pushing him to get a bike (you know the type who ride to the Carbeth Inn at 140 mph and pull a massive stoppie into the car park) say the instructors all have beards and an R1100RT.

I'm not saying prohibition is necessarily the answer. Another customer has been riding a XR125 since last summer and commutes on it every day, he used to cycle to work through Edinburgh traffic so it's not a huge change for him. He now wants to pass his test on the 125 and asked me what bikes he could get with 33BHP. He says that he doesn't think he has the experience so a two year restriction is not a bad thing anyway. Knowing he's sensible I advised him to go and pass DAS and then buy a 500 if thats what he's confortable with, then after a year if he wants something bigger he won't have the restriction on his license.

Perhaps tying training into legislation is a sensible answer. For instance, leave the existing 33bhp rule in place, allow over 21's to pass DAS and ride up to say 85 bhp for two years, unless they pass IAM or ROSPA within that time period at which point they can ride what they like. You could then join IAM immediately after passing your test and within 6 months be riding a fireblade if thats what you want.

It would allow sensible riders to buy a fireblade and make sure the mega ego nut jobs have had some training and a good dose of awareness talks.

Re: New Riders and Big Bikes?
 

Nope totally disagree with anything that limits personal freedom.

Its up to ME to chose what bike I want to ride, what I wear when doing it.

Re: New Riders and Big Bikes?
 

I would have said this is better than what the DVLA are proposing to introduce to dissuade people from riding all together!

Re: New Riders and Big Bikes?
 

Plus one on that. My licence says I can ride what I want. Why change it.

Re: New Riders and Big Bikes?
 

Yup, laws are changing to make it ridiculously hard to ride a bike legally.

Only 2 test centers in all of yorkshire when the latest batch of bull$hit arrives in a few months.