The steady decline of motorcycling in Ireland...

Tomohawk

This graph is CSO figures for "Motor Vehicles Licensed for the First Time" in the category "New Motor Cycles". CSO doesn't offer a breakdown by type or CC, just headline numbers.

7ofBrian

An all because Gay Byrne has made it too expensive to get into biking :mad:

galwaytt

..jeebus that's depressing.

What about imports though, I wonder how many of them, to see the market 'in toto'. Maybe it's just new bikes sales that are off the cliff ?

MonstaMash

New legislation re., compulsory IBT, the present financial state of the country, VRT & basically a 20%+ mark-up on motorcycles compared to what you would pay for the same make & model in the US, outrageous insurance quotes etc...doesn't exactly encourage a young man/lady to get into the scene unless they have already been introduced to it by a parent/peer

Let's face it guys & gals...we're a dying breed :eek: :mad:

CJhaughey

Hasn't the policy of getting people off bikes worked?
Make it hard, expensive and complicated compared with car driving and look at what happens.
Any sign of learner drivers on 4 wheels having a power/weight limit?
A licensed novice driver could drive a Ferrari F40 perfectly legally.
It all feeds into the big statistics machine that is called road safety and if the ultimate end is no young bikers then they will be happy enough with that.
How many bikers under 40 do you know? I know a lot less than the ones over 40.

beefjerky

I was reading in MCN that the new bike sales are in decline (understandably) and custom and 2nd hand market is rising and rising - would be great to see a graph to show this too however I don't think they had anything to show it.

If true, I don't think it's depressing, more people going for custom and 2nd hand bikes is cool i think, possibly meaning more people are getting into biking rather than a decline in general - IF the combined sales are higher.

There is definitely a decrease in young bikers, mopeds etc but similarly, there are far less young drivers (esp "boy racers") around than there were a few years ago, so I wonder how the correlation between the difficulty of legally biking and driving relates here, no doubt it is more difficult for bikers to start but would be interesting to see some evidence that shows it.

CJhaughey

Biking is still much more economical then driving a car.
Fact is, maintenance on a bike is pretty cheap even though fuel consumption is not that good relatively speaking.
But the difficulty of getting licensed for biking and the cost of gear is a bit prohibitive compared with getting a small car and just jumping in a driving around.

Del2005

beefjerky wrote: »

I was reading in MCN that the new bike sales are in decline (understandably) and custom and 2nd hand market is rising and rising - would be great to see a graph to show this too however I don't think they had anything to show it.

If true, I don't think it's depressing, more people going for custom and 2nd hand bikes is cool i think, possibly meaning more people are getting into biking rather than a decline in general - IF the combined sales are higher.

There is definitely a decrease in young bikers, mopeds etc but similarly, there are far less young drivers (esp "boy racers") around than there were a few years ago, so I wonder how the correlation between the difficulty of legally biking and driving relates here, no doubt it is more difficult for bikers to start but would be interesting to see some evidence that shows it.

The problem is that if people don't buy new bikes there's less for sale 2nd hand or available to customise. We used to be able to cover most of our needs by getting 2nd hand from the UK, but that is getting more expensive and they have the same issue of low new sales. It's already happened in the car market, very hard to source decent 2nd hand cars, and will start getting the same for bikes if something doesn't change soon.

MonstaMash

CJhaughey wrote: »

Biking is still much more economical then driving a car.
Fact is, maintenance on a bike is pretty cheap even though fuel consumption is not that good relatively speaking.
But the difficulty of getting licensed for biking and the cost of gear is a bit prohibitive compared with getting a small car and just jumping in a driving around.

+ as my young lad says...tis easier for him to get laid in his Honda Civic than it would if he was on a bike...youth these days :rolleyes:

Del2005

CJhaughey wrote: »

Biking is still much more economical then driving a car.
Fact is, maintenance on a bike is pretty cheap even though fuel consumption is not that good relatively speaking.
But the difficulty of getting licensed for biking and the cost of gear is a bit prohibitive compared with getting a small car and just jumping in a driving around.

I don't think bikes are more economical than cars. There are loads of cars that can do 50+ mpg while not that many bikes do. Also you need to spend a lot more to ride a bike for the first time than driving a car.

Bikes don't cause congestion and you will get to most places fastest, but then you generally need to change before and after you ride.

CJhaughey

Del2005 wrote: »

I don't think bikes are more economical than cars. There are loads of cars that can do 50+ mpg while not that many bikes do. Also you need to spend a lot more to ride a bike for the first time than driving a car.

Bikes don't cause congestion and you will get to most places fastest, but then you generally need to change before and after you ride.

I agree fuel wise bikes should be better, my point is that a bike is 81 to tax for a 200cc+ or even less for a small capacity.
Running costs parts etc are very cheap, the first time a car buyer has to go and fit 4 tyres and a set of droplinks and maybe a ball joint for the NCT they are going to be at least €350 lighter at the minimum.
In day to day running costs a 125 innova would be as cheap as you could find for motorised transport.

spiggotpaddy

.
How many bikers under 40 do you know? I know a lot less than the ones over 40.[/QUOTE]

Is that not coz your an ould wrikly like. No offense.

CJhaughey

spiggotpaddy wrote: »

.
How many bikers under 40 do you know? I know a lot less than the ones over 40.

Is that not coz your an ould wrikly like. No offense.[/QUOTE]
Im hardly an old wrinkly over 40 just but just from observing the average age of any bikers I see there aren't that many young people on bikes.
I know of about 5 that I can think of that would be in their 20's

BrokenArrows

I'd like to see the same graph but with cars and see if there is a similar decline.

Edit. Just looked it up. There is a big decline in cars too but jot as much as bikes.

http://www.cso.ie/Quicktables/GetQuickTables.aspx?FileName=TEA01.asp&TableName=Motor+Vehicles+Licensed+for+the+First+Time&StatisticalProduct=DB_TE

prunudo

I'm surprised the numbers weren't higher at the height of the Celtic tiger vs the start of the 2000's.

Tomohawk

Cars fell off a cliff too during this time period, but bikes had a smaller number of sales to start off with so were worse affected. Lots of bike shops ceased trading in the last 10 years. I think there are only about actual 35,000 bike licences in the country with some people owning 2 or more bikes which makes up the total 55,000 registered bikes in ownership. It really is a minority interest in this country. Ok winter weather plays a part but ownership isn't encouraged by the government and the media. Hence society has an negative attitude towards biking.

More should be done to encourage ownership as was done in the 1960s with HP for a start and for encouraging commuters onto motorbikes and scooters...Why not a tax break like cyclists got?

galwaytt

CJhaughey wrote: »

I agree fuel wise bikes should be better, my point is that a bike is 81 to tax for a 200cc+ or even less for a small capacity.
Running costs parts etc are very cheap, the first time a car buyer has to go and fit for4 tyres and a set of droplinks and maybe a ball joint for the NCT they are going to be at least €350 lighter at the minimum.
In day to day running costs a 125 innova would be as cheap as you could find for motorised transport.

Sorry but not. My 2.2 Saab is lighter on juice than my bike. Two tyres cost €160. Two tyres on my bike cost me €360. And I'll get 30k miles out of the car tyres.....

...no, there's many reasons to bike, and I prefer to. But economy isn't one of them. ..

minidazzler

I don't consider biking to be that expensive, I could understand how a 18 year old just starting would see it as, I started when I was 24 and 3500 euro got me started with a bike, a few bits of gear I couldn't scrounge, IBT and insurance. Had to get a new tyre early on, so another 150.

If I had gotten a car I would be looking at 2 grand minimum for a decent one. My Varadero cost 1400 and is holding up great. (though I do need to do the fork seals.)

I think over all it's been cheaper for me than it would have been for a car. Insurance is cheaper, lessons are cheaper (350 for IBT while EDT costs from 300 up.) Parking is free, Will go forever on a tank (it's a 125, so expected.)

Parking alone has saved me a load. I work in a bar and some nights I'll decide to just leave my bike in town and go on the lash after work, if I had a car I'd have to pay for parking. But with a bike, even if I can't find a decent spot next to a pole at a legal parking spot, I can hope a step and lash it onto a Bicycle Stand, nothing said to me yet.


I think biking is cheaper over all to start, it just seems more expensive because there are more bits and pieces to do.

CJhaughey

galwaytt wrote: »

Sorry but not. My 2.2 Saab is lighter on juice than my bike. Two tyres cost €160. Two tyres on my bike cost me €360. And I'll get 30k miles out of the car tyres.....

...no, there's many reasons to bike, and I prefer to. But economy isn't one of them. ..

Compare a small 125cc commuter bike say a YB125 or CG125 for running costs with a 1.4 litre supermini like a Fiesta.
Over a years running with servicing etc a commuter bike will be very cheap motoring, I bet that overall a cars running costs will be more, substantially more.
Tax and Insurance would nearly cover the bikes running cost.
When you are talking big bikes like Harleys and sportsbikes that have expensive tyres and parts then the ratio changes.
First off costs on a bike for gear etc are a bit of stumbling block but after that its pretty economical transport at least on the smaller machines.

Hotblack Desiato

A huge part of the big peak in registrations in the late 90s/early 00s was skanger mopeds.

..Brian..

BrokenArrows wrote: »

I'd like to see the same graph but with cars and see if there is a similar decline.

Edit. Just looked it up. There is a big decline in cars too but jot as much as bikes.

http://www.cso.ie/Quicktables/GetQuickTables.aspx?FileName=TEA01.asp&TableName=Motor+Vehicles+Licensed+for+the+First+Time&StatisticalProduct=DB_TE

Big increase (almost double) on the amount of second hand cars changing hands though in the same timeframe. It would be interesting to see how many bikes are being bought and sold second hand now as well.

spiggotpaddy

Im hardly an old wrinkly over 40 just but just from observing the average age of any bikers I see there aren't that many young people on bikes.
I know of about 5 that I can think of that would be in their 20's[/QUOTE]

Yes I know, but I said no offense. (pops) don't spit your horlicks.
So in essence with the lack of whippersnappers coming along the SMBR will end with in dept discussions about hearing aid batteries and hemorrhoid cream.
anywho I'm going for a jaunt on the bike later so I better get a nap or I'll be grumpy.