I'm now 38, and I had to go through the same hoops in Czechia... As a 16yo - get A1 licence for 125ccm bike. Theoretical and practical tests As a 18yo - get A2 licence for power limited bike. Theoretical and practical tests As a 21yo - get full A licence unlimited. Practical test only I don't think this is a huge contribution to the obstacle course for getting into the hobby. I think the biggest pain is the bloody insurance! As a 16 year old in Czechia, I paid like £10-20 annual maximum on the 125 bike. How much does a 16yo year old have to pay here and now? It wouldn't surprise me if it was close to a grand. Flipping joke this is.
the lad was well over a thousand pounds when he was seventeen jumping to well over 2k when he got the Aprilia when he was 18. same as his car insurance now.
Was sitting outside at a local bike friendly cafe yesterday, listening to the banter of the "lads" at the next table. There were 6 or 7 of them and the chat was based around how old they were and what they had planned next year. Not one was under 65, with the oldest being 72. I was smiling to myself, hoping that at 58 I still had all those biking years left to go. The guys at the next table in the other direction were both lined and grey. I doubt that there was a rider there under 50. Its deffo an old man's game now.
Would you really like 17 year olds ripping round on 200 bhp bikes if we are to return to the early 1980's? My Son has been keen on bikes since a youth and even he can see that much above 70bhp is pointless on a road bike. It really isn't that difficult other than his CBT he had no tuition to pass his A1, currently waiting to take his A2 then he can buy a 450SM and wait the 2 years to gain his full licence. I don't believe he should be required at 21 to take a retest on after he's been riding for 2 years on a A2 bike.
A 16 year old 3 years ago would pay around £260 per annum on a 50cc A 17 year old 2 years ago would pay around £480 per annum on a 125cc A 18 year old with a A1 licence would pay £275 on a 125 I'll let you know for a 19 year old on a A2 bike. Generally kids aren't interested in motorcycles as they once were, no amount of advertising is going to change that perspective IMO
mate, that's nowhere near what we could get for the lad. quite literally thousands out. looking around on here, my insurance is pretty high too. over £500. decades of no claims and no points on my licence for nearly as long. for some reason or another, tho i'm more remote than ever and even further from a town or city, my insurance jumped a fair whack when going from a PH postcode to a PA.
My boy is 17yrs old and has no interest in bikes, neither do any of his mates. He'd like to swop his 2012 vw polo for audi r8, but don't think black box insurance company would have it ! The bike industry is dying out with it's aging punters, prices are mental for new bikes. When I started you could buy a new 600 supersport bike for sub £7k with a years free insurance (second year was a challenge) This was probably a qtr of my wages mid 90s with a bit of overtime. You'd have to be earning £80k for same value today.
My local bike meets have an ever growing number of younger riders. Some 17 year olds on 125s but also guys and girls in their 20's. We have an increasing number of bike nights in the local area and they're all well frequented when the weather is right. I mainly go to 3 venues, 1 relatively new with 100-200 bikes each week, 1 more established with about the same and one very established with 500+ regularly attending. All weekday evening affairs. Sure, the old boys are out in force as well. The offerings on the lower end of the price scale are looking quite attractive to me. Be it Enfields with the new 450 size engine or Triumph's 400 range. The new Bantam looks smart and at 3.5k new is very well priced. I see some younger riders on those kind of bikes as well as KTM390s or Husquarna 401's as well as all manner of old, cheap run arounds. To me it seems that cheaper, relatively low tech bikes are becoming more appealing to riders. As others have said. What's the point of more than 60-70 hp. You can't really use it and the price of high end bikes is ludicrous. I feel the younger generation have begun to embrace riding for fun on smaller capacity bikes rather than bragging with 200hp. All this is very subjective of course.
Think I paid over & £1000 tpft in 1997 for gsxr750L, value was £3500. Crap north London postcode didn't help
I'm going to try different meet Wednesday, at almost 53 I'm a baby at my local. Agree with power, anything over 100bhp is wasted in most road riding.
Always lived in a 'good' postcode close enough to a couple of cities far enough away to live in an AONB. Not sure what the cost will be when he jumps up to a 450-650, hopefully with 3 years experience a A1 entitlement held for 2 of those years it won't be a shocker.
The insurance cost is absolutely mad. Considering prety much everyone needs a car, which is also going to be in thousands for a beginer, it's not feasible for them to do this twice. Once for car, once for a bike, which is mostly a hobby, not a must have.
