| 29 April, 2013 - USA: And The Winner For The Worst Congested City Is .... | #Traffic #Statitics #LosAngeles - Los Angeles, California. It's not the first time L.A. has taken the top prize, but last year this prestigious prize went to Honolulu. According to data company Inrix, L.A. drivers sat in traffic jams a total of 59 hours last year, a total of 59 hours wasted per year, per person - that's 2 1/2 days per year sucking in fumes. Honolulu, last year's winner, drivers sat 50 hours in traffic jams during 2012.
Honolulu was pushed into second spot, but at least Los Angles is in good company, since San Francisco was in 3rd place and San Jose in seventh. So in the top ten US cities where motorcycles really have an advantage, there are three Californian cities. Not bad..............
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| 22 April, 2013 - Study: What Will Break The Quickest On A Motorcycle? | #Study #Reliability #Motorcycle - When we buy a new motorcycle, the last thing you want to think about is what is going to break first, and what will need repairs. But it will happen, at one stage or another, you'll need to repair something on your bike.
Consumer Report in the USA did a study on what breaks down on a motorcycle. They looked at consumer (i.e. bikers) who bought a new motorcycle between 2009 and 2012 and reported that their ride needed a repair that was not covered by the warrantee. The study involved 4,424 bikers and 4,700 motorcycles.
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| 17 April, 2013 - India: Changes In Ranking Of The Top Motorcycle Makers | #India #Ranking #Statistics - The motorcycle manufacturer's position for the top production & selling spots in India have changed a bit. That's one part of the news; Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India has moved Bajaj into third spot. So currently the top ranking are;
1st is Hero MotoCorp (Honda's former partner but now independent) with 5.91 million motorcycles per year,
now in 2nd spot is Honda India with 2.61 million units,
moved into 3rd spot are Bajaj with 2.46 million units and then
TVS (who recently partnered with BMW) in 4th position.
What's interesting in these ranking is that Honda was in 4th spot in 2011, and..........
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| 15 April, 2013 - The Most Dangerous Countries For Motorcycles In Europe | #Accident #Europe #Statistics - The roadside assistance organization in Belgium, Touring, has conducted a research on the number of deadly motorcycles accidents in Europe, and correlating them with the number of inhabitants of that country. This gives a score of the countries where you are more likely to have a fatal motorcycle accident.
I didn't manage to get much data, except for the top 4 "most dangerous countries in Europe". The number you see after the country is the number of deadly motorcycle accidents per million inhabitants...........
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| 15 April, 2013 - France: Record Year For Speed Radar Revenues | #France #Radar #Record - For those of you who still think that speed radars are there to reduce speeding on the roads, think again. They are there for one reason only, and that is to raise as much cash as they can.
Last year (2012), the 4000+ speed radars in France managed to generate an incredible 730 MILLION Euros of cash, up €100 million over the previous record year - 2011. On average, a single radar will ticket 5200 times per year. During 2012 12.5 million tickets were issued, many of them for only a few kilometers over the speed limit...........
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| 6 March, 2013 - France: Interesting Statistics On Motorcycle Usage In Paris | #Statistics #France #Paris - With all the troubling issues coming from the Mayor of Paris, and the upcoming 2014 Mayor elections and their moto-phobic candidates, it's interesting to see some statistics about the usage of motorcycles and scooters in Paris. The number crunching was done by the DRIEA (Direction Regionale et Interdepartementale de l'Equipement et de l'Amenagement).
First of all, the stats aren't for just Paris, but what is called "Ile-de-France", or more accurately the Greater Parisian Area, which is Paris and its suburbs. If the candidate politicians ever read these statistics, maybe they'll change their minds about motorcycles, but somehow I doubt it.
Every day there are 570,000 PTW moving around and through Paris. That's half a million per day! Between 2001 and 2010, there was an increase of 34% in the number of daily PTW movements...........
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| 25 February, 2013 - The Netherlands: 2012-More Motorcycle Riders, Many More Female | The community of motorcycle riders in The Netherlands has expanded quite a lot last year. During 2012 31,500 cloggies (=Dutch people) got their precious motorcycle license, an increase of 18% over 2011. Half of the new bikers are under the age of 24.
The most interesting statistics is that 50% of the under 24 year old new motorcycle riders are female. So more and more girls are taking to riding their own motorcycle, which is a good thing.
The reason for the sudden increase in the number of people taking a motorcycle license... on January 19th, a new motorcycle license law came into effect in Europe, making it impossible for younger riders to go directly to bigger displacement bikes. Younger riders need to progressively move to larger displacement motorcycles, so many wanted to go directly to the big bikes license.
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| 5 February, 2013 - Switzerland: Growth Motorcycle Sector For 2012 - Harley Big Winner | Europe is not unified in terms of motorcycle growth, some countries are in a slump, while others do well. In the last category, Switzerland has done nicely.
During 2012, the land of cheese and bankers, grew their motorcycle market by 2.6% over 2011. A total of 46,710 new PTW were registered; 23,464 motorcycles (+1.6%), 22,140 scooters (+3.7%) and 1,106 electric scooters (-5.2%).
In the motorcycle category, the manufacturer that excelled during 2012 was Harley-Davidson with 3,612 new motorcycles sold, while Honda (3,462) was in 2nd place, BMW in third with 2,877 and Yamaha in 4th spot with 2,760...........
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| 29 January, 2013 - France: 2012 Top 10 Motorcycles Sales | #Sales #Statistics - For a fifth consecutive year, the French motorcycles and scooters market shrunk, thanks to the economic crisis. People just don't have the money to buy a new motorcycle, and it shows. During 2012, only 158,106 new motorcycles and scooters were registered. At the turn of the millennium, sales were at a premium, with a constant growth every year. But that stopped in 2007, and since then we've seen a steady decline in sales, and 2013 doesn't look any better.
Here are some of the more salient results of 2012, models, manufacturers and categories...........
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| 29 January, 2013 - France: Major Reduction In Road Deaths for 2012 - Record | For once we've got good news coming from France. The number of road deaths and accidents during 2012 has been at an all time low, a record since these figures were recorded (1948). In total for all vehicle types there were "only" 3,645 people killed on the French roads, a significant reduction of 8%. When comparing the statistics between 2011 and 2000 (when a serious effort was undertaken to reduce road accidents), the overall drop has been 52%.
But when you look at all the statistics, motorcycle riders showed the way.... with a reduction of 14.5% in the number of deaths. Although motorcycles have been very good at reducing the number of accidents, they still represent 18% of all road fatalities, while only representing 1.9% of traffic...........
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| 24 January, 2013 - Europe: Participate In The FEMA Rider Survey | FEMA, the European Federation of Motorcycle Associations, the powerful European motorcycle lobby group, are trying to get a good idea about European motorcycle riders and their habits.
They have launched a massive on-line survey, where they are trying to get an idea on our thoughts about riding in Europe. They are trying to find out what our habits are, what we think of road safety, clothing, etc.
The survey is available in several languages (more being added), and will run through 2013...........
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| 16 January, 2013 - Brazil: 15.62% Drop In Motorcycle Sales For 2012 | Brazil is supposed to be a growth market, one of the emerging markets, but not for motorcycles as it appears. The Brazilian federation of automotive vehicles reported a large slump in sales for motorcycles, despite the fact that car sales jumped 6.11%
Motorcycle sales throughout 2012 fell 15.62%. 1,637,481 new PTW were on the road, in sharp contrast with 2011, were there were 1,940,533 new bikes. Citing restrictions in bank credit, less people are able to buy new motorcycles, and a high number of motorcycles dealers were forced to close; a good 4% of the 2,500 dealers in Brazil closed their doors...........
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| 5 January, 2013 - Dakar2013: Starts Today - The Statistics | One of the most grueling and tough rally enduro races in the world starts today, the famous, and often notorious, Dakar. Although they haven't been going to Dakar for years now, the race keeps the name Dakar. Today the 35th edition of this race starts, with trucks, cars, quads and of course the motorcycles racing in South America (Peru, Argentina and Chile) for 14 days. Since its creating, the Dakar has been raced in 27 different countries.
The record man for the most number of victories remains the Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel, with 6 motorcycle victories and 4 car wins.
The youngest contestant is 19 years, the Dutchman Robert Van Pelt on a motorcycle..........
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| 7 December, 2012 - France: Record Number Of Tickets & Points in 2011 | 2011 was a record year in France, but not a record year were we saw athletes surpass themselves, or a national football team win the world cup, or the French administration reduce the taxes. No, it was the year that saw the most number of points withdrawn from driving licenses, but funnily enough, a reduction in the number of driving licenses being shredded.
12,096,911 points were deducted from driving licenses during 2011 (an increase of 19.3% over 2010). The 12 million points were deducted from some 7,252,738 tickets, 78% of them for speeding and 2.43% for DUI. Because of the new red light radars, a dramatic increase in tickets for driving through a red light was seen, +128%...........
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| 20 November, 2012 - Study: Best European Drivers Are German | According to a survey performed by Garmin in Europe on some 4200 people, the GPS manufacturer determined that European drivers find the Germans the best drivers in Europe. About a quarter of the 4200 people who responded to the survey think so. 19.5% of these same people think the French are second best (they obviously don't live where I live).
As for cities that are difficult to drive through, Paris, France takes the top spot, followed by London and in third place, surprisingly, is Aalborg, Denmark.
Finally, it was determined in the survey that France had the most hidden and therefore sneakiest radars, followed by The Netherlands.
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| 18 October, 2012 - Europe: The Top 10 Most Congested Cities | If there's anytime you need a motorcycle or scooter, it's when you need to go into a congested city. When traffic is at a standstill, motorcycles usually can carve their way through traffic and arrive at the destination on time. Dutch GPS manufacturer TomTom has been recording their user's GPS data; they receive anonymous data from the TomTom GPS, so they know when a car has slowed down, or stopped entirely. So they can see when and where the traffic gets dense.
Using this statistical data, TomTom have compiled a list of European cities that are the most jammed up...........
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| 8 October, 2012 - Switzerland: 2012 Motorcycle Market Doing Well | In the land of cheese, chocolates and banks, Switzerland is doing very well in terms of motorcycles sales. Between January and August 2012, traditionally the best months for motorcycles sales, there was a nice bump upwards in new motorcycles being sold.
In total an increase in sales of 6.7% was seen for motorcycles (a total of 20,743 bikes), while scooters saw an increase of 9.3%, totalling 17,635 new scoots. Honda has a big jump, +26%, thanks to several new models, while Yamaha jumped 8%, while European manufactures like KTM (+36%), BMW (7%) and Vespa (+20%) did extremely well. Even Harley-Davidson did well, with an increase of 13%.
The manufacturers who did not fare well were Piaggio (the brand -20%), Kawasaki (-7%) and even Triumph did bad, with -9%. Ducati remained stable.
The top 20 sales in motorcycles during the time frame were........
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| 1 October, 2012 - Intermot2012: European Motorcycle Market Review - ACEM | Despite the economic crisis affecting the European motorcycle market, signs of recovery are at hand. The analysis of recent market trends highlights that urban mobility and passion are still acting as main drivers of the motorcycle market. While some segments have suffered from the impact of the economic downturn, sales of light Powered Two-Wheelers (PTW) specifically designed for city trips indicate a growing interest in this mode of transport. The relative good performance of engine capacities over 250cc confirms that passion for motorcycling is still a key factor pushing customers toward this vehicle category.
On behalf of Intermot Cologne ACEM, the European Motorcycle Industry Association, conducted a review of the most recent motorcycle market trends comparing the Moving Annual Total of the past year (September 2011- August 2012) with the same time frame a year before, which allows for a reliable representation of the “seasonal effect” closely linking the PTW business to the weather conditions.......
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| 7 September, 2012 - Another Thing To Be Shortly Forbidden On A Motorcycle | When I ride my motorcycle, I love listening to some upbeat music. And often while riding I sing along. It's relaxing and fun, and I don't have to be bothered that people think I'm crazy (which I am), since they can't see me singing thanks to my full face helmet.
But that pleasure may just be short-lived if authorities start noticing the recent research done in Australia. According to the research, singing and driving is first of all distracting, but it also makes you a bad driver. ....
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| 24 August, 2012 - France: Record Revenue From Radars Expected | Radars, as we all know, are money generating machines; real jackpots for the government. Our fearless & greedy "leaders" will tell you that the radars are there to keep speeds down, to promote safety and to reduce the mortality figures, but in the end it's all about money. Show me the money....
This year in France, the radars are expected to bring in a record 700 million Euros! That's close to ONE BILLION US$. Thanks to many more automatic speed radars, red light radars and the introduction of segment radars, it looks like it's the French government's way of shoveling money into the deficit black hole. By the end of the year, we'll have 4,000 radars in France - another record.
So if you're planning on riding your motorcycle in France, better watch out of the money machines. Despite many election promises by the current socialist government, they are going to continue "taxing" vehicle son the road. It's in our own benefit... meaning they want and need the cash.
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| 23 August, 2012 - Thailand: Honda Aims To Keep Its 70% Market Share. Wait, 70%!? | These are incredible figures. Honda has a supremacy in the Thai motorcycle market, to the tune of 70% market share. And they are going to try to keep that market share.
Honda Thailand is projecting the sale of a record 2.1 million motorcycles this year, an increase of 4% over last year.......
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| 20 August, 2012 - Europe: Who Are The Worst Drivers - Survey | Often when riding your motorcycle in Europe, you end up having the impression that some countries have worse drivers than other countries. I know I've had that feeling often enough. Travel web site Zoover thought so too, so they held a survey on their site, asking their readers which country has the worst drivers. Some 30,000 readers responded.
In the top 15 of the countries with the worst drivers, the number 1 slot (i.e. the worst drivers) is Italy, and the best drivers come from Finland.
Here's the complete list.......
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| 27 June, 2012 - Study: Which Vehicle Colors Attract Bird Droppings | Sometimes research studies can go into deep shit...literally. UK retailer Halfords researched a smelly situation; what color car (and I guess it's the same for motorcycles) attracts bird droppings.
Surveying 1,140 cars in big cities like Brighton, Glascow, Leeds, Manchester and Bristol in the UK, found that 18% of the cars that were marked by birds were RED, followed by cars that were BLUE (14%), .........
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| 26 June, 2012 - Pay Fine For Speeding, Get Paid For Not Speeding | Most kids know the carrot and the stick approach (though many kids don't like carrots). Do something naughty and you get the stick, do something good and you get a carrot (or more likely an increase in your allowance, or at least some sweets).
But the carrot & stick approach doesn't only apply to children. According to a recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study, it works great with road users; cars and motorcycles. In the study, they placed a GPS in 8 cars, which then got turned over to 50 different riders for a week. The drivers were instructed that if they kept to the speed limits, they would each be rewarded $25. But anytime a driver would go over the posted speed limit by 5 to 8 mph, they'd forfeit $0.03, and any speeding over 9 mph would cost them $0.06 (and if they got caught by the real cops, they'd not only get docked the money, but also would have to pay the real speeding ticket)........
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| 8 June, 2012 - Infograph: The Evolution of Motorcycle Safety In The UK | Infographs are all the fashion nowadays, so here's one that applies to us motorcycle riders. The artwork was produced for UK insurance giant Bennetts, and it shows you over time how safety has improved in the UK. They've added some other motorcycle related data to the graph, just to make it more interesting.
The graph below is linked in, embedded, so if the Bennetts site is down, you'll not see anything here.
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| 5 June, 2012 - Europe: Electric Vehicle Sales To Reach €1.7 Billion By 2017 | #EV #Electric - According to the market research company Frost & Sullivan, the sales of Electric Vehicles (EV - Cars and Motorcycles) in Europe will reach €1.7 Billion by the year 2017. 2010 saw a sales of €55 million in Europe, but the company sees an expansion of 50% each year.
The largest hold-back is the battery technology used today, with the cost of the battery materials rising. New battery technology could accelerate the sales of EVs, plus additional government subsidies for the purchase of electric cars and motorcycles.
30 to 40% of manufacturers who subcontract the development and manufacturing of the electric engines will be insourcing this over the next few years.
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| 4 June, 2012 - Spain: Not All Repression, Carrot and Stick Approach | It's nice to see that in a country like Spain, it's not all about repression. In most countries that have adopted a license point system, you get a capital of license points to start out with. When you do something naughty, like speeding, riding through a red light or crossing a white line, points get deducted from your existing points (or added, depending on the method used). Once you have no points left, you lose your license and you need to go to school to get it back.
If you have been ducted points, you get them back after a while, usually a year or two. That's the way the system works in most countries. But not in Spain. There they add points to your capital of points if you have been a good driver. 3 years into the points system, back in 2009, the government added 1 or 2 points to all drivers who had a clean driving license. This year, 6 years after the points system was introduced, they are adding another "free" point; a bonus point.
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| 25 May, 2012 - Belgium: Survey - Car Drivers Do Not Like Motorcycles | In a survey performed by the magazine Autozone from Belgium, with 9,693 responses (of which 5,886 were bikers), it became apparent that 24% of car drivers do not want to see motorcycles splitting lanes when there is a traffic jam. It was only last year, that Belgium legalized lane splitting by motorcycles. But now cagers do not like seeing motorcycles getting the advantage.
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| 23 May, 2012 - France: 2011 Sales of Electric Motorcycles | #electric - Electric motorcycles and scooters are not high on the shopping list for the French buyers. 2011 sales figures were lower than 2010 (-17%), and 2012 is not going to be very different.
Of the 1200 electric motorcycles and scooters sold in France during 2011, the majority were 50cc equivalent, and one company outsold everyone else, and that was Matra with the e-Mo, representing 40% of the market, followed by e-Solex.
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| 15 May, 2012 - France: Net Decrease In New Motorcycle Sales Q1 2012 | According to CSIAM, the French Association of International Vehicle Manufacturers, the sales of new motorcycles during the 1st quarter of 2012 in France was pretty bad.
Last year during the same time frame, 61,504 motorcycles were sold, this time this year it dropped by 7.8% down to 56,711 motorcycles.
Strangely enough, it's the 125cc market that has suffered the most, with a drop of -19.4%, while the best increase was that of three wheelers (MP3 etc) by +25.6%. Motorcycles and scooters over 125cc stayed stable, only increasing by +0.08%.
Click on the headline to continue reading this story for a brand by brand breakdown.......
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| 10 May, 2012 - UK: Is The London Congestion Charge Working? | Back in 2003 London introduced a congestion charge for any car that wanted to travel into London. Monday to Friday between 07:00 and 18:00. The charge is £10 (about US$16) per day. The money is to be used to enhance the public transport system, and relive the traffic logged city from cars.
There was a lot of criticism, saying it would never work. But this graph below from the ITO World show the change. The red zones is where that was an increase of traffic, the blue zones where there was a decrease. I guess the red zones can be explained that it's commuter traffic heading for the train stations, and from there into the inner city by train or underground.
Click on the headline to continue reading this story.......
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| 24 April, 2012 - Study Shows Scooters Safer Than Motorcycles | A study undertaken by the Queensland University of Technology’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety in Australia has determined that scooters are safer than mopeds and motorcycles.
Moped as we all know are very dangerous despite the fact that they don't go very fast. Limited to 50cc, and often limited to 50 kph, they can not go fast, but they are very mobile and dodge in and out of traffic, as do motorcycles and scooters. But mopeds are ridden by youngsters with little or no training and experience, so that if the study shows they have the biggest accident & mortality rate, it's no surprise.
But according to the Australian university study, scooters are better off than motorcycles. When they are involved in an accident, 1% of the scooter riders will die, while 3.4% of the motorcycle riders will buy the farm.
Click on the headline to continue reading this story.......
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| 12 April, 2012 - Take The Female Motorcyclist Survey | #motorcycles #survey - I'm a bit late, but the survey is still open. There's a big survey going on for female motorcycle riders. I think it's a great initiative, so if you are female and ride a motorcycle, head on over to RevGirl and answer 12 easy questions.
The results will give a good idea what drives women to motorcycles.
Click on the headline to continue reading this story.......
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| 21 March, 2012 - France: Government Survey Of The Motorcycle World In Progress | After many years of debate, the French government has finally listened to the motorcycle associations (FFMC), and is now conducting a massive survey of the French motorcycle scene.
A survey is being sent out to 30,500 motorcycle riders, trying to understand more about us.
It's a bit late, but at least they are trying to do something about it.
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| 9 March, 2012 - France February 2012 Record Month For Road Safety | The numbers are in, and they are looking good, if not spectacular. In France, during the month of February 2012 the number of people who have died on the roads has dropped dramatically, a record.
During the month, 25.3% less people died in their cars and on their motorcycles. The politicians are all slapping their own backs, since the presidential elections are only a few weeks away. But IMHO, I don't think it has anything to do with politics, but more with a) weather (the coldest we've had in a very long time) and b) the price of gasoline.
Click on headline to continue reading......
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| 29 February, 2012 - Royal Enfield Grows 42% In 2011 | Indian motorcycle manufacturer hits a home run with an increase of 42% in sales during 2011 over 2010, and 2012 looks as good.
Customer currently need to wait 6 months to get their motorcycles, but that will get better next year when the new factory opens.
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| 16 February, 2012 - France: Fines Bring In €1.4 BILLION In 2011 | It pays having speed radars in France! Not for safety as has been determined by many studies, but for the cash strapped government. Last year, the combined issued fines brought in a whopping €1.398 BILLION, that's almost 1.5 Billion Euros (at today's rate, almost US$2 Billion).
€660 Million of that collected windfall goes to the local communities, in order to help them improve roads. €65 Million is used for processing the fines (administration costs), €52 Million to maintain the radars, €20 Million to fight the increasing vandalism (I wonder why?), €18 Million to purchase and install new radars, €37 Million to put in place a new electronic and automated fine system and €35 Million for some delinquents program and €16 Million to change the old license files to the new one.
That leaves €474 Million for the government, to be used as they please. It's not going to be used to increase safety the way it should (like motorcycle crash barriers, reduction in sales tax for motorcycle safety equipment, etc... the list is long). Instead, the money will be used to fill that big black hole they call the budget.
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| 15 February, 2012 - The Netherlands: Highest Speeding Fines In The Area | After a study done by radio/TV organization RTL of several European countries, it was determined that The Netherlands was charging the most for speeding, despite being a small country, or maybe because of it.
The study analyzed speeding fines for Spain, France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. For example, if you are speeding 15 kph over the limit on your motorcycle in The Netherlands, you will be fined €110, for the same offence in Germany it'll cost you €20 and in France €45.
While in 2006, fines in The Netherlands were still low-to-average, but since then fines have risen 66% which is definitely more than inflation.
According to officials, the increase in fines is to deter speeding, but then we all know that is not true... it's all about money.
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| 13 February, 2012 - UK: Study Shows Speed Cameras Have No Affect On Safety | After a study done in the UK in one area of the country, it was determined that speed radars cameras have no or very little affect on accident son the road, neither for cars or motorcycles.
On average, accidents dropped 0.2% after a speed camera was installed. So why are they there? ... You know the answer.
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| 9 February, 2012 - France: Top Motorcycle Sales For 2011 | For a fourth consecutive year, sales of motorcycles and scooters in France has declined. While 2007 was a record year, 2011 is turning out to be one of the worst of this millennium.
But interestingly enough, the European motorcycle manufacturers saw incredible sales increases, while the Japanese (except Honda) saw the reverse.
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| 2 February, 2012 - Switzerland: 20 Times More Scooters Last 20 Years | These are pretty amazing statistics coming from the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics (OFS). Overall in 2010, there were 5.36 million vehicles circulating in Switzerland, of which 12% were motorcycles.
In the last 20 years, the number of motorcycle doubled, from 299,264 to 651,252 in 2010, but it's the number of scooters that blows your mind (well, at least it did mine). In the last 20 years, the number of scooters was multiplied by a factor of 20, representing 37% of the motorcycle park.
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| 17 January, 2012 - Switzerland: Motorcycle Sales Increase in 2011 | Some countries do great in terms of motorcycles sales, some do less, and some do worse. Switzerland, a country that has always been neutral, sits exactly in the middle.
During 2011, 9.48% new motorcycles and scooters were registered in the country of chocolate, cheese and secret bank accounts. It's not a bad figure for Europe, so maybe the financial crisis has not hit the Swiss.
If you look at purely motorcycle sales, that figure was up by 16.23% during 2011.
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| 10 January, 2012 - Australia: Motorcycle Sales Up 3% | Australia, like the rest of Asia and AsiaPacific are doing well in terms of motorcycle and scooter sales. 2011 saw yet another bumper year, with a rise of 3% in sales.
Honda is the top brand, with Harley-Davidson as the first non-Asian motorcycle manufacturer in 5th position. Husqvarna had the most impressive growth rate.
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| 5 January, 2012 - Ireland: Record Low Death Toll On Roads | Irish road users have been behaving! Since road mortality figures are kept (1959), the number of people who have died on the Irish roads is at its lowest, ever.
Motorcycle riders are in the group that does not change, but car accident related deaths are way down. Surprisingly, the 2nd highest death rate is that of pedestrians. Better off on a motorcycle.
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| 29 December, 2011 - France: Fake License Plates On The Rise | With the French government coming down very hard of speeders, the number of fake or false license plates in circulation has increased 19% last year, and probably much more this year.
The only way to escape hefty fines on your motorcycle nowadays is to use someone else's license plate.
But you can spend 7 years are the guest of the state for doing it...
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| 21 December, 2011 - India: Scooter Sales Explode | It's not doom & gloom in every country of the world with regards to scooter and motorcycle sales.
India has seen an incredible sales explosion of scooter (+39%) and even motorcycles, with "only" 22% increase.
The increase is so dramatic, that manufacturers can not cope, and have enormous backlogs. Customers have to wait for months to get their ride.
Maybe India should outsource the production to Europe and North America.... ?
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| 8 December, 2011 - France: Motorcycle Thefts 2011 | Theft of motorcycles and scooters in France is getting to be bad. Statistics for the last 12 months, show that 8 motorcycles get stolen every hour!
95% are stolen the classic way (though 50% get taken from garages), while bike jacking has increased to 5%.
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| 26 October, 2011 - Using Motorcycles Eases Congestion - Scientific Study | A very detailed report has been published in Belgium that proves something we all knew....
.. it's better to have more motorcycles! The scientific study shows that replacing 10% of cars by motorcycles will result in a saving of €350,000 per day in Belgium!
Another interesting fact found in this report, is that despite what a popular TV program in the US has stated, motorcycles pollute less than cars!
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| 29 September, 2011 - UK: The True Cost Of Commuting | Here's an interesting research and statistics on the real cost of commuting.
The research was done by "Get On" in the UK (a group of motorcycle manufacturers and other interested motorcycle people), and it clearly shows that you would be out of your mind (and pocket) to commute by car or public transport. Especially in the UK...
Motorcycles are a far better alternative.
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| 21 September, 2011 - USA: Motorcycle Thefts Down 24% For 2010 | A lot less motorcycles were stolen during 2010 (24% less compared to 2007, and 11% compared to 2009).
Good news, but is it because of better technology, better police work, or is there another reason for the decline... read on. |
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| 19 September, 2011 - Study: DRL Saves Lives! But Not Motorcyclist Ones | Using badly done research (so called scientific), the Dutch National Road Safety Research Institute is calling for all cars to use Daylight Running Lights (DRL).
Though the research was not done by them, they say the study shows that in fact if cars use DRL, and motorcycles as well (which is mandatory already), motorcycles will be safer.
Yeah right... on what planet?
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| 9 September, 2011 - Europe: Motorcycle Registrations Down 6% in 1st Semester 2011 | According to statistics published by ACEM (European Motorcycle Manufacturer's Association), things are not looking up for the motorcycle industry, with a drop of 6% in the first semester of the year.
The only type of motorcycle that is selling very well, are the electric ones.
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| 9 August, 2011 - France: The FFMC Calls B.S. | The French Association of Angry Bikers (FFMC) have called on the government's B.S.
The government, using statistics from the beginning of the year (during one of the worst and coldest winters on record) correlated them for the rest of the year, and used that as an excuse to repress all and sunder.
The FFMC called B.S. and using one of the government's own agencies, showed that motorcycle mortality has dropped 20.7%!
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| 28 July, 2011 - France: 10 Million License Points Lost In 2010 | During 2010 a total off over 10 MILLION license points were deducted from driving licenses in France.
The majority for small speeds, typically less than 20 kph on motorways. 20 kph? That accelerating on your motorcycle to overtake.
Over 85,000 driving licenses were revoked during the same year.
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| 29 June, 2011 - Eight European Countries Cut Road Death By 50% | 8 countries in Europe have reduced their road deaths by 50% since 2001, saving some 100,000 lives.
Now if only they would look into saving motorcycle rider's lives seriously...
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| 15 June, 2011 - Europe: Most Congested Cities Of 2011 | Like last year, Dutch GPS manufacturer TomTom, has compiled a report based on the GPS data logged by cars and motorcycles of the most congested cities in Europe.
The GPS knows when you are moving slowly, hence it's classified as a traffic jam. Once the GPS reports the data back to the central server, TomTom can see where the traffic jams are.
The Top 50 list hasn't changed much... Brussels is still the worst city in Europe, and the UK and France aren't doing that good. You're better off in Spain or Switzerland
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| 14 June, 2011 - Difference Between Car and Motorcycle Owners #8365 | According to a study in the UK, only 25% of car owners with a garage actually put their car in the garage..... the rest is filled with junk.
Sounds familiar? But what about motorcycle owners?
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| 6 May, 2011 - India: Highest Number Of Road Deaths - Number 1 | India has surpassed China in the number of yearly road deaths; 1.3 MILLION PER YEAR to be exact.
A growing middle class, bad roads, and even worse habits have made it possible for India to overtake China. But China is fighting back.
Motorcycle deaths have the record within the record. 27% of the accidents are motorcycle ones.
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| 5 May, 2011 - 138 Million Electric Motorcycles By 2017 | According to market research company Pike, there will be some 138 million electric motorcycles and scooters in the world by 2017.
Electric scooters will be outselling the motorcycle counterparts 6 to 1.
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| 15 April, 2011 - France: 49% Increase In Motorcycle Mortality For March 2011 | The month of March 2011, compared to March 2010, saw an increase in road deaths of 2.7% for all vehicles types..... but motorcycles saw an increase of 49% during the same month.
That's very bad, and to make things worse, it's a great excuse for the French government to even further hammer our heads into submission.
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| 8 April, 2011 - Survey: We Need Your Help - Men Only Please | This is a request for any male biker (18 years or older who can read/write English) to help out in an extensive survey being performed by the University of Akron (USA).... Psychology Department.
As bikers we see our motorcycle as our mental therapy. We all know that you'll never see a motorcycle parked outside a psychiatrist office. So the university is trying to figure us out.
So please help out and run the survey. It's lengthy, but for a good cause. You can also enter the raffle for a 64 Gb iPod.
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| 8 February, 2011 - BMW Sweeps UK Motorcycle Survey, Again | BMW have sweeped many of the top spots in the annual RIDE Magazine customer survey. BMW took the top spot, plus many other categories.
Looks like the other motorcycle brands in the UK better behave.
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| 24 January, 2011 - Top 10 Movies With Motorcycles In Them | Here are the top 10 movies containing motorcycles that were viewed on our main site.
These are movies listed on our "Motorcycles in the Movies" site. We've omitted the "erotic" ones, and the documentaries.
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| 20 January, 2011 - Study: Male Bikers Prefer Women Over Motorcycles | A study performed by a British university on male and female motorcycle riders, shows some interesting, and unexpected results.
Let's face it, we all know men prefer riding a motorcycle over playing with kids or babies, and women, given the choice between kids or babies and riding a motorcycle, will choose within a New York minute the first choice. ... but .....
read the survey results...
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| 19 January, 2011 - Dakar 2011: Some KTM Statistics | KTM released some very interesting statistics about their 2011 Dakar motorcycle rally.
Impressive figures: it shows you what they have to put up with.
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| 17 January, 2011 - France: Bad 2010 For Motorcycle Sales | Another year, and another year of bad motorcycles sales in France. 2009 was already one of the worst years on record, and still motorcycles are being sold in few quantities.
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| 6 January, 2011 - The Netherlands: BMW Number 1 Motorcycle Sold | For the first time in their history, BMW have sold more motorcycles than any other manufacturer in The Netherlands.
They also occupied the top 3 spots of motorcycle models sold.
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| 26 November, 2010 - UAE: Big Drop In Traffic Deaths In Dubai | Interesting statistics coming from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) regarding road/traffic deaths.
Deaths are in a decline, but some interesting data. Why would you have so many radars, and why have radars to monitor pedestrians?
And what's a Jin Radar?
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| 12 November, 2010 - Spain: Road Death Down By 50% | Spain has had an incredible drop in road/traffic fatalities between 2001 and 2009: 50 %, despite an increase in population of 12%.
But still a lot of motorcycle riders bite the bullet. Why? For a country that breeds motorcycle racing champions, you'd expect a lower death figure.
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| 8 November, 2010 - EICMA 2010: Big Success & Message To Organizers | The Eicma 2010 motorcycle exhibition is over for another year. Eicma have released their visitor statistics, and it's been a record year in attendance.
Who said the economy is dead?
But Eicma should also pay more attention to the press needs. Here's why!
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| 19 October, 2010 - Avoid BMW Cars In The UK | According to a survey by GoCompare.com, it's best to stay away from BMW cagers on the road, specially when riding a motorcycle.
According to the survey, BMW cagers are the angriest drivers out there, and also the most dangerous.
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| 3 September, 2010 - USA: The Safest Cities To Ride In | Allstate Insurance company has compiled a report on which cities have the least accidents, and which have the most.
No surprises there, big cities have more per driver, small cities have less.
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| 31 August, 2010 - License Plate Blockers: LAPD Finds Them Useless | The LAPD went out and field tested photo blocking spray and license covers, to see how effective they really are in avoiding tickets.
Their test results show that the products used on cars and motorcycles, aren't that effective.
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| 24 August, 2010 - France: Shocking Motorcycle Mortality 2009 | Deadly accidents in France during 2009 for motorcycle riders saw a dramatic increase, up 11.1%. A reason for the Minister of Interior to target all motorcycle riders in France with police actions.
But what they fail to mention, is that over the last 4 years, France recorded an increase of some 40% in motorcycles on the road, so on per-biker basis, mortality has gone down. And most accidents are caused by cars, not motorcycles.
But do they listen..... no!
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| 9 July, 2010 - France: Road Mortality Rate Getting Better & Better | The French Ministry of Transportation published the safety figures of last month, and for the first 6 months of 2010.
Woow. Less and less people are being killed on the roads in France, even motorcycle riders.
So why all the new radars?
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| 5 July, 2010 - The Netherlands: People Willing To Pay Not To Be In Traffic Jams | The Dutch are debating a new way of taxing you on the road. The politicians are looking at a "pay-as-you-go" tax, i.o.w., you pay for each kilometer on the road.
But a market research done by Goodyear, shows that the Dutch to not want to pay a tax scheme like this, but are willing to pay more money in order to avoid to having to drive in traffic james.
But then why not just ride a motorcycle? No traffic jams and it's much more fun...
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| 28 June, 2010 - The Netherlands: The Real Cost Of The TT of Assen MotoGP | The cost of attending the Dutch MotoGP, the TT of Assen, just went up for a few thousand motorcycle riders....
Despite the strong sunshine, speed tickets were raining over the three days. One got clocked at 220+ kph!
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| 21 June, 2010 - Paris: Motorcycles Are Problem #1 | The Paris police have released the 2009 mortality stats of the French capital city, and almost half of them are motorcycles.
But is that the whole story, or are the authorities hiding the real truth?
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| 14 June, 2010 - France: Declining Road Mortality In May 2010 | The road deaths for the month of May 2010 has dropped significantly, as have the first 5 months of the year.
Is this the result of strict driving rules, or is it that people take out their car or motorcycle less since it has become very expensive?
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| 5 May, 2010 - Spain: Motorcycle Sales Increasing - Scrappage Working | Despite rumors of financial doom and gloom in Spain, last month saw a healthy increase in the number of motorcycles sold; 18% over last year.
But the Spanish motorcycle association wants to government to extend the scrappage scheme...
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| 30 April, 2010 - Europe: TomTom’s List Of Most Congested Cities | TomTom, the Dutch GPS manufacturer, has been recording anonymous user data, and with that data, has compiled a list of Top 60 cities in Europe and their traffic jams.
With a Congestion Level indicator, you can now see how long extra a trip on your motorcycle (or car) will take you.
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| 23 April, 2010 - USA: 2009 Motorcycle Deaths Down! No Explanation | There has been a noticeable drop in road deaths by motorcycle riders in the USA for 2009.
Authorities are scratching their collective heads, trying to figure out what they did right.
... but we know why.... read our explanation.
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| 5 March, 2010 - Ossa Motorcycles Doing Well. Enduro Motorcycle In The Works | The legendary Spanish motorcycle manufacturer risen from the ashes, OSSA, is doing well. Their first new trial model introduced last year will be produced in 1250 units, next year that will leap to 3000.
More importantly, they are going to introduce a new enduro motorcycle at this year's EICMA exhibition.
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| 4 February, 2010 - Royal Enfield 500 Selling Like Hot Cakes | The Royal Enfield Classic 500 is selling so well, that there's no a backlog.
You're going to have to wait for 6 months before you can see yours if you order one now.
You see, it's not all bad news... things are pretty good in India...
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| 2 February, 2010 - India: When Things Go Good, They Go Great | Sales of motorcycles, scooters and other PTWs are still doing extremely well in India. EXTREMELY WELL!
Three manufacturers reported January 2010 sales, none of them reported less that 20% increase in sales, some reported 100+% and 266+%.
Incredible!
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| 15 January, 2010 - France: New Motorcycles Sales 2009 Down | The new motorcycle & scooters sales for 2009 in France, at a first glance look pretty bad. Down 15.8%, but that's because they don't take the MP3 into account, since it has three wheels.
Piaggio have been selling the MP3 like hot-cakes (or hot croissants) in France, and if you take them into account, sales "only" fell 10%.
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| 13 January, 2010 - UK: 2009 Motorcycles Sales Down The Crapper | The 2009 motorcycles sales statistics for the UK have been published.
Guess what??? They're bad news, but then you already knew that. But they're not as bad as you thought.
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| 16 December, 2009 - UK: Naked Is Good | The only motorcycle category that saw an increase in sales last November in the UK, were Naked motorcycles. The rest is down the toilet.
The only brand that made a major jump in sales was .... BUELL. Dealers were trying to off-load their inventory after Harley closed down the brand, giving away major discounts.
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| 30 November, 2009 - Japan: Motorcycle Exports At Record Low | The motorcycle sales and manufacturer statistics have been released from Japan, and things are not good. Not good at all.
Japan has taken enormous hits, and October 2009 is down 54.6% compared to last year...
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| 27 November, 2009 - Europe: 27% Decline In Motorcycles Sales In 1 Year | ACEM report sales/revenue figures for the motorcycle and scooter industry in Europe for the period SEP2008 to SEP2009; a drop of 27%!!!
By year end, Europe will have reached sales figures recorded 16 years ago... a drop of 25%!
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| 19 November, 2009 - Suzuki India Doubles Motorcycle Production Capacity | Suzuki India have announced that they are doubling their motorcycle and scooter production capacity. End of the year, will see 300,000 units made yearly.
By March, they will reach 25,000 units per month. Not bad.
Looks like they are getting the reverse effect of the economic downturn.
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| 3 November, 2009 - BMW Motorcycles Sales In A Slump | BMW motorcycles aren't doing that good at this moment. 3Q2009 saw a 8.4% drop in motorcycles sales, the 9 months saw a drop of 13.7% and revenue has taken a sharp hit as well.
Bummer.
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| 2 November, 2009 - India: Motorcycle Sales At Record Highs | Sales of motorcycles in India are doing very well, in fact, they are doing excellent.
Bajaj, amongst others, announced an increase of 51% of their motorcycle sales in October over last year October.
But how will the big boys & girls from abroad do in India? Ducati's prices will be incredibly high. You are going to be paying US$38,500 for a Streetfighter... God only knows how much people will have to pay for a Harley motorcycle.
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| 30 September, 2009 - France: Motorcycle Study - Then and Now | A study report has been published about the motorcycle world in France. Compared to a similar study made in 2004, you can see some evolution.
Here are the salient facts of this year's research on the motorcycle world in France.
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| 9 September, 2009 - Netherlands: Bad 1st 6 Months Of Motorcycle Sales | The first six months of vehicles sales statistics on The Netherlands have been published, and it doesn't look good (either).
Though motorcycles have fared better than cars, 15 vs 28% down, it's still looking bleak...
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| 28 August, 2009 - UK: Study Shows Savvy Commuters Use Motorcycles | UK motorcycle industry association (MCI) shows in a study that savvy commuters use motorcycles for transportation, not cars or bicycles.
So, it's time the government took note!
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| 21 July, 2009 - Europe’s Top Bad Tire Offenders | Michelin tires company has checked 50,000 cars and motorcycles in 27 countries for tire pressure, and here is what they found.
You want to take a guess which countries are the worst offenders?
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| 17 July, 2009 - Cambodia: Motorcycles 2nd Highest Killing Rate | Pretty incredible! Riding motorcycles in Cambodia has the 2nd highest mortality rate, just after passing away from AIDS.
So having sex and riding motorcycle is going to be the most lethal activity you can do..
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| 9 July, 2009 - UK: June Motorcycles Sales - Gloomy | The UK based motorcycle industry association have published the June 2009 sales statistics for the UK.
Not good, really not good. A lot less motorcycles and scooters sold.... bummer.
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| 8 June, 2009 - Europe: Motorcycle Statistics 2007/2008 | ACEM, the European Motorcycle Manufacturer Association, have recently published their 2008 Yearbook, full of interesting statistics and facts about the European motorcycle industry.
Number of motorcycle made, sold, and in use, cost of ownership, etc.
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| 19 May, 2009 - One Week, 600,000 Speeding Tickets | The European Traffic Police organization, TISPOL, went on a speeding rampage in April. In the space of one week, they caught 600,000 people speeding in cars or on motorcycles.
That's almost 100,000 per week!!!
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| 11 May, 2009 - Motorcycle Riders Have A Soft Heart | According to a survey run by Progressive Insurance Company, we bikers are not as tough as we pretend to be.
We are more romantic than non-motorcycle riders. We cry when our heart gets broken, or a child is born.
Grab your paper hankies, and read on...
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| 23 April, 2009 - European Motorcycle Accidents Report (MAIDS) 2nd Edition Available | The European Motorcycle Manufacturer Association have released the 2nd edition of their excellent accident report; MAIDS (Motorcycle Accident In-Depth Study).
The 179 page report is full of data, reasons, locations, and importantly why an accident occurs. You'll be surprised to see what you learn when reading this report.
One of the MOST interesting statistics in this report: WHICH COLOR MOTORCYCLE IS MORE LIKELY TO GO DOWN! Want to guess which one it is........
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| 8 April, 2009 - 2007 Motorcycle Market Revenue Around The World | Here are some interesting statistics on motorcycle revenue in different countries and continents for 2007, their growth rate between 2003 and 2007 and how much new cars brought in during the same time.
Some countries have a lot of money tied up in motorcycles....
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| 2 April, 2009 - France: Most Stolen Motorcycles 2008 | There has been a reduction in stolen motorcycles in France during 2008.
In the top 10 of stolen motorcycles and scooters, better not have a Yamaha, since you stand a good chance of not finding your motorcycle...
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| 1 April, 2009 - France: 17.15 Million Speed Radar Photos During 2008 | Speed radars are jackpots for governments. In France, during 2008, 17,150,000 speed photos were made (for 65,000,000 inhabitants), generating €550,000,000 in revenues.
Talk about a great ROI!
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| 31 March, 2009 - USA: Motorcycle Thefts Down | The number of motorcycles stolen in the USA for 2008 had a noticeable drop over 2007 and even more over 2006.
Having a Japanese motorcycle or a Harley-Davidson puts you in a higher risk. Living in California, Florida, Texas, North Carolina or Indiana as well.
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| 26 February, 2009 - France: The 2008 +125cc Motorcycle Market Share | The 2008 market of motorcycles over 125cc looked pretty good, specially in the first half.
Here's what the market share per manufacturer looked like. The Japanese motorcycle gained the vast majority of the market (67+%).
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| 12 February, 2009 - France: January 2009 Was A Very Safe Month | France saw a dramatic drop in road deaths during the month of January 2009....
Duh! Extreme cold weather, snow, ice and sleet doesn't really get you to go out and ride your motorcycle does it?
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| 30 January, 2009 - UK: Despite Crisis, Royal Enfield Outsells | Royal Enfield, a former British motorcycle manufacturer, but now an Indian, has had a record sales year.
In a moment of gloom, with companies closing down, it's really nice to hear one company selling 30% (yes THIRTY) more motorcycles last year!
And that for a motorcycle that has not changed its design since 50 years.
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| 16 January, 2009 - France: 2008 Good Year For Road Mortality Rate | The statistics are in regarding the number of people who have died on the French roads last year.
At least this is one figure that makes people happy when it goes down, and it did. Again, for the 7th year.
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| 24 November, 2008 - Motorcycles Riders Can Not Get It Up? | According to a scientific study performed in Japan, between 45 and 70% of motorcycle riders who ride for three hours have a erectile dysfunction.
According to the scientists, this is caused by the motorcycle vibrations. Does this mean that male Harley riders do not have any children?
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| 2 October, 2008 - UK: Traffic Fatalities 2007 - Speeding Not To Blame | The UK Department of Transport have published their traffic casualties report for 2007.
Almost all categories are decreasing, even motorcycles. But speed is not an issue, with only 3% of fatalities tied to speeding.
So why all those cameras??
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| 22 September, 2008 - Despite Clampdowns, 100K Speeders Per Day In Europe | The second time that the combined Police forces in Europe went after motorcycle and car speeders during one whole week. The 1st time was in April, and not much has changed.
800,000 speeders were caught during the week, representing over 100,000 speeders per day !
And guess what... half of them where in France!
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| 10 September, 2008 - Survey Results on Sons Of Anarchy | The results are out of the mini survey we conducted on the motorcycle gang TV series "Sons of Anarchy".
This is what 7100+ people thought of the new series.
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| 28 August, 2008 - 100K Road Deaths Per year? In One Country? | Yes... you read that right! 100,000 motorcycle and car deaths per year.
All in one country... India. It's a world record! And if there are 100,000 deaths, there must be millions of injuries!
Holy cow!
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| 30 July, 2008 - Study: Riding Your Motorcycle Dangerous For Your Children | According to some Doctor, riding a motorcycle for more than 3,000 miles per year, and wearing tight leathers, will not only prevent you from getting children, but could also give you sexual performance issues.
So it looks like you've got to make a choice.... sex or motorcycles, motorcycles or leathers, leather or sex...
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| 25 July, 2008 - US Scooter Sales Up 65% 1st Half 2008 | Guess what? Sales of scooters (and motorcycles) are through the roof!
In the US alone, during the 1st half of 2008 sales of scooters was up 65.7%!!
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| 22 July, 2008 - France: Road Kill On A Dramatic Increase | Road kill is on the increase in France. Currently, reports have reached the 25,000 accidents between motorcycles (and other vehicles) and animals.
Wild boars represent 46% of the accidents. These small tanks are not scared of anything, and will charge a biker.
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| 16 July, 2008 - Allstate Survey Of American Motorcycle Riders | American insurance company, Allstate, did a survey amongst motorcycle riders in the USA.
Not much surprise in the results, apart that the majority would leave their spouse if they had to choose....
Needless to say the survey was anonymous...
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| 15 July, 2008 - Florida State Getting Fashion Conscious | The Florida State Highway officials have launched a campaign called "Ride Proud, Ride Loud", and they're not talking about loud pipes...
The State Police think that by telling motorcycle riders in their sunny state to wear bright colors, to paint their motorcycles brights colors and to put on extra lights, that the fatalities will go done.
Personally, I think the only thing that will make you visible on the road as a motorcycle is a bright and blue flashing strobe light!
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| 10 July, 2008 - SafeRider Motorcycle Survey - Europeans Only | SafeRider is an European effort, sponsored by FEMA, to develop technology that will enhance the safety of motorcycle riders.
They are looking for your opinion. Tell them what you think is important for our safety.
And don't say no one values your opinion....
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| 30 June, 2008 - US Highways Motorcycle Survey | Fellow MBI motorcycle blogger, Cecilie Hoffman  , points out that the US Federal Highway Administration's Motorcycle Council is doing a large scale survey amongst motorcycle riders. They would like to know if their roads are motorcycle friendly.
So take a few minutes and do the survey...
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| 19 June, 2008 - Search Patterns On The Net Show It All | Search patterns/keywords on the internet are gathered by a variety of sources and analyzed.
It's very interesting to see that motorcycles are creeping towards the top spots in the automotive category.
You'd think people are getting interested by motorcycles...
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| 18 June, 2008 - France: 2007 Official Traffic Accident Statistics | The official statistics for road fatalities in France during 2007 have been published.
Overall, a net reduction, EXCEPT for, you guessed it... motorcycles. We're a race menaced with extinction...
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| 9 June, 2008 - Europe: 21-27 Apr 2008: 100,000 Speeding Tickets/Day | Between 21 and 27 April 2008, in 20 European countries, the local Police force clamped down on speeding. An average of 100,000 speeding tickets were issued during those days, PER DAY!
Here's what the statistics show. And for a change, France is not the worst...
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| 2 June, 2008 - Help This Lady With A Motorcycle Questionnaire | This is a general cry for help from a young lady studying for her MBA in Ireland (she's Greek though).
She's writing her thesis, and has a few questions for bikers who buy European off-road motorcycles (BMW, KTM).
So why not answer her questions....
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| 29 May, 2008 - France: Middle Of The Road - Traffic Mortality-wise | France is no longer the bad boy of Europe with regards to fatal road accidents.
They're middle of the road (no pun intended). Here's what was happening during 2006 in Europe.....
You make your own conclusions..
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| 26 May, 2008 - Motorcycles Ranked 2 In Terms Of Recalls | Motorcycle recalls ranked 2nd only after toys. That shows you how many problems there are in the manufacturing of motorcycles.
OK, most of the recalls are for mini-motorcycles or off-road bikes, but still....
The EU have a website with all recent motorcycle recalls. It's searchable.
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| 18 April, 2008 - France: Motorcycle Sales Progressing | The first three months of new motorcycle registrations in France has been very good compared to 2007.
A progression of 8% over the same period last year. Kawasaki and Triumph both have had spectacular increases.
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| 10 April, 2008 - Petrol Tax Around The World. What You Pay! | Oil is really not that expensive at this moment, it's the taxes that are killing us.
Here's a table showing you what countries around the world are paying in taxes at the pump.
So... Americans... stop bitching about your gas price.... you're the very lowest!!
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| 18 January, 2008 - French 2007 Motorcycle Market Is Doing Well | The motorcycle sales for France during 2007 has been very, very good.
For the last 5 years progression has been remarkable, thanks mostly to the 125 cc law.
Despite many attempts to curb motorcycles by the French government, sales are skyrocketing. Good!
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| 11 January, 2008 - France 2007 Road Death Statistics | The 2007 road fatalities statistics have been released for France.
2% less deadly accidents, and a 40% improvement over 5 years.
Still they continue installing speed radars like breeding bunny rabbits...
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| 3 January, 2008 - France: 2008 Will Be Tough | During 2007, France saw a record number of speeding fines.
The summer months saw 1.8 million tickets alone. 1,000 more jackpots radars are being installed, and the number of mobile radars are being dramatically increased.
It's no longer about saving lives, it's about money....
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| 22 November, 2007 - Continued Growth In Worldwide Motorcycle Market | According to a study by Bharat organization, motorcycle sales will continue to rise 5.4%, reaching a whopping 55.7 MILLION motorcycles by 2011.
To think a few of those will be mine.... |
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| 4 July, 2007 - Statistics: UK: Road Fatalities 2006 | The road fatalities statistics for the UK during 2006 have been released. Interesting reading!
Did you know it's more dangerous being a pedestrian than a motorcycle rider ? |
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| 4 June, 2007 - Motorcycles Pollute/Do Not Pollute More Than Cars | Report on motorcycle pollution have always been written with a lot of bias, usually by people with obvious interests.
In Paris, France, the environment agency, ADEME, have produced a real, unbiased, report. They looked at pollution in real life, not on a test bench.
Surprise! Motorcycle pollute less than cars!
But we all knew that...
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| 3 April, 2007 - GPS Is Safer Than No GPS | Dutch technical research organization, TNO, have published a detailed research performed on drivers of cars with and without a GPS system.
Their conclusions aren't earth shattering, but interesting nevertheless.
In essence, if you drive around with a GPS, you have 12% less chance of having an accident.If you have 2 GPSs, would you therefore have 24% less chance of an accident ?
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| 28 March, 2007 - Motorcycles Safer Than Horses | A study in the UK has shown that is far safer to ride a motorcycle than that it is to ride a horse. In fact, it's 21 times safer !
So stop riding your horse, and switch to your motorcycle ! |
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| 8 January, 2007 - 2006 Statistics: The Gadgets | | A closer look at the your search patterns for 2006 with regards to the gadgets and accessories. Bluetooth lives ! |
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| 4 January, 2007 - Year 2006 Statistics | | A look at the 2006 statistics of this site. We've doubled in size over the year, but so have the spammers. |
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| 13 December, 2006 - Motorcycle Accidents and the USA | | A look at the 2005 road/traffic accident statistics of the USA. Lots of motorcycle riders died, many with frontal accidents, often by cars turning left ! Also, more older bikers are buying the farm. Bad news. |
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| 4 July, 2006 - Does Your Personality Change On Your Motorcycle ? | Does your personality change when you ride your motorcycle ? That's a question Thomas at Unicornadventurers asked in his blog. I know I do, but what about you ?
Take this one question survey. Results will be published in August. |
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| 29 June, 2006 - Vespa/Piaggio and the USA | | Found an interesting website belonging to Piaggio (Vespa) USA. It's not a sales site, but a lobby site. There, they're lobbying for more parking space in the USA for scooters and motorcycles. |
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| 28 June, 2006 - USA Motorcycle Helmet Survey - JD Power | US customer satisfaction survey group, J.D. Power, conducted their annual motorcycle satisfaction survey.
Arai scored the highest, 8th year in a row !!!
But more and more potential buyers turn to the internet for helmet information.
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| 21 June, 2006 - The French and Mobile Telephones | | The French Minister of Interior published some interesting statistics on mobile phone usage in cars. it would seem that 90+% of French drivers know it's dangerous and know it's forbidden, but still they do it !! |
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| 16 June, 2006 - Number of Safe Motorcycle Riders in the World | Since the media is talking recently a lot on how dangerous motorcycle riding is, we at Bikes in the Fast Lane have decided to show people how safe it actually is to ride a motorcycle. Incurring great financial expense, we went out and produced a real-time accident monitoring system, worldwide.
Now, you too can see how safe riding a motorcycle is.
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| 8 June, 2006 - French Accidents Statistics 2005 | | The fatal accidents in French traffic statistics has been published for 2005. Another improvement over the previous year, except, as usual, for motorcycles. |
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| 4 March, 2006 - Ladies Biker Gangs | According to the USA Motorcycle Council, female riders are on the increase (36%), and more and more women are forming motorcycle clubs.
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| 28 February, 2006 - Theft/Crash Statistics USA 2005 | | US insurance company Progressive has compiled a statistics report on where you motorcycle will most likely be stolen or crashed in the USA; Interesting results, some surprising. |
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| 10 February, 2006 - French License Points | | The three year statistics on the number of points withdrawn from the French driving license have been issued. A very clear progression in the number of people who have lost their driving license. |
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| 23 January, 2006 - Motorcycle Sales In France - 2005 | The new motorcycle sales statistics for France during 2005 look very good.
The record number of motorcycles sold has been broken, so the French motorcycle market is looking very good. |
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| 11 January, 2006 - Most Popular Motorcycles Movies | | The final statistics, this time from the Motorcycles in the Movies database, and the Celebrities that ride Motorcycles list. Top 5 movies and top 10 celebrities. |
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| 25 October, 2005 - Motorcycle Market in Europe | | ACEM released their annual report with interesting statistics on the European Motorcycle market. |
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| 9 September, 2005 - Price Comparison Database | | We've created a database comparing prices in Europe (and the US) for motorcycle gear. |
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| 18 August, 2005 - Speed Radar Cameras Unsafe ! | | A report published in 2004 (and hidden) shows that Speed Radar Cameras are dangerous and cause more accidents. |
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| 5 July, 2005 - Betting Against Valentino Rossi | You can bet that Valentino does NOT win the championship, or win, but whatever you bet, you'll not make much money.
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| 6 September, 2004 - MotoGP Winning Over F1 | | More and more viewers are turning to MotoGP, not happy with F1. Surprised ? |
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