Is biking dying?

R.P.L said:
I'm probably going to try to get my licence and buy a bike soon, so I'm doing my bit to keep it going. Look forward to a noob biker thread with loads of silly questions soon :p
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Well done. I am almost there now. Got a 125, done my CBT, theory and Mod 1. Only my Mod 2 to go very soon now. I wish I had done it years ago. It's great fun. Just start getting things like CBT booked as soon as you can so you make it happen.
 
I don't feel it's as cheap as it used to be and I'm growing tired of the ever worsening quality of driving on the roads if i'm honest.
 
I was 31 when i passed back in 2017, so a late starter to biking, passed my car at the age of 17.

Been riding for 4 years now and love it.
Filtering through traffic should be an olympic sport!
 
It has been getting harder and more expensive to get your licence. Bikes are getting ridiculously expensive now. Although there are some fantastic bikes out there, especially in the midrange naked bikes.
I passed my test back in 2007, went nuts and picked up a Superduke 990 on the day I passed. I rode it every chance I got, I'd finish work early everyday I could and head out on to the Essex roads. Did my first trackday within 6 months and then went track mad as well as road. The bike had just 3.5k miles on it when I bought it, 3 years later when it dropped a valve on the rear cylinder :( it had 56k miles, well over 100 trackdays and a season club racing. Loved that bike, gutted when it died. Now I've hit 50 I've slowed down a bit, gave up racing and don't do as many trackdays anymore. Still have a Superduke but its a 1290 gen 2 and I absolutely love it, its ******* bonkers. I'd recommend trackdays to anyone, new riders as well. Its the perfect place to hone your skills without the dangers of lamp posts, walls, cars and of course the police ;) Met some life long friends from trackdays and racing.
 
You're right, biking isn't as cheap as i think people realise.

Cost me £850 from start to finish in lessons and tests,
I spent about £600 on a helmet, gloves, coat and boots.
My bike was £1000 (1996 fazer 600)
And then the tax and insurance which was about £290 to insure my first year at 31.

Also, the mod 1 and mod 2 are HARD.
I failed my mod 1 first time on emergency stop as i held the throttle open as i braked, passed my mod 2 first time at least.

Non of my friends are even closely interested in biking, but a few guys from work (the ones who got me into biking) have an interest at least.
 
Im in Rural Wales, it is fairly popular here but they die a lot from cars pulling out of junctions near bends. The bikes are going too fast and slam into them
 
What I see putting people off is the maintenance and the required learning involved in properly maintaining the bike. Some of the friends who got their CBT don't even tighten their chain, they just ride until it wears out, and at that point they see other parts of the bike start to deteriorate like the tires, brakes, and God forbid they don't grease the swing arm after 2 years and then the bolt gets seized, and they ask themselves why they have to spend all this money to get it back into shape. You definitely develop a passion for it or you don't and lose interest. You care how the bike sounds and feels and it becomes your responsibility to look after it which means spending hours reading and troubleshooting to develop a basic understanding of how the bike works.
 
I think insurance costs for youngsters is a big factor.

When I was 14/15, I was always jealous of the 16 year old who had mopeds and there were definitely dozens of them scooting about here, there and everywhere. Nowadays, the only moped and scooters I really see are deliveroo and Uber Eats couriers.
 
MrsHB and I have expired CBT licenses, all the gear and even a bike in the garage (125cc) and she wants to go for her full license at some point. I was going too as well but decided against it. I would be using it to commute and having seen some things over the years travelling a coach, there's no way I'd want to do it now. Just too dangerous, too many selfish, idiotic people.

I toyed with the idea of getting a Piaggio MP3 to commute on also (The one you can drive on your car license) but again, as far as I'm concerned, it's just too dangerous.
 
I was thinking today during my commute that I barely see bikes anymore on the roads.
Back when I was on my bike only (10 years ago now) there were plenty about and my old works bike shed used to be full to the brim.
Nowadays there was 1-2 bikes on the daily and barely any seen on the roads.

Pretty sad tbh but Im not surprised. It doesnt make sense financially anymore, getting a car is easier to afford and overall safer on British roads.
 
bobbarley said:
I'm booked in to do my CBT tomorrow. Instead of years of wishing I would ride a motorbike, decided to do it!
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Well done and good luck. It's a fun day and the weather forecast looks good.

I was similar to you a year ago. After lots of delays due to covid and having fun on a 125, I should be collecting my first big bike tomorrow, assuming it's in the right condition when I get there.
 
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I've decided to wait until next spring to get my licence. If I start now it will be the end of summer by the time I'm on a bike, so thought it better to wait and give myself the whole summer to get plenty of riding in.
 
If I had the money, I’d be very tempted by a supermoto style 4 stroke single. Most of the roads I use would be a bit sketchy for a pure street bike there’s mud on them somewhere all year round.
 
Barely ridden my bike at all this year, just been out for an hour riding around thought myself I haven't even done an oil change this year yet.
 
So people have been mentioning that biking has gotten more expensive as one of the reasons for biking dying; but so have cars. I bought my 2010 mazda 3 in 2013 for £7500 with less than 30,000 miles on it.
Trying to get a mazda that is 3 years old with similar mileage is at least £11,000 now, so i think motoring is just more expensive all round.

Though learning to ride a motorbike and gear is admittedly an addition to the entry price.
 
Chuk_Chuk said:
So people have been mentioning that biking has gotten more expensive as one of the reasons for biking dying; but so have cars. I bought my 2010 mazda 3 in 2013 for £7500 with less than 30,000 miles on it.
Trying to get a mazda that is 3 years old with similar mileage is at least £11,000 now, so i think motoring is just more expensive all round.

Though learning to ride a motorbike and gear is admittedly an addition to the entry price.
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It's a bit of a strange situation at the moment though with used car prices through the roof. New prices of bikes have definitely increased even pre covid as there's a fair few getting into or near the £20k mark now whereas it wasn't that long ago you were looking at mid teens max for a top of the line production bike, ignoring the extra special homologation style models from some brands.
 
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a scooter/bike in a school carpark; I’ve worked in a few schools and I’m almost always the only biker. I would say there’s less young bikers out there though. The cost of bikes doesn’t really affect things as 50-125cc bikes are the only bikes that are reasonably priced. I can only presume the hassle of getting a full license puts most young people off. The convenience and safety of cars must be a big plus too.
 
It's crazy that you see used Yamaha MT-10s selling for more than their new price back in 2016.

Finance has bloated the costs of the motoring market.
 
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