They are ‘motorised toys’ which may not belong on public highways, the Association of Chief Police Officers told the Commons Transport Committee.

The association based its call on the false claim that production motorcycles are ‘readily available’ with top speeds of over 200mph. In fact not a single production motorcycle has broken the 200mph barrier.

The association said: ‘Production machines are readily available for use on our roads with top speeds in excess of 200mph. Motorcycles are seen in the UK to be, in the majority of instances, vehicles of choice rather than necessity and one might consider if our congested roads are any longer fit for purpose for these motorised toys.’

The comments have been published in a report by the committee on road safety. They were part of ACPO’s official response to a committee consultation.

The ACPO memo calls for the creation of no-motorcycle zones and points to power caps. It states: ‘There is a need for radical thinking in respect of motorcycles, including consideration of engine capability and the creation of protection zones where all motorcycles other than those specifically permitted would be prohibited.’

The association also calls for motorcycles to be fitted with chips to allow police to identify them from a distance, and tougher penalties for illegal number plates. It says: ‘The detection of motorcycling offences is problematic, encouraging non-compliance. This includes Vehicle Excise Duty evasion on a massive scale.

‘For this reason, stricter penalties should be introduced for non-compliant registration plates and further work should be done on the development of such products as number plates containing chips that will allow automated vehicle identification, even at high speeds.’

In fact official Government research shows just 6.5% of motorcycles are untaxed.

Post from: Bike Wear Direct

The new stock is going to consist of:

- More of our great texpeed leather motorcycle gloves which are a great seller all year round.
- We have had to re-order our waterproof range after it did so well on its appearance.
- Some great new cordura trousers which is put a lot of smiles on faces. Still at the competitive price of £49.99 + P&P
- Womens cordura jackets which did well for the Texpeed brand when we stocked them.

Also we will be restocking more products such as: leather tool rolls, our saddle bags, leather fingerless gloves and the reknowned Texpeed body armour sets.

With purchasing prices rising we have decided to put off a price increased until the new year to help our customers beat the ever growing problem the “Credit crunch”

Thanks for reading.

Post from: Bike Wear Direct

PTW registrations in July were 14,306 - an increase of 2,578 over the same month last year. Total PTW registrations for the first seven months of the year are up 1 per cent at 87,551. This is in stark contrast to the UK car market which fell almost 13 per cent last month and is nearly 3 per cent down to the end of July.

This view is supported by the fact that, while most types of bike saw gains last month, there is a clear trend emerging towards practical, multi-use and everyday bikes. Scooter and moped sales increased by almost 27 per cent and 34.5 per cent respectively in July while naked motorcycles continued to perform strongly with a 46.5 per cent increase. The adventure sport and custom sectors also showed strong gains. The only category to show a decline in the month was trail and enduro bikes with a 7.9 per cent fall.

The biggest selling bikes in July were two Yamaha 125cc models - the YZF R125 (338 units) and the YBR 125 (277 units) - reflecting an increasing demand for smaller-engined machines. PTW registrations of bikes of up to 50cc increased by over 35 per cent and engines from 51cc to 125cc increased by almost 31 per cent. Bikes with engines from 651cc to 1,000cc increased by 40 per cent, driven by demand for adventure sport, custom and naked bikes.

The biggest-selling make in July was Honda with 2,011 registrations followed by Yamaha (1,860) and Suzuki (1,486). 

Carey-Clinch added: “Time wasted in congestion, expensive and uncomfortable public transport, high parking and congestion charges and the massive costs of car ownership coupled to rising costs of living make a moped, scooter or motorcycle increasingly attractive.

“A PTW is a real and viable alternative that can cut journey times, is easier to park, low cost to run and helps cut CO2 emissions. There’s probably never been a stronger reason to switch to two wheels.”sociation (MCI).

Post from: Bike Wear Direct

A round of the World Superbike Championship has taken place at the Kent circuit every year since 1993. Jonathan Palmer, Chief Executive of MotorSport Vision, said: “Of course it is very disappointing not to have World Superbikes on the calendar for Brands Hatch next year but I have not been able to agree terms with the promoters of WSB, the Italian-based FG Sport company, run by Paolo and Maurizio Flammini.

“It is obviously their business to obtain the highest fees possible from circuits for having a WSB event but unfortunately FG Sport has demanded a fee over twice as much as MSV paid in 2008, which seems strange given the very obvious global economic crisis.

“I have made it very clear to FG Sport that we would be delighted to welcome WSB back to Brands Hatch in 2009 but despite considerable negotiation over many weeks the substantially increased offer I made to FG Sport was not acceptable to them.

“The loss of Brands Hatch will be a shame for British fans but also a big loss for the World Superbike Championship, as Brands Hatch has consistently attracted the biggest crowd of any circuit and will clearly be missed by its promoters and sponsors.

The Kent circuit has held sixteen World Superbike Championship events since 1993, including two rounds in the year 2000, and has featured many of the pivotal moments in the championship’s history, including Carl Fogarty’s double victory in 1995 and more recently James Toseland’s double win in 2007. This year’s event at Brands Hatch saw Ryuichi Kiyonari take the first two wins of his World Superbike career.

Post from: Bike Wear Direct

Earlier this week another Oxfordshire biker, Sandor Ferenci, was jailed for 12 weeks for pulling similar stunts on the A422 near Banbury.

Mohammed Sheik, prosecuting, said: “His vehicle sped up after leaving the Rose Hill roundabout. He pulled a wheelie which lasted about 100 yards.”

The case was adjourned until November 13th.

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We continue to wish them the best of luck.

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Police says the deadly tactic was necessary to ‘gather evidence’ on speeding rider Michael James Collins, 22, from Beckenham, Kent.

The video, shot from the police bike, shows a 15 minute high-speed pursuit on rural and urban roads. At one stage the police rider reaches 107mph in a 40mph zone.
In his efforts to keep up with Collins, the officer also takes a series of massive risks, overtaking in the face of oncoming traffic and narrowly avoiding a head-on crash with another bike. 

Meanwhile, with nothing to indicate the mystery rider tailing him for miles is a police officer, Collins reaches 140mph in what could be an attempt to shake his pursuer off. 

After all the risk Collins was only arrested later, at a bike dealership in Kent.
Magistrates handed him a two-year suspended jail sentence and riding ban and 240 hours’ unpaid work.

Incredibly, Sussex Police claimed it was safe for an unmarked police bike to travel at 96mph in a 30mph zone with siren and flashing lights off.

The force said in a statement: ‘Mr Collins was arrested following numerous complaints from residents in Hastings and drivers on the A21, who reported a motorcyclist riding dangerously and at excessive speed on a daily basis.

‘The method of riding was considered so extreme by investigating officers from the Sussex Road Policing Unit that normal stopping procedures were not considered appropriate. Instead, the rider was safely tracked using unmarked cars and an unmarked motorcycle in order to gather evidence to support a prosecution. Having risk-assessed the intelligence relating to the rider there was also a possibility that the rider would try and evade police if a stop was attempted.’

Supt Steve Barry, the force’s head of road policing, admitted there was enough evidence to charge Collins without the 15-minute chase, since he hit 100mph in a 60 zone within minutes of the tape rolling. But he said: “I think the court wanted to see the full extent of the seriousness of the riding behaviour and that was the reason we prolonged the evidence-gathering stage.”

Post from: Bike Wear Direct

I think I have got past the everything must be BMW and I manage to locate a great company that can supply Very high quality clothing wiith excellent standard of potection built in the company is called :-

www.bikeweardirect.co.uk

They have a good range of style’s and sizes and I manged to get a discount on the clothing and P/P
I dealt we a salesman called Fraser if this helps

I have no other connection with this company other than a very satisified customer 

This was a recent email we recieved from one of our buyers who purchased several items of our range.

Post from: Bike Wear Direct