Motorbike Information

Motorbike insurance can cost you a lot of your hard earned money each year. In this article you will find out about 8 different ways you can cut the cost of your motorbike insurance. The savings you make may add up to quite a bit of money over the years so it is usually worth the effort involved. So here are the ways to save on your motorbike insurance:

1. Well first of all, for those of you who have not actually bought your motorbike yet, you have an opportunity of getting your motorbike insurance down from the start by getting quotes for several different motorbikes that you are considering in order to find a motorbike with lower insurance costs. This is because motorbike insurance premiums can vary considerably depending on the type and model of bike that you go for. Another benefit of doing your homework before you buy your motorbike is that you avoid buying a motorbike which you later find out you cannot afford the insurance on.

2. When deciding which excess level to go for on your motorbike insurance policy, the best thing to do is to go for as high an excess as you can afford to pay in the event of claim as the higher your excess the less you pay.

3. If the bike you are insuring is an old one or does not have much value, then you can save some money by opting for third party fire and theft insurance cover instead of comprehensive insurance cover.

4. Some insurance companies take into account your credit record when deciding on how much your insurance premium is going to be, so make sure you keep a good credit record which is a good thing to have anyway.

5. It always pays to shop around different insurance companies to find the best deal and also bear in mind you may get a discount for buying online.

6. Avoid adding a young rider to your insurance policy if possible and keep the number of riders on your policy to a minimum, you pay the lowest amount by just having yourself on your insurance policy.

7. You should only have guest passenger liability on your policy if you actually do have guest riders on the back of your bike. If you ride alone always, then you can get your insurance down by not having the guest passenger liability on your insurance. However you must be aware that you must never have a guest rider on the back of your bike in this case as you will not be insured for this.

8. And finally it is a good idea to only make a claim when it is a large claim and try not to make smaller claims as this will keep your future insurance premiums down.

Motorcycle riders have long been popular for their display of toughness and pure machismo. As much as cars have dominated the roads, it is the motorcycle riders that ruled and lived on the road, pretty much comparable to the appeal of all-American cowboys. We surely heard enough motorcycle adventure stories from our fathers and grandfathers. Back then, riding a motorbike holds a bold statement, giving an impression of pure toughness. Nowadays, modern riders are increasing in number. For one thing, riding motorbikes is 11 ways more fun than driving cars.

Reason #1

Riders are road’s main attractions. Riding a motorbike complete with a helmet and riding outfit creates a picture that is beyond ordinary. It’s the image that riders create that makes motorbikes more interesting.

Reason #2

The adrenalin or excitement you get from a motorbike is ten times more than what you get from riding a car. For one thing, it leaves you bare on the road, putting your raw driving skills to test. These bikes do not have power steering or auto-features, giving the riders full command on the road.

Reason #3

It presents a great way of beating the traffic. It can go anywhere and everywhere, except on sidewalks. In this regard, motorcycles are ideal traffic solutions. (please take law into consideration in your country)

Reason #4

Generally, motorbikes run faster than cars. It has to have something to do with the platform, weight, engine and design aspects that enable the more compact ride run faster than conventional cars.

Reason #5

Riding a motorbike takes a lot more concentration and focus. It needs its rider to focus on maintaining balance while operating the engine, making no room for distractions such as cell phones, smoking or talking.

Reason #6

Motorbikes spell adventure better than cars. It gives the rider more control on the road. Compared to cars, bikes give better views of sceneries.

Reason #7

Bikes are comfortable to ride. More comfort can be enjoyed by investing on accessories, attachments or add-ons.

Reason #8

Similar to cars, motorbike saddlebags, luggage racks or panniers allows you to accommodate everything you need in your road adventures.

Reason #9

Believe it or not, motorbikes can sit in up to 10 people, depending on the engine power and the design of the side-car it attaches to.

Reason #10

Motorbikes are sporting a powerful and fuel-efficient engine yielding outstanding fuel mileage and huge savings. In hope of reducing the world’s fuel consumption, electric motorbikes are now slowly gaining popularity, thanks to the auto manufacturers efforts to ‘go green’.

Reason #11

Motorcycle models are available in sleek and fashionable 2-wheel and 3-wheel designs. In addition, they are also customizable. Sprucing up a motorcycle not only appreciates its market value but also its rider’s appeal.

Traditionally, motorcycles were referred as naked beasts, their dominating presence and road adventures are forever printed in the history. They have defined adventure more than any piece of machine had. Hence, motorcycle riders enjoy more, they get more of the excitement and fun of threading down the road and they pretty much get more out of life.

Finally, you have bought the motorbike you have been lusting for months. The days when you used to dream of simply riding your own bike is now over. As you grew tired of your car, the arrival of your new bike is a welcome diversion. With that, there will definitely some changes.

Change #1

With your car, you can safely ride even without fixing your hair or even in your flip flops. You can drive around the town without paying attention to your appearance. You can never do that with your new bike. Gone are the days when you can readily drive on your flip flops and house shirt. Your seat belt will be replaced by a safety helmet. Generally, stricter driving rules apply to motorcycle riders. With that, you need to have a proper driving gear that will not only keep you safe and comfortable but will also make you presentable as you drive more visibly on the road.

Change #2

Riding a motorbike is considered a sport when driven on a particular arena. In this light, you need to be physically ready to keep up with the demands of your new ride. You need to work on your endurance. Motorcycle riding gives you 100% driving; it leaves you to do everything that is concerned about driving, which are mostly physical tasks. With that, you should never drive when you are sleepy and tired for you risk yourself getting caught with an accident.

Change #3

Parking problems? No more! With a more compact ride, finding parking space will be much easier. No more parking tickets, no more racing for parking slots at the mall or any other establishments. Even streets can serve as a welcome parking alternative for motorbikes. Always having a place to park has its advantages. For one, you minimize your chances of getting involved into parking accidents which happens to be one of the common occurrences of driving accidents. Secondly, no more parking tickets. With that, you can easily go about any route you would wish to take. How fun is that?

Change #4

No more multi-tasking. Gone are the days when you used to do other things while driving. Riding a motorcycle will leave you no room to entertain a phone call, send text messages and check your appearance or re-touch your makeup. Motorcycling is all about driving; it demands your full attention. Since it gives you full road command and driving control, it requires you to do more decisions per second and more data processing compared what you experience in other activities. Hence, motorcycling is harder than it seems, it is a tough way of threading the road.

Change #5

Compared to having a car, everything is cheaper with a motorbike except motorbike repairs. It allows you to enjoy huge savings on being fuel efficient and more freedom to choose custom-styling project designs since the job will be way cheaper than with cars. Now, you can easily change your ride’s appearance as often as your eased-up maintenance budget can afford.

Aside from the changes that need to be made on your license and registration documents, shifting to motorcycle rides for your daily commutes gives you more of exciting and interesting road experiences.

With all the frequent changes to motoring legislation and regulations, it may seem more difficult to figure out what you need to do to ride a motorbike in the UK than it is to actually pass the required tests. So I will attempt to break down the required tests and certicates here.

In all there are 3 different categories of motorbike, based on the size of its engine – moped, learner motorbike and standard motorbike. Depending on your age and current licences it may be possible to start riding straight away.

Moped

The smallest of the 3 categories, a moped is defined as a bike with an engine size of 50cc or less, weighing under 250kg and being able to go no faster than around 30mph. If you have a full car driving licence that was received before February 2001 you can start riding mopeds straight away. Anyone else – aged 16 and over – will need to first pass their Compulsory Basic Training (which I will go into later), and have already passed their driving theory test.

Learner Motorbikes

Learner bikes are motorbikes or scooters with an engine size up to 125cc and a power output of 11kW. You must be at least 17 years of age, have a provisional motorcycle licence and have passed your CBT to be allowed to ride a 125cc motorbike.

Standard Motorbikes

The next stage for the learner biker is to move on to the full size motorbike. You will need to have first passed your CBT and theory tests and then you can move onto the full practical road test.

Once you have done all this you may still be limited in the size of bike you can ride. For example, if you are under 21 you will be restricted to bikes with a power of under 25kW and a power/weight ratio of no more than 0.16kW/kg (your instructor will be able to explain what this means in practice).

Compulsory Basic Training (CBT)

No matter what your age, any rider wanting to legally ride a bike larger than a moped will need to pass their CBT. The CBT consists of a series of theoretical and practical lessons, usually all done on the same day, taking you through the basics of stopping, starting, turning and generally all you need to know to get on the road safely. You will likely first have to try out the manoevres in a car park, before moving onto the roads where your instructor will be looking for you to demonstrate these skills and general road safety and awareness.

Once your CBT is completed, you will have two years to ride freely with ‘L’ plates, giving you plenty of time to prepare yourself for the full test.

Now this can be one of the riskiest times for learner motorbikers – many young riders will be tempted to ride around like they’re in a race, which with little experience can be disastrous. The best riders should be constantly looking at how to improve their safety awareness. This can be anything from wearing the right clothing to looking for specific courses where you can get professional and expert training. Your instructor or examiner will no doubt be able to point you in the right direction.

So you have had your mind set on buying that bike since you can’t remember when. But you never had the money for it. Now that you know that a bike of the same make and mode has been put up for sale, you are all excited to make your purchase. If you find yourself still short of cash, you can take the help of used motorbike finance.

Used motorbike finance is a loan that funds the purchase of used motorbikes. It may be of any make, size or model. The only thing that you have to make sure is that the bike is not more than 5 years old. The reason behind this is that you will end up paying quite a sum for its maintenance. It might cost you more than you bargained for.

There is no fixed range of loan amounts for this form of loan. The amount that you borrow will depend on the cost of the used bike you are interested in buying. Your first priority should be finding a good dealer. And then you should check out the state of the bike itself. Is it in a good condition? Does it need any repair? Find out the total cost of the used bike.

Used motorbike finance can provide the sum of money necessary for the overall cost of the used bike. You can take this loan by providing collateral if you wish to but unsecured form of used motorbike finance is also available. For a secured type, the same used bike you are interested in buying can be pledged as collateral. Interest rate could come a little lower through this option. Weigh your options carefully and go for the one which is more cost-effective for you. Repayment term under both forms lasts for a period of 5-7 years only. You can make the payments in the form of easy monthly installments.

Used motorbike finance can finally make your long-cherished dream come true- namely, zooming around town in that much-desired bike. There are many lenders who provide this loan scheme. Always compare a variety of quotes to select lower rates.

Certain models of motorbikes are more expensive than car, thus making it a target for thievery. Moreover, the risks of accident among bikers are quite high compare to drivers of four wheels which has made motorbike insurance costly. However, there are a lot of ways in which you could obtain cheap motorbike insurance.

Basically, all insurance companies offer three major types of motorbike insurance, which are the Liability, Collision and Comprehensive Insurance. Liability insurance does not cover you and your motorbike but covers the other people who are involved in the accident. Collision Insurance covers the damages incurred to you and your motorbike, while Comprehensive Insurance covers motorcyclist against fire, vandalism and stolen motorbike.

In looking for cheap motorbike insurance, motorcyclist should realise that insurance companies does underwriting of insurance application based on certain points. One of them is your model of the bike. Expensive motorbikes faces higher risk of being stolen, thus the price for insurance is normally higher. Another factor is your age; younger drivers are known to be inexperience and sometimes reckless driver, thus they will also be charged with a higher premium.

To qualify for cheap motorbike insurance, a good driving record is required. Being involved in pass accidents or traffic offences will tarnish your record and stop you from being offered cheap motorbike insurance. Staying in laces with high crime rates also means paying more for motorbike insurance. The risk of the motorbike getting stolen is higher compared to safer neighbourhood. Having a job that requires extensive travelling will not get you a cheap motorbike insurance due to the daily risk involved.

Other ways that an insurance company considers before giving you a cheap motorbike insurance is how well you put effort in keeping your bike safe. Some important tips to securing a cheap motorbike insurance is to fit an alarm to your motorbike, install a tracking device to enable police to recover stolen motorbike and fit an immobiliser to disable the motorbike whenever the ignition key is removed form the keyhole. Some insurance company offer online checks and applications to expedite your requirements to see if you are qualified for cheap motorbike insurance. 

A wheelie on a motorized vehicle is not a new motorbike stunt. In drag racing, they are considered as a problem of robbing control that could be used to increase the speed of the vehicle faster, and many classes of drag racing use wheelie bars in order to stop them. However, those are the vehicles specifically built for drag racing, which rarely are street-legal, or customized from stock. In contrast, since at least the 1970s, some motorbikes straight from the outlet floor were able to be wheeled.

            Between the late 1980s and ongoing today, motorcycles especially sport bikes, have become lighter and more powerful, and have therefore become easier to do motorbike stunt. Other motorbike stunts have also become possible due to the development of motorbike technology. Martin child wrote about bike, as the bike with lighter, shorter, and better-braked are on the market, the motorbike stunt has never been easy for so many. However, at the same time, the cost of a motorbike has remained comparatively low as compared to other street-legal vehicles with similar power-to-weight ratios.

            Motorbike stunt riding is a rising sport in the United Kingdom and the United States. However, United States law prohibits “stunting” motorbike on public roads and it can even land you in jail quickly.

            If you are buying a second-hand motorbike then you must check whether anyone has done stunt on this bike. Take a test for horizontal spots on the front tire, which shows you that the bike has done some wheelies. You must check for the scratches, which could have resulted from a crash. Motorbike stunt can trash engines, transmissions and the suspension, so be careful unless you intend to use your bikes in the same way, as a stunt bike.

            Some motorbike riders form teams and make motorbike stunt into a marketable effort, such as the star boys. They sell branded merchandise of their stunts, produce shows and even offer schools on stunting. The star boys were produced in 1996 in Akron, Ohio, USA, and another business team, Las Vegas extremes formed in 1999.

 Frame sliders – these big knobs are attached to a motorbike’s frame to guard the fairing from damage when the rider laid downward the bike. Motorbike rider who do not do motorbike stunts also used frame sliders. It should not be considered as a substitute for a cage when learning how to stunt. Although frame sliders will cut the damage to the plastics and certain parts of the bike, they are not enough to keep from cracking motor gear and or cracking the frame itself.

Crash cages – these cages give more protection from break than frame sliders. There are many different designs and styles of cages in the market. It is mostly used by motorbike stunt riders. It is very important to check around, based on the type of bike you have, as what cage will work best at maximizing the protection for your specific motorbike. Sub cages are very similar to crash cages but for protection of a different sort. Front upper stay is meant to replace the upper stay on the motorbike.

One important thing that everyone should remember is not to perform any motorbike stunts without wearing a motorbike helmets. Motorbike helmets will protect you in case something goes wrong with your stunt.