Motorbiking hit by economy

27/04/2012

The cost of motoring has impacted motorcyclists just as much as car drivers.

However, as most bikers are hobbyists rather than using their machine for the daily commute, this increase in costs has impacted the demographic of motorcyclists.

Jeff Stone, media and public relations manager at the British Motorcyclists Federation, said that 85 per cent of the company's members had a car as well as a bike.

"So when things are tight, if they've got a decent motorbike, they might not buy that latest one as they can't justify it to themselves. So motorcycle sales have been depressed generally over the last three years," he explained.

However, he said that celebrities such as Ewan Mcgregor and Charlie Boorman have created an increase in the popularity of mega trail bikes over more traditional superbikes.

As a result the big BMW 1200 GS has been one of the top selling motorcycles in the UK.