New laws 2013

[victor]

i think they should extend the CBT for people that have never been on the road beforeto 4 days training.
I am not in anyway connected with a training school but a couple of hours on a play ground then go this way for two hours you have now passed,more riding time needed

[SpikeOne]

I'm not not sure that anyone wants better bikes!

Maybe improvements in fuel economy, which would only be marginal anyway, but any other improvements seems to just have increased costs one way or another. After all what was wrong with clapped out 2 strokes, and big lumpy oily engines - they were simple and did me well as a young rider. They cost little to run, and I learned how to take them apart and sometimes, even put them back together again, and I can't honestly say that there's been any improvements in safety with the possible exception of ABS, (which I don't have and have never had), and marginally better tyres. Forget the environment - that's all rubbish anyway.

Afterall, was the FS1E actually more dangerous or less stable than a modern 50cc scooter. I think not. It never went as fast as we pretended anyway.

As regards training I can't help thinking that more is needed. A 16 or 17 year old is far more at risk of injury due to the same level of inexperience, and more and faster traffic than he used to be, and I don't think any amount of training is going to improve on that. Non of them drive defensively until they get knocked off, or have a really close call, (anymore than we did). The memsahib did her CBT with a young lad who'd never driven anything in his life before, and he was just as terrified afterwards as he was before.

No, I'm sure that the government's heart is in the right place, but I can't honestly say that it's achieved anything but keep people off the road.

Or maybe that's the point! If it is then why not just make bikes illegal and be done with it.

[Data]

Yes...I know what you mean SpikeOne. It seems that way regarding the better bikes bit, but actually it really isn't. Bikes now really are much much better. Better brakes, better tyres, engines last much much longer, better mpg's, much less and easier maintenance, better everything. For example, the old Truimph twins that I used to have would need a rebuild every 30,000 miles on average. That was in fact the engine design life for the parrallet twin of the day according to Meriden works. You could get a bit more out of one if you tried but usually that was it. That was two years riding for me in those days and then I used to strip the engine and regrind crank (it needed it) and rebore the barrels, fit new pistons, rings etc plus new valves, springs and guides. Cams used to be ok usually as did primary drive chain/gears. So, quite expensive but I loved doing it and I was a total British bike nut at the time. Oh...all right then, just a nut!! My GT500 stroker was better, 55,000 miles before each strip. The engine was totally worn out at that stage. Not just that but the Truimphs and the stroker were stinkingly filthy engines and managed very few mpgs compared to todays bikes. Handling and performance too were pretty poor by our standards today. My Burgman has a design life for the engine of 130,000 miles.

FSIE, fabulous bike but wore out very quickly unlike the engines on todays small bikes which do last much longer, go better, are cleaner, and give better fuel economy. So sorry, but think you are completely wrong on the bit about regs not improving bikes. Bike engines have improved because of the regs and that's actually a fact. It's been the same with cars too. Engines have to last longer and stay within certain parameters (emissions for example being one) for many more thousands of miles when the new regs come about. This means big improvements will come just like in the past to make sure engine wear is reduced and everything lasts even longer.

Don't know much about the training licences but the more training the better has alway been my moto, and as an ex-instructor for bikes, I know that's true and I think restrictions on the size of bike someone can ride is largely a good thing until they have gained more experience to allow good safety on bigger faster bikes. It should be the same for cars too.

[SpikeOne]

I guess I was referring to the definition of "better" really.
For my money, who cares about emissions - I don't. And I don't much care whether there's oil smoking out the back either.
I can't honestly say that modern bikes handle much better than older ones - certainly not the ones that I've driven.
I take your point regarding the engine life, but again, I'm not sure that that is necessarily important unless you're shoveling terrific numbers of miles like you used to anyway.

I had just as much fun, probably more 40 years ago than I do now, but at a fraction of the cost, and I don't how "better" fits into that equation.

[Data]

Well, look at it this way. Better emissions means amongst many other things, more miles per gallon, which translates to more money in your pocket. Lovely!! Engines need to last a lot longer in order to stay within operating and emission standards for longer. You want your performance to be maintained and you don't want your Kymco 300 to need rebuilding at 20k like the old BSA 250 Starfire usually needed from yesteryear. Your Kymco is so good because it has to meet Euro 3 and to do that it has to last a very long time. But the new rules will make is necessary to make engines last even longer...if you see what I mean. And that's just one aspect of what is happening to make our bikes better. Anyhoo...Happy New Year if I haven't said that to you already...

[SpikeOne]

And you mate...

[Earl]

[StephenC]

DVLA has issued the current list of bikes suitable for A2. They say it is not comprehensive and will continue to grow as they work it all out. A good few scoots on there:

BMW G650GS
Brough Superior
Gilera Fuoco 500
Honda FX650, NC700, Shadow, SLR650 and VT750S
Husqvarna TR650 Strada and Terra (restricted), TE449 and TE511
Kawasaki ER5, ER6-F, ER6-N, Versys, VN900, (all restricted) and W800
KTM Duke 690 (restricted)
Moto Guzzi V7
Suzuki GSX650F, Gladius, SV650, VL800, VZ800 (all restricted) and GS500
Yamaha MT-03, TMAX, XT660R, XT660Z Tenere and YP400 Majesty.

[ridinhigh]

And where are they going to find a Brough Superior, at around 30 thousand pound ,and are vintage

,cor the mind boggles

[MrGrumpy]

And where are they going to find a Brough Superior, at around 30 thousand pound ,and are vintage

,cor the mind boggles

I did think that was rather odd....maybe its DVLA's idea of a joke.......