Motorcycles
Inner-city Australia is getting an Italianate look, and it’s not from the overwhelming belief that eating on the footpath among exhaust fumes and bus queues is a badge of continental sophistication.
It’s the increasing presence of scooters. City centres are being Vespa-ised, Aprilia-cated, VMoto-ed, and not a little Piaggio-ified.
The striking response to rising petrol prices and clogged roads has been a growth in the scooter fleet which would be at home in Rome. During the first half of the year, scooters sales in Australia rose 14.3 per cent over the same period in 2010. That means nearly 6000 were sold, compared to just over 5000 in the first six months of last year.
Continue reading "A two-wheeled renaissance in the Rome of the East" »
Motorcyclists stand up and take a bow—preferably after you’ve turned off your engines. You have become a political lobby group representing men and, increasingly, women of all ages, and are revving up influence at all levels of government.
Unlike those other two-wheelers, the Lycra dandies on bicycles who contribute no registration fees but demand exclusive use of great slabs of road, motorcycle riders pay their own way and ask for little.
Well, they used to ask for little. Now they are making demands, and the consequence will be less traffic congestion, lower pollution levels, and more money in household budgets.
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Tony says:
Danger is purely relative and we need to put risks into perspective. Flinders Uni’s accident research centre has found that horseriding and downhill skiing are about 10 times more dangerous than motorcycling, and them’s the facts. One death or serious injury every 1000 hours of horseriding or skiing - one… Read more »
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GB says:
What utter rubbish Rob. Where do you get your data from, as the actual statistics show over the last 5 years that despite MORE motorcyclists being on Australian roads, accident and injury rates have DROPPED in real terms. At least be honest. Read more »
I have taken unto myself a motorbike and it is a beautiful and joyous thing. For others it is a sign of my mental collapse and advanced desperation.
There has been a procession of arched eyebrows and the diagnosis of a mid-life a crisis from those who believe I should be confining myself to inspections of nice retirement villages.
I acknowledge that I am north of 50 and a shortish commute to 60, but it is foolish to make sweeping statements about an age group. (Gen Y does it all the time). And I’m having too much fun to worry.
Continue reading "Get your motor running, even if it’s slow to warm up" »
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Buckets says:
Welcome back to living, not just surviving… Oh, and do get involved with the MCC of NSW. Good bunch of people. Read more »
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ASuzi says:
Good for you. I got my L’s at 37 & pretty much got the same response from friends/relatievs you did! but due to circumstances they lapsed:( I will go again as soon as I can. Absolutely love, love, love it! Ride like the wind Mal, shiny side up! Read more »
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