MotorBikes: There are promising signs on the road ahead, says John Wheeler.
What will 2005 do to motor-cycling? We can expect to see more new and better roads and, in some cases, more toll booths?
Just because a stretch of road has been built by a public-private partnership, we don't have to resort to a near Stone Age system of "hard" collection. Soft tolling, with promoters paid from central funds already collected from road users on the basis of traffic volume, is the only efficient way.
Hard tolling, so beloved here, reduces potentially efficient roads such as the M50 down to traffic nightmares.
Will 2005 see motorcyclists permitted to use bus lanes? Not if the pedal-cycle mad Dublin Transportation Office and Dublin Bus have anything to do with it. Dublin Bus would far rather be delayed by a slower pedal-cycle than a faster moving motorcycle which would never impede their progress. You know it makes sense!
Don't hold your breath for lower petrol prices. The dollar will stay weak and continuing chaos in the Middle East seems certain.
Grumble as we may, Ireland happens to have the lowest state take on a litre of petrol in Europe, something you don't appreciate until you tour abroad.
Will motorbike insurance cost less? This is the big question for riders and dealers. Around 20 bikeshops have gone out of business because younger riders can no longer meet the horrendous insurance costs. Well, there is some hope.
Up to now insurers, notably Hibernian, have looked to the State to impose training. They must have known when they threatened the Government "legislate or we withdraw from the market", that it takes governments years to do what could be done anywhere else in weeks.
In last year's dying days we learned of an initiative which could affect thousands of riders who would get significant discounts for undergoing training. The good news is that those who undergo training will get much lower premiums. Beginners, those returning to biking after a number of years absence and some upgrading to more powerful machines could all benefit.
It's interesting to note that the insurance industry seems to have put together a training incentive in under three months. Yet the Department of Transport's "initiative", now in its 15th month, doesn't even expect to have legislation in place until spring 2006 or 30 months from the start. Even then it's unsure if it will have the budget to implement it.
During 2005 bikes will continue to have better power-to-weight performance resulting in better acceleration and economy rather than ultimate speed. More and more high-tech electronics, making DIY maintenance difficult if not impossible seem inevitable. Fuel injection and ABS, or at least ABS options, will become more commonplace.
The more realistic approach to insurance could help see some modest revival of the now moribund small-capacity market.
Bike sales overall are unlikely to bounce back to the levels of two and three years ago. The big bike end of the market and premium brands such as Harley-Davidson, Ducati and BMW should continue to do well gaining a larger share of the market.
Speed limits will be designated in kilometres from January 20th. On "R" roads the present 60mph limit becomes 80km/h. Most 30mph areas will be 50km/h. In places where the present limit is 60mph, it will become 100km/h, with the motorway limit becoming 120km/h.
If your speedometer's main scale reads in mph, it's probably difficult to make out the km/h equivalent, if your dial gives them. It might be a good idea to put marks on the glass at the key speeds.
The conversions are:
50km/h = 31.07mph
80km/h = 49.72mph
100km/h = 62.15mph
125km/h = 74.58mph
The change is also meant to eliminate some of the more ludicrous speed limits, examples of which abound everywhere, but we are as likely to see more of them, rather than fewer.
The Motorcycle Show in the RDS, Dublin, from March 4th to 6th will be a chance to see most of the bikes on the market here. For many the show marks the beginning of the riding season.
Motorcycling organisations as well as individual bikers will, we hope, continue to put pressure on the NRA to abandon its love affair with wire crash barriers suspended on "I" shaped posts. No doubt they can restrain a car or truck but will shred a rider to pieces. There are much safe and no more costly alternatives.
Early in the new year we will begin to see some new Garda bikes. Trials have already begun and the first six of their BMW K1200RS-P machines come into service. Based on the standard BMW K1200S these 4-cylinder, in-line, six-speed, 16valve machines churn out 130bhp at 8,750rpm and produce 117Nm of torque at 6,750rpm. They have a top speed of 153mph, or 246kph.
It's expected they will gradually take over from the ST1100 Pan Europeans currently in service and might, in time, even replace the recently introduced Honda Deauville.
Looking for a resolution? Make this the year when you ride so that you arrive alive!