Honda UK ask the British goverment for a baleout...

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Honda UK ask the British goverment for a baleout...

A lot of geezers out there also with fat wallets but little experience, buying too much bike.

One of the problems with the old folks jumping back on bikes again after a long time away is the reluctance to retrain as a rider.....as well as the fact that modern bikes are far, far more powerful than older generation bikes.....pretty much across the board....one reason is average displacement size of western marketed motorcycles is a bit of a parallel of the growing pickup truck and SUV sizes in the US.

Although the safety equipment(gear, brakes(ABS), suspension, airbags, power delivery curve, etc) is far better than it ever was.....some older bikes...particularly older sport bikes are widow makers by comparison.

I think motorcycles, motorcycle hybrids(not just engines), scooters, and outside the box small vehicles will have a strong future...at least in the relative sense of the word.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: Honda UK ask the British goverment for a baleout...

Your thread title is worthy of the late News of the World...where's the baleout (sic) request??

And where's the "threat"? The last line is a typical response from a union rep looking to the government to "do something" to save his membership's jobs.

Jim D'Avila, regional officer for the Unite union, said: "The recession is biting deep and big successful companies like Honda are struggling to maintain a sensible level of production to retain everyone's employment. "Something governmental has to happen otherwise people's jobs are going to be at risk long-term."

Just like the USA, it's going to be a very long time before Europeans buy anywhere near as many cars as they did during the bubble years.

At least Honda has the option of moving their customers down market...





...or up market...

Interesting.....the top and the bottom of the market......what happened to the middle?

[Chris Coles]

Re: Honda UK ask the British goverment for a baleout...

Fly a Sailplane, much more fun. http://www.lasham.org.uk

[jiimbergin]

Re: Honda UK ask the British goverment for a baleout...

Just yesterday, here in Hickory, NC, a motorcyclist was killed when he stopped for a red light and the lady driving a honda behind him did not stop in time. That is often my fear. I hate driving behind a motorcycle because he can stop so much faster than I can. I try to give the cycle lots of room, but often another car just drops in between us.

[c1ue]

Re: Honda UK ask the British goverment for a baleout...

Are the rise in fatalities based on total or proportional numbers?

It is the rate going up, as well as the absolute numbers. The increase in motorcycle drivers isn't as large as you might think given the Harley bubble.