The latest data on new motorcycle sales in Australia for the first six months of the year may be of interest for comparative purposes. It's from [url=http://amcn.com.au/editorial/roadbikes-bolster-steady-increase-aussie-market/]Australian Motorcycle News.
Wow that is some eye opening stats. Wish they would do that for the U.S.
Cormanus, do you guys have the tiered licensensing system in Ausralia. THey seem to sell a lot of small bikes there.
When I was in Australia a couple of years ago I couldn't get over the number of bikes and scooters in the streets of Sydney or how many were ride-and-park to work for the day.
There were motorcycle parking areas at a great many places around the city.
This is a sample of bikes parked near Hyde Park. There were so many I couldn't get all of them in the picture.
[url=http://s392.photobucket.com/user/Rock500_2008/media/Motorcycles/IMG_0816.jpg.html]
Ferret, the answer to your question is yes.
Licensing requirements are controlled by the States and are subtly different. If you are starting out and want to ride a large motorcycle in Queensland, from October this year you will have to:
1. Have held a provisional license for another class of vehicle (say, a car) for at least 12 months before you can apply to get a motorcycle license.
2. Hold a learner's license for at least 3 months, during which time you must be supervised while riding.
3. Complete a mandatory test that will allow you to hold a restricted license for at least 2 years. This will allow you to ride a LAMS-approved bike—see below. You can stop at this category if you want. LAMS=Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme.
4. Apply for an unrestricted license which you will obtain after satisfactorily completing a mandatory course. Note, you have to do this only if you want to ride a big bike.
The limitation imposed by being limited to a LAMS-approved bike is:
"A learner approved motorcycle is a production motorcycle that is fitted with an electric motor, or has an internal combustion engine with a capability of not more than 660mL, and has a power-to-weight ratio that does not exceed 150kW/t."
If you're happy to stop there, you can stick with the restricted license; but, if you wanted to ride a CB1100 you would then have to apply for the unrestricted motorcycle license.
If you look at the article referenced in the original post, you'll see a list of the best selling LAMS bikes.
It also explains why there are lots of small bikes sold in Australia.
(08-24-2016, 07:40 AM)Cormanus_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Ferret, the answer to your question is yes.
Licensing requirements are controlled by the States and are subtly different. If you are starting out and want to ride a large motorcycle in Queensland, from October this year you will have to:
1. Have held a provisional license for another class of vehicle (say, a car) for at least 12 months before you can apply to get a motorcycle license.
2. Hold a learner's license for at least 3 months, during which time you must be supervised while riding.
3. Complete a mandatory test that will allow you to hold a restricted license for at least 2 years. This will allow you to ride a LAMS-approved bike—see below. You can stop at this category if you want. LAMS=Learner Approved Motorcycle Scheme.
4. Apply for an unrestricted license which you will obtain after satisfactorily completing a mandatory course. Note, you have to do this only if you want to ride a big bike.
The limitation imposed by being limited to a LAMS-approved bike is:
"A learner approved motorcycle is a production motorcycle that is fitted with an electric motor, or has an internal combustion engine with a capability of not more than 660mL, and has a power-to-weight ratio that does not exceed 150kW/t."
If you're happy to stop there, you can stick with the restricted license; but, if you wanted to ride a CB1100 you would then have to apply for the unrestricted motorcycle license.
If you look at the article referenced in the original post, you'll see a list of the best selling LAMS bikes.
It also explains why there are lots of small bikes sold in Australia.
It is interesting how in English-speaking countries legislators do not understand the difference between "weight" and "mass".
In any case, if this is based on the mass of the motorcycle only (i.e., without the rider), this stikes me as a rather low number, resulting in bike that I would not find well suited for daily commuting on a typical busy suburban hightway network.
On a different note - Australia is actually more like the rest of the world in the sense that a motorcycle is not just a toy, but a transportation device. Without some shift towards this, the motorcycle industry and market in North America will keep sliding down, as it has been in recent decades. Yet I see no effort by the marketing arms of major manufacturers to do this, and no effort by the motorcycle community to work towads changes in traffic regulations that would add to the utility of a motorcycle for daily riding to and from work.
That is very interesting. Thanks for sharing this info.
Thoughtful points rotor. When I started riding in the sixties, motorcycles were more alternate transportation than a recreation device or butt jewelry. I rode my bikes to work most every day unless the weather was really miserable. Most states allow bikes to use HOV lanes now and that's a good thing. A national move to allow filtering would go a long way I think toward showing the public the advantages of a bike as a useful, practical transportation and commuting option.
Interesting article. Off topic, but the HD Street 500, in the header, is a good looking bike for water cooled. I like they way they did the radiator. Much better than the Scout IMO.