New Motorcycle Registrations On The Up - June 13th 2006

Market reports for May 2006 show higher total registrations for the month (7.3%), year-to-date (2.0%) and rolling year (1.0%) compared to May 2005. By comparison, car registrations were up 1.1% in May and down 4.3% for year to date.

Most of the growth appears to be in the 51-125cc and 651-1,000cc engine bands. There has also been consistent growth in the Custom (18%) and Sport/Touring (54%) sectors during 2006.

May 2006 also appeared strong after a disappointing April, with the recently improved weather one possible factor. There have also been a number of manufacturer promotions, including insurance offers and 0% finance to stimulate interest in the new models.

Enthusiasm for motorcycling remains strong and people are travelling more miles than ever before. The most recent government statistics found that there are more than 1.6 million motorcycles in Great Britain. The ownership rate in 2004 is highest in the South West and lowest in Scotland.

Motorcycle traffic has increased by an estimated 37% between in the last ten years motorcycles travel more than 5 billion vehicle kilometers. Although motorcyclists make fewer trips average in 2004 than they did annually twenty years ago the distance travelled and the time spent travelling on those trips has increased over the same period.