CHANGE IN LEGISLATION STILL KEEPS BIKERS WAITING
30 September 2004 - Industrie-Verband Motorrad Deutschland e. V.

Speed restriction to 80 km/h decelerates 125cc market

At the end of January 2004 the research group ''Motorcycles'' made a clear statement on the occasion of the Day of Traffic Courts (Verkehrsgerichtstag) in Goslar. ''The speed restriction to 80 km/h for young riders has not been successful''.

According to studies carried out by the Institute for Motorcycle Safety (ifz) in Essen this restriction is accompanied by safety risks for the young riders of 125cc motorcycles, risks that can be avoided. It is especially on national highways and country roads that the higher speed of other road traffic participants leads to a permanent falling below safe distances as well as to dangerous overtaking manoeuvres in which the overtaking vehicles often do not maintain the necessary lateral distance.

This situation could have belonged to the past in case of a quick implementation of the Goslar recommendations that had been formed by a joint initiative of the Association of Driving School Instructors, the ADAC, the Federal Ministry of Transport and the IVM. However, the consequence, which means the abolition of this regulation, is still being waited for. Several federal states had announced not to agree with the suggestion of the Federal Ministry of Transport. This is the reason why young riders in Germany aged 16-18 years with a driving permission A1 are allowed to ride only 125cc motorcycles that are reduced in topspeed.

Along with the economic situation on the whole this obviously caused again a negative development in this market segment. Light-weight motorcycles as well as light-weight scooters recorded market losses.

In July the numbers of light-weight motorcycles, however, for the first time increased significantly compared to the previous year. The cumulative statistic concerning the present year, though, on the whole registered 13,230 new registrations, a decline of 6.2 per cent. A newcomer in this segment leapt by a headstart to the top of the most popular models: in the year of its launch already the Honda CBR 125 R has won 4,100 new fans and sent off the XR 125 L model, also from Honda, with 1,200 new registration to the second rank. The MZ 125 SX, SM from Zschopau completes the top trio with 891 new registered light-weight motorcycles.

With a market share of more than 51 per cent Honda dominates the segment of light-weight motorcycles and could thus enlarge its share by 9.2 per cent. MZ (9.3 per cent) and Suzuki (8 per cent) follow next in the market statistics. In the segment of light-weight scooters Piaggio still is first in the queue. With the new X8-125 (1,256 new registration), the Skipper ST 125 (960) and the Vespa Granturismo 125 L (893) three of this season''s most successful scooters are produced by the Italian manufacturer. With a market share of 16.3 per cent and three bikes among the Top Ten of lightweight scooters, Honda is in second rank of the statistic, followed by Yamaha with 7.2 per cent.

www.ivm-ev.de

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