One problem I see is control. How will the government stop a new rider from buying his friend’s R1? I can imagine they could stop you at registration time but then that same person would be left with a bike he cannot register and cannot sell until it is registered. There’s a lot to figure out.

There is still a quick way to big bikes where if you are over 21, and take a week long training course on a 500 cc bike, you are then allowed out on any size bike – otherwise you are stuck on a 33 bhp or less for 2 years.

However, if you don’t learn to ride properly, you just enforce the bad habits that you pick up – ready for that accident!

Oli

http://www.businessandit.co.uk

I think you still have a large customer base. The way you’re saying it is that an overwhelming portion of the buyers of motorcycles buy it because it’s a “phase” they’ll grow out of. Those customers aren’t repeat buyers. Repeat customers are what the Big 4 like.

People who are truely going to like Motorcycles aren’t going to say to themselves “Well, if I have to start on a 250, then forget it! I’d rather ride my bicycle.” They might bitch and moan but at the end of the day, they’ll get a 250 because they want a motorcycle.

Just look at how many times people walk into a car dealership with a specific model with ONLY certain options installed. I’ll bet you most of them leave with either a different model, different color, or more options. All they have to do is tell you how cool you look in it and let you sit in it for an hour and you’ll be sold.

“Harley may be THE reason we’ll never see tiered licensing here. It’s every American male’s right to buy into the Harley lifestyle by purchasing a hog during his mid-life crisis, and tiered licensing would probably be vigorously fought by the Motor Company.”

Fine. Then make it a multi-tier tier system. Sportbikes are obviously different than Harleys which are different than scooters. By setting different restrictions on the type of vehicle, Harley can be happy with a compromise.

Besides. What possible lobbying could Harley make to our government? The public already sees ANY motorcycle as dangerous. It’s clear the insurance companies prefer a safer approach from their discounts on insurance by taking an MSF course. THEY could lobby and make the tier system a reality.

I’ve thought tiered licensing was a good idea for a while. The hobby/industry/sport isn’t properly self-regulating. I consider myself a practical libertarian, but I’m not David Friedman. Motorcycles are viewed as pure recreational vehicles at best or as a nuisance or danger at worst in this country by the majority, and having untrained/irresponsible riders jumping on 160 HP (or 110 HP) bikes to start out isn’t doing us any good.

Unfortunately, if tiered licensing were ever instituted here, it might be a double-edged sword: the party would be over for the big four, who sell 600s or 1000s to new riders who might decide it’s too much of a hassle to get through the lower tier or tiers on a 250 or 400. We already get far fewer models than Europe and Asia, and if you take away all those kids buying 600s and all those adults buying 1500s for instant gratification, what do you have left?

Harley may be THE reason we’ll never see tiered licensing here. It’s every American male’s right to buy into the Harley lifestyle by purchasing a hog during his mid-life crisis, and tiered licensing would probably be vigorously fought by the Motor Company.

Smart starters use “tiers” to learn anyway, but unfortunately those who don’t may be slowly ruining it for the rest of us.