You're driving along a country road and a motorbike speeds into view in your mirror but who's riding it? Maybe it's a Valentino Rossi look-alike or a seasoned biker whose bike is his life. Actually, it's more likely to be an inexperienced middle-aged businessman who only jumps on his bike at weekends.
elephant.co.uk, in association with its motorbike insurance provider, The Bike Insurer looked at 40,000 bikers to find out what is the typical 21st century rider and discovered that it's the born again bikers reliving their youth whose numbers are increasing the most. Their kids have left and they have more cash to spend on fun things like motorbikes. But beware, they're the riders most likely to have a crash, as bikes have moved on since they learnt to ride, in fact, over 40s are a third more likely to have had an accident than under 40s.
The born again bikers also more likely to have a conviction than other motorcyclists in fact, there's a 1 in 3 chance that they'll have at least 1 conviction, a figure that alarmingly has doubled in the last 12 months.
elephant.co.uk managing director, Brian Martin, commented, "There seems to be a worrying trend of people that haven't ridden for a number of years jumping on powerful bikes and putting themselves in danger. The increase in convictions is also concerning as it shows that when they're riding, they're doing so in a careless manner."
Another change in the make-up of motorbike riders in the UK is the increasing amount of women riding bikes. Since 2004 the number has almost doubled and doesn't look set to slow down.
Brian added, "The motorbike market is still dominated by men, but women riders are now making a definite impression. Over the next few years I'm sure we'll continue to see an increase in the number of women riding bikes as gender doesn't impact on how much fun they are to ride."