Where it all went wrong

In the 1930s to 1970s, young men left school at 14-15 years, saved money, and bought a motorcycle at 16. In the 70s, school leaving age was raised to 16, and now it’s 18.

There was the 250 restriction, and then the helmet law prevented you from offering a ride to a girl at work.

With all the laws regarding tests now, it’s got to the point that it’s no longer feasible to ride a motorcycle, plus you have to pay to park bikes in parts of London, and then there’s the cost of purchasing a new bike over 650cc.

As school leaving age is 18, what percentage of leavers have already got a full car licence? It’s hardly going to encourage them to buy a motorcycle.

If I was 16 today I would not even consider a motorcycle. I’min my 70th year, and I’ll keep my 17-year-old CB750, even as a tyre costs twice as much as one for my Transit van. Oh, and the van tyre lasts 30,000 miles, compared with the bike tyre’s 8000 miles.

Derrick Vincent, Peterborough

Things have certainly changed significantly Derrick. As you rightly point out, it’s a lot harder to get on a bike now, though it is looking likely that we’ll see a tiered licence structure for cars soon too.

While you do have to pay to park on many of London’s streets, there are still plenty of free spaces in the car parks – I parked under Hyde Park among the Ferraris and Bentleys last year for nothing; look for the Q-Parks and many council-run car parks. With more and more people taking to bikes because they’re simply cheaper than public transport, we might see things shift a little in the future.