Clippings

• Real independence - Learner car drivers have to take a 'qualified' driver with them everywhere they go. Learner riders can go it alone from the age of 16!
• No toll charges: Motorcyclists pay nothing to use the Dartford Crossing, the Severn Bridge or the Mersey Tunnels.
• No congestion charge: Bikes are exempt from London's congestion charge. And with more cities ready to implement their own congestion charging schemes... two wheels have to tempt, don't they?
• Dreams of the great adventure: Obi Wan KenObi rides a bike - or at least Ewan McGregor does... a long, long, way. More here
• Barry Sheene: The man who made motorcycling cool in Britain. Discover the legend, here
• Evel Knievel: The most famous motorcyclist ever? Discover the legend here
• Steve McQueen: The coolest man to ever ride a bike? Or was he just cool because he rode a bike? You decide.
• More than one in six new riders is a woman
• Motorcycling makes you more virile: Sitting in a car makes a gentleman's 'equipment' too warm. Riding keeps your best bits nicely chilled - upping sperm count.
• Biking is better for your back. A typical bike riding position keeps your spine nicely stretched out. A car is much more cramped.
• Will you use your bike? Hell yes! The average motorcyclist rides 90 miles a week and about 60% of bike trips are for work/business/education
• Four-out-of-ten new bikes is a Scooter, three-out-of-ten a Sports bike, the rest are a mix of Custom, Touring, Trail and Traditional styles.
• The motorcycle industry in the UK is worth £3bn a year - and directly employs 15,000+ people.
• The biggest motorbike pyramid ever was made up of a 201 men balancing on 10 motorcycles, on July 5 2001 at the Gowri Shankar Parade Ground in Jabalpur, India. The Dare Devils Team of the Indian Army Signal Corps travelled a distance of 129 metres, too.
• Get on a bike: you'll be joining 1.5m active motorcyclists in the UK
• Filtering (moving to the front of a line of traffic) is both legal in the UK and encouraged by advanced motorcycling - based on police riding techniques.
• Motorcycling is safer than ever: Casualty rates have fallen faster than for any other road user group. Casualties for every mile travelled are 30% lower compared to the early 1980's.
• Car drivers with a full licence gained before February 2001 are automatically qualified to ride a 50cc bike on the road.
• Eight motorbikes can fit in the space occupied by one parked car.
• Travelling by motorbike can cut your journey time by up to two thirds.