There are also more manufacturers then ever producing them - and this is a problem, as the official ABI database (compiled by the Association of British Insurers) can’t keep up with all the new models and marques. Which means many insurers simply can’t touch lots of the new ’sub-125’s - and owners can find themselves with a real problem getting cover.

Now Bikesure has launched a scheme that will insure any sub-125cc machine, no matter what the brand. Called One2Five, and underwritten by Norwich Union, Bikesure believes it’s the most flexible scheme for the small bike and scooter rider.  

"One2Five can handle any bike make, any age of driver and any level of cover," says Robert Balls of Bikesure. "We’ll not only cover brands that other insurers can’t or won’t touch, we’ll also insure riders and bikes that many exclude - such as a 17 year old on a race style bike."

Despite its flexibility One2Five is very competitively priced - in fact Bikesure believes the scheme delivers some of the cheapest bike insurance premiums on the market for bikes under 125cc.

"If you’re a standard rider with a standard bike, you can even buy online," adds Robert Balls. "If the bike is a bit off the wall, or if the rider has any convictions or other special conditions, then it’s best to give us a call for the cheapest quote."

Amongst the extras for the Bikesure scheme is a special ‘new for old’ feature for brand new bikes. If a new bike is written off within six months of purchase, One2Five will replace it with no depreciation.

One thing that won’t be different is insurance. Harley owners prize their ‘Hogs’, and insuring them can be tricky at times, particularly with these collectors’ editions. Now Bikesure, one of the UK’s leading insurance brokers for Harleys, has confirmed that it will offer insurance for the new ‘Harley 105 Specials’. Not only will the company ensure their full extra value is protected, it will also cover any extra modifications that owners may add.

There are eight of the 105th Anniversary Editions: Sportster Low, Sportster Custom, Dyna Super Glide Custom, Softail Custom, Fat Boy, Heritage Softail Classic, Road King Classic and Ultra Classic Electra Glide.

"Bikesure’s scheme for Harleys can be tailored to all the Special Anniversary Editions," confirms Robert Balls of Bikesure, "And the rates will still be highly competitive." He says the policy can include many extras as standard - for example, a very high agreed value of up to £32,500, even with factory-fitted security.

Harley owners often customise their Hogs, so the Bikesure scheme covers many cosmetic modifications at no extra charge. Bikesure also has what Robert Balls describes as ‘’a mellow attitude'’, even when it comes to discussing power enhancements.

Clubrider will help riders of modified Vespas and Lambrettas

"Club members will be able to insure their modified scooters through Clubrider, and get a discount into the bargain."
Clubrider means that riders’ clubs of whatever size will be able to enjoy many ‘big club’ benefits, even if they only have a dozen members. It also offers clubs an extra source of income, since Bikesure is willing to pay introducer fees to them for every policy taken out by their members, subject to terms and conditions.

Clubrider Benefits
Scooter clubs signing up to Clubrider can negotiate discounts of up to 15% for their members’ scooter insurance. On top of that, Bikesure can offer members scooter-related benefits including agreed values, unlimited mileage for classics, free legal cover, a low-cost policy for helmet & leathers cover and up to 365-day European cover.

As part of the Adrian Flux Insurance Group, Bikesure is also able to give members a discount on a whole range of other insurance products including car, caravan and home insurance. 

Clubs can join Clubrider for free. To find out more about Clubrider contact Paul Hammond on 01553 845516 or by email paul.hammond@bikesure.co.uk

Motorcycle couriers work hard - it’s a fast and furious job. In cities they do around 20 trips per day averaging about 100 miles in noisy, busy traffic. They rely on speed and skill to get the goods delivered quickly and safely. Because of the higher risks associated with the job, couriers often find it difficult to get good insurance cover at a reasonable price.
Bikesure, the motorbike insurance section of Adrian Flux Insurance Services, has developed a courier insurance scheme designed expressly for these professional motorcycle riders. Bikesure’s scheme takes into account rider experience when setting the premiums so that all their hard-earned cash isn’t eaten up by hefty insurance payments.

The scheme allows couriers to choose add-on features that tailor the policy to suit their individual needs and risk level. Every motorbike courier insurance policy comes with £50,000 of free legal cover as standard and the options include personal injury cover, comprehensive breakdown cover and protective clothing and helmet insurance.

Extra discounts are available if the bike has security devices or is kept in a garage, and there is a special rate for female couriers. Bikesure’s expert staff will assess and calculate the best package for each individual courier - call 0800 838833 to find out more.

Bikesure is 100% British owned and based. It has a huge range of specialist policies for the motorcycle enthusiast, including cheap bike insurance schemes for performance and custom bikes, scooters, trikes, quads and bug riders. For details freephone the Bikesure quote line on 0800 089 2000, email the company at bikesure@adrianflux.co.uk or visit www.bikesure.co.uk

This was a worrying situation for the participants, and they needed to find a way of bringing down the amount they might have to pay out if the bikes were damaged. They had to find an insurance company prepared to go just that little bit further, one that has a flexible approach and is prepared to think outside the box.

The club contacted Bikesure, the biking branch of Adrian Flux Insurance, and asked them to look for some way of reducing the excess cover. Bikesure is a free thinking insurance company that likes a bit of a challenge, so it was keen to find a way to help with the Royal Navy’s fund-raising bid.

“We looked at the excess problem and agreed to provide the Club with additional cover up to £1,500 against this excess,” said Robert Balls of Bikesure. “We figured that this seemed like a fair estimate of any potential damage and would certainly give them some peace of mind.”

This meant that the bikers could be pretty sure that they wouldn’t be out of pocket at the end of the two week ride. Altogether the Royal Navy Motor Cycle Club travelled about 1,500 miles and raised a total of just over £16,000 for Children In Need.

Bikesure is 100% British owned and based. It has a huge range of specialist policies for the motorcycle enthusiast, including cheap bike insurance schemes for performance and custom bikes, scooters, trikes, quads and bug riders. For details freephone the Bikesure quote line on 0800 089 2000, email the company at bikesure@adrianflux.co.uk or visit www.bikesure.co.uk

When specialist motorcycle insurer Bikesure criticised government claims that 38% of bikers were breaking the law by evading road tax, the Department for Transport (DfT) remained silent on the matter. Now the DfT’s has released new figures that appear to back Bikesure’s claims.

Bikesure, one of the biggest insurers of biking enthusiasts in the UK, said that the DfT’s original figures were flawed and misrepresented the biking community. They led to vitriolic comments attacking the biking community from Edward Leigh MP, which were widely reported in the media.   “Motorcyclists are particularly liable to evade road tax”, he claimed. “Nearly 40% of motorcycles are now unlicensed…large parts of the biking community are cocking a snook at the law”.  

Bikesure claimed that there were major flaws in the Department for Transport’s logic and statistics. When they approached the DfT for clarification, the Department remained silent.

“The survey methodology was mistaken, and it was compounded by basic errors “, said Robert Balls of Bikesure. “We wonder if simple prejudice against bikers led to the wrong conclusions being drawn.”

DfT admits mistakes - but still no apology - and the figures are still suspect
In an update to the figures, issued on 14th February, the DfT admitted that “evasion estimates for 2007 are not directly comparable with those from previous years”, and added, “Misread registration marks…tend to inflate estimates of evasion.”

Their statement adds up to a breathtaking conclusion - the evasion estimates reported last year for motorcycles were probably overestimated by staggering 300%. Put another way, the headline 38% evasion figure reported last year, and repeated last month by MP Edward Leigh, were roughly four times higher than they should have been.

So, rather than nearly 40%, the figure the DfT quotes now is 9.8%.

But Bikesure still isn’t satisfied. Robert Balls explains: “First the sample size is very small - that makes the error margin over 50%, so (even taking nothing else into account) the figures for bikers could be as low as 4.7%. Second, for collecting the data on motorcycles they didn’t use Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras (as they did for cars), but instead relied on contractors standing by the side of the road with a clipboard. Inevitably these guys are going to write down the wrong number more often than an ANPR computer, since the computer doesn’t have to deal with the effects of a high speed movement.”

Robert Balls concludes: “The original ridiculously high figure of 38% should have made the MPs use their common sense instead of taking statistics at face value. Even ignoring the fact that the current figures look dodgy too, we think at the very least the MPs owes bikers in general an apology.

“And there ought to be an admission from the statisticians that they managed to cock up the figures so spectacularly. Next time they do a survey maybe they should talk to a few bikers, or at least people who know bikers.”

Notes for editors:

For more background information on the stats check out the Bikesure blog entries on the Bikesure website via www.bikesure.co.uk

BBC News report on Edward Leigh’s statement:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7200066.stm

Bikesure’s insurance for the motorcycle enthusiast, including cheaper bike insurance schemes for performance and custom bikes, scooters, trikes, quads and bug riders. The company is a specialist in insuring unusual, modified and enthusiasts’ bikes, and is one of the most respected names in UK motorcycle insurance.

Bikesure’s quote line can be contacted on 0800 089 2000, by calling ‘bikesure’ on Skype, by email at bikesure@a or visit www.bikesure.co.ukdrianflux.co.uk

Bikesure is claiming to be the first motorbike insurance company to open up its switchboards to free direct computer-to-computer calls.

Bikesure is now taking calls to its sales, administration and claims departments from customers using Skype, the software that allows free phone calls over broadband.  The feature is set to make calling for insurance not only free, but also extremely easy.

All calls go to the company’s normal switchboard, but so long as callers use the company’s Skype ‘handle’ (’bikesure’) the call is free.

“There’s been a big rise in the number of people using Skype. We surveyed our own staff, and at least 15% are using it regularly to cut their own phone bills,” said Robert Balls of Bikesure.  “As long as people are using it, their calls won’t cost a penny, no matter how long, nor to which department.”

A random survey of insurance companies shows a range of phone charges.  Many insurers use 0800 freephone or 0845 lo-cost numbers for initial sales, but resort to conventional numbers or even 0870 numbers – with a hefty per-minute charge - for support or claims. 

Robert Balls stresses another major difference calling by Skype makes. “It turns a phone number into a name. People type in ‘bikesure’. They don’t have to remember our numbers.

“As time goes by, it’s an odds-on certainty that dialling your insurer by name will be more appealing than having to remember a number.”

And dialling is the key, he adds. Although a tremendous amount of insurance is now done online, a direct phone call can still help you track down the best deal – and is vital for claims and general queries.

To make a call using Skype, users install the free software on a computer and have a broadband connection and a headset/microphone or a special Skype-type phone. Alternatively, a conventional home phone can be used with a simple, cheap internet phone adaptor plugged into the broadband socket.

Bikesure has a huge range of specialist policies for the motorcycle enthusiast, including cheap bike insurance schemes for performance and custom bikes, scooters, trikes, quads and bug riders. For details freephone the Bikesure quote line on 0800 089 2000, call ‘bikesure’ by Skype, email the company at bikesure@adrianflux.co.uk or visit www.bikesure.co.uk

Bikesure

It’s all part of an appeal to raise funds for the new Children’s Hospital in Manchester. The two scooters were commissioned by the Manchester Evening News and the National Motorcycle Show (which ran January 4-6, 2008, Manchester Gmex) and were sold in a low bid auction - where the lowest bid for each bike secured the winner the exclusive opportunity to buy it at that price. Bidding was by text, costing £1.50. The prize package also included one year’s insurance for each scooter, courtesy of Bikesure.  

“We’re happy to support such a worthy cause,” says Robert Balls of Bikesure. “And this was a promotion that was really good fun - I’m sure there’ll be plenty of friendly banter if the two winners ever meet on the streets of Manchester…”
The scooters are both Peugeot V-Click models, specially designed for the promotion and donated by the National Motorcycle Show. They were unveiled by Manchester football legends Gary Owen and Martin Buchan.

Bikesure is the motorcycling division of Adrian Flux Insurance Services. The company offers a wide range of schemes for cheap scooter insurance, from simple twist ‘n go bikes to modified and classic machines. For details freephone the Bikesure quote line on 0800 089 2000, email the company at bikesure@adrianflux.co.uk or visit www.bikesure.co.uk

Bikesure has launched Clubrider, a new deal for bike, scooter and trike riders clubs. Clubrider aims to offer these clubs a wide range of services, products and discounts usually only available to the larger owners’ clubs, such as discounts for members, dedicated phone lines and marketing support.

Clubrider means that riders clubs of whatever size, even if they only have a dozen members, will be able to enjoy many ‘big club’ benefits. It also offers clubs an extra source of income, since Bikesure is willing to pay commission to them for policies taken out by their members, subject to terms and conditions.

Bikesure’s Paul Hammond is to head Clubrider and is currently contacting clubs to talk about the new deal. An enthusiastic biker and club member himself (with a Honda CBR1000-F that he’s currently modifying into a streetfighter), Paul confirms that clubs are an increasingly important part of Bikesure’s business. “The point of Clubrider is to find out how we can best match our insurance products and other services to the needs of clubs, whether they are front patch, side patch or back patch, and whatever their size,” he says.   
Paul happily admits that members of riders clubs are attractive insurance prospects. “They tend to be better riders with years of experience, who ride their bikes day in day out,” he says. “In our book, that makes them a lower risk, which is why we want to insure them and why we’re happy to give them a discount.”

Clubrider Benefits
Clubs signing up to Clubrider can negotiate discounts of up to 15% for their members’ bike, scooter and trike insurance. On top of that, Bikesure can offer members bike-related benefits including agreed values, unlimited mileage for classics, free legal cover, a low-cost policy for helmet & leathers cover and up to 365 day European cover.

Bikesure recently developed a “Ride Your Mates’ Bikes” scheme that’s aimed very much at riders clubs. Subject to criteria, it gives policyholders fully comprehensive cover when they ride other people’s motorcycles, allowing members to ride one another’s bikes without worrying about insurance.

As part of the Adrian Flux Insurance Group, Bikesure is also able give members a discount on a whole range of other insurance products including car, caravan and home insurance.  

As well as the direct benefits for members, Bikesure plans to offer clubs joining the scheme help with their marketing, including reciprocal links on websites, advertising in magazines and newsletters, brochures and support at club events. The commission paid to clubs for policies taken out by members is subject to terms and conditions, but can amount to up to £30 per policy.

To find out more about Clubrider contact Paul Hammond on 01553 845516 or by email paul.hammond@bikesure.co.uk

Bikesure has a huge range of specialist policies for the motorcycle enthusiast, including cheap bike insurance schemes for performance and custom bikes, scooters, trikes, quads and bug riders. For details freephone the Bikesure quote line on 0800 089 2000, email the company at bikesure@adrianflux.co.uk or visit www.bikesure.co.uk

The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has appointed Bikesure as its exclusive insurance partner. The deal means that MAG’s members can get up to 15% discount on insurance for whatever they ride - bike, scooter , trike or quad.

With a membership of over 50,000 (and growing), MAG’s main aim is to protect the interests of the biking community. Similarly Bikesure has a track record in responding quickly to the changing needs of the biker - not just by trying to offer cheaper bike insurance, but also, for example, by developing policies for the growing number of trikes and quad bikes on the road.

David Short, Campaigns Manager of MAG, explains the reason for choosing Bikesure. “It’s a company run by bikers for bikers, so they know what they’re talking about. We were very impressed by Bikesure’s commitment, the customer focus, the range of products and, vitally, the support they offer. It’s all very well buying insurance, it’s only when you make a claim or ask for help that you find out how good your insurer is. We believe the arrangement will lead to a very positive, long-term partnership.”

Another attraction is Bikesure’s ability to insure all types of bike - classic, modern, customised and modified, as well as ‘twist and go’ and high performance superbikes. The company even insures bikes with NOS (nitrous oxide systems) for use on the road.

The variety of products developed for bikers includes multi-bike policies and bike-specific breakdown insurance. Recent schemes include a low-cost ‘Helmet & Leather’ extension, which gives cover of up to £1000 for a premium of only £20, and a policy offering all-year European cover, aimed at bikers who can take the time off to do the ‘Grand Tour’. The company offers free legal cover, whether or not you have a Bikesure policy, and its website includes a free instant quote and a ‘buy online’ service.

Bikesure is also offering MAG members discounts of up to 10% on insurance for their cars, motorhomes and caravans, as well as for their home insurance, both building and contents. These policies are supplied via its parent company, Adrian Flux Insurance Services.

MAG members who want to find out more can call the dedicated Bikesure/MAG quote line for free on 0800 089 0342. Joining MAG costs just £20 per year, which can easily be recouped through the insurance discounts now on offer. Members also enjoy a wide range of other benefits. Find out more at www.mag-uk.org

Bikesure has a huge range of cheap bike insurance schemes for the motorcycle enthusiast. For general enquiries call Bikesure free on 0800 089 2000, email the company at bikesure@adrianflux.co.uk or visit www.bikesure.co.uk