The study finds that improvements made in product satisfaction and dealership service have helped drive the increase in overall ownership satisfaction across the industry. Service, build quality and product/performance primarily drive the overall motorcycle ownership experience.

Overall satisfaction with the cost of ownership has increased among motorcycle owners for a second consecutive year, with owners being most satisfied with the initial price and resale value of their bike. Satisfaction with maintenance/repair costs, cost of accessories and insurance has also increased.

Motorcycle owners are strong advocates of their brand and dealer, as 68 percent "definitely will" recommend their brand and 56 percent will recommend the dealer from which they purchased their motorcycle.

"Loyalty and advocacy levels are particularly high among motorcycle owners when compared with owners in the automotive and boating industries," said research manager Tim Fox. "For example, only 47 percent of boat and 35 percent of auto owners say they are loyal to their brand. The motorcycle industry is much more of a niche market where consumers have a particularly strong allegiance to a brand compared with automotive and marine industries."

Now in its 10th year, the study measures owner satisfaction with new motorcycles by examining five major components of the overall ownership experience: product; quality; cost of ownership; sales; and service. The 2007 Motorcycle Competitive Information Study includes responses from 8,796 owners who purchased new on-road motorcycles between September 2006 and May 2007.

TOP US MARKETS FOR MOTORCYCLE OWNERSHIP
A new study from The Media Audit reveals that Spokane, Washington is the top market in the U.S. for motorcycle ownership. Among adults who live in Spokane, 18.5% own a motorcycle, compared to 9% for all U.S. adults. Other markets with a high percentage of motorcycle ownership include Riverside-San Bernardino,California (18.4%), followed by Reno, Nevada (15.2%), Boise, Idaho (14.8%) and Salt Lake City, Utah (14%).

According to the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), new motorcycle retail sales equaled an estimated $10.7 billion in 2006, the highest level in 25 years. The MIC attributes the recent growth to the rise in popularity of motor scooters and increase in female riders.
Today, there are more than 450 models on the market, from cruisers to sport bikes to smaller fuel efficient commuter bikes.

According to The Media Audit, a majority of motorcycle owners are married (59.2 percent) with an average age of 41 years. Adults who own a motorcycle earn $77,714 in annual household income, a figure that is $12,424 higher than the household income for the average U.S. adult.

Rounding out the top ten markets for motorcycle ownership are Eugene-Springfield, Oregon (13.8% adult motorcycle ownership), Colorado Springs, Colorado (13.1%), Milwaukee-Racine, Wisconsin - home of Harley Davidson Motor Company (12.9%), Portland, Oregon (12.4%), and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota (12.3%).

OVERSEAS CYCLE4 SALES SURGE
The European PTW (Powered Two-Wheelers) motorcycle market is still flourishing. After breaking the 2 million units threshold in 2005, it touched the 2.5 million units landmark at the end of 2007. Last year the PTW market grew by a remarkable 10.1%.

According to figures transmitted by the ACEM statistical correspondents the trend of the 50cc segment (mopeds and scooters) is now positively oriented after 10 consecutive years of decline, and the volume approaches one million units. For 2007 the registrations of motorcycles over 50cc recorded the 5th consecutive positive year with +3% and 1.5 million units.

Since 2002, when the PTW registrations reached their lowest point (1,873.822 units), the market has recovered steadily and in 2007 it reached 2.5 million vehicles, with a +32% increase over the past five years.

The current fleet of PTWs in Europe amounts to approximately 30,000,000 vehicles. Over the last few years, EU market trends clearly show that motorcycles answer the mobility needs of an increasingly higher share of the European population.

UNFAMILIAR BIKES INVITE PROBLEMS
Experienced riders drastically increase their chances of crashing simply by riding a different motorcycle, an insurance study has found.

Even experienced riders can be pretty wobbly when they hop on an unfamiliar bike, according to data from the country's largest motorcycle insurer, Progressive, which conducted a study of almost 2 million motorcycle policies over a five-year period and found that riders who switch bikes are nearly 70 percent more likely to crash than riders who keep the same bike.

"Most people already know that riding can be especially dangerous for new bikers," said Rick Stern, a Progressive motorcycle product manager who is also a rider. "But our data shows that the less familiar you are with your bike, the more likely you are to be involved in a collision, regardless of your experience."

The study also found cruiser riders who switch to sport bikes are three-and-a-half times more likely to crash. That's more than double the risk they'd have than if they just switched to another cruiser.

Sport bikers, on the other hand, can reduce their risk by more than a third just by switching to a cruiser, according to Progressive's research.

"We want experienced riders to know their risks so they can take extra precautions when they replace their bikes," said Stern. "It's a good idea for riders to take their new bike out for a couple of shake down cruises in a parking lot before hitting the open road."

Even people who have been riding for years can benefit from practicing the basics on their new bike, Stern said, including low-speed riding, turning, shifting and swerving, and higher-speed panic stopping.

PUSH HELMET LAWS, LOSE YOUR JOB!
The former executive director of the Louisiana Safety Commission, who has pushed helmet laws throughout three gubernatorial administrations, said he was fired because he disagrees with now-Governor Bobby Jindal's efforts to re-repeal their state's helmet mandate for adult riders.

Louisiana State Police Colonel James Champagne, who has held his post for 12 years throughout their on-again-off-again helmet law, was abruptly terminated March 25th, saying his dismissal followed a meeting with the governor's chief of staff because "I refused to compromise my views on the helmet issue."

Champagne testified in committee against Jindal's former boss and mentor ex-Governor Mike "Big Daddy" Foster's successful push to abolish the state's helmet law back in 1999, and then testified in favor of outgoing Governor Kathleen Blanco's successful drive to restore the helmet law in 2004. Foster once hinted publicly that Champagne's position on motorcycle helmets could cost him his job.

Enter newly-elected Gov. Jindal, who favors repeal of the mandatory helmet law as a freedom of choice issue, and looks to fulfill one of his few specific campaign promises. At least two bills are pending in the Legislature that would repeal the helmet requirements for adults.

Jindal replaced Champagne with the former head of Big Daddy's security detail during his terms as governor, 26-year veteran of the State Police Col. John LeBlanc, who has said that will not take a position in the Legislature on the helmet issue.

In 2004 the state had 80 motorcycle fatalities, but despite the helmet requirement that figure rose to 95 in 2006, when Louisiana ranked No. 3 in the highest number of motorcycle death rates per 10,000 registered motorcycles with a death rate of 15.5 per 10,000 registered motorcycles; more than double the national rate (nationally, in 2006, 7.3 motorcyclists were killed for every 10,000 registered motorcycles on the road). Neighboring Mississippi, which also has a helmet law, ranked No. 1 in the NHTSA data with 20 riders killed per 100,000 bikes.

The report also noted that nationwide in 2006 just 1 in 2 riders wore a helmet, but 42% of motorcyclists killed in crashes between 2002 and 2006 were not wearing helmets.

"The legislative session is in full swing and now is the time for the members of the motorcycling community to start voicing their opinions and let the politicians of this State know that we are voting, tax paying, constituents of theirs," said Poet, State Executive President of ABATE of Louisiana. "Remember: One voice is but a whisper, but a thousand voices are a ROAR!"

UNEMPLOYMENT LINE, PART II
New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg is the biggest helmet-pusher in Congress, but he may be facing stiff competition for his job in the upcoming election. ABATE of the Golden State is backing U.S. Representative Robert Andrews in his bid to replace the 84-year-old four-term nannycrat. As a 9-term veteran of the U.S. House, Andrews has worked with motorcyclists and sponsored the HIPPA bill to protect motorcyclists' health care coverage and has also pledged to vote against any helmet legislation.

ABATE is asking concerned riders to help spread the word to flood the voting booths with motorcyclists for the Primary election, and due to historically light voter turnout bikers could easily swing the election.

The National Coalition of Motorcyclists would also like to take this opportunity to welcome ABATE of the Garden State as one of our newest NCOM Member Groups.

For further details, visit their website at www.gardenstateabate.org.

WEIRD NEWS: ANGRY BIKES CAN SAVE LIVES 
Honda Motor Company scientists studying the way the brain reacts to different imagery found that motorcycles that resemble a human face - especially an angry one evoked with diagonal headlights and abbreviated nose - are "significantly" more visible to other drivers.

Measurements taken with functional magnetic resonance imaging confirm that a more lifelike front-end design "elicits a response similar to that when a human face is seen," suggesting that other drivers will more quickly recognize the motorcycle's presence and react accordingly.

"People in four-wheeled vehicles will see not just motorcycles coming at them but motorcycles with human characteristics and faces," says Charles Kenny, president of Right Brain People, a consumer psychology firm specializing in motor vehicles. "It connects to something very basic in the psyche that goes back to when they were little children."

By way of example, Kenny points to the Disney movie Cars, and to kids' toys such as Thomas & Friends trains, both of which cause youngsters to emotionally identify with inanimate objects.

"The human brain," Honda's 2005 study explains, "exhibits a strong response to facial patterns, especially to the eyes and mouth." The observation led to the extrapolation that human-looking bikes are more quickly recognized by motorists, making them more easily avoided.

Major manufacturers such as Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha, Buell, Triumph and Ducati all feature 2008 sportbikes fitted with menacing cat's eye headlights, and according to Money.CNN.com the new Honda DN-01 deliberately incorporates a human look into its front view.

"The sportbike community really wants an aggressive, hard-edged design," says John Paolo Canton, spokesman for Ducati North America. "Nobody wants to buy a 300-km/h motorcycle that looks cute."

With motorcycle use worldwide near an all-time high, "conspicuity enhancement" as researchers call it, can help promote awareness and avoidance of motorcycles sharing the road.