[LoopyLee]

I was wondering what the man/woman on the ground in Canada thought about this.. What are your views?

More details and different opinions are coming out over the proposed ban on 'performance motorcycles' for riders under the age of twenty-five in Quebec Canada.

Quebec's automobile insurance board, the Societe de l'assurance automobile du Quebec, or the SAAQ, have announced plans to ban anyone under the age of twenty-five or with less than five years riding experience from owning what they consider a high-risk motorcycle.
Looking to follow in the footsteps of the risk and licensing system used in France, the SAAQ would bring the sweeping changes in by 2010.

A motorcycle advocacy group reportedly are partially supporting the new proposals.

“They’re starting to get the message that we have to link behavior to licenses,” Christian Bergeron, a spokesperson for the Comité d’Action Politique Motocycliste told the Gazette.

But it would be simplistic to apply the French model wholesale to Quebec, he added.

[Jetpilot07]

wow, that blows

[vville123]

the proposed ban on 'performance motorcycles' for riders under the age of twenty-five in Quebec Canada.

What's considerd a "performance motorcycle" 600cc/250cc and under? Some of the new bikes are all "performance" or can be moded up easy.

[LoopyLee]

Imagine if they bought this in

Antiquated Motorcycle Laws - France

Yes, they do exist, specially in this country (France). A couple of decades ago, the socialist government decided that French motorcyclists were having far too much fun on their motorcycles. So they put in a law that forbade motorcycles from having more than 100 hp ! It was OK if you were an 18 year old kid, and you could buy yourself a 100,000 hp car, and drive around in that, but as a 21 year you could not ride a motorcycle with more than 100 hp !

So, despite the European Union wanting equality between nations, France continues "downgrading" motorcycles to 100 hp. So far, not really a big problem, since you could quite easily reinstate your motorcycle to the original power.

So, now that the center-to-right political party is in the power, you'd think that we should be OK. WRONG ! The French Parliament voted a new law yesterday night (in stealth mode), that if you're caught with a motorcycle over 100 hp, you'll get 2 YEARS PRISON, € 30,000 fine and your motorcycle is gone !! Obviously this only applies to French registered motorcycles. If you got a foreign one, you can come here and use your 180 hp bike at any time. !

Originally written in December 2005

[MACI4LIFE]

It's perfectly acceptable new law. we're a bunch of sheep here and we need big brother to look over us. Canadians are a bunch of pussies with no voice. The general population welcomes more control by the government as most people in the GTA ( toronto ) are recent immigrants from war torn countries ( toronto has the biggest sri lankan population outside of their own country ) or from communist countries ( ie china ), or the our largest minority group the south asians, so they want nothing more than for someone to take care of them. Media does a great job creating fear and paranoia, and the sheeple here eat it all up.

[LoopyLee]

Originally Posted by vville123

What's considerd a "performance motorcycle" 600cc/250cc and under? Some of the new bikes are all "performance" or can be moded up easy.

That had me wondering too.. Over here in the UK you can ride pretty much any bike you want if you pass your licence on a 125cc bike.. It just has to have the power output restricted to 33bhp.. Mind you I don't think things like litre bikes would take too kindly to being restricted

I don't know, maybe it would be a good idea for ALL new riders to ride bikes with a certain power output for the first couple of years. Maybe everyone learn on a 125cc bike, ride a 33bhp bike for 2 years and then once you have a bit more experience go up to any bike you want.

I remember having really heated arguements with friends when they first bought in the 33bhp limit in the UK.. I was the only one in our group of friends who thought it may be a good idea.. I just felt that if all new riders had a graduated leaning curve it may cut down on the death and accident toll every year, and I can't see how that can be a bad thing. Mind you when they first bought it out the bikes available weren't anywhere near as powerful as they are now, so maybe that should be taken into consideration more than ever now.

SSB and I were discussing it last night and he pointed out that if you are over 21 you can do the direct access course. With that you learn on a 46bhp bike and once you pass your test you can ride any bike you like. The thing SSB pointed out was that the people doing that don't have any more experience than someone who did the restricted test (125cc bike), and yet they can go and buy a litre bike straight away. It would be interesting to see the accident rate for those who go the Direct Access route vs those who go the restricted route to see how the stats compare..

I don't know.. .. I know it smacks of nanny state and having to hold our hands as we go through life, but surely a brand new rider should be able to see for themselves that a litre bike isn't necessarily a good thing as a first bike! But if we can't be sensible ourselves and people are dying uneccessarily, whats to be done about it?

[fido]

Canada did the same thing with the gun law. Does it help NOT.

My motto. Nature has a way of weeding out the week.

I work in an industry where you have to have a permit or a work procedure to pick your nose. One has to protect the week from hurting them selves you know.

Stephen

[Paulvfr800]

God Bless Natural Selection....
Give em all hybusa's as learners, they will learn to respect motorcycles or one less cookie farmer on the planet..

[ghbzorro]

Having a graduated system does make a certain amount of sense. In my opinion it all comes down to defining what a performance motorcycle is. If somebody needs to be 25 to run, for example, more than 100 HP, what bad effect could it have?

Of course, my opinion might be different if I was a child (i.e. a lad of only 24 years, ROFLMAO)

[bww77]

Originally Posted by MACI4LIFE

It's perfectly acceptable new law. we're a bunch of sheep here and we need big brother to look over us. Canadians are a bunch of pussies with no voice. The general population welcomes more control by the government as most people in the GTA ( toronto ) are recent immigrants from war torn countries ( toronto has the biggest sri lankan population outside of their own country ) or from communist countries ( ie china ), or the our largest minority group the south asians, so they want nothing more than for someone to take care of them. Media does a great job creating fear and paranoia, and the sheeple here eat it all up.

Funny... yet true!

[00blade]

Originally Posted by MACI4LIFE

It's perfectly acceptable new law. we're a bunch of sheep here and we need big brother to look over us. Canadians are a bunch of pussies with no voice. The general population welcomes more control by the government as most people in the GTA ( toronto ) are recent immigrants from war torn countries ( toronto has the biggest sri lankan population outside of their own country ) or from communist countries ( ie china ), or the our largest minority group the south asians, so they want nothing more than for someone to take care of them. Media does a great job creating fear and paranoia, and the sheeple here eat it all up.

+1

Although HP limits under 25 might be something for Americans to consider. More returning soldiers are killed on bikes than in battle.

[fotc1000rr]

I don't think that it's a bad idea to limit young rider's engine size/horsepower. In fact I think it would be a good idea to do the same for young drivers in cars as well. I see far too many accidents involving young riders or drivers where excessive speed was the contributing factor. Now of course we all know that
almost any vehicle can be driven at an excessive speed, however I think everyone would agree that the risk is much greater in a high performance vehicle.

Now, I certainly do not agree with limiting the horsepower on any vehicle, once the appropriate age and or experience is reached.

[vville123]

Originally Posted by 00blade

+1

Although HP limits under 25 might be something for Americans to consider. More returning soldiers are killed on bikes than in battle.

Dont lump the two together, it's hard to adjust after returning. Some (myself incuded) have either a death wish or just dont care. Also it's hard to get that rush with your heart in your throat feeling again after being shelled and shot at.

That being said an age limit would be a a waste, they need to just make a scale you start at xyz cc and after x amount of time you get bumped up to xyz cc ect ect. I've seen plenty of old dudes but new riders ride like shite

[vville123]

Oh and they should have a sit down with the AMA before passing a law on the first "good idea" they come up with.