Sad Day for NZ Motorcycling

Beware rant follows ... New Zealand seems to be doing its best to get motorcycles off the road, it was announced yesterday that the annual cost of licensing 600cc+ motorcycles is to go up from $315 to around $815 per bike!! Holy crap :evil:
The vehicle license fee includes an ACC levy, which is effectively a compulsory state accident/loss of income insurance scheme. They've decided m/cycle accidents are too costly and so now have $750 in the license fee for the ACC cover.
Of course the really dumb bit is that if you have two or more bikes you have to pay the full fee on each, and if you also drive a car you pay again (but much less) there too, and some comes out of your income tax too. The last one pays for the risky activities of those who pay no separate levy - mountain climber, skiing, cyclists (2nd in risk behind m/c), horse riders, sports people etc - so i have to pay for them too.
And quite how my Commando and 620 Multistrada should be the same risk as GSXR's, Hayabusas etc is beyond me.
The only slight bright spot is bikes over 40 years old were only $80 last year (no news on the new rate yet), i may need to start riding my 16H only, and start counting down till my Commando turns 40. Certainly won't have the MTS and the Commando on the road at the same time until then.
I'm sure there will be plenty who only ride occasionally who wont see the cost as worth it, and a lot of second bikes will be parked up.
Rant over.

Ouch! I thought the NSW RTA were bad but that must hurt. We pay extra to cover people that end up a burden on the government permanently injured in hospitals. It is a percentage of your insurance and guess what, motorcycles cost a lot more than cars or my Landcruiser for insurance which I am sure could do a lot more damage to someone than a bike. Must stop now blood pressure rising.
Ian

F---ing hell !!! Has this actually been passed or is it still going through parliment ?

Blaise
Very concerned ex pat !!!

Was announced yesterday and supposed to get first reading in parliament today but late in the day heard that for differing reasons both of the minor coalition partners balked, so red faced govt is delayed for the moment. Delay is not over the motorcycle rates though, there have been across the board increases proposed, but m/c rate is far and away the most severe.

That is bad news for all of us that ride motorcycles, no matter where you live. If that gets passed in NZ, it won't be long for the other countries to get the same feeble idea.
For those of us in the US, the best hope for fighting this kind of idiocracy is the American Motorcyclist Association. Even if you don't like some of their policies the work they do to protect motorcyclists from frivolous legislation is worth the cost of membership and now they include roadside assistance with your membership.
Complaining won't help, action will 1 800 AMA-JOIN.

Scooter
Life Member AMA # 136381

Australia will be next for sure. The Govt here is just as anti motorcycle as they can be.

As Ian says, push bikes are the 2nd accident rate after motorcycles, AND they don't pay rego, they don't obay the road rules, and they just piss me off.

I wonder what will happen to club rego? Do you have that in NZ ?

What about environmental issues?????

Makes me want to go and buy a truck

No club plates this side of the ditch, but all vehicles 40 years and older have so far had cheap licensing - hopefully this continues.

Seems like the cart before the horse don't it. The victoms get the higher costs rather than the perpetrators. If they made it more of a crime and larger fines to be at fault striking a motorcycle actual driver awareness might improve.

If that passes it certainly will affect my retirement plans. It might mean I leave my bikes in the US and buy an over 40 year old outfit for New Zealand. I have a few I've worked on for years and would hate to part with.

Here in Vic we pay a motorcycle safety levy. Since its inception it has earned the state government around $50 million and continues to bring in $10 million a year. Initially it was used to fund repairs to so-called "motorcycle black spots", but now they've run out of them and are looking around for new ways to spend the money. Universities have been given large tranches for research into motorcycle safety and most of them have had students that are clever enough to come to the conclusion that motorcycles are not as safe as cars.
There's a guy I know that seems pretty unhappy about it all and carries on and on about it, but it's like tilting at windmills. Don't think that's going to stop him though.
Let 'em know how you feel about Ntst8. Don't take it lying down.

In Québec (Canada for the geographicaly challenged), the rates for motorcycles went up 300% from a few years ago, it now costs over $500 to put plate on any bike over 401cc and over $1000 for any "risky" bike (mainly sportbikes). There is also a law preventing any vehicule from going on the road from december 15 to march 15 without snow tires, since there are no snow tires for motorcycles, they are banned from going on the road for that period, but we still must pay for the plates for the months we can't ride. As you can see, it's even worse here :cry:

The good side, is we can put a "vintage" plate on any vehicule over 25 years old and the cost is only $92, the only major stipulation is we can't ride on the freeways, not a problem for me as I loathe riding on freeways :mrgreen:

Jean

I have to ride on freeways now and then but I don't enjoy them with a bike. You just use them to get where you are actually going to ride.
I'm wondering if I'll have to drop down to one bike by the time I hit NZ. Here it costs me about a hundred bucks a year for each bike for reg, and another hundred to insure them. When I hit NZ I'll be on a pension and it seems like they keep raising the bar.
My wife pointed out to me the news on the big biker resistance ralleys and more power to them.

ntst8 said:

... New Zealand seems to be doing its best to get motorcycles off the road, it was announced yesterday that the annual cost of licensing 600cc+ motorcycles is to go up from $315 to around $815 per bike!! Holy crap

Click to expand...

Jeandr said:

In Québec (Canada for the geographicaly challenged), the rates for motorcycles went up 300% from a few years ago, it now costs over $500 to put plate on any bike over 401cc and over $1000 for any "risky" bike (mainly sportbikes).

Click to expand...

This is outrageous!! Next thing you know they'll be trying to take your guns away, too. :shock:

Corona850 said:

ntst8 said:

... New Zealand seems to be doing its best to get motorcycles off the road, it was announced yesterday that the annual cost of licensing 600cc+ motorcycles is to go up from $315 to around $815 per bike!! Holy crap

Click to expand...

Jeandr said:

In Québec (Canada for the geographicaly challenged), the rates for motorcycles went up 300% from a few years ago, it now costs over $500 to put plate on any bike over 401cc and over $1000 for any "risky" bike (mainly sportbikes).

Click to expand...

This is outrageous!! Next thing you know they'll be trying to take your guns away, too. :shock:

Click to expand...

Too late, gun control is here now (something I agree with BTW)

Jean

We lost our guns after Port Arthur Tasmania. I had lost interest back in the mid 70,s too many nutters about. We only ever had rifles you had to be in a gun club to have a hand gun, you could not carry one in public.
Ian

Considering that guy had an IQ of 66 and was a raver it is amazing he could buy all that stuff. He could here right now.
But all that aside it is more difficult to ride bikes these days, especially if you collect the old ones which seem to require several.