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n e w s Quad bike safety a growing concern There is a growing concern about the safety of quad bikes commonly used on farms. According to a recent University of Sydney Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety study, quad bikes have claimed 23 lives and caused 56 injuries in one year in Australia. This statistic makes them twice as dangerous as tractors. With 78 per cent of these accidents taking place on farms and 18 per cent involving children under 16 years of age, the study suggests we have to look closely at risk reduction strategies around quad bikes. All quad bike manufacturers must adhere to Australian Design Regulations and standards but some believe they have implemented better strategies. Hi-Sun believes that road testing each and every bike before it is packed for shipment improves its safety. Parklands Power Products, the Hi-Sun Australian distributor, also completes its own additional testing. Parklands CEO Ron Zacka, who has been in the industry for more than 40 years, takes the safety issue very seriously. “I keep hearing about the roll bar or Crush Protection Device (CPD) again and again, but unless you have seatbelts fitted, they are not going to offer any greater protection. And of course, quad drivers would then actually have to use them, which may actually present the bigger challenge,” Zacka said. Parklands, who sells the majority of its quad bikes to the farming sector through a nationwide dealer network, has frequently witnessed unsafe use of these machines. “Another big issue is that people tend to overload the bikes with fodder, equipment and materials, making them prone to tip or roll, which is the biggest danger of these otherwise reasonably safe vehicles. Add to that a little extra speed and you take a perfectly safe quad bike into a danger zone,” said Zacka. “More and more farmers have switched to Utility Terrain Vehicles (UTVs), which are set out more like BIKEBusiness b u s i n e s s t o b u s i n e s s 4 July - Aug 2012 Unnecessary risks are created by attempting very steep slopes, overloading the quad bikes and driving them at too high speeds and often without protective gear a car, have a broader frame, better height/width ratio and are hence much more stable without compromising on capability. “These have side-by-side seating, allow for a wide range of utility attachments and have ample storage for fodder, materials, tools and equipment. Many of these come with protective frames, windshield and roof and are overall safer even with engines of up to 800cc.” Despite warning stickers, recommendations and stringent testing as to the maximum capacity of quad bikes, unnecessary risks are created by attempting very steep slopes, overloading the quad bikes and driving them at too high speeds and often without protective gear. “We actually took our range of quads and UTVs through another test recently, getting bike and 4WD experts to push the quads to their limit at the 4WD track at Eastern Creek Speedway and on a farm near Sydney,” said Zacka. “The idea was to really test the bikes’ capacity and despite considerable experience among the drivers and no excessive loads, we managed to tip a few. “This just clearly reinforced to us all that when there is a speed and weight recommendation sticker on a machine, the idea is to stay below it, not to push well beyond it. Following the recommendations would make the use of quad bikes a lot safer, safer even than roll bars and seatbelts could make them.” Parklands offers advice and supplies and fits roll protection bars to its bikes and believes that it is crucial that the right bars for the right model are being fitted. Some bikes actually don’t have the capacity or frame to support these devices. Makeshift fitting of bars can increase the risk for drivers as a roll-over impact could damage the bike and render the quad bike very dangerous, even with a seatbelt. The quad-bike safety issue seems to have two sides to it: one of manufacturers going to greater lengths to improve suspension and doing stringent capability testing, and the second of operators of quad bikes riding them with more caution and common-sense.
BMW Motorrad: ABS available as standard in all models from MY2013 Increasing importance is attached to the issue of safety in public and political debate. As a leading motorcycle manufacturer, BMW Motorrad has always been aware of its social responsibility in this connection. In 1988 the company presented the world’s first serial production motorcycles with the antilock brake system (ABS) – the most effective technical safety bonus to this day. The next logical step follows now: from model year 2013, BMW Motorrad will be offering ABS as a standard feature in all models. The company is being proactive here, significantly pre-empting the requirement for ABS likely to be introduced in 2016 for all newly registered motorcycles in Europe. The first new models in which this measure is to be applied are the parallel-twin-powered BMW F 700 GS and BMW F 800 GS. n e w s Road bikes lead growth in 2012 motorcycle sales Motorcycle sales in Australia increased in the first half of 2012, according to figures releases today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI). In the six months to the end of June, 51,952 motorcycles Shineray to lap Australia Derk Bruinsma from the Isle of Wight in the UK recently embarked on a journey from Wollongong, NSW, around Australia aboard a Shineray XY250GY- 2 Enduro bike supplied by Shineray’s Australian distributor, Zuma. On the week leading up to his departure in early June Derk fabricated a chequerplate platform at Zuma’s headquarters for his customised luggage system, which includes an auxiliary 12v battery to power up his notebook computer and mobile phone, and to provide LED lighting when setting up camp. Derk estimates he’ll spend around six months on the road, his intention being to use the roads least travelled, and he also hopes to take in Cape York in Far North Queensland. Derk says he chose the Shineray Enduro for its excellent build quality, performance and fuel efficiency. To follow his journey visit the following Facebook page: www.facebook.com/ shineraymotorcycles were delivered to Australian customers, representing an increase of 1,331 units (or 2.6 per cent) over the same period in 2011. Sales growth was mostly driven by the road bike segment, which increased 8.4 per cent (1,567 units) to 20,174 and the All-terrain Vehicle (ATV) segment, which increased by 3.4 per cent (357 units) to 10,951 compared with the first six months of 2011. Scooter sales saw a big drop to 5,233 units, being 13.6 per cent or 832 less scooters sold year to date compared with last year. The off-road segment accounted for 15,594 sales (to the end of June) for a 30 per cent market share. The road bike segment remains the single largest by market share, with half-year sales representing 39% of all motorcycles sold. ATV deliveries represented 21 per cent of the market, while scooters’ share decreased to 10 per cent. Honda was the number one brand, delivering 11,788 motorcycles to the end of June. Yamaha was in second position to the end of June with 8,692 sales, followed by Suzuki (6,105), Kawasaki (4,612) and Harley-Davidson (3,643). BIKEBusiness 5 July - Aug 2012 b u s i n e s s t o b u s i n e s s
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