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A decision has been made by Transport for London to allow motorcycles to travel by bus lanes, after a three year trial has shown increases in road safety and a reduction in congestion on the capital’s busy roads.

Bikers are no longer forced to weave through traffic, leading to a reduction in the number of collisions in the second half of the trial of 5.8%.

Research has shown that the speed at which motorcyclists travel has also been reduced, as has the number of bikers breaking the speed limit which has fallen by 20%. The trial has also led to a reduction in motorcyclists journey times (great news for the commuters among us).

Transport for London recognises that bikes can play an important role in their fight to reduce CO2 emissions in the city.

The trial has been very popular – Transport for London estimate that a staggering 50,000 journeys have been made by motorcyclists every day on the bus networks.

The trial has become a permanent measure since January 23^rd 2012.

Do you think the success of this trial will spread across the UK, and would it work in your town?

Children have a fascination with motorcycles; after all, what’s not to like? They’re exciting machines, capturing the spirit of free-wheeling adventure and unchecked possibility that children adore.

This spirit of adventure is also what makes biking such a great topic for children’s entertainment. Few things enliven a book, film or cartoon series more than a fast-paced motorcycle chase or a thrilling off-road ride.

We’ve taken a look at a range of children’s books and films that feature biking as a prominent part of the action. If you’ve not picked them up yet why not see what your kids make of them – it’s never too early to get them into biking!

• Now we’re sure that even if you’ve not read the Harry Potter books, you’ve caught at least one of the films. If so then you’ll remember the moment when Hagrid swoops down on a magical motorcycle to spirit Harry away to Diagon Alley and freedom from his insufferable Uncle and Aunt: fantastic fun!
• Wes Anderson might have made his name creating quirky indie-flicks, but his adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox proves he’s no slouch when it comes to kid’s films. Comical, fun and featuring a fox-sized motorcycle and sidecar combo to die for, we can guarantee you’ll enjoy this as much as your children will.
• From stop-motion foxes to claymation icons Wallace and Gromit. A Close Shave, their third outing, sees the pair set up a mobile, motorcycling window-cleaning service. Featuring a psychotic mechanised canine, a very cute sheep, some very cool inventions and a stunningly put together motorcycle chase this is a real classic.
• Alan Garner is one of Britain’s best loved children’s authors. His eerie stories document a world in which the supernatural regularly impinges upon our day to day lives. The Owl Service concerns an ancient Welsh legend which takes over the lives of a group of adolescents – an important part of the story features a ghostly motorcycle.
• Finally, a good choice for young children is Beverly Clearly’s  The Mouse and the Motorcycle. This novel tells the story of a brave little mouse who finds a toy motorcycle. With beautiful illustrations and a heart-warming ending your kids will love it.

Do you have any childhood favourites that feature motorcycles? Maybe they’re the thing that first gave you the biking bug, we’d love to hear from you.

It’s fair to say that not many bikes cater to those of a smaller stature, but if you find aspects of riding your bikes challenging because of this do not despair, all is not lost! Check out KBB’s top tips for getting on your taller two wheels.

• Why not lower the seat? To do this you will need to shave the foam beneath your seat cover to decrease the height and the width of the seat as a whole. Failing that (if you don’t fancy yourself as a master of textiles), there are companies who provide this service, or who will provide you with a seat that is lower than your original.
• Another option is to lower the suspension by adjusting your bike. You should bear in mind that this type of adjustment can have an effect on other factors, including cornering clearance and comfort when travelling on uneven surfaces, especially when carrying a pillion. On the plus side it is a reversible process, in case you shoot up a couple of inches…
• There is also special footwear on the market which can help your feet to reach the floor comfortably. Bear in mind, they’re not always for the fashion-conscious!
• You can also overcome this issue through developing experience and confidence. Time spent with your machine will allow you to develop an understanding of how to balance yourself when getting on your bike and when you come to a stop.
• Adopting special techniques can help. When stopping and putting your foot down, make sure you’re not on a slope or have somehow positioned yourself amongst mini dips in the road. Remember, if you need to move your bike, you don’t necessarily need to be on it!

Failing all of the above, you can cut the problem short (no pun intended) by choosing a bike which caters to your height. There are many makes, models and styles of motorcycle which can make life that little bit easier, especially for those who are starting out and lacking in experience.

We would love to hear from our more experienced bikers; what would you advise?

Right about 9 months ago I was Involve in an accident which was my fault befor we start. OK I use to ride a trike yes a 3 wheeled bike which was a gold wing but it started to get expencesive with the price of part for the gold wing, so I decided to but a robin reliant trike so part woulf be cheap and cheap to insure well thats what I thought anyway. I bought the reliant on ebay for a bloke in Midlands, now I live in Wigan which is 99 miles away any way I took my brother in law with me to pick up the trike so I insured the reliant and booked it in for an MOT the same day so I could ride the trike home from the Midlands, well I never left the Midlands. Now for the bad thing, well has I was riding the trike home ( by the way it had a suicide gear stick on it ) well the gear linkage snapped so the brother in law and me decided to bodge it so we took the seat of and put the gear stick in the middle of the trike just under the tank any way we couldn’t put the seat back on so we put a coat on the frame and desided to ride it like that “BIG MISTAKE”. so has I was riding the trike home I was going around a round Island do 40 mph just has I was changing up to 4th gear and one hand on the throttle well the handle bars decided the whip to the left and out of my hand and veared sharply to the left and if a kurb which was about 8 inch high now your thinking thats not high well the trike was only 4 inch away from the road at the lowest part of it. the trike went in to the air about a foot of the floor has the trike came down I caught my foot under the foot pan and ripped me of the trike I was ripped of it that bad that it ripped the heal of my vintage bike boot, and has I hit the grass verge with my head my helmet decide to come of my head now remember my brother in law was behind me so imagine what went though his mind when he saw my helmet rolling down the road yes you got it, he thought my head had come off. any way you’ve seen these grass verge near duel carrage way they’re about 3-400 yards long with one sign in the middle and guess what I hit the post and broke my left leg in 3 place my thigh bone was snapped in 2 with about 1 inch of bone shattered in very small piece and I broke mt knee cap and shin I was in surgery for 5 hrs with my thigh so now I have a big metal pin going from top of thigh to bottom near the knee cap, then 2 day later I was in surgery for 2 screws in my knee and a steel plate holding my shin together that took another 3 hour. The funny thing about all this is Im a member of the royal britsh legion rider and on the bottom of my post I had a message saying you can’t fall of a trike well what do you know you can lol and now at the bottom I have who says you cant fall of a trike lol. This all happen 9 months ago my bone have knitted together great apart from a limp you wouldn’t know i was in an accident, so last year just befor Christmas I told the wife I was thinking about doing my direct access on a bike , well you can imagine what she thought about that not happy is not the word she said, but I explained to her that I had to do or I’d never ride again and she said well what about that, so I changed my tactice and told her that I was doing it so when I get a job when Im better I can use the bike to go to work and go out the the Red Eyed Mutts on a sundays in sping and summer and told her I was investing in our future and yes she fell for it yes lol. well 13 day ago I passed my test and now own a Honda deauxville 650 and loving it I not been off the bike since well except when it snowed. Now I would advise anyone who wants to do their direct access I would say go for it if I can pass anyone can and I use to ride a trike not anymore, now Im a proper biker lol the picture below show the trike that nearly killed me, I must say I still do not remember anything of the crash which Im greatfull for that, and thank you who ever was watching over me that day. I would like to hear of any more stories like mine
Thank you for reading this blog