HANOVER, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Almost 2,000 keen bikers, 8 countries, over 17 million kilometres covered on motorcycle: in the survey as part of the “Biker Summer 2014” campaign by MotorradreifenDirekt.de, Europe’s bikers proved that they have passion and staying power in great quantities. Who says that motorcyclists are a dying breed? With an extraordinary 432 circumnavigations of the earth, the 1,964 participants this year topped the result of the 2013 survey – and multiplied it by five.*
But do bikers prefer to tour alone or are they social animals? And how winter-hardy are Europe’s motorbike fans?
These were the questions that the team at www.MotorradreifenDirekt.de, the specialist bike store operated by Europe’s largest online tyre dealer, Delticom, wanted answers to and invited bikers from eight countries to participate in the “Biker Summer 2014” campaign, a survey with prize draw, between 15 July and 15 September.
Travel-loving motorcyclists – facts and figures on the “Biker Summer 2014”:
432 times around the world: in total, the almost 2,000 bikers covered – in one year – an impressive 17.3 million kilometres on bike. That is equivalent to 432 circumnavigations of the earth. The motto of the first “Biker Summer” was “Biking without Borders”: the 1,234 participants circumnavigated the globe (3.4 million kilometres) 85 times in the course of summer 2013.
No ride is too far: the average biker clocked up a tidy 8,835 kilometres in total over the course of 2014.
The gold medal for long-distance biking goes to France: 11,261 kilometres was the annual average per biker there. Silver goes to the Netherlands with 10,551 kilometres covered. Spain takes the bronze medal with an annual average of 10,057 kilometres. The Germans covered “only” about 7,732 kilometres in 2014. Behind them were the Austrians with 7,674 kilometres.
Easy riding – but preferably not alone: MotorradreifenDirekt.de wanted to know in which configuration motorbike fans prefer to enjoy their hobby – alone, with a companion or as part of a larger group? The answer was clear: bikers are not loners. Far from it: they enjoy company!
Almost half (47%) of the motorcyclists prefer to hit the road in a group, while 27% prefer to travel with a pillion rider. Only a quarter like to ride alone. French and Swiss motorcyclists are neutral and evenly divided between lone bikers, pillion friends and group bikers.
True bikers know no winter: “Biker Summer 2014” is over; now all the motorbikes are stored away under covers – really? The responses to the question “Are you seasonal bikers, or do you ride all year round?” were almost evenly split: on average 52% of participants (Germany 44%) hit the road on their motorbike all year round. A bare minority of Europe’s bikers (48%) limit their two-wheel hobby to the warmer season.
85% of Spanish motorcyclists bike all year round – thanks to warmer average temperatures. In France that figure is 70%. In Germany, 44% are prepared to take on all weather conditions. The highest proportion of seasonal bikers is found in Austria (89%), which also accounts for the relatively low annual average of 7,673 kilometres per biker. Only 11% of Austrians bike in the winter too, primarily with winter-ready tyres including frost-resistant rubber compounds and winter profiles (M+S mark).
The “Biker Summer 2014” campaign ran simultaneously in Delticom AG’s motorbike tyre shops in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. 1,964 motorcyclists tried their luck to win the prizes worth over €1,500 in total. Up for grabs were vouchers for new sets of motorbike tyres or top-quality equipment for their next motorbike trip.
All information (DE): www.motorradreifendirekt.de/Aktion-Bikersommer.html
* For comparison, the average distance covered in the 2013 survey by Delticom of 1,234 motorcyclists was 2,729 kilometres in the summer only. In 2014, the Delticom motorbike team asked about the distance covered in the whole year.
