May Is Motorcycle Awareness Month

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, the perfect time of year to shift into summer by learning to ride

. If you're dreaming of the open road, you aren't alone. Motorcycling is more popular than ever, and according to a Motorcycle Industry Council survey the sport is attracting a surprisingly wide range of new riders.

For example, while the U.S. motorcycle market enjoyed its 12th consecutive year of growth in 2004, the surge in the number of motorcycles in the United States - up 34 percent from 1998 to 8.8 million in use today - seems to have been fueled to a large extent by women. The MIC survey found approximately one in 10 motorcycle owners is now female, up from 6.4 percent in 1990.

Women are a huge factor in the rising popularity of motorcycling. For men as well as women, rider education programs can be a great way for experienced riders to take it to the next level or total beginners to learn from scratch, even if they don't yet own a bike.

Quality programs usually provide motorcycles to new students who need one. There's often an obstacle confronting new riders. They'd like to buy their first bike or maybe upgrade to a newer, more powerful one, but they worry about their ability to handle it safely. Rider education programs are the answer. A rider course will provide participants more education and can improve their skills on their own bike.

The option, it seems, is attracting would-be riders.

Harley-Davidson has seen its Rider's Edge New Rider Course and has trained tens of thousands of riders, while its line of H-D MotorClothes apparel has also helped new grads look the part. The Rider's Edge program offers three courses: the New Rider Course, the Skilled Rider Course and the Rider's Edge/MSF Guide to Group Riding Course.

The growth of the rider education business reflects the larger growth in motorcycling as a whole. "We've seen an explosion in rider interest. Between 2000 and 2003 we trained 10,000 riders. Since then, we've trained 40,000 more. While a third of our students already owned a bike, another third purchased a bike within four months of completing Rider's Edge. The remaining third said they were planning to purchase a motorcycle."

Purchase or no purchase, more people every year are riding a motorcycle. And while 24 million Americans rode one at least once in 2003, Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month serves to remind us that any ride is only as thrilling as it is safe. That's why, from first-time rider to longtime rider, this May is the perfect time to better enjoy the thrill of the open road by learning to ride it more safely.

by: Robert Hoffman

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