It's all over the news relentlessly and we can all see it clearly in our own lives, the cost of living is skyrocketing daily, as fuel, utilities bills, food and pretty much anything else you care to mention, is getting more expensive.
This is due to a combination of factors like the cost of raw materials, fuel and energy, higher import costs, the war in Ukraine, the impact of Brexit etc. In fact energy costs, for one, are apparently rising faster than at any time since the late 1970s.

Around 90% of British households reported that their cost of living had soared which was making it increasingly difficult to balance the books domestically. With pressure on low and middle income household budgets rising steadily, one of the expenses which is causing a problem is running a car, with little apparent relief from the Chancellor's 5p cut on fuel duty. Grant Schapps, Secretary of State for Transport, in a bid to come up with creative financial solutions is reviewing the annual requirement for an annual MOT on cars or motorcycles and is considering reducing this to a biennial event instead. Without any repairs this would save motorists around £30 for a motorcycle and £50 for a car every other year. However the idea has not been well received by motoring organisations or the public in general, who feel that it would make the roads less safe as unroadworthy vehicles and mechanical faults would not be picked up as quickly. In the long run this might lead to more accidents and more expensive repairs if potential defects or wear and tear issues are not spotted in a timely manner at the annual MOT. There are also garages which rely on doing annual MOTs  and this cut could have a serious impact on their businesses.

Creative Thinking
One of the things people have thought of, when looking to economise, is to switch to a motorcycle instead of a car and the motorcycle sector has started the year well with many more registrations particularly of L-Category (lightweight petrol or electric motorcycles and scooters) and Adventure bikes, according to the MCIA. MCIA sales data shows a steady increase in new motorcycle registrations month on month from the previous year. Smaller machines are proving to be economical for people, doing far more miles to the gallon than cars and are way more popular than they were before the pandemic.

Over to you
If you are already a motorcyclist, how have you found the current cost of living crisis is affecting you? Are you trying to cut back on your journeys and therefore your fuel costs? If you have to use your motorcycle to commute or if you work as a courier, how are you coping with your increased fuel and bike maintenance costs? Have you reduced your bike maintenance so that you only do the bare necessities and stick to parts you need only if they break and need replacing? If you use your motorcycle for leisure, rideouts and events, or off roading at the weekends, have you curtailed this at all? Or are you finding your bike a good economical proposition compared to the alternatives?

We'd love to hear how, or if, the current economic situation is personally impacting your motorcycling habits so let us know what's happening for you at [email protected] or drop us a message on Facebook