January 2015

Dear Subscriber,

With January all but behind us we trust you've had a good start to the new year.

This month we bring you news of a new General Secretary at FEMA, the Brussels based umbrella organisation which represents riders at the heart of the EU.

Elsewhere, we'll be at the Irish Motorcycle and Scooter Show in the RDS, Dublin, from 27th February to the 1st March and we look forward to meeting many of you there. You'll find full details of all the above later in this issue.

If you’re planning a motorcycle related event in Ireland in 2015, let us know by sending details to events@magireland.org and we'll add it to the Irish Motorcycle Events Calendar for free.

Please add this email address to your safe sender/whitelist to ensure you don't miss an issue of RoadRunner.

Your feedback (email to roadrunner@magireland.org) is always welcome.

Editor

Come and meet us at the RDS show

MAG Ireland will once again be in attendance at the upcoming Irish Motorbike and Scooter Show which takes place in the RDS, Dublin from Friday 27th February next.

We'll be located at stand A1 just inside the main entrance and our team of volunteers will be on hand throughout the show weekend so do stop by and say hello. As ever you can join us or renew a lapsed membership at the show and we're sure to have the odd give away too!

Always a hugely popular show with in excess of 25,000 visitors the event is once again being sponsored by Carole Nash Insurance and will see all the main manufacturers exhibit the widest range of new bikes.

Dublin - Motorcycle Parking Removed!

A number of Dublin riders have been in touch to ask what has happened to the parking in Prince's Street adjacent to the GPO.

We were in contact with Dublin City Council before Christmas and they told us that the works on Prince's Street would be ongoing for some time and that no alternative motorcycle parking had been provided.

As you might expect we're not impressed and we're currently following up with Dublin City Council on this. In the meantime it would appear DCC expects motorcyclists to resume our "traditional" habits of parking unobtrusively in public places.

Remember that it is illegal to park a motorcycle in a pay and display parking bay in Dublin.

Irish Motorcycle sales increased in 2014

MAG Ireland researcher Garret Maher has been busy analysing the sales figures for Irish motorcycles in 2014.

The good news is that the numbers are up by almost 10% but the bad news is that we are coming off a historic low so the actual number of new bikes sold is still under 1,000. All the same, an increase in sales, however small, is to be welcomed as a step in the right direction.

There was a slight drop in the number of used motorcycles sold in 2014, likely influenced by Sterling exchange rates getting progressively worse throughout the year.

Garret will be publishing a full report on www.magireland.org in early February so keep an eye out for that one.

Save on Dell as a MAG Ireland member

MAG Ireland members get 10% off Dell consumer products through the Dell VIP Club site. As a MAG member, you have access to monthly exclusive VIP Deals which will not be found anywhere else.

With the Dell VIP Club, you get unique discounts on all consumer products and special promotions on selected product lines all year round. These discounts cover tablets, laptops, ultrabooks & peripherals and they aren’t available to the general public.

MAG Ireland to attend FEMA meeting

Irish riders will be represented at the first FEMA meeting of the year with European Liaison Peter Bartlett heading out to Brussels over the weekend of 31st Jan/1st Feb.

FEMA has just announced the appointment of a new General Secretary as reported above and as a founder member of the organisation, MAG Ireland welcomes this move.

We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to the organisation’s outgoing General Secretary Ms. Aline Delhaye for her vision and enthusiasm since 2006 during which some of the most serious threats to the future of motorcycling in the EU have been tackled successfully.

European Motorcyclists' Forum 2015

The 2015 European Motorcyclists Forum will take place in Brussels on the 2nd and 3rd February next. The event will bring together motorcycle experts, policy-makers and stakeholders to discuss the future of powered two-wheel mobility in the EU.

MAG Ireland's Trevor Baird will represent Irish riders while the RSA's Brian Harnett will give a presentation in the Irish implementation of the new licensing laws which were introduced in January 2013.

Trevor brings a wealth of experience in representing riders at the highest levels nationally and internationally.

As a MAG Ireland member (and former general secretary of MAG UK),Trevor is well versed in the issues which affect riders on both sides of the border. His prior experience working with FEMA in the role of Technical Officer will be invaluable to MAG Ireland on the EU stage. We would like to take this opportunity to welcome Trevor to the MAG Ireland team and we look forward to working with him for the benefit of all riders.

Irish Motorcycle Events Calendar

We're working on the calendar for 2015 and we aim to list as many events as possible.

To add your event, send an e-mail to events@magireland.org with a brief description of the event, facebook or web site link and the contact details of the organiser.

Read MAG Ireland in Bike Buyers Guide

The new issue of Bike Buyers Guide is in shops now and this month we take a look at the difficulties faced when trying to get organisations to change policy towards motorcycling.

There's also coverage of our recent transition from "Action Group" to "Association"alongside regulars like racing news, product and bike reviews and the widest range of contributors in Ireland.

In all good newsagents now for just €4.99.

Review of 2014

Coming off the back of a few turbulent years during which the organisation was completely restructured, we shifted the focus to the promotion of motorcycling during 2014 and worked to highlight the positive benefits it brings to society.

Read on for a month by month review of 2014...

 

MAG Ireland in new tourism initiative

MAG Ireland's South East rep and P.R.O. Victor Donnelly is leading a new initiative aimed at making Waterford Ireland's first official "motorcycle friendly" county.

Meetings have already taken place with local politicians and motorcycle enthusiasts and plans are currently being drawn up to help grow and develop motorcycle tourism in the South East.

The project will initially focus on providing facilities such as secure designated parking which will benefit local riders and tourists alike. Longer term, the participants aim to develop a number of sign posted "motorcycle friendly" routes in co-operation with the hospitality industry and the local council.

The aim is that the template developed in conjunction with the local authorities in Waterford can then be used throughout the country. We'll be reporting on progress during the year so watch this space. If you'd like to be involved, e-mail publicrelations@magireland.org.

Help to protect motorcycling - Join Us

MAG Ireland represents Irish riders and is funded by Irish riders but we can only do that with the financial support of members subscriptions.

It now costs just €20 for a years membership, that’s less than 6 cent per day.

Not only that but we aim to save you the cost of your membership many times over via our exclusive vouchers and our group discount scheme. To get your member-only discounts follow the link on the top right hand side of  the site: www.magireland.groupscheme.com.

You can potentially save the cost of your membership many times over with great discounts like 10% off at all Halfords stores. 

If you can’t stretch to a membership subscription but you’d still like to help, just click the donate link on the menu at www.magireland.org and give whatever you can.