All new Ducati machines registered from April 1 onwards will now come with the added security of a MASTER Security System. 

 Ducati has joined an industry initiative developed by the Motorcycle Industry Association in adopting the MASTER Security system. The system is fitted free of charge during the pre-delivery inspection at authorised Ducati dealerships and involves a variety of engine, chassis and bodywork parts being marked using a ‘stealth’ UV security etching, glass transponders, ultra violet fluid, Datadots® as well as a discreet warning label to deter would-be thieves.

It is the first and only official national scheme approved by the police authorities, the Home Office and powered by security market leaders, Datatag ID Ltd, and it is hoped it will go some way to reducing the 26,000 motorcycles stolen each year in the UK. These are often stripped and rebuilt around genuine frames and as such recovery rates are low, with the Police unable to prove ownership beyond doubt. With Ducati and other manufacturers united behind one scheme, the industry has a greater opportunity in combating this problem.

Ducati Managing Director, Tim Maccabee, commented "Ducati are committed to ensuring that customers have a good level of security in place and the MASTER Systems will certainly add benefit to the security of their beloved Ducati. The issue of theft is a consideration for each and every customer and this added layer of prevention we feel is vital. We’re very pleased to be part of an industry initiative that helps combat theft in this way and with support from our dealers we are proud to be a part of this effort."

Datatag’s Managing Director Kevin Howells said ‘To have Ducati join the growing list of brands backing the MASTER Scheme is fantastic. They have an incredibly desirable range and by fitting MASTER with our technology we are confident that owners will feel more secure and will have reduced their risk of theft considerably.’

For more information on the Master Security System

For more information on the Ducati range and accessories visit: www.ducatiuk.com

50 free DV cams to be won as part of motorcycle compensation.com's free prize draw

Leading motorcycle legal advice site motorcyclecompensation.com has 50 free mini DV cameras to be won as part their grand prize draw.

Renowned for giving motorcyclists everywhere practical safety advice, the competition forms part of site's ongoing mission to protect the interests of motorcyclists everywhere and provide them with the tools they need to stay safe on Britain's busy roads.

Entries can be made by filling in the form on the website, where riders can also find information, resources and advice on how to seek advice.

Speaking about the competition, Colin Mahoney, MD of motorcyclecompensation.com, is keen to emphasise that beneath the fun there's a serious edge: "We're delighted to be able to offer the 50 free mini DV cameras as part of our grand prize draw.  However there's a genuine point of safety to be made here. Motorcyclists everywhere will benefit from using one of these - they're a fantastic way of recording a journey from beginning to end. By combining high-resolution video with simple controls in one compact package, bikers can capture the details of their ride - great for keeping other road users honest in the event of an incident."

The mini DV motorcycle cam competition comes at a timely moment: March 2013 sees the launch of a £1.3 million Think! Motorcycle campaign designed to encourage other road users to be aware of riders at junctions. With 74 percent of motorcycle deaths and injuries involving another vehicle, it's more imperative than ever that riders protect themselves from other road users and fellow motorists develop greater awareness of what a journey can be like from a motorcyclist's perspective.

As a committed biker and a long-time campaigner for improving road safety, it's a sentiment that Mahoney whole-heartedly agrees with:  "It's a shocking statistic, but despite constituting a mere 1 percent of the total road traffic, riders make up 19 percent of all fatalities out on our roads.  As an organisation we encourage any initiative that brings police, government and road users together in understanding the safety issues that face motorcyclists every time they make a journey - that's why we're delighted to see the government making fresh efforts to publicise rider safety as part of the Think! Motorcycle campaign. Despite this, we still feel there's a long way to go before motorcyclists have a level playing field. Our competition is about acknowledging this reality and arming riders with a way of conveniently documenting their ride and we heartily encourage people to make a real investment in their safety by entering via the motorcyclecompensation.com website."

For more information, visit: www.motorcyclecompensation.com/motorbike-cam

Ninety-one per cent of motorists do not trust the government to reinvest money made from tolls on new roads, according to a survey by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).  

Sixty per cent of motorists do not support toll roads, and seventy-nine per cent of motorists would not support the introduction of tolls on existing roads. 

Forty per cent of motorists would back more expensive tax discs instead of charging tolls on roads. Forty-one per cent wouldn’t support toll roads even if other types of tax were reduced. 

Motorists were divided on using toll roads. Forty-seven per cent of motorists said they don’t plan their journey to deliberately avoid using toll roads, while forty-four per cent of motorists do. 

Motorists feel strongly about toll roads in their local area. Fifty-six per cent of respondents said that they would use rural or local roads to avoid the toll charges, if a toll was enforced on their local motorway. 

IAM chief executive Simon Best said:  “The cost of motoring is currently at an all-time high, and it’s clear that the idea of bringing in toll roads has no support among everyday motorists. A toll on motorways, our safest roads, may force motorists on to more dangerous rural roads, to save money. The government has a very hard job ahead to convince drivers that tolls are the only way to deliver new roads and improve existing ones.  Only by reducing other motoring taxes can this policy gain the support of the motorist.”

From March 25 to June 24, 2013, author, adventurer and Sunday Times motorcycle columnist Geoff Hill and former road racer Gary Walker will recreate the journey of American writer Carl Stearns Clancy, the first person to take a motorbike around the world 100 years ago.

Since Clancy’s father was Irish, he started the ride in Dublin with colleague Walter Storey and rode through Ireland and the UK, then on through Holland and Belgium to Paris.  Storey, who had never ridden a motorbike before the trip and had been badly shaken after being hit by a Dublin tram on the very first day, then returned home, and with incredible courage, 22-year-old Clancy continued alone, riding down through Europe and across Algeria and Tunisia.

When he found he couldn’t get petrol in India, he shipped the bike to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, rode around there and part of Malaysia, then hopped up through Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai to Nagasaki, rode around Japan, shipped to San Francisco and rode home to New York.

The main sponsor is motorcycle insurance broker, Adelaide Insurance Services, supported by BMW Motorrad, which will be providing the motorbikes for the trip: R1200GS Adventures which would probably seem like spaceships to Clancy compared to the 1912 Henderson he used – a 934cc inline four with one gear and no front brake which made 7bhp and was advertised at the time as the fastest motorcycle in the world.

Dr Gregory W Frazier, the American author and bike adventurer who wrote Motorcycle Adventurer after 16 years of research into Clancy’s original articles and pictures in the American magazine The Bicycling World and Motorcycle Review, is organising a major series of PR events across the United States in June 2013 which Geoff and Gary will be joining and which will add to the critical mass of publicity.

Rather wonderfully, Geoff and Gary will be taking Clancy’s original boots on their second journey around the world 100 years after they did it the first time.

When Clancy died in Virginia in 1971, his housekeeper gave the boots to 16-year-old neighbour Liam O’Connor. Now a Professor in Western Australia, Liam has donated them to Geoff and Gary to pass on to Dr Frazier for donation to a museum, along with some of Clancy’s original notebooks and other travel documents from the trip.

During our journey, as well as producing stories and pictures for several newspapers, Geoff and Gary will be blogging on www.adelaideadventures.com, linked to other websites such as BMW Motorrad, Horizons Unlimited and facebook, along with blogging weekly to the Times Online motoring site.

The book on the adventure has already been commissioned by Blackstaff Press, which has published all of Geoff’s best-selling books, including several on previous motorbike adventures such as Delhi to Belfast, Route 66, Chile to Alaska and around Australia.

Gary, a former actor as well as top road racer, starred with Joey and Robert Dunlop in the iconic 1992 documentary Between the Hedges.

His career highlights so far include being chatted up by Lena Zavaroni, minding Julie Christie and riding his race bike sideways along a dry stone wall at 140mph, although not all in the same weekend.

See Amazon for the book

Many thanks to everyone who passed by our stand for THE BIKER GUIDE this weekend @ the Manchester Bike Show, where a good time was had by all.

It was great to see so many visitors to the website, winners of competitions, new Bikers and especially all those people who gushingly told us how much you 'love' the website, booklet and facebook page/group!