Londoners are the friendliest of bikers

Over the past few years, there has been a motorcycling renaissance; Brits have had more free time, new hobbies to invest in, and some lovely weather perfect for cruising down beautiful roads.

Insight from the motorcycling community also shows that another reason for uptake of the hobby, is the friendly community that comes with it, and the common friendly behaviours that most bikers do.

That’s why, ahead of World Motorcycle Day 2022, Asda Money surveyed 1,000 UK motorcyclists to find out where the friendliest bikers live in the UK, and whether bikers’ behaviour changes depending on the region they live in – and if it’s true that Brits are friendlier in the north

Across the UK, most motorcyclists would call themselves a ‘friendly biker’, with the top friendly actions among bikers being “acting patient with learner bikers and drivers” (57%), “letting pedestrians cross the road” (54%), and “nodding to other bikers” (49%).

The research shows that motorcyclists in London are considered the friendliest, with seven per cent of motorcyclists voting London as the friendliest biker location. This may be surprising to some, due to the classic joke that southerners are less friendly than northerners, but two southern England regions appear in the top 3!

Below are the locations in the UK that British bikers voted the ‘friendliest biker area’ outside of their own region.

1. London (7%)
2. South Wales (5%)
3. South West England (5%)
4. North Wales (4.8%)
5. Yorkshire and the Humber (4.7%)
6. East England (3.9%)
7. North East England (3.9%)
8. Mid Wales (3.5%)
9. South East England (3.3%)
10. South of Scotland (3.2%)

Over half (53%) of UK motorcyclists are part of a biker club, either on social media or a group that meets in person. Motorcycling is clearly a great hobby to get into if you like meeting new people and making friends, with UK motorcyclists having, on average, 23 biker friends.

Some motorcyclists cited that their mental health was a main factor for them enjoying the hobby; they stated that motorcycling had helped their depression and anxiety. There are lots of other reasons Brits choose to take up motorcycling as a hobby to.

Top five reasons for starting motorcycling:
In the research, bikers were asked for their top reasons for becoming a motorcyclist and below are the top five answers that were selected.

1. Freedom and adventure (56%)
2. To have a fun hobby (52%)
3. Like the motorcycling community (38%)
4. For an easier commute (33%)
5. Cheaper than other transport (32%)

For those Brits looking for a bit of freedom and adventure to spice up their life, there were a number of ways to celebrate World Motorcycle Day on which was on June 21:

• Simply hit the road and enjoy the freedom of riding on a motorcycle, letting the wind blow through your hair (or rather, helmet) as you enjoy the British countryside
• Hop on your motorcycle and ride to an Official World Motorcycle Meet Up Spot, and meet dozens of friendly bikers in your area
• Treat yourself to a track bike hire, and test out the motorcycle of your dreams on one of the many racing circuits across the UK

Alistair Ball, Head of Insurance for Asda Money said: “It’s great to see that the majority of UK motorcyclists would describe themselves as ‘friendly bikers’, and that they look out for other riders when they are on the road. It’s interesting to see, from our research, that some believe that motorcycling has helped their anxiety.

“The strong desire for ‘freedom and adventure’ also makes sense as to why so many Brits took up motorcycling in this past year – to get some freedom when much of our lives were restricted, due to the pandemic.”

No matter where your two wheels take you, make sure you have a motorbike insurance policy, which covers all of your biking needs. Asda Money offers a price guarantee and multiple levels of cover, compare quotes online by visiting https://money.asda.com/insurance/motorbike-insurance/.

This offer is to beat your cheapest, like for like, online motorbike insurance quote and the guarantee applies to the basic policy price only. As a web provider this offer excludes telephone quotations.

This offer only applies to permanent residents in the UK. Proof and validation of alternate quotes may be required before the guarantee is honoured.