Learn to Ride - Why learn to ride a motorcycle?

You can save a lot of time by using a motorbike, and that's the one thing you can't easily get more of. To put it in to context, I travel from just north of Newcastle to the city centre every day. It takes me up to 45 minutes in a car if the traffic is bad, it's never more than 12 minutes on a bike.

In total, that's an hour per day I can have back to do something more interesting than sitting in heavy traffic.

I can't think of many (any?) other ways of travelling around where you get as much pleasure from every little detail in the road. On a regular commute you'll find you have your favourite roundabouts because the curve is just right, and bends where you love to get the line perfect.

How often do you say that about a car journey?

Do you remember that feeling when you were about eight, and you and your mates rode for miles and miles to the next town; with only a packet of Monster Munch and a Curly Wurly for energy. You felt free from your parents for the first time.

Well, it's like that, only faster and easier - and you don't have to be home for tea...

Fuel, and other running costs are low. Your average rider, doing an average trip on a Honda CBF125, PCX125 or Vision 110 will average over 110 miles per gallon. That's about 5p per mile in petrol.

Some of the more effecicient big bikes, like the Honda NC750S, can comfortably average over 80 miles per gallon.

Road fund licence (road tax, if you must) is as low as £17 per year and insurance costs are considerably lower if you're under 25 versus a car, too.

It's not often being kind to the environment is the more fun option.

Okay, so £1,999 isn't a small amount of money, but for that you can have a brand new Honda Vision 110 with 2 years Honda warranty and breakdown cover.

You could take advantage of low rate finance too, with monthly payments on a brand new bike starting as low as £59. That's the equivalent of about £14 per week.

Well, nearly. Lots of car parks at schools, colleges, universities and places of work now have allocated motorcycle parking, and they are nearly always free.

City centres are the same too, and in many instances the spaces closer to the entrances than any of the car park spaces. More proof that we're the chosen ones...

Whilst we can't use bus lanes, we can happily use most No Car Lanes at our leisure.

Most queues become a thing of the past as you effortlessly filter to the front of them. Despite passing cars on the way, you'll find the vast majority of drivers are very courteous when you come to get back into lane.

When it's safe to do so give them friendly wave or nod. It goes a long way.

Okay, this might sound like a odd thing to promote on here, but I promise you'll be more spatially aware, more observant of hazards and just an all round better person when you do get behind the wheel of a car after spending time on a bike.

We need to get this out of the way: yes, you're more vulnerable on two wheels than four. However, if you ride safely within your limits, don't speed in built up areas (where speeds are limited to 30, 40 and 50mph) and pay attention to other road users then you'll very likely to never need the protective clothing we recommend that you should be wearing.

In 2013, there were 20% more pedestrians lost than motorcyclists (and double the number of people in a car versus pedestrians). All of them are tragic loses, but you are still going to walk somewhere later, right?

I don't love my mobile phone, but that doesn't stop me from benefiting from the job it performs and the convenience it brings.

Not for one minute would I like to go back to queuing for a phone box in the rain, only to find that it had been used as a toilet and that somebody had glued the coin slot anyway. Anybody born after 1985 probably has no idea what I'm blathering on about...

It would be great if you feel the same as we do about motorcycles, but if all you want to do is ride to work and back, and not give the bike much thought, then that's great too - you're very welcome under our roof. It'll be good to have you on two wheels whatever the reason.

Go on, book your CBT or test training, and learn to ride with us. It may well be the first day of the rest of your life...