Thread: Vic election, November

I agree with most of that letter and it is about time the governments pandering to minority green groups for preference votes were put on notice. I do however have reservations about trail bike riders being the problem. Trail bike riding is also a legitimate recreational activity and tracts of land need to be put aside and maintained for this purpose as well. It is no use just sticking your head in the sand and closing trail riding areas because someone does not like a bit of noise. All this does is force people into riding illegally. These same people that usually complain would not have an issue using their chain saws to feed their wood heaters. There is room for all and surely a compromise could be met.

I dont agree with the bit about trail bikes either, as I am a life member of a trailbike club however like all activities there is a percentage of people who do the wrong thing. Unfortunately a lot of people tend to class noisy unregistered moto-cross bikes as trailbikes because they are used (illegally) on bush tracks.

Ian

Originally Posted by amtravic1

I dont agree with the bit about trail bikes either, as I am a life member of a trailbike club however like all activities there is a percentage of people who do the wrong thing. Unfortunately a lot of people tend to class noisy unregistered moto-cross bikes as trailbikes because they are used (illegally) on bush tracks.

Ian

Yeah, there is a small percentage that do the wrong thing. I do not agree with the moto cross bike slant. There should be areas for unlicenced riding. How are our kids going to learn? Not all of us can afford to have 3 or 4 sets of rego on vehicles, especially if a dirt bike only really gets used 6 or so times a year. And no I do not own a $12k bike so should be able to afford rego. There is a place for all forms of motorsport, we just need to designate some areas within reasonable access. A 2-3 hour travel time to access is not reasonable. I have been lucky growing up in the WA Goldfields where this is not really an issue and is tolerated by most. The major drama is the idiot's that want to race their unregistered bikes around on public roads. I have no problems in the real world of kids etc riding their bikes in and out of down as long as it is direct and slow/quiet. It is the few that insist on tearing up and down the roads and alley ways that ruin it for all. Fortuanately where I live it is about 2 minutes ride max to the bush from any point in town. I love my dirt bike riding and currently have a YZ426F and the kids a 90 Quad. Neither of these can be registered but it does not make my hobby any less legtimate. If I had a big lotto win I reckon I would buy a couple of thousand acres in the SW and open it up for dirt bike riding and possiblly some 4x4 tracks, which is what our government should be doing. Most people when you actually get them out of their little city comfort zones enjoy riding or learning to ride and realise they have been mistaken. I also do believe that we need to avoid unduly disturbing residents as well.