Defies wind and weather: Zoe Orth on a trip on her motorcycle.
© Frenger
Motorcyclists love their machines, and most people associate them with much more than just a hobby. However, because of the noise, there are often arguments with residents of particularly popular routes.
Offenbach / Hanau – Motorcyclists often feel the feeling of freedom on their vehicle. Whether the wind blows in your face or the machine vibrates under your legs – bikers see their two-wheeler as more than a hobby, it is a passion. But it doesn’t go down well with everyone.
“Everyone in the club has been riding a motorcycle for decades,” says Thorsten Kruppka. The 53-year-old is the 3rd chairwoman of the Rhein-Main Rockets from Offenbach and one of 15 permanent members of the club’s own “Mopedfreunde”. On average, the members, whose meetings and excursions are regularly attended by 20 guests, are over 50 years old. But there are also a few younger drivers, emphasizes Kruppka. “Some are just starting out with a driver’s license.” And fewer and fewer young people are enthusiastic about a motorcycle. “In the younger generation, the driver’s license, regardless of whether it is for two or four wheels, is no longer in great demand,” he regrets
Offenbach driving school: motorcycle and scooter driving license sought after
Boris Hafner does not share this assessment. In his Trenkler driving school in Offenbach, the driving license for the AM class, with which people aged 15 and over are allowed to drive two-wheelers up to 45 kilometers per hour, is in great demand: “In this class, the number of requests is at least twice as high as usual.” Many young people associate a piece of independence with motorized two-wheelers, he says.
Zoe Orth knows this feeling. The 20-year-old from Alzenau has been riding a motorcycle since she was 17: “There is a strong feeling of freedom, especially at the beginning, as you are independent and mobile even before you get your driver’s license.” If you grow up in a small village like her A motorcycle is often the only way to get from one place to another quickly without a car or public transport, she explains.
Motorcycling: extend your class B driving license
For many young people this is still an important reason to want to drive their own scooter or moped at the age of 15, explains Hafner. However, the driving instructor found that older people also registered for a motorcycle license during the corona pandemic. “Most of them have wanted to get their driver’s license for a long time, but have not yet found the time.” In 2020, he taught a total of 78 students to drive in one of the three classes A2, A1 and A. So far this year Hafner has trained 58 students.
Since the beginning of 2020, drivers have been able to add the code 196 to their class B driving license, which enables them to drive a light motorcycle without having to take a corresponding test. Prerequisite: The driver must complete ten practice driving hours, be 25 years old and have had a B driving license for at least five years.
Driving school in Hanau: motorcycle driving licenses are very popular
Mehmet Kayci, managing director of the Gote driving school in Hanau, reports that the model is particularly popular with older people because it takes less time. 40 students completed the expansion there last year alone. The costs for this are around 700 euros.
And the other classes such as AM, A1, A2 and A are currently very popular. The trend is continuing “clearly upwards”, says Kayci. In 2021, 113 students were trained in the various classes at the Gote driving school, including ten young people who had obtained a scooter driver’s license.
This year, 58 students have registered with driving instructor Boris Hafner (left) for a motorcycle license in classes A2, A1 and A.
© bears
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Noise pollution from motorcycles: Not the norm
Boris Hafner, however, sees a big difference between a scooter that young people drive through the city and a heavy motorcycle: “You don’t use them to just get from A to B.” The fact that bikes are not popular everywhere, he knows. “Of course you will hear stories from local residents who lay traces of oil so that the drivers fly out of the bends.” Hafner certainly understands that some people complain about motorbikes that are too loud. “I don’t have to install an exhaust that has 120 decibels just to make me loud.”
Zoe Orth sees it similarly. For them, the typical motorcyclist doesn’t race recklessly through the streets with the engine roaring. “When the weather is nice, most of them drive relaxed around the area at the weekend.”
Appeal to motorcyclists: “Be more considerate”
The consequences of inconsiderate behavior by individual drivers can currently be observed on the Großer Feldberg. There, the area around the Feldberg will be closed to all bikers on one weekend between April and October next year. The aim is to do justice to the residents’ “need for rest”, according to the responsible Hochtaunus district and the affected communities of Schmitten, Glashütten and Oberursel. “The fact that individual sections of the route are closed to motorcyclists is of course annoying. Especially when you’ve come from far away to drive a certain route, ”says Orth.
“Moped friend” Thorsten Kruppka therefore takes his biker colleagues to work: “It is up to us how we behave.” As a motorcyclist, one has to ask oneself whether it is necessary to drive through town at a low speed or to start the machine as loud as possible. “We all have to show more consideration for each other again,” he emphasizes. (Jan Lucas Frenger and Joshua Bär)
Motorcyclists in the region
In the Offenbach district there are currently 70,583 driving licenses for motorcycles. The city of Offenbach recorded a total of 3,940 registered motorcycles last year. The current figures for the city of Hanau are in similar spheres. 3,384 machines are registered there. The number of registered motorcycles in the Main-Kinzig district is currently 20,654. This is the highest figure in the past four years. With the exception of a few break-ins at the beginning of 2020 and 21, the numbers have risen continuously. In 2017, the district reported 15,514 registered motorcycles.
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