Honda to close its UK riders club

The 20,000-member HUKRC (Honda UK Riders’ Club) will close on Thursday, November 1.

It will mean the end for the club’s rideouts, holidays and discounted official Honda goods and cheap tickets to race rounds.

Schemes such as the MAC rider training courses and Hondacare insurance, which ran in tandem with HUKRC, are unaffected.

The club launched in 1998 and anyone buying a new bike automatically qualified for free membership.

But that membership only ran for a year – renewal cost £29. When it came to renewal time 95 per cent of riders said thanks, but no thanks.

A letter sent to members this week says: ” The reasons behind the closure are many and varied but fundamentally it has become too expensive to run. ”

Honda had hoped the club would become self-sufficient within three years, but it has continued to run up debts. Staff refuse to disclose how big these are.

An insider told us Honda intends to refund the membership fee to all current second or third year members as a gesture of goodwill.

Letters to relevant members are expected to be sent out during November.

Honda’s Scott Grimsdall said: ” The money we spent running the club can be better spent in other areas for customers. Honda has definite plans in this department but I can’t expand on them right now. ”