The Nation’s favourite motorcyclists

Past, present and even non- motorcycle riders were at the forefront of a test conducted by the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCI).

In the recent survey, categories such as ‘Favourite biker of all time’ and the ‘Ultimate pillion passenger’ pulled in some unusual names.

In the blue ribbon category ‘Favourite biker of all time’ Hollywood star Steve McQueen took the honours with ‘The Great Escape’ being named as the greatest film with a motorcycle scene or theme.

‘The Great Escape’ closely followed by ‘Terminator 2’ and ‘Top Gun’ with men more partial towards the ‘Terminator’ and women favouring ‘Top Gun’.

Meanwhile, Ewan McGregor was named as the most popular motorcycle rider ahead of legends such as 4-time world superbike champion Carl Fogarty and seven time world champion Valentino Rossi who came second and third respectively.

Another category which split the sexes was the ‘ultimate pillion passenger’ which was won by actress Angelina Jolie, as voted for by men.

Daniel Craig was narrowly beaten to the post despite a huge number of votes from females, and 3rd place went to LA Galaxy and England footballer David Beckham, who received numerous votes from both sexes.

Down at the bottom of the ‘ultimate pillion’ category were Little Britain bad-girl, Vicky Pollard, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and supermodel bad girl, Kate Moss.

Researchers also looked into how the British public perceive motorcyclists, concluding that nearly half of the public relate motorcycles to freedom, fun and adventure, with one fifth of answers believing motorcycles to be the best way to cut journey times and avoid traffic.

The survey results showed that a third of the British public would prefer to be classed as a leisure biker and one in five favoured the idea of travel and adventure. One tenth of answers felt the appeal of using a motorcycle to commute would be best suited to them.

Craig Carey-Clinch of MCI told: “We wanted to look into the nation’s perception of motorcyclists. It’s great that so many people see getting on two wheels as a route to freedom and adventure, but we’re also hoping to educate people on the more practical benefits, such as avoiding traffic, saving time and money, and eliminating stress from the daily commute.

“We’re also trying to raise awareness about the forthcoming 2DLD legislation (Second European Driving Licence Directive) and to promote the benefits of getting on two wheels in order to motivate those who don’t have a full motorcycle licence to get one now.”