BOLTON bikers have been left out in the cold by a new "garaging" restriction introduced by one of Britain's major insurance companies.

Norwich Union has announced it will refuse to cover owners of bikes in insurance groups 14 and above if they live in almost all Britain's major urban areas unless machines are stored in a garage.

The move will affect Bolton and Bury bikers who own some of the UK's most popular bikes, including 1997's top seller, the Honda CBR 600F.

The ban will hit four of the top selling 501cc to 900cc category and eight of the top 10 high performance bikes of 901cc and above.

Thousands of bikers nationwide will be affected, as three quarter of 1997's 93,289 new bike sales were accounted for by bikes of 500cc or above.

However, UK motorbike insurance agents, Carole Nash Insurance, assured urban bikers not to panic as a wide range of policies where garaging is not required were still available.

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