ACCORDING to a study by bike insurer Bennetts the desire to ride motorcycles is in your DNA.
     With input from a psychologist, the study has theorised that motorcyclists have a genetic predisposition in the form a of a 'novelty-seeking' (NS) gene, which brings out a tendency for impulsive, exploratory and risk-taking behaviour.

     The research from Bennetts found that the majority of bikers, 85%, were introduced to two wheels by a family member, with 11% saying a friend and 4% responding that it was a non-relative, including a partner or colleague.
     The findings also discovered that bikers had the matching personality traits associated with the NS gene, with risk-taking (72%), low boredom threshold (71%) and spontaneity (69%) amongst the responses. It was also found that 68% of bikers were introduced by an immediate family member, 9% by an aunt, uncle or cousin and 8% by a grandparent.
     Motorcycling often defines a person, and this was shown by nearly three-quarters (73%) admitting that their bike defines who they are. As many as 62% said they couldn’t live without their bike and others even revealed that they consider their bike a family member (61%) or an extension of their personality (70%).

      Psychologist Donna Dawson said of the findings: “Psychologists know from studies on twins that up to 60% of personality traits are inherited; however, environment, in the form of upbringing and opportunity, also has a role to play.
     "Our research tells us that most bikers were introduced to biking through a family member and that all questions related to the ‘NS’ gene personality traits (such as being a risk-taker) and the biker’s emotional attachment to his or her bike resulted in very high scores.