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To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (107054)	8/10/2000 2:50:24 PM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 164684

Glenn, hello from London. I'm having fun on my motorcycle...I've got voice recognition attached to my Matchless! <vbg> >- BikeNet, the Web site that started as a motorcycle lovers' hub back in 1995 and has grown to become a serious niche e-commerce player, is planning to go public on London's Alternative Investment Market. In February, the company entered a joint venture with top U.K. motorcycle dealer Dixon Motors PLC, which owns Carnell Motorcycles Ltd. These days BikeNet says it generates more than 5 million hits a month on a site that offers magazine articles, new bikes, parts and accessories, as well as clothing, insurance and ISP services. BikeNet believes it's in pole position to take advantage of industry trends like a three-fold increase in motorcycle registrations since 1994 and a broad interest in the Internet within the motorcycle-owning population. As many as 50 percent of motorcyclers have Internet access, compared to about 18 percent of the U.K. population on the whole, the company says. "The flotation and placing will give BikeNet a higher profile, provide the working capital to increase market share and ensure BikeNet's position as the largest affinity site for motorcycle enthusiasts," said Garry Cuthbertson, BikeNet's chief executive and the former finance director at Dixon Motors. Sales and subscribers are growing steadily. The site launched its "Buy a Bike" site in March and has taken orders for 318 new motorcycles since then. In June, more than 135,000 user sessions were logged by subscribers. Why and when? Statistics about how many Internet users there are in Europe, what sites they use most and how much money they spend online are becoming easier to get your hands on, thanks to companies like Jupiter Communications (JPTR: news, chart), Media Metrix's (MMXI: news, chart) MMXI Europe arm, and Forrester Research (FORR: news, chart). But what isn't addressed most of the time is why. Why are Europeans turning to the Net? And when did they start? Forrester came up with some statistics Monday to answer just those questions. And it turns out that the average Web user in the U.K. has been using it for about two and a half years, with 26 percent of those polled logging on for the first time just last year. Another 14 percent got online after the Millennium. 1997 was the year 13 percent of U.K. surfers found the Web, with numbers falling off dramatically any earlier than that. In fact, just 15 percent of the nation's Web users started using the global computer network before 1996. Why'd they do it? Mostly for e-mail, for fun, or for entertainment. Sixty-three percent of respondents cited the first reason; 51 percent said the latter two drove them to it. Other reasons included curiosity (50 percent); information on a specific interest (40 percent); education (32 percent); interest in certain sites (21 percent); or online chat rooms (15 percent). A mere 9 percent of those polled said they started surfing because they wanted to buy things online.