motorcycle vs. motorbike

[Torsten]

Hi,

Is there a difference between 'motorcycle' and 'motorbike'? Is it an American vs. British question or are both interchangeable in US as well as in UK English?

Thanks a lot,
Torsten

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[Alan]

Ho Torsten,

Speaking from my tiny offshore island only I'd say both are fine. Perhaps you'd say: There's a new motorcycle shop opened in town and I'm going to get on my motorbike and go and have a look at it.

Can't resist this: Have you heard about the guy who had a girlfriend called Ruth? She used to ride pillion on the back of his motorbike. Then one day she fell off but he didn't stop. Instead he just drove on ruthless! Apologies to all girls called Ruth.

Alan
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[Torsten]

Hi Alan,

Thanks a lot for that -- so the guy was a "Ruth-less" motorcyclist for a while :-)! Very interesting... Did he ever manage to pick up Ruth again or did you decide to stay ruthless?

TOEFL listening lectures: What aspect of Ben Franklin's life does the speaker mainly discuss?

[Diverhank]

I think the usage of these terms is the same in the US. However, the term motorbike is rarely used, rather, just simply "bike". By the way, here a piece of related news:
http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slug=afp-usaccidentmoto090408&prov=afp&type=lgns