The motorbike can be the average family's ticket out of poverty

IN 1952, a 23-year-old Argentinian medical student named Che Guevara explored his country on a motorcycle. He travelled some 4,500km through the vast countryside. Guevara was appalled by the poverty and disease. The motorcycle trip convinced him that a Marxist revolution was the only path for a poor country's salvation. Guevara went on to spearhead the Cuban revolution in 1959 and is an iconic figure in the Marxist movement.

Today, the motorcycle is emerging as a symbol of capitalist prosperity. Motorcycles are a cheaper alternative to cars. In China, India, Nigeria and Indonesia, cars are beyond the means of the average family. A second-hand car in China costs three months of average wages, but a motorcycle can be purchased with a week's wages. In some countries, such as Vietnam, you can buy 10 motorbikes for the price of a car.

The maintenance costs are a quarter of the level of a car. Four-wheelers are a major consumer of petrol. Also, they need to be parked in a space that is at least six times the area required for a motorcycle. Convenience is another imperative driving motorbikes. Emerging markets are home to congested cities. Traffic jams are endemic in Dhaka, Bangladesh's bustling capital of 18 million people.