Insurance companies may begin to investigate road accident claims involving Peugeot Looxor bikes after owners claimed they had been plagued with problems.

About one in six of the Looxor models bought from Wheels Cycles have been returned for additional maintenance in the last year and a number of the problems have involved "bulging tyres".

Assistant manager of the store on Dundonald Street Kenneth Darrell said the tyre problem could be solved if the bikes were returned to the shop, but he admitted that it could prove dangerous if not acted upon straight away.

He said: "One in six maybe has had a fault problem in the last year. But sometimes it's due to the fact that the owners are doing something wrong. It's not necessarily all maintenance problems and not all tyres.

"All complaints have been dealt with. Some people have asked to trade in their bikes for a different bike, but not a different model, and we have done that for them. But we are not going to trade a bike for a bulge in the tyre. We just fix the tyre."

Asked if a bulging tyre was dangerous, Mr. Darrell said: "If they don't get it sorted out as soon as they notice it, it could become a problem."

The assistant manager said Looxors were good bikes and said he rode one himself and had experienced no problems with it, other than the usual wear and tear.

But The Royal Gazette spoke to two unhappy customers, and one said his bike had been returned to the workshop no less than seven times in six months, since it was brand new.

The man, who did not wish to be named, said some of the problems had been down to the tyres, and others due to the automatic starter.

Fortunately, he said the bike was still covered by warranty.

But he said there were a number of other people unhappy with the mechanics of the bike, as well.

He said: "It has been in and out of the workshop so many times and I am getting tired of it.

"I had problems with the electric start and warped tyres, which should not happen to a new bike. I wouldn't mind quite so much, but sometimes when I took it in to the shop, they told me it was my fault. I'm not doing anything wrong. The attitude is wrong."

And Alicia Speede, from St. George's, who has a child, said she had to take the bus last week because her bike was in the workshop.

"My bike is off the road, again," she said. "In the first two weeks I had it, there was something wrong with the tyre, and then the belt went, then the starter and then the kick start.

"They had an attitude and implied I was riding the bike crazy, but I have a son who rides with me, so there is no way I would ride crazy. The problems were not my fault."

However, Ms Speede said her boss had also had problems with the same model and said she was concerned because the warranty only lasted for a year.

But Glen Gibbons, vice president of customer relations and sales at BF&M insurance, said he knew nothing about the problems with the Looxor bikes until The Royal Gazette called him, but said the company would be paying more attention now.

"The assumption of any insurance company is that any vehicle that is on the road is road worthy, and if it's brand new you would expect that it is," he said.

"We knew nothing about this problem, but now that it's been brought to our attention we will be looking at these bikes more closely.

"We have been put on notice, so there will be additional questions that we will ask the owners of these bikes. "And when we receive claims for accidents involving these bikes, we will investigate exactly what the cause of the accident was. Tyres are a critical part of any bike."

Mr. Darrell agreed that a number of people had reported problems with the automatic starter, but said, in most cases, this was caused by people not understanding how to operate the choke, and so they flooded the engine. But he admitted the biggest problem with the $3,095 bikes had been the faulty tyres, and he said genuine problems had been reported to the manufacturers.

In turn, Wheels Cycles was being refunded for work carried out and replacement parts.

He said some improvements had been made to the model by the manufacturer, as a result of the complaints, and so he was not expecting the same amount of problems in future, although he said "things do happen".

He said he did not deal with every customer, so could not comment on claims that some riders had been blamed for some of the problems, but he said he was always as helpful as possible.

And he said if the bike could not be returned to the customer repaired the same day, Wheels Cycles always offered them alternative transportation.

"We fix the tyres free of charge and we have reported it to the manufacturer," he added.

"There were a few people coming in with problems, and to a certain extent it was kind of overwhelming, but half of the problems were the customer's fault.

"But I would not say we have had any more complaints than any other kind of bike shop or car dealership. But if there is a problem and it's under warranty, then we will fix it no problem."