Honda has patented a system which moves the autonomous motorcycle a big step closer – but motorcycles are still way behind cars in the development of self-driving/riding. The trend towards autonomous cars seems unstoppable – Germany and Japan have approved ‘Level 3’ autonomy (the official SAE classification, highly automated driving on motorways) with the UK and other EU countries expected to follow suit, while Germany is also anticipating being the first country to approve SAE Level 4 (highly automated in ‘most driving situations.’) Motorcycle manufacturers are certainly working on this. BMW showed a riderless GS to journalists in 2018, Yamaha has developed a steering-assist system for motocross bikes and many production bikes already have radar-based systems to warn riders of nearby vehicles,

BMW has filed a patent for 'adjustable air deflectors' to improve comfort at low speed and aerodynamic efficiency when tanking along. The surprise, given the German company's love of complex high tech, is that the new system doesn't use electronics or clever speed sensors – just good old-fashioned springs. Moto Guzzi's new V100 Mandello has adaptive bodywork with the same end in mind – moveable flaps in the fairing are flush at high speed, but move outwards into the air stream to reduce turbulence when cruising more slowly. Servo motors move the flaps, controlled by electronics. BMW's system is much simpler. The flaps are hinged at their forward end and held open by springs. The faster you go, the air pressure increases,

Speed limiters will mandatory on all new cars sold in the UK from 6th July, but the new law doesn't apply to motorcycles. Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) is a software system which automatically limits speed to whatever limit is prevailing, though it can be overridden by the driver. Many car manufacturers already fit ISA, including Ford, Mercedes, Peugeot/Citroen, Volvo and Renault. Anna Zee, Political and Technical Services Director of the BMF, explained the context. “ISA is part of the General Safety Regulation (GSR) passed by the EU in October 2021 and includes a number of items besides ISA, such as Automatic Emergency Braking. Yes, we will see this on cars sold in the UK because there is no law to say they

Dambuster 6 - 19th -21st AUGUST 2022 Designed as a traditional, laid-back camping rally, the BMF Dambuster Rally has become a very special annual motorcycling event. It’s complete with live music, fantastic food, a venue steeped in history and an excellent ride-out location to explore the fabulous Lincolnshire countryside, or even a trip to the sea-side. 2022 will be the BMF Dambuster Rally’s sixth anniversary. Live bands will be performing on the Friday and Saturday evenings. Thorpe Camp Visitors Centre, Lincolnshire is the ideal venue to celebrate the heroic deeds of the famous Dambusters raid in 1943. You can pitch your tents among the historic display planes and World War Two artefacts – and it’s situated in deepest Lincolnshire ‘Bomber County’. All of the

Over 60,000 drivers and riders have sent dashcam footage to the police since 2017, highlighting dangerous driving. One in three cases were actioned by the police, which are encouraging us to upload evidence of law breaking such as use of phones while driving or crossing solid white lines. “The use of dashcam evidence has been variable across different forces, there have been instances reported to the BMF of recordings of serious incidents, involving serious injuries to riders, with GPS locators and third-party recordings being ignored, for unstated reasons, by local accident investigators. Any attempt to co-ordinate and standardise the way this is done, has to be a good idea. That Lincolnshire is joining the ranks, that’s a positive step. In a

Horwin, the Chinese company whose electric motorcycles are already on sale in Britain, has signed up a supply deal for a new type of ultra-fast charging battery – niobium – which it says could reduce charge times from three hours to just 10 minutes (given a fast enough charger). Niobium-powered bikes could be on sale in 2024, it adds. Niobium is a naturally occurring metal, widely used in various superconductors such as the magnets in MRI scanners. With a similar hardness to titanium and ductility to iron, it is often used in specialist alloys and is also a component in some jewellery. However, its use in high-tech batteries is a new development. Consumer giant Toshiba has been working with CBMM, a

Power steering for motorcycles sounds like a 1st April spoof, but Yamaha really is working on electric power steering (EPS), with a public debut due this year. It sounds nonsensical because motorcycles, unlike cars, need very little effort to steer – it's one of the things we love about riding them. But the Yamaha EPS system is based on sound reasoning. It's first being developed for motocross bikes, for which the computer-controlled system improves stability, not just reduces steering effort. At the heart of EPS is an electric torque sensor, of the sort used on millions of electric bicycles. Its job on e-bikes is to sense when you are pedalling and how hard, sending that information to a control unit which

The BMF Council formally approved the following policy on decarbonisation at the Council meeting on 9th April. ⦁ The BMF is opposed to any proposals to ban the use of motorcycles powered by internal combustion engines (ICE) while such vehicles are still capable of being run. ⦁ The BMF is opposed to a ban on the sale of new ICE-powered motorcycles while there is the possibility of providing alternatives to fossil fuel and while the electric vehicle charging infrastructure does not adequately support electric motorcycles. ⦁ The BMF supports a technology-neutral approach to powering new motorcycles; we do not accept that electric battery technology is the only approach. Director Anna Zee said "The use of motorcycles, however powered, rather than cars can make a

The 2022 Meritum meeting will take place in Southern Jutland, Denmark, at the small town of Graasten. The event is being organised by the same team that put on the Motocamp at Bredbero in 2013, which was generally accepted to be an excellent event. The event has been timed to link with the FIM Rally in Ferropolis so that those who want to can take in both events in one holiday. For those who wish to arrive early the event facilities will open from midday on Thursday the 21st July with an optional excursion offered on Friday 22nd. The event will run from Friday 22nd July to Sunday 24th, with participants leaving after breakfast on Monday 25th Once again the BMF are handling the

Triumph, Royal Enfield, Brough-Superior, Norton...the roll call of revived British bike brands seems to grow by the day, but now there's a new kid on the block – Maeving. It's a new start-up put together by Will Stirrup, 29, and Seb Inglis-Jones, 31. And the most surprising fact about the Maeving? It's assembled in Coventry and at £4995 is almost price competitive with its Chinese-made rivals. The RM-1 is an A1 125cc-equivalent bike with retro 1920s board track styling and removeable batteries. Stirrup and Inglis-Jones started the project back in December 2017, initially intending to import a complete bike from China. After finding there was nothing which quite fitted the bill, they decided to make their own. Joined by a team of mostly

The 2022 FIM Rally will be held at Ferropolis, an open air industrial museum close to Dessau, South West of Berlin. Details of the rally are rather late in coming out this year as the nation originally scheduled to run the event withdrew their offer due concern regarding the Covid pandemic. The German DMSB have stepped in to organise the rally and have been working hard to catch up with the necessary preparations. The Ferropolis site, sited on a peninsular in a large lake created in the past by open cast mining, displays some of the giant machines that were used in the open cast mine and is also a venue for pop concerts & festivals. The Rally runs from Wednesday 27th July

" I urge all riders to support the continuing access to green roads, by responding to the consultation, as outlined in the ACU's excellent advice below. If we lose this access it will be very difficult to overturn. The time to respond is NOW!" Jim Freeman, BMF chair.  Advice on responding to DEFRA’s Consultation on the Landscapes Review What is the Landscapes Review? In May 2018 the government asked for an independent review into whether the protections for National Parks and AONBs are still fit for purpose. In particular, what might be done better, what changes will help and whether the definitions and systems in place are still valid. The review’s final report was published on 21 September 2019. It was led by