Positive meeting with Transport Minister Richard Holden BMF News 23 May 2023 Anna Zee, BMF Political & Technical Services Director, attended the recent ministerial meeting along other members of The National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) with Richard Holden MP - Transport Department Anna said "I think this was a good meeting. Minster Richard Holden MP was very ready to listen also to admit there were things he didn’t know about. The main points I wanted to make on the BMF’s behalf were on inclusion of motorcycling at all transport policy levels and that motorcycles must be considered when evaluating automated and autonomous driving systems and I think he took those on board as well as the issues raised by other NMC members. The issue of CBT improvements that have been stalled since before the
BMF Member Shaun Anderson to ride for Team Classic Suzuki at TT 2023 BMF News 28 March 202328 March 2023 Team Classic Suzuki will field Shaun Anderson at this year’s Isle of Man TT, equipping him with GSX-R1000 machinery for the RST Superbike, RL360, and Milwaukee Senior TT races. Though more commonly associated with the classic racing scene – including on the Isle of Man, where the team has tasted victory with Michael Dunlop – it is not Team Classic Suzuki’s first appearance at the TT. A debut appearance at the 2022 event ended with a best finish of 24th coming courtesy of Forest Dunn in the Superbike race. Anderson joins the team with 37 starts under his belt, with 15 top-20 finishes to his name. The Northern Irishman also boasts ample experience on Suzuki machinery; his fastest ever lap of the
BMF Blue Riband FREE Region 2 Rider Development Taster Day BMF News 22 February 202322 February 2023 FREE Region 2 - Yorkshire and North East - Rider Development BMF Blue Riband Taster Day – Saturday the 15th of April 2023 Have you ever thought of increasing your enjoyment of motorcycling by developing your riding skills further? The BMF Blue Riband Rider Award Development programme aims to do just that by helping you to improve your observation, planning and control, giving you greater confidence and helping you to become a safer rider. This free to attend taster day will give you the opportunity to explore that journey and find out how you could benefit from the knowledge and experience of our friendly and supportive rider coaches. After a short briefing you will be able to benefit from a 45 minute
FEMA AGM report 2023 BMF News 13 February 202323 February 2023 The Annual General Meeting of the Federation of European Motorcyclists Associations (FEMA) was held at General European Union Road Federation (ERF), Rue de Belliard, Brussels 1040, and online, via Teams, on Saturday 11th February 2023. The meeting was chaired by Anna Zee, President, also Director of Political and Technical services, of the BMF. The attendees, 27 from 18 National Motorcycle organisations (NMO), including 7 online, both inside and outside of the EU, with apologies from a further 3 NMOs, and 2 partner organisations, approved the agenda, and the minutes of the October ’22 meeting, held in Koln. A financial report from FEMA Treasurer and BMF chair, Jim Freeman, reported an operating loss of 1,225 euros, against a projected loss of 1,018 forecast in
‘End of sale dates’ for motorcycles a ‘stretching goal’ says Transport Minister BMF News 26 January 202326 January 2023 ‘End of sale dates’ for motorcycles a ‘stretching goal’ says Transport Minister, but we must ‘match ambition’ of cars and vans. There will be an end to the sale for new non-zero emission motorcycles, according to Jesse Norman, Minister of State for Transport Decarbonisation and Technology. He acknowledged that some motorcycles ‘may need longer to make that transition’ and talked positively about their diversity and place in the transport mix, from touring to deliveries. However, he was firm in the government’s plans for cutting carbon in this sector, calling it a ‘revolution’. In a pre-recorded speech to the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) annual conference it was clear from the mention of a ‘reduction in air and noise pollution’ that the government’s
The National Road Rally and the BMF BMF News 16 January 2023 With regret the British Motorcyclists Federation has decided to withdraw from the operation of the National Road Rally (NRR). This is because the BMF feel that, over a number of years, the National Road Rally has been taken in a direction that we can no longer take responsibility for. The event’s direction has been overwhelmingly dominated by Auto Cycle Union (ACU) officials, which means that the BMF has been taking joint responsibility for an event over which we have no control. The BMF offered to run and finance the National Road Rally, and associated Welsh and Scottish events, on the basis that we have sufficient control, to match the responsibility. This was rejected by the Auto Cycle Union officials. The BMF wishes all the
Seasons Greetings from the chair BMF News 1 January 202328 March 2024 I have never been one for doom and gloom, and I truly believe we may be living in one of the most exciting eras for motorcycling. Never before have we seen so many new developments and technical progress, never before have I heard so many young people getting excited by the idea of getting their own motorcycle. Yes, we need to stay vigilant and defend what is rightfully ours, but we must also pave the way for those that will follow in our tyre tracks. The future for motorcycling is bright, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. In 2022 we saw a significant growth of our membership, showing us that BMF is still the place to go for riders who
2022 BMF Review of the Year BMF News 29 December 202228 March 2024 We would like to start this review with a message from our Director of Member Services, Peter Laidlaw "The BMF is supported by its membership, both individuals and clubs, who make it possible for the volunteers and staff to carry out the valuable work of representing the motorcycling family to UK government. Our partners for insurance, legal services and breakdown services provide benefits for members but also support the organisation with sponsorship. Membership numbers are stable, those members and sponsors are owed a great deal of thanks for their support, without them the work of the BMF could not continue." Next, we next have a brief outline of the year by Emily Rochester - Government Relations Executive and Anna Zee -
Automated Car Tests to include Bikes BMF News 29 November 202229 November 2022 Crash avoidance testing of automated cars will include motorcycles from 2023. Euro NCAP, a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme, which is responsible for the tests and which gives all new cars a safety rating, detailed the changes in Vision 2030, a paper published on 9th November 2022. “We consider this as good news,” said FEMA’s General Secretary Dolf Willigers. “In September 2022 we published an article about the very high Euro NCAP star rating for the Tesla Model Y, while accidents with Teslas in the USA have shown that the Autopilot system is far from failproof, especially in bad weather conditions. The paper provides an answer to the concerns we expressed earlier.” According to Vision 2030, crash avoidance testing will now include powered
Are Hybrids the Answer? BMF News 23 November 202221 November 2022 Could your next motorcycle be a petrol/electric hybrid? Vitesco Technologies, a German company which supplies electric powertrain technologies, certainly thinks so, unveiling a 400cc prototype at EICMA*. The bike, based on Husqvarna’s Vitpilen single, adds a 48-volt electric drive system consisting of a 12Kw motor and small 1.5kwh battery. Vitesco claims that the petrol/electric system gives the best of both worlds, doubling the torque of the standard Husky 400cc engine while delivering up to 75% less CO2 (on the standard WMTC cycle) and makes the bike easier to ride, with an automated gearbox – it’s even got a reverse gear. Petrol/electric hybrid cars have been around for many years, and White Motorcycle Concepts is building petrol/electric Yamaha Tricity scooters for Northamptonshire Police,
Greater Cambridge Partnership calls motorcycles a noisy safety risk BMF News 31 October 202223 December 2022 Cambridge justifies high charges for a Sustainable Travel Zone by calling motorcycling a noisy safety risk. BMF says these proposals are a poorly justified move against motorbikes. A new consultation from the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP) has suggested that motorcycles are a safety risk, are noisy and that they conflict with cyclists. They have therefore proposed a charge of £5 a day for motorcycles travelling in and around Cambridge (please see the map for the area affected). The GCP is formed of Cambridge City Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, South Cambridgeshire Council and the University of Cambridge, and aims to bring powers and investment from central government to improve Greater Cambridgeshire. Their new consultation, ‘Making Connections’, proposes to transform transport in and around
FEMA Committee BMF report October 2022 BMF News 12 October 202212 October 2022 The Federation of European Motorcyclists’ Associations (FEMA) Committee, consisting of the delegates from all the member organisations, the FEMA staff, and invited guests, took place on 2nd October 2022. The meeting was generously hosted by IVM, the German industry Association, in their conference room at Koelncongress, Cologne, Germany. There were 16 delegates and 4 guests, plus the staff, attending physically, with a further 5 delegates joining virtually, via Teams. The meeting was opened by the FEMA President, Anna Zee, also the BMF’s Political Technical Services (PTS) director, welcoming everyone, and listing the apologies. Due to transport problems, a number of delegates registered could not attend; with the unluckiest being MCTC’s Soren Bendtsen who was delayed at the airport for 4 hours, flown