Cheap Bikes Raise Over £90,000 for Cancer Charity Other news 7 July 20244 July 2024 Thirty-five bikers, most of their machines costing no more than £600 apiece, have ridden from Lands End to John o’ Groats in a single hit, raising over £94,000 for Cancer Research UK. The Longest Day Challenge, now in its twelfth year, runs (the clue’s in the name) on the longest summer day of the year. The idea is to ride the 969 miles from end to end on a bike costing no more than £600, though exceptions are made if machine is in the spirit of the event, and this year 35 were entered. All of them made it to John ‘o Groats over 24-36 hours, and a wide range of bikes took part, one of them a 1999 Yamaha R1
MotoGP Hits 75 Other news 30 June 202427 June 2024 The motorcycle world championship (it’s only been called MotoGP since 2002) has just hit its 75th birthday, with the first event held on the Isle of Man on 13th June 1949. Back then, the TT was part of the world championship, which consisted of just six rounds (compared to 20 rounds in 2024) and stretched over 11 weeks (March to November this year). It was also Europe-centred, while the 2024 season includes rounds in Qatar, Indonesia and Kazakhstan. The Island’s top race left the world championship in 1977, after it was boycotted by several top racers such as Giacomo Agostini, who argued that no rider should feel compelled to compete there. Such concerns didn’t appear to get so much attention in 1949,
London is Europe’s Most Congested City Other news 27 June 2024 London was the most traffic-choked city in Europe last year, according to transport data specialist Inrix, and it’s getting worse, with car drivers losing 99 hours of time and having to cope with an average speed of just 10mph. It’s ranked second in the world (New York City tops the congestion charts) followed by Mexico City, Paris and Chicago. Nor is it just a problem in Britain’s capital, with congestion worsening across all top ten UK cities compared to 2022, as traffic levels continued to increase post-Covid. In fact, according to these figures, congestion is now worse that it was before the pandemic, which temporarily emptied our urban roads. In terms of hours lost per driver per year, London is followed by
KTM developing ‘Noise Control’ Other news 21 June 202427 June 2024 Until now, a motorcycle’s noise level has been determined by the factory, unless the owner fits an aftermarket (and maybe illegal) pipe. But KTM is working on a system which could allow riders to control the noise level – toning it down, for example, if entering a noise-restricted area. At the moment, new bikes are type-approved for noise limits based on very specific test conditions – speed, gear, even the position of the microphones. KTM’s reasoning goes that in certain other conditions, an otherwise legal bike might be over the noise limit. Its idea (subject of a patent application) is to give the rider a warning (‘visual, acoustic or sensory’) if noise limits are exceeded. This could be done with sensors
Insurance Scam Could Leave Riders Without Cover Other news 18 June 202427 June 2024 Motorcyclists have been warned to be on the lookout for an insurance scam which could leave them without cover, even if they thought they were fully insured. The City of London Police warns of ‘ghost brokers,’ who are scammers masquerading as genuine insurance brokers. Their technique is to offer temptingly low premiums, advertising these on social media, price comparison websites and even newsagents windows. To complete the deception, some ghost brokers they are working on behalf of well-established insurance companies. If a rider or driver takes out a policy they are issued with fake insurance documents (which are worthless) or the ghost broker takes out a genuine policy but quickly cancels it after pocketing the money. Either way, the rider is
Bike Sales Still Held Back Other news 13 June 2024 UK sales of powered two-wheelers were up just 1.1% in April, flat lining after a disappointing Q1 (January-March), with signs that bad weather, the living standards squeeze (and now pre-election uncertainty) were holding back the usual Spring sales boost for bikes, though May saw a slightly healthier increase of 3.6%. In fact, motorcycle sales in April fell by 0.4%, but scooters (up by 4.4%) and mopeds (up 24.9%) gave the overall market just enough boost to prevent an overall fall. The only motorcycle sector which looked healthier was the 126-500cc segment, where continued popularity of the Triumph Speed 400 and Royal Enfield’s Meteor 350 helped deliver an increase of 18.8%. Electric two-wheeler sales were up too, by 23.4% (though still only
Norton Looks Ahead Other news 13 June 2024 Norton has drawn a line under the Stuart Garner era by delivering the last outstanding orders for bikes from the previous regime and announcing two significant top management personnel. When it bought Norton, new owner TVS pledged it would fulfil the outstanding orders – if they hadn’t, these riders would have lost their deposits. TVS says it spent £2.3 million pulling apart and rectifying some part-finished V4SS bikes, as well as re-engineering an updated V4SV and 961 Commando. This period of rebuilding the brand is certainly expensive – Norton made a pre-tax loss of £32.8 million in the year to March 2024, and parent TVS must be hoping that the new generation bikes (see below) will return Norton to profitability. Meanwhile, the
Motorcycle Fatalities Down in 2023 Other news 10 June 202413 June 2024 2023 saw 306 motorcyclists killed on UK roads, a substantial 12.6% drop compared to the 350 who died the previous year – it was in fact lower than in any pre-pandemic year back to 2014, and significantly lower than in 2017 and 2019, which each saw 470 motorcycle fatalities. Road casualties were significantly fewer across all road user groups in 2020 and ’21, thanks to the effect of Covid restrictions. The general trend for road user casualties was falling, with car occupant fatalities down by 5% in 2023, and cyclists by 7%, though pedestrian deaths saw a 6% increase. Overall fatalities fell to 1645 the same year, a drop of 3.9%. Taking casualties as a whole (not just deaths), motorcyclists were
Michael Dunlop is Most Successful TT Rider Other news 6 June 202425 June 2024 Michael Dunlop has surpassed his Uncle Joey’s TT race win record on 5th June, scoring his 27th win – Joey Dunlop’s long standing win of 26 TT wins has been the record to beat since 2000. Michael equalled the record by winning the Supersport race, then broke it by claiming victory in the Supertwin event as well. He nearly made it 28 wins, leading the Superbike event until a visor issue after a pit stop forced him to stop on Bray Hill. Riding a Paton, he dominated the Metzeler Supertwins, finishing 20.406 seconds ahead of second-placed Peter Hickman. He was close to the Supertwin lap record in the three-lap race, which took place in windy but sunny conditions. Peter Hickman said:
ICE Ban Extended to 2040? Other news 23 May 202413 June 2024 Internal combustion engine ban extended to 2040? Could the ban on new sales of petrol bikes be extended to 2040, as reported in the Daily Telegraph on 12th May? Tony Campbell, CEO of the Motorcycle Industry Association, told MCN on16th May that he was expecting an announcement ahead of the summer recess, but this has since been overtaken by events, with Rishi Sunak’s surprise announcement of the General Election on 4th July. This means that government policy is effectively on hold until the election, which may or may not see a change of administration. The end date for petrol-powered two-wheelers has been in limbo since September 2023, when the Conservative government announced it was pushing the car ban back from 2030 to
Colorado Makes Filtering Legal – and Complicated Other news 23 April 202417 May 2024 Filtering...we all do it, and according to the Highway Code, common sense rules apply – there is no legal right to filter in the UK, nor is it specifically outlawed, but riders are expected to exercise caution. Now the North American state of Colorado has made filtering legal but hedged it about with several restrictions. First off, the vehicles being passed must be stationary – if they start moving, riders have to slip back into the traffic stream. Only two-wheelers are allowed to filter (which presumably means Yamaha Tricity and Piaggio MP3 riders can’t) and at no more than 15mph. Actually, not many in the UK would disagree with the 15mph limit, but the ultimate restriction for urban riding is that
Crawler Motorcycle to Launch in Latvia Other news 20 April 202416 May 2024 Ever wondered what a motorcycle with caterpillar tracks might be like to ride? You might get your chance in 2025, as Latvian company Oruga is developing just such a beast, designed to replace the typical quad bike with a motorcycle which can tackle the worst rough terrain. The Oruga Unitrack is described as, “the world’s first all-terrain electric monotrack vehicle for use in a variety of terrains, seasons and operations.” Previous attempts at an all-terrain utility bike have included the Rokon (two-wheel drive) and the EcoRider (big balloon tyres). The Unitrack has its two wheels mounted inside a crawler track to spread its weight over a wider area – it also has a third idler wheel mounted higher up at the