Motorcycles in the EU may be subject to new end-of-life legislation on recycling and reuse. Targets for recycling, and the safe disposal of certain fluids and heavy metals, are set by the End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) Directive, which until now has not included motorcycles, but the European Commission is considering lumping them in with cars. The Directive prevents the use of certain heavy metals such as cadmium, specifies the de-pollution of fluids and specific components, and requires vehicles to be recycled at treatment facilities (ie not at home). Its current target for recycling is 85%, and in 2019 the EU average for recycling vehicles was 86.9%. The Federation of European Motorcyclists (FEMA) has hit back at plans to include motorcycles in the ELV

A helmet with integrated airbag – it sounds like something dreamt up by cartoonist Paul Sample for the long-running Ogri saga in Bike magazine during the 1970s. But 50 years on, it could be a reality – Italian helmet manufacturer Airoh has announced a prototype airbag helmet, which was unveiled at the Milan Show in November. Airbag systems are well established and relatively affordable in vests, jackets and leathers, but they have never been applied to a helmet until now. Airoh has teamed up with Swedish safety firm Autoliv, which specialises in airbag systems, having previously developed airbag vests as well as other inflatable systems designed to fit the front of motorcycles. Italian engineer Roberta Descrovi did the original research on

Electric motorcycles and scooter owners will have to start paying Vehicle Excise Duty (VED, better known as road tax) from 1st April 2025. It’s part of a wider end to the electric vehicle tax exemption which also sees the end of free road tax for electric cars and vans. Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said that this was to make the motoring tax system “fairer,” as the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that by 2025 half of new car sales will be electric. Of course, this comment does not apply to electric two-wheelers, whose market is still at the embryo stage – in January-October 2022, electric scooters/motorcycles made up just 5.5% of new sales. However, electric motorcycles will only have

Yamaha Motor has announced that it wants, not just to reduce motorcycle casualties, but work with its customers towards ‘a world without accidents.’ The company has already confirmed its support to the Stockholm Declaration from 2020, which set a target of reducing fatalities by 50% by 2030. Yamaha’s Safety Vision is even more ambitious than that, though no specific targets are set. Instead, the company has outlined three key principles to move this forward. One is technology on the bike to help decision making and hazard recognition – an example is the new Tracer 9 GT+, launched at the EICMA Show in October, which features a radar controlled braking system, which adjusts the balance between front and rear brakes according to the

More motorcycles and scooters are passing the MOT test first time, according to the latest figures from the DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency). In fact, the failure rate has been dropping since 2013. DVSA figures show that in April-June 2022, out of over 337,000 tests conducted, the proportion of powered two-wheelers failing first time fell to 14.8%, representing a pass rate of 85.2%. Of the failures, nearly half were due to at least one dangerous fault. Less than one in ten bikes (8.56%) subsequently failed the retest. All of this represents a significant fall in failures since the 2021-22 annual figures, when a total of 962,802 powered two-wheelers were tested, of which 15.52% failed first time and 9.1% failed the retest

Harley-Davidson will be launching a new mid-size bike late in 2023, and it will be significantly cheaper than the current upmarket V-twins. It will be first fruit of the company’s new agreement with the Indian giant Hero MotoCorp, which has the capacity to mass produce smaller bikes at far lower cost than Harley ever could. The aim is to build cheaper Harley-badged bikes for India’s massive home market – at 20 million bikes and scooters a year, this rivals China as the biggest in the world. Hero and Harley-Davidson are collaborating on mid-size bikes which could benefit both companies. Hero’s Chief Financial Officer Niranjan Gupta recently revealed that the first model will be in the 350-800cc segment, and is now being

Imagine the biggest barn find in the world. Hitchcocks Motorcycles, the Royal Enfield spares specialist based near Solihull, has acquired one from the USA amounting to over 180 old motorbikes, and brought it home to Britain. Actually, it’s less of a barn find, more of a huge buyback of mostly British machines, which were exported to North America in the 1950s and ‘60s, and some before World War II. “It was a unique opportunity in America from two different sources,” said Derek from Hitchcocks. “As well as over 180 bikes we’ve got over 50 tons of spares. Everything was shipped back in five 40-foot sea containers.” The bikes are predominantly British singles and twins, though the promotional film does show glimpses of two-stroke

We’re all told that reducing mankind’s carbon footprint will affect every area of life – well, now some motorcycle kit is looking more sustainable, with biodegradable body armour and jackets made from recycled plastic bottles. The body armour has been developed by RE ZRO, a UK firm set up by three friends, two of whom are ex-3DO, the well known flexible body armour made in Brighton. “A lot of the protectors on the market these days are still made with polyurethane,” said co-founder Alex Yellowley, quoted in MCN. “Manufacturing of this, in itself, is quite a dirty process, produces a lot of gas and produces a lot of release agents. You can reconstitute it into things, but you can’t create a

Luxury sports car maker Aston Martin has unveiled the AMB 001 Pro, a 225bhp V-twin which claims the power/weight ratio of a Formula 1 car. It won’t be road legal – so that’s track-only (or, more likely, collector’s air conditioned garage only). Designed by Aston, the new bike will be built by Brough Superior at its factory in Toulouse, southern France. Not that the V-twin track bike is all new. Aston Martin launched the limited edition AMB 001 sports bike at EICMA 2019, and the Pro is a track-only version of the same thing, though there are plenty of changes. The one-litre DOHC liquid-cooled V-twin has 25% more power than its predecessor, now peaking at 225bhp, and the crankcase is milled

The US military is evaluating Huck Overland electric bikes, attracted by their light weight, low price and above all, quiet operation. According to Huck Cycles, which builds the e-bikes in North Carolina, two Overlands have recently been trialled in live fire exercises and tested for use in search and rescue, border, air deployment, even medical evacuations. And of course covert operations, thanks to their lack of exhaust noise. The Overland is a lightweight off-road bike weighing just 65kg, with a 3Kw (6Kw peak) motor and a small 3Kwh battery. Top speed is around 45mph and claimed range 40 miles. The Overland was originally intended for the US hunting, shooting, fishing market, but has since been taken up as a commuter machine,

Unlikely bedfellows or the sign of a new era in electric motorcycles? Zero, the Californian pioneer of electric bikes has teamed up the Indian giant Hero MotoCorp to develop the next generation of battery bikes. It’s a deal which could work well. Zero needs investment to develop the new bikes and Hero needs electric knowhow to engineer cheaper machines for its home market in India. That’s why Hero is investing $60 million in the Californian operation, which was founded in 2006 and is acknowledged as the market leader in electric motorcycles, having pioneered the sector and kept at it while other startups have fallen by the wayside. Meanwhile, mainstream manufacturers (Harley-Davidson apart) still haven’t launched rival e-bikes. Hero is already linked with

Dorset saw one of its biggest ever motorcycle ride-outs on 25th September, when the DocBike charity staged its annual fundraiser. Over 400 bikers from across the UK took part, either riding the 35-mile route from West Bay on the county’s famed Jurassic coast, or the Churchill Arms in East Dorset, meeting up at Henstridge Airfield on the Dorset/Somerset border. Over £8000 was raised for the charity. DocBike was set up by Dorset-based medical staff who are also motorcyclists, to support both the Air Ambulance and educate riders – DocBike’s Biker Down course, which covers first aid, what to do at an accident scene and advanced riding, has been replicated in many areas across the country. Dr Ian Mew, Co-Founder of DocBike, said: