Motorcycles banned at Whitby Railway Station BMF News 11 December 2023 The BMF is alarmed to hear the news of a surprise ban on motorcycles that has been imposed at Whitby railway station in North Yorkshire by its owners Northern Rail. The station is the location of a well-known biker café, the Whistlestop that has been welcoming bikers to share its fabulous food and hospitality for many years. The café owners have expressed their shock and frustration at the news and fear the impact that this will have on their business. Bikers travel from far and wide to visit the café. Many have been quick to express their anger at the decision and the impact it will have on the biking community. There is a regular well attended bike night held
Happy Retirement Tony and Welcome Ian! BMF News 11 December 20238 December 2023 Happy Retirement! BMF’s Chief Instructor for the Blue Riband Advanced Rider Award, Tony Smykowski, has decided the time has come to hang up his ‘Chief Boots’ and step down from the role after his upcoming 74th Birthday on the 12th December 2023. In the last 6 years Tony has put many building blocks in place to improve the award from when he took it on in 2017, he has tirelessly worked to increase the instructors from only 2, all the way up to 34, which now means we have training available in all areas of the UK. Which then means in those 6 years 177 riders have successfully achieved the Blue Riband Advanced Rider Award. That is some achievement, all done voluntarily
Bristol Biking Girls Raise Funds for Air Ambulance Other news 5 December 20235 December 2023 Bristol Biking Girls, a motorcycle group based in the city, is raising money for Air Ambulances UK by creating its own 2024 calendar. Twenty-four women are pictured with their bikes, the images taken by professional photographer (and Bristol Biking Girls member) Sophie April – the members paid Sophie out of their own pockets for the sessions, so all proceeds from the calendar go direct to Air Ambulances UK. The calendar pays tribute to the late Steph Robertson, who founded the group in 2016 when looking for riding buddies. It grew fast, with over 300 members by 2020, when it ran a calendar in favour of ovarian cancer support group Ovacome – that too was in memory of a BBG member, Chilie
We need your help to stop Camden Council’s motorcycle parking charges! BMF News 5 December 2023 We need your help to stop Camden Council's motorcycle parking charges! Sign the petition now! Go to savelondonmc.com/camden/petition to join the hundreds of riders who've already backed the open letter against Camden's dangerous new plans. It should only take a minute of your time. We need as many signatures as possible, otherwise Camden will refuse to hear the petition. Once you've signed please share this with your friends, family and followers! Camden tried to bring in charges three years ago but they were forced to back down. Since then they've made some changes to their proposals, but only because riders made them. We know Camden respond to pressure, which is why we need you to help force them to back down again. A quick reminder of Camden's plans and
Is Wales headed toward a green future or dystopian nightmare? BMF News 4 December 20234 December 2023 BMF South Wales rep Steve Preston takes a look at the Welsh Government’s National Transport Delivery Plan 2022-2027 What better way to while away a few hours on a cold, wintery day than reading through a lengthy document in which the Welsh government outlines its plans to solve our many and varied transport problems as well as saving the environment? Well, this is what I’ve done, and it’s left me feeling quite conflicted. Whilst much of the plan’s stated aims are laudable, as a biker, there’s not much in there that gives me much hope for our future. Let’s start with the obvious: the entire plan doesn’t even list motorcycles as a form of transport, let alone show any sign that biking
Motorcycle ban for work??? BMF News 30 November 2023 Does the company you work for have a ban on the use of motorcycles for work related journeys? Accounts have been received recently relating to several companies who have banned the use of motorcycles for work related journeys. That is using your bike for journey’s that are not classed as commuting, such as travelling to a location that is not your normal place of work, site visits, trips to other offices or client’s premises for example. If you have been affected by this in any way, then I would love to hear from you. I’m currently collecting data to try to establish the scale of the issue and the impact on motorcycling. There have also been suggestions that some companies are actively
Gilera to Relaunch in Chinese Joint Venture Other news 29 November 20235 December 2023 Gilera, one of the oldest names in motorcycling, is likely to make a comeback soon, though the new bikes will be built in China, not Italy. Piaggio, which owns the Gilera name (along with a whole house-full of other classic brands such as Laverda) has a joint venture with Chinese giant Zongshen, which will be building the new bikes. Actually, they won’t be new at all, but slightly reworked versions of the Aprilia Shiver V-twin, which ended production in 2021 when it could not meet Euro 5 emissions regulations. The following year, Zongshen, under its own sub-brand of Cyclone, showed its RA9 concept bike, which was clearly derived from the Shiver, complete with Aprilia’s 896cc DOHC V-twin, part-steel, part-alloy frame and
Speed Camera Technology Jumps Ahead Other news 27 November 20235 December 2023 There’s a new generation of speed camera on the way, able to take legally admissible images in low light, and in both directions. Instead of a conventional lens, it uses infrared and radar technology, able to take images and video recordings in all conditions, including bad weather and low light, with good enough quality to identify number plates. The other new feature, which makes the Vector more significant for motorcyclists, is that it can capture images in both directions – conventional speed cameras usually only take images in one direction and are usually set up to face the front of a vehicle, which favours bikes, which of course don’t have a front number plate. The Vector, being bi-directional, will always find
Slimmed Down Manx GP Criticised Other news 21 November 20234 December 2023 The Manx Grand Prix is facing a barrage of criticism from race goers and local businesses alike, thanks to its shorter nine-day format for this year, down from the usual 14 days. Roger Willis, writing in British Dealer News, reported that the slimmed-down format meant most days were taken up by practice and qualifying, with race time further limited by bad weather and red flag incidents – only two and half days were allocated to actual racing. Weather issues saw Friday’s Lightweight event postponed until the end of a revised Saturday schedule, reduced from three laps to two as poor visibility hampered racing. The Classic Senior also lost a lap. There was no racing on Sunday and more bad weather meant
Motorcycles Free in Cambridge Other news 17 November 20234 December 2023 The Greater Cambridge Partnership has backpedalled on plans to charge bikers £5 for entering a planned low emission zone in the city centre. The plan, which was under consultation for introduction in 2027/28, originally proposed to charge cars and bikes the same flat fee to ride/drive through the city. This comes as welcome news to the motorcycle community, and puts Cambridge in line with most cities in England, Wales and Scotland, which do not (or do not plan to) charge bikes and scooters for entering urban low emission zones. London’s ULEZ is the outlier, charging any non-historic bikes which do not meet Euro 3 standards. Cambridge was clearly having second thoughts on its own ULEZ, watering down the original proposals to the
Petition for Defibrillators at Motocross Tracks Other news 16 November 20234 December 2023 An American motocross fan has launched a petition urging all US motocross tracks to install defibrillators. Writing on the petition platform change.org, Paul Fulcher stated: “As a concerned parent and avid supporter of motocross, I am starting this petition to urge all motocross tracks and clubs to install defibrillators by 2024. This issue is deeply personal to me as my own son suffers from a heart condition, and I believe it is crucial that we prioritise safety measures in the motocross community.” He added that sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) can affect anyone of any age and fitness level, and that installing defibrillators at all tracks would provide an essential emergency response during races or practice sessions and save lives by providing
NMC calls for new Ministers to Act on Significant Backlog of Motorcycling Issues NMC News 15 November 2023 Ministers face a full agenda of biking issues after Government reshuffle. Riders need certainty in several key areas Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s reshuffle of both cabinet and departmental ministers has seen several changes in the Government, not least the Department for Transport (DfT) where two ministers directly involved in motorcycling matters, Richard Holden and Jesse Norman, have moved on. DEFRA has a new Secretary of State, Steve Barclay. Trudy Harrison has also departed from her ministerial post in the Department. As this is likely to be the last major change in ministers before the General Election, new ministers are entering office with a large backlog of issues that affect motorcycling. The NMC is calling for the Government to finally bring certainty and