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
Thirlmere West Road in Cumbria re-opens BMF News 5 July 20245 July 2024 THIRLMERE WEST ROAD IN CUMBRIA RE-OPENS FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL LOBBYING BY THE BRITISH MOTORCYCLISTS FEDERATION Back in September 2023 the British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) submitted a robust response objecting to proposals by Cumberland Council to introduce a permanent Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) to permanently close the U7003 road along the western shore of Thirlmere. The road had been "temporarily" closed by the Council since 2021 following Storm Arwen ostensibly to carry out urgent safety repairs. However, during that time the Council had failed to reach agreement with the landowner United Utilities on the necessary repairs required or a timescale for the reopening of the road. The prolonged closure of Thirlmere West Road had resulted in motorcyclists and other road users being effectively
BMF calls on Labour to take action for future of UK motorcycling BMF News 5 July 202418 March 2025 Election of a new Labour Government presents a real opportunity to deliver ambitious and sustainable action to secure the future of UK motorcycling. The BMF and its partners have today congratulated the Labour Party on their election victory and look forward to working with the new Government to deliver the priorities for motorcycling set out in the NMC/BMF manifesto "Motorcycling Matters" Paul Morgan CBE, BMF's Government Relations Executive said " The BMF looks forward to working closely with new Ministers to deliver a comprehensive strategy for motorcycling; one that will deliver a bright and sustainable future for the motorcycling sector with motorcycling front and centre of the UK's future transport policy ." You can read today's National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) Press Release here. Top image
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
More action is needed to improve motorcycle safety FEMA News 25 June 2024 At a road safety conference in Brussels, where motorcycle safety was discussed, a prize for achievements in road safety was presented to Finland. Finland is the recipient of the 2024 European Transport Safety Council prize for outstanding progress in road safety. Finland reduced road deaths by 29% over the decade to 2023, while the average decline in the EU was 16%. The Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) award recognises Finland’s progress in road safety and is a testament to the country’s long-term targets and comprehensive strategy for improving the road safety of all road users. Since 2000, Finland has implemented several important measures to improve road safety. These include lower speed limits in most urban areas, construction of pedestrian and bicycle paths,
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
Keep Historic Bikes Alive BMF News 19 June 202429 July 2024 Motorcycling Matters No7: Keep Historic Bikes Alive Triumph, BSA, Norton, Velocette... Britain has a proud motorcycling heritage, now added to by Japanese and European machines over 40 years old, equally part of the UK motorcycle scene. The NMC/BMF manifesto Motorcycling Matters urges that the historic motorcycle sector should be recognised for its economic contribution as well as the positive social engagement and mental health benefits to thousands of riders all over the UK. Over 400,000 historic motorcycles are registered in the UK, giving their owners hours of fun and contributing to a healthy ‘old bike’ sector with specialist companies in spare parts, restoration work and archive services. For the long-term health of the historic bike sector, there should be no time limit
Celebrate Motorcycle Sport BMF News 19 June 2024 Motorcycling Matters No 6: Celebrate Motorcycle Sport British motorcycle sport is a diverse and vibrant sector which needs to be encouraged, supported and celebrated. In Motorcycling Matters, the motorcycle manifesto put forward by the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) with help from the BMF, there’s a call for greater recognition of this widespread sector, which contributes £1 billion to the UK economy. Home to some world class racing teams, the UK also has a very strong grassroots motorcycle sport scene, on-road and off. Trials, enduro, grass track and sand racing; club racing on some of the world’s best-known circuits, plus road trails and road racing. From professional teams at the cutting edge of race technology, to the thousands of bikers who ride in
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
Motorcycling: the individual mobility solution that brings many advantages FEMA News 13 June 2024 A French white paper, published by CSIAM (the International Chamber of Automobile and Motorcycle Trade Unions) offers a summary of the significant progress that the use of motorcycles and other powered two-wheelers makes, both in terms of relieving road traffic congestion and reducing polluting emissions and on savings that can be made by the community and road users themselves. It also offers an industrial perspective on the problems of noise and road safety as it is understood in the motorcycle sector. Below we offer a compilation of the most important issues (click here to read the full white paper). Travel time Taking into account the results of a FEMA mobility test, which establishes that the average time saving between the car and