Bath and North East Somerset Parking Charges

UPDATE *Response sent - read the full BMF response here The British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) has joined forces with the Motorcyclists Action Group (MAG) to fight illogical and ill-conceived proposals by the local Council to introduce emission-based parking charges for motorcycles across Bath and North East Somerset. The BMF is working closely with MAG and other interested parties, including the National Motorcyclist's Council (NMC), to fight proposals by the council that will see small mopeds charged the same to park as the average family car and motorcycles over 600cc charged the same parking fee as a 3 litre straight-six diesel Range Rover. BMF's Regional Representative Carenza Ellery has joined up with her MAG regional counterpart, Geoff Mills to put together a joint campaign to

BMF response to Bikes in Bus Lanes consultation

The BMF has called on the Government to end the current inconsistent, fragmented and confusing situation on bus lane access for motorcyclists across the UK. Paul Morgan CBE, the BMF's Government Relations Executive said: "The BMF has today submitted its detailed response to the Department for Transport's Open Consultation "Motorcycles in Bus Lanes" calling on the Government to grant default access for motorcycles to bus lanes and resolve the current inconsistent and fragmented approach by local authorities that is impacting on the safety of motorcyclists and other road users. You can read the BMF's response here You can read previous BMF news articles in relation to this here and here Written by Helen Hancock Top image courtesy of Sophie Popplewell – Unsplash

Nissan Dealers to Sell Scooters

Commuters could buy their next scooter at...a Nissan car dealership. Nissan has signed a deal with the Spanish Accoiona Group, which makes the Silence range of electric scooters. Nissan dealers in France and Italy began selling the scooters in June, with Germany due to follow in September and British Nissan dealers in October. Nissan is hoping that the move will enable it to tap into new markets, such as powered two-wheelers, which it has been absent from until now – the Silence range includes 50cc and 125cc-equivalent electric scooters, as well as the two-seater Nanocar, all of which come under the umbrella term of ‘micromobility.’ Nothing to do with motorcycles? Scooters are part of the powered two-wheeler sector, and micro-cars are

BMF Get Together at The Lakeside Diner

BMF Get Together at The Lakeside Diner at Mallory Park Racing Circuit, Leicestershire. Come along and have a meet up in the centre of Mallory Park circuit! Whether you're a BMF member or not, we invite you to ride in and park up centre circuit, meet up and chat with fellow bikers. A place to make friends and talk all things bikes in a fabulous location. Great food and drink will be provided by our co-hosts at The Lakeside Diner and Bar. Everyone welcome: on bikes, trikes, scooters, cars or on foot! Come along and have a chilled out evening lakeside. Mallory Park Circuit Church Road Kirkby Mallory LEICESTER LE9 7QE What 3 Words ///sharpens.respects.exulted Friday 19th July 6 - 9pm Just some of the photos from the night here Motofoto 6-7, Motofoto

Innovative road markings for motorcyclists are successful

Taking the correct cornering line is an absolute must for motorcyclists. KFV, the Austrian Kuratorium für Verkehrssicherheit, investigated the effect of innovative road markings for motorcyclists in risky Tyrolean curves and provided proof of success: the white ellipses on the road resulted in motorcyclists choosing a safer through curves and a reduction in the number of motorcycle accidents by 80 percent. Taking the corner safely in the correct riding line - that's how it should be. The correct cornering line is an absolute must for motorcyclists - motorized vehicles without a crumple zone. A look at the accident statistics shows that most motorcycle accidents on Austria's roads occur in bends. The cause of many motorcycle accidents is an incorrectly chosen cornering line;

TT Breaks Attendance Records, Despite the Weather

Record numbers of bike fans attended the TT this year, according to figures from the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, which carried 37,808 passengers between 22nd May and 7th June. That was 11% up on last year, and the highest number travelling to the TT by sea since 1986, apart from the 2007 Centenary celebrations. Race fans flying in also reached record numbers, with over 60,000 touching down at Ronaldsway Airport. The new records were all the more of an achievement when taking into account the weather. Poor weather was forecast, and arrived as high winds and persistent rain, which saw many practice and race sessions postponed and race organisers desperately juggling the schedule to keep everything on track –

Honda Backs Junction Safety Campaign

Honda is boosting a new safety scheme launched in Scotland – #TakeAnotherLook – focusing on the danger to bikers of road junctions and urging drivers to “stop and look again” at junctions. According to Motorcycle Law Scotland, using data from nearly 200 Scottish legal cases for biker casualties in 2022/23, 70% of deaths and injuries were attributed to “errors made by the car or motor vehicle at junctions.” The campaign was founded by three women who lost their husbands to junction collisions – Tracey Marsh, Maureen Rutherford and Jacqueline Dickson. Now Honda is planning to double the reach of the campaign, as well as using its social media channels to promote a petition led by Outlander actor Sam Heughan. This is

Cheap Bikes Raise Over £90,000 for Cancer Charity

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

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

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

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

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

Top