New hopes for motorcycles with an internal combustion engine

Six member states of the European Union will not sign the regulation to ban the sale of new cars and vans with an internal combustion engine from 2035. FEMA's Dolf Willigers says this affects motorcycles too. Motorcycles are still not mentioned in the plans to decarbonize road transport in the European Union. Still, new developments from March 2023 may also have an effect on motorcycles. On 27 October 2022, the European Commission, European Parliament, and the member states, united in the Council of the European Union, reached an agreement in the so-called trilogue about the emission limits for cars and vans. After a few steps to lower the emission of the fleet, from 2035 the sale of new cars that emit

Driving Examiners Strike

Driving examiners, including motorcycle test examiners, will be going on strike in some parts of the country in mid-late March, part of a national dispute over pay, pensions, jobs and redundancy terms. This will affect motorcycle tests and CBT checks, but not CBT courses. One nation-wide strike is planned for Wednesday 15th March followed by regional strikes on 21st /22nd March (East of England, East Midlands, West Midlands and parts of London); 23rd/24th March (North West England, Yorkshire and the Humber); and 27th/28th March North East England and Scotland). A list of the test centres affected is available here The DVSA adds that not all examiners will be on strike, as not all are union members, but if you have a test

Sinnis Launches 7-Year Warranty

Chinese-made 125s used to be a byword for cheap, low quality bikes with a limited life. Not any more, according to Sinnis UK, which has just launched a seven-year warranty covering all of its Euro 5 spec motorcycles and scooters. It’s a bold move by Brighton-based Sinnis, which also puts it ahead of market leader Lexmoto – the Exeter-based importer offers a two-year parts and labour warranty. Even more remarkable is that there’s no mileage limit on the Sinnis deal, so if you’re about to head off on a round the world trip by small bike or scooter, a Sinnis might a good choice. The company claims that the seven-year deal is an industry-first for the UK motorcycle trade. “We want to

NMC Urges the UK Government to Take Advantage of Motorcycle Safety Opportunities Missed by the EU

EU safety policy deficiencies offers the UK Government an opportunity to go further In a busy week for road safety policy in the EU, the European Commission launched its Road Safety Package. Presented yesterday in Brussels by Commissioner Adina Valean, the Package focuses on changes to the EU driving licence regime. These include digital driving licences, more focus on risk factors and hazard perception, limited changes to licence categories, enforcement and advanced vehicle technologies. Updated testing rules will take account of the transition to zero emission vehicles and teaching novice drivers about how driving styles impact on emissions. Although the Commission state that the proposed rules will; ‘prepare drivers better for … driving on city roads, alongside more bicycles and two-wheelers …’

Greener Tyres on the Way

Michelin is working on sustainable tyres, aiming to make all of its global production (including bike tyres) 100% sustainable by 2050. It’s starting with the car and bus sectors, but motorcycle rubber will inevitably follow. New car tyres just unveiled use 45% sustainable materials, are approved for road use and Michelin says they offer the same performance as conventional tyres. The company is also experimenting with alternatives to carbon black, a key ingredient of modern tyres which binds the rubber molecules together. If there is a downside to the eco-credentials of big motorcycles, it’s in their tyres, which can have a life of less than 5,000 miles before replacement time – car drivers can count on 20-40,000 miles of life. Conventional tyres

BMW Developing Adaptive Cooling

BMW is developing an adapting cooling system for motorcycles – not to prevent overheating, but to improve aerodynamics, using shutters to close off the radiators when demand for cooling is low. There’s actually nothing new about the idea as many modern cars – including BMWs - use the same system, but this would be a first for a bike. In its patent application, the company points out that motorcycle cooling systems are designed to cope with extreme cooling demands, such as maximum power in blistering temperatures. As a result, radiators need to be relatively large, out in the airstream and are permanently open to air flow. Most of the time, not all of this cooling capacity is needed, so BMW has developed

New driving licence proposal ignores motorcyclists’ demands

The European Commission has published its Road Safety Package. Part of it is a proposal for a new Driving License Directive. The new elements are mainly the introduction of a digital driving licence and harmonization of renewing licences. In general, FEMA asks for a change of direction from the present focus on technical skills at low speeds to higher skills that leads to better risk awareness and preparation to handle unexpected situations. This can be done without raising the threshold to obtain a full A-licence by making different choices and to make it easier to go through the stages from A1 to A. We also draw attention to the present structure of the Directive regarding training- and test motorcycles which makes that

International motorcyclists’ organisations call for road safety improvements

The high numbers of motorcycle crashes that end up with fatalities and serious injuries mean that there is still much work to do on road safety. That is why international motorcyclists' organisations FIM and FEMA wrote an open letter, in which they call on the European Commission, the European Parliament, national governments and parliaments and road authorities to take action. The recently published road safety figures by the European Commission did not look good for motorcyclists. Although the number of fatal crashes has declined over the years with 12% (against a rising number of motorcyclists), in 2020 3042 motorcyclists and 495 moped riders still died as result of a crash in the European Union and EFTA countries (European Free Trade Association). This means

Motorcycle Industry’s Urgent Need for Young Workers

The motorcycle industry urgently needs more young people to work as technicians, sales people and in other roles – that was the unequivocal message from Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) boss Tony Campbell, who underlined the need for younger entrants to create a stable future. “The challenges we face in attracting young people to work in the sector are the same we face in attracting new and younger riders,” he commented. Referring to the ageing demographic of motorcycling he added: “Over the past two decades, we have been great at servicing an ageing rider community; this in large part is mirrored by our workforce. In my view, we have an identity problem when it comes to attracting young talent to the industry.”

First unassisted African continent crossing on an electric motorcycle

A Swedish woman has made the first unassisted ride across Africa by electric motorcycle. Sinje Gottwald, a sales manager for Swedish e-bike manufacturer CAKE, rode a Kalk AP trail bike, covering over 8000 miles in 125 days. An experienced overlander, having ridden round the world by bike in 2017-20, she decided to take four months out of her sales job to ride the CAKE from Spain to South Africa. “My dream was to see the world with my own eyes,” she said, “and open up my own and people’s views and ideas about Africa” – she also wanted to show that the 8,000 mile journey was possible on an electric bike without assistance. In 2019, German-born Thomas Jakel did ride the

BMF Blue Riband FREE Region 2 Rider Development Taster Day

FREE Region 2 - Yorkshire and North East - Rider Development BMF Blue Riband Taster Day – Saturday the 15th of April 2023 Have you ever thought of increasing your enjoyment of motorcycling by developing your riding skills further? The BMF Blue Riband Rider Award Development programme aims to do just that by helping you to improve your observation, planning and control, giving you greater confidence and helping you to become a safer rider. This free to attend taster day will give you the opportunity to explore that journey and find out how you could benefit from the knowledge and experience of our friendly and supportive rider coaches. After a short briefing you will be able to benefit from a 45 minute

Could EU Licence proposals affect the UK?

The EU is considering wide reaching changes to driving licence rules, including a digital licence, more opportunities to ride a 125 on a car licence and the possibility of cross-EU driving bans. Since Brexit, the UK is no longer part of the EU, but it may still align many of its own laws with those of Europe, for simplicity. The digital licence would be available on smartphones, and valid at police checkpoints or for identification. Also under consideration is retaining the physical licence (possibly with a QR code to combat counterfeiting) and using a copy on the phone. On the 125cc entitlement on a full car licence, this is currently only available to riders in their home country, notably in Germany where

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