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 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

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.”

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

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

Goldwing owners – or riders of any other Honda – could soon benefit from a navigation system which reroutes your ride to avoid bad weather, according to a recent patent filed by the company. The big H is working hard to keep the Goldwing ahead in the high tech rider aid stakes, what with rival manufacturers adopting features like collision avoidance and radar-assisted adaptive cruise control. Honda’s new navigation system will, according to the patent, make use of online weather data automatically rerouting to avoid rain storms and the like. It could potentially make use of live information from the countless Honda cars on the road and even be available as a smartphone app, so might even be something anyone could

Bonhams has just sold what is claimed to be the oldest motorcycle in the world, a Hildebrand & Wolfmuller which first saw the light of day in 1894. Part of an impressive collection owned by the late Peter and Ulrike Buhner from Germany, it sold for Euro 195,500 euros including buyer’s premium (about £175,000). The Hildebrand was the first motorcycle to enter series production, a 1488cc parallel-twin which could hit speeds approaching 30mph. It also features a bicycle-style step-through frame, ‘spoon’ type brakes (with metal pads acting directly on the wheel) and a rear mudguard which doubles as water tank. Rubber straps fitted either side of the bike were used to return the engine to TDC, ready for starting. This particular

There’s nothing new about crash detection systems, but a fresh version recently patented by Honda could take them to a new level of sophistication – Honda is developing a system that can tell whether or not you are injured, and call for help. Current systems, such as that offered by Triumph, will automatically make the call if sensors on the bike or on your phone detect a crash. Honda’s new system adds a Bluetooth headset to the helmet, working in conjunction with the bike sensors and the rider’s phone to obtain a more accurate picture of what’s happened, and whether you really do need help. It uses Bluetooth signals between headset, sensors and phone to detect their relative positions. So if your