The National Motorcyclists Council makes progress, but serious issues remain with motorcycle freighting into the EU. Procedures are emerging for owners transporting their own road registered motorcycles into the EU in vans or on trailers, but serious issues remain for freighting companies. In this update, NMC Chair Anna Zee explores the issues surrounding transporting motorcycles into the EU via vans and trailers and the progress the NMC is making to get new post-Brexit procedures in place. This article follows up from the NMC press release in June 2021 which alerted to problems in this area (here). If you like to take a biking holiday in Europe and you prefer to ship the bike out and back rather than riding it all the

It's been suggested as a joke in the past, but now Yamaha is developing it for real – computer generated exhaust notes for electric motorcycles and cars. Electric bikes have been criticised by some for lacking the soul of a petrol motorcycle, whether it's the deep rumble of a V-twin or the high pitched wail for a four-cylinder superbike. Hideo Fujita, a sound developer at the company, told the business news service Bloomberg that the device would mimic the sound of an ICE engine as well as other noises. “Even one that sounds like Star Wars.” But it's not just about emotion – Yamaha engineers believe that sound is crucial for the rider to have a sense of control and speed. Yamaha

A report by the All Party Parliamentary Group of MPs on Fair Fuel condems the Government’s plans to ban the sale of new fossil fuelled car and bikes. BMF's Peter Henshaw calls the report a travesty. It sounds pretty official, doesn't it? A report by the All Party Parliamentary Group of MPs on Fair Fuel finds that the Government's decision to end sales of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030 is wrong headed and demands that it be abandoned. It says that MPs are 'lining up' to support its stance and that a survey of the public backs this up. 'Just 19 MPs supported this report – out of 600+ MPs, it's not a landslide majority.' Except that this 'report' is a

MPs come out to condemn the Government’s 2030 ban on new fossil fuelled car sales and the ill-informed push for us all to drive electric. MPs have endorsed a ground-breaking new report from the APPG for Fair Fuel for UK motorists and UK hauliers. It brings to the attention of decision makers that UK’s 37m drivers also want clean air to breathe. But at the same time to show that the current unilateral Government policies for road users, whilst on the surface seem laudable, are instead set to be damaging for the economy and the Nation’s role in ‘helping out’ with global climate change. APPG Chair, Craig Mackinlay says: “The only thing that’s protecting the Government from electoral harm on

The BMF is whole-heartedly supporting the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) encouragement of government, public authorities and organisations involved in road safety to adopt the ‘Welcoming Roads’ approach to Vision Zero messaging which was put forward by the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) in June. The NMC welcomed the approach as an important contribution to the road safety messaging debate when Welcoming Roads was launched. It has since been supported by several organisations and has been promoted to the Government.  MAG has since made available a new edition of the core Welcoming Roads message, which is available for download on the NMC website and is in a form which can be used by any organisation or individual. Vision Zero has been at the core of international

Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) are being increasingly misused by local councils, warns the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC). TROs are a ban on motorised traffic, which can be imposed by local authorities as a temporary or permanent measure. Previous examples have included the use of HGVs in residential areas or the restriction of traffic on green lanes to prevent damage during bad weather.  “The recent trend of using TROs,” said Jim Freeman, Chair of the BMF. “has seen their insidious use by many local authorities, in many cases unwelcomed by local users.” Jim Freeman, along with the NMC and the Trail Riders Federation (TRF) is concerned that motorcyclists are getting caught up in bans which are primarily aimed at car and 4x4 drivers. TROs

New petrol motorcycles will no longer be sold in the UK from 2035 – that's a key message from the Government's Transport Decarbonisation Plan. Plans to ban sales of new petrol/diesel cars and vans by 2030, have been in place for some time, but motorcycles and scooters now have their own 'sell by' date. This also includes three-wheelers and other L-category vehicles, along with hybrid cars/vans.  “While the BMF have always been supporters of Ebikes, offering the first prize for an ETT winner in the IoM” said BMF Chair Jim Freeman. “We remain very aware of the many practical problems, such as cost, range, recharging infrastructure, and especially conscious of the extremely low CO2 emissions of very fuel-efficient ICE 2 wheelers. Nobody

Motorcyclists are banned from using certain roads in consequence of lobbying by a minority of local residents and/or anti-motoring pressure groups. The National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) - of which the BMF is a member - and its member the Trail Riders Fellowship (TRF) has growing concerns about the application of Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO) on sealed roads. TRO’s are used to prohibit use of roads by certain classes of traffic – usually motor vehicles. Misuse of TRO powers is a chronic problem that has become acute during the Covid-19 crisis as a way of reallocating road space to non-motorised modes of transport and to create ‘safe and quiet spaces’ for walkers and cyclists. Other TRO proposals have started to appear on minor,

Thinking of an overseas bike trip? From 28th September 2021, you'll have to display a 'UK' sticker on your number plate. In January 2021, as part of the post-Brexit fallout, the old 'Euro' number plate which showed the EU stars symbol, was replaced with a new plate showing the Union flag and a GB symbol. At that point, for riding in the EU, you had to either buy one of the new GB plates or add an extra GB sticker along with the old Euro plate. From 28th September, the law changes again, with a switch from 'GB' to 'UK' plates, to include Northern Ireland. Riders with GB plates will either have to buy a new UK plate or affix a UK

The ethanol content of Britain's standard grade of petrol will increase from 5% to 10% in September 2021, the DVLA had confirmed. Adding ethanol – a colourless alcohol made from crops such as sugar beet – reduces the CO2 emissions of petrol, reducing our reliance on oil and helping the UK meet its emissions targets. According to the DVLA, most motorcycles built since the late 1990s are compatible with E10 fuel, which is already in use in several European countries including Germany, France and Finland. E5 fuel will still be available as the 'super' grade, for vehicles which cannot use E10. An official E10 checking service is available online, to find out whether your motorcycle is compatible with the new grade. E10-compatible motorcycles: Honda