New Research into Motorcycle Usage in the UK

We have been asked by a bmf member to help with his research into motorcycle usage in the UK..... Have you ever commuted by motorcycle or scooter? Have you ever thought about commuting by motorcycle or scooter? Is it something you do every day, or a few days a month? Or are you thinking no way, I’m not doing that! What stops you, what spurs you on? What are the pros and cons, the barriers that prevent more people from doing it? This is the subject of my latest research. There is lots of evidence to suggest that there are many benefits to a wider use of motorcycles and other forms of powered two-wheeler for commuting to work. From environmental benefits, to reduced road congestion, to improved

Purple Helmets Retire

The Purple Helmets, the hilarious and highly skilled motorcycle stunt team, is to retire this summer, with its final show scheduled for August on the Isle of Man. Anyone who has attended a major open air motorcycle show in the UK in the last 25 years can’t have missed them. Mounted on ageing Honda C90, dressed in identical dirty brown macs and with deadpan faces hidden behind shades, the Purple Helmets attempted to replicate White Helmet stunts such as the Pyramid, adding their own wackier versions, such as dustbin racing (imagine a Honda 90 towing a sawn-off bin at speed) or a naked man playing a piano in a sidecar. For something which started out as a few friends having fun,

Rotary record

Guy Martin is planning an attack on the rotary-engined motorcycle speed record, riding the Crighton CR700W. BMF members will have read our profile of the machine and it’s Dorset-based manufacturer Rotron, which also builds paramotors and jet boards – see Motorcycle Rider, Spring 2022. The CR700W is a development of Norton’s rotary racers of the 1990s, masterminded by ex-Norton man Brian Crighton, who carried on refining the racers until they were banned from circuits in 1995. He continued R&D, first with Stuart Garner and now with Rotron. The CR700W is now being built in limited numbers by Rotron, with a price tag of £95,000. Ironically, given that the rotary was banned from racing over 25 years ago, the new bike is

Motorcycle Trailer – Vehicle Towing Guide

The Auto Cycle Union (ACU) has launched a guide to towing a motorcycle trailer  – that’s a trailer towed behind a car or van, carrying a motorcycle, not a trailer towed by a motorcycle! The guide covers the law surrounding trailer use, safety checks, and hints. It’s all good common sense information, the sorts of things we probably assume we know, but maybe don’t in practice. For example, the licencing laws changed in December 2019 and you can now tow a trailer without a towing licence. For driving licences received before 1st January 1997 the maximum authorised mass (MAM) is 8250kg – for post-1st January 1997 licences, it’s 3500kg. Other legal restrictions cover size and weight of the trailer and its

Petrol mopeds & 125s could be banned by 2030

The UK Government has proposed banning new sales of petrol-powered mopeds and 125cc machines by 2030, with all bigger-engined motorcycles and scooters following suit by 2035. The ban could come sooner “if a faster transition seems feasible,” according to the long-awaited consultation document, which was launched on 14th July. It covers all L-category vehicles, from L1 to L7, including mopeds, motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles. “We have already committed to phasing out fossil fuel use across road transport,” said Trudy Harrison MP, Minister of State for Transport, “with sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans ending as early as 2030…It is therefore important that L-category vehicles do not remain fossil-fuelled as the rest of the transport fleet cleans up.” The UK

Wheels to Work Expands

Shropshire is the latest UK county to adopt a Wheels to Work (W2W) scheme, offering cheap moped and 125cc scooter hire to younger riders. There are currently 22 such schemes across the UK, all of them aimed at younger riders who could not otherwise afford personal transport. Shropshire’s Community Resource charity has contracted Wheels to Work Silverstone to administer the scheme, which offers moped hire from £40 a week and 125s from £55. Based at Silverstone race circuit, W2W Silverstone has been supplying bikes and administration for similar W2W schemes since 2019, and currently runs schemes in Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire and Berkshire, as well as Shropshire. They have a particular role in the more rural counties, where public

The UK wants to ban the sale of new fossil fuelled motorcycles from 2035

'It is important that motorcycles do not remain fossil fuelled as the rest of the transport fleet cleans up', according to Trudy Harrison MP, Minister of State for Transport for the United Kingdom. The government of the United Kingdom has launched an open consultation, called 'L-category vehicles: ending sales of new non-zero emission models'. In that consultation the government announces a sales ban for new non-zero emission motorcycles from 2035. To be clear: with the consultation the British government is seeking opinions as to when the UK should stop the sale of new non-zero emission L-category vehicles, not if they should stop selling them. The government clearly states: "While cars and vans vastly outnumber motorcycles on UK roads, motorcycles are an important and

Government Proposals to Ban New Petrol Motorcycle Sales to Forced Arbitrary Timetables is a Mistake Says the NMC

The Department for Transport (DfT) consultation proposes to electrify all new mopeds and 125cc bikes by 2030, with larger new petrol powered motorcycles facing a 2035 ban The Department for Transport has this morning (14th July) issued its long-awaited consultation to phase out the sale of new petrol motorcycles by 2035. A new proposal has also been made to bring this timetable forward to 2030 for mopeds and 125cc motorcycles (L1 and L3-a1). Other L-Category vehicles are included in the consultation, which covers all two, three and light four-wheeled vehicles. The consultation does not cover existing motorcycles or those on the second-hand market. The National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) says that the Government is making a mistake by trying to force the pace

Parking fines! Don’t get caught out..

We have recently had a couple of issues around parking restrictions and fines brought to our attention. Some fuel stations, BP & Shell have been mentioned, have started restricting parking time, to half an hour. One of our region 7 reps found this out at a BP station which has a little rest area. These parking charges are usually put in place by a separate parking companies and signage can be very hard to spot, especially at night. It is worth checking when parking up on any restrictions, even if the place is well known to you, as sometimes changes are not well publicised and you could end up with a hefty fine. Also, in motorway services you are generally not supposed

United Nations will allow automated cars to manoeuvre at higher speeds

FEMA: 'Motorcycle safety has to be the highest priority when automated cars change lanes at high speeds'. The UNECE’s World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations has adopted an amendment to UN Regulation No. 157, which extends the maximum speed for Automated Driving System (ADS) for passenger cars and light duty vehicles up to 130 km/h on motorways (the current limit is 60 km/h, which was introduced in January 2021), and allows automated lane changes. It will enter into force in January 2023 in those contracting parties which decide to apply it. These systems can be activated only under certain conditions on roads where pedestrians and cyclists are prohibited and which, by design, are equipped with a physical separation that divides the

BMF working for you

The PACTS working party event held on Wednesday 29th June was the first held in-person since 2019. It was great to attend and meet the other members of PACTS, after only ever meeting them virtually. The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport (PACTS) promotes safe transport for all and these working groups provide an insight into research on different areas of road safety, so it is important that the BMF are involved to ensure that the views of motorcyclists are heard. Others in attendance included representatives from the Department for Transport (DfT), Transport for London (TfL) and the Institute of Traffic Accident Investigators (ITAI) among many others. The Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) gave a presentation about updating the Manual for

Don’t waste your money on fake motorcycle gear

How do you recognise fake claims from sellers of motorcycle gear when you are shopping online? It’s easier than you think. Motorcycle clothing cannot be legally placed onto the European market unless it has been tested and officially certified. It's that simple. By law, motorcycle clothing sold in the EU and UK must conform to the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Regulation. Conformity to standards and CE marking provide assurance to you, the buyer, that motorcycling apparel is fit for purpose (click here for a full article on that subject we wrote in 2021). It is easier than ever to find and order anything you could possibly want online. And motorcycle gear is no exception. But how do you recognise fake claims from

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