Parachute ‘airbag’ for bikers

We’ve had leather, body armour and airbags to protect ourselves in the event of a crash, but now Swedish company Airbag Inside has gone one step further, patenting a safety parachute for motorcyclists. First reported in US bike magazine Motorcycle World, the system aims to slow riders down once they’ve come off the bike and keep them on a straight trajectory. It’s not as daft as it seems – riders who have come off need to lose speed as quickly as possible, slide rather than tumble, and keep out the way of their bike. A parachute could potentially meet all these needs, though the technology looks more suited to racetrack use than the road. According to Airbag Inside’s patent application, the device

Triumph buys OSET – Norton goes electric

In a move to dramatically expand its customer base, Triumph has bought OSET Bikes, a leading seller of children’s off-road electric motorcycles. Triumph announced last year that it was moving into the off-road market, developing petrol-powered enduro and motocross machines. This latest twist underlines the company’s determination to diversify into off-road and electric bikes. OSET has helped instigate a quiet revolution in kids’ trials and motocross. It was formed in 2004 by Ian Smith, who had built an electric off-road bike for his son Oliver and realised that there was a ready market for an easy to ride off-roader which was quiet, simple to transport and cheap to run, compared to the traditional 50/80cc two-strokes. Since then, OSET has sold over

Electric bike grant lives on

The Plug-In Grant for electric scooters and motorcycles is still available, despite the UK Government deciding to axe the grant for electric cars with immediate effect. There was even a hint that the money saved from the e-car grant would be used to encourage users of other vehicles (including bikes) to go electric. Transport Minister Trudy Harrison said, “Having successfully kickstarted the electric car market, we now want to use plug-in grants to match that success across other vehicle types, from taxis to delivery vans and everything in between, to help make the switch to zero emission travel cheaper and easier.” She added that successive cuts in the electric car grant had not harmed sales – battery cars now make up

Issues with transporting bikes to the EU not yet solved

The BMF has warned motorcyclists that the issue of taking bikes into the EU by van or trailer is not yet resolved. “I’m sure this will be addressed, the question is; when? In the meantime, the best solution, with a road registered bike, is to ride it into Europe. If you must transport it by van or trailer, an ATA carnet will be the best option.” said BMF Chair Jim Freeman. In May, the EU Commissioner appeared to draw a line under the question, stating in a letter that ‘means of transport’ being taken across the border temporarily would not be regarded as liable for import duties, a carnet or the associated red tape. End of story? Not quite. According to the

International Partnership Extends Motorcycling’s Cohesion and Influence

Major riders groups come together to focus on issues of common concern The National Motorcyclists Council (NMC), the Federation of European Motorcyclists Associations (FEMA) and the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme Europe (FIM Europe) have agreed a new partnership to work together on common issues that affect motorcycling. The partnership extends the cohesiveness of the motorcycle lobby internationally and creates new potential to impact positively on public policy which affects motorcycling in a range of areas. The NMC has worked closely with both FEMA and FIM Europe on a range of issues since it was founded. These relate to motorcycle safety, transport policy and the future of motorcycling. The three organisations recognise that International collaboration is key when it comes to addressing current

BMF Annual Regional Meetings

All BMF members are invited to attend the 2022 Annual Regional Meetings held either in person or online by Zoom. The purpose of these meetings shall be to: 1. Receive written or verbal progress reports from the Management Team, the BMF Council and from the Regional Chairman; 2. Present to the Management Team and BMF Council advice and assistance from members, and enable those members to raise questions about the work and progress of the Federation; 3. Elect, from those nominated, the Regional Chairman and BMF Councillors. 4. Discuss nominations and motions to the AGM of the Federation. 5. Discuss matters of interest to the region. Voting at the meeting is only eligible for members, on production of a valid card, who reside in that region or

The BMF at the FEMA Committee Meeting

The FEMA Committee meeting, confusingly referred to as the ‘Spring’ meeting, took place at the Motor Cycle Touring Club [MCTC] campsite in Kolind, Denmark, on Saturday 11th June 2022. The meeting was attended by 14 delegates, 10 in person and 4 online, from 12 organisations, with proxies held for a further 4 organisations, and a number of guests. The BMF were privileged to hold the proxy for Norsk Motorcykkel Union [NMCU]. The meeting was chaired by Anna Zee, FEMA President and BMF Political and Technical Services [PTS] Director. The BMF delegate [online] was Jim Freeman, FEMA Treasurer and BMF Chair. Following the Treasurer’s report, that all was well financially, particularly after a two-year pandemic was taken into account, the meeting settled into

Honda offers ‘have -a-go’ sessions

Honda UK is aiming to get 500 non-riders into the seat of a motorcycle this summer, in a new test ride programme which it hopes will lead to more life-long bikers. The Ride Free Experience is offering no-pressure test rides on the CB125F, Grom and MSX125, off the road, and is run by Honda dealers and the Honda School of Motorcycling. There is no test involved – the idea is just to have a go – but the two-hour session includes a safety briefing as well as the ride. As a further inducement, riders taking up the scheme are offered £50 towards their CBT costs (if they choose to take a CBT later on) and £500 off the price of a

Renewed hopes that hydrogen could replace petrol power in the future.

Bosch has thrown its weight behind the use of hydrogen in place of fossil fuels, renewing hopes that hydrogen could replace petrol power in the future. However, getting to the hydrogen economy isn’t quite as simple as it seems. On paper, it looks beguiling, and several motorcycle manufacturers have been working on hydrogen power. Yamaha is helping Toyota develop a hydrogen car engine while Kawasaki is working on a hydrogen version of its existing H2 piston engine. Hydrogen can also power fuel cells, which produce electricity to supply an electric motor, just as a battery would – fuel cells are lighter than a conventional lithium-ion battery and promise a potentially longer range. A hydrogen-powered bike would also have zero emissions at

Honda developing rider assist technology

Honda has patented a system which moves the autonomous motorcycle a big step closer – but motorcycles are still way behind cars in the development of self-driving/riding. The trend towards autonomous cars seems unstoppable – Germany and Japan have approved ‘Level 3’ autonomy (the official SAE classification, highly automated driving on motorways) with the UK and other EU countries expected to follow suit, while Germany is also anticipating being the first country to approve SAE Level 4 (highly automated in ‘most driving situations.’) Motorcycle manufacturers are certainly working on this. BMW showed a riderless GS to journalists in 2018, Yamaha has developed a steering-assist system for motocross bikes and many production bikes already have radar-based systems to warn riders of nearby vehicles,

France and UK debate the meaning of ‘means of transport’

Just when we thought the problems with transporting a motorcycle or a car from the UK to the European Union were solved, new problems arise. After the European Commission confirmed that transporting a motorcycle or a car (‘means of transport’) from the United Kingdom to the continent should not be a problem, a discussion has started among French and British customs authorities about when a motorcycle or car is a ‘means of transport’. This is an ongoing subject, expect more updates. In the latest twist in the issue of customs formalities when transporting motorcycles across the EU/UK border in vans or on trailers, FEMA, NMC (National Motorcyclists Council UK) and FIVA, the historic vehicle federation, have received updated advice from the UK Government

FEMA survey: ‘Motorcycle parking should be free’

Let us choose where to park safely and don’t ‘punish’ us by making us pay for our smart mobility choice; Europe’s motorcyclists are very outspoken when it comes to motorcycle parking. More and more authorities introduce restrictions on where a motorcycle can be parked. We also see a rise in the number of paid parking spaces dedicated to motorcycles. FEMA wanted to know how European motorcyclists feel about this and conducted an online survey on motorcycle parking. The overall conclusion of the survey is that riders from all over Europe want to be able to park their bike anywhere, as long as it does not cause nuisance for pedestrians and other road users. An impressive 88.94% of the respondents say motorcycles should

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