Power steering for motorcycles

Power steering for motorcycles sounds like a 1st April spoof, but Yamaha really is working on electric power steering (EPS), with a public debut due this year. It sounds nonsensical because motorcycles, unlike cars, need very little effort to steer – it's one of the things we love about riding them. But the Yamaha EPS system is based on sound reasoning. It's first being developed for motocross bikes, for which the computer-controlled system improves stability, not just reduces steering effort. At the heart of EPS is an electric torque sensor, of the sort used on millions of electric bicycles. Its job on e-bikes is to sense when you are pedalling and how hard, sending that information to a control unit which

BMF decarbonisation policy

The BMF Council formally approved the following policy on decarbonisation at the Council meeting on 9th April. ⦁ The BMF is opposed to any proposals to ban the use of motorcycles powered by internal combustion engines (ICE) while such vehicles are still capable of being run. ⦁ The BMF is opposed to a ban on the sale of new ICE-powered motorcycles while there is the possibility of providing alternatives to fossil fuel and while the electric vehicle charging infrastructure does not adequately support electric motorcycles. ⦁ The BMF supports a technology-neutral approach to powering new motorcycles; we do not accept that electric battery technology is the only approach. Director Anna Zee said "The use of motorcycles, however powered, rather than cars can make a

FIM Mototour of Nations – Kavala, Greece.

For this year the FIM Mototour of Nations will be based at the 5* Hotel Lucy in Kavala, on the North Eastern coast of Greece. Kavala is a port town looking out to the island of Thasos. This is not the first time that Mototour has taken place in Greece, as in 2017 we had an excellent event based on Ioannina in North Western Greece run by the same organising team. Riders will have a programme of chosen itineraries on a variety of tarmacked roads in escorted groups travelling at a steady “tourist” speeds. All routes will be based on Hotel Lucy where, included in the entry fee, participants will receive: 1st day: dinner 2nd day: breakfast, light lunch, dinner 3rd day: breakfast, light

Belgian motorcyclists go for safety

Belgian research identified eight types of motorcyclists; which type are you? To better profile the Belgian motorcyclist, a representative sample of 3,000 Belgians over the age of 16 were interviewed about their use of motorcycles and other powered two-wheelers. The Belgian road safety research organisation Vias studied powered two-wheeler use in Belgium. They identified eight kinds of motorcyclists, but more important, they analysed who the motorcyclists are, how they behave, what their experiences are, how well they are trained, and what their views are on subjects as road safety, intelligent transport systems, et cetera. First the types of motorcyclists. According to Vias there are eight profiles: The Time optimizer: uses the powered two-wheeler (scooter) to optimize travel time during the good season (11,6%).

Battery Swapping Goes Big

The Japanese big four – Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha – are setting up a new company, Gachaco, Inc, to offer standardised swappable batteries for electric motorcycles and scooters. For smaller machines it could address the biggest drawback of battery-powered bikes – lack of range, and slow charging. The Japanese manufacturers agreed standards for such a system back in 2019, but are now teaming up with Japanese energy company Eneos to offer a network of battery swap stations across Japan. The first stations will be in Tokyo, with other Japanese cities following in autumn 2022. The 'Gachaco' network will use Honda's existing Mobile Power Pack. Being small and light enough to be swapped by hand, the batteries clearly wouldn't suit a big

FIM Meritum 2022

The 2022 Meritum meeting will take place in Southern Jutland, Denmark, at the small town of Graasten. The event is being organised by the same team that put on the Motocamp at Bredbero in 2013, which was generally accepted to be an excellent event. The event has been timed to link with the FIM Rally in Ferropolis so that those who want to can take in both events in one holiday. For those who wish to arrive early the event facilities will open from midday on Thursday the 21st July with an optional excursion offered on Friday 22nd. The event will run from Friday 22nd July to Sunday 24th, with participants leaving after breakfast on Monday 25th Once again the BMF are handling the

New British Electric Bike Launched

Triumph, Royal Enfield, Brough-Superior, Norton...the roll call of revived British bike brands seems to grow by the day, but now there's a new kid on the block – Maeving. It's a new start-up put together by Will Stirrup, 29, and Seb Inglis-Jones, 31. And the most surprising fact about the Maeving? It's assembled in Coventry and at £4995 is almost price competitive with its Chinese-made rivals. The RM-1 is an A1 125cc-equivalent bike with retro 1920s board track styling and removeable batteries. Stirrup and Inglis-Jones started the project back in December 2017, initially intending to import a complete bike from China. After finding there was nothing which quite fitted the bill, they decided to make their own. Joined by a team of mostly

NMC and MCIA to work together

The Motor Cycle Industry Association and the National Motorcyclists Council have today agreed to work together as the joint action plan for government and industry on zero emission motorcycles and other L-Category machines develops. The NMC and its individual members will work with the MCIA as part of the ‘UK Motorcycling’ forum which has been set up by the MCIA as part of the industry’s commitment to create a formal L-Category community to engage government in relation to the action plan; ‘The Route to Net Zero’. NMC Executive Director Craig Carey-Clinch said: “The NMC’s members are delighted to be working with the MCIA as the Action Plan develops. Decarbonisation is the fundamental issue of our times and with the wide range

FIM Rally 2022 Ferropolis, Germany

The 2022 FIM Rally will be held at Ferropolis, an open air industrial museum close to Dessau, South West of Berlin. Details of the rally are rather late in coming out this year as the nation originally scheduled to run the event withdrew their offer due concern regarding the Covid pandemic. The German DMSB have stepped in to organise the rally and have been working hard to catch up with the necessary preparations. The Ferropolis site, sited on a peninsular in a large lake created in the past by open cast mining, displays some of the giant machines that were used in the open cast mine and is also a venue for pop concerts & festivals. The Rally runs from Wednesday 27th July

Green lane motorcycling is under threat – take action NOW!

" I urge all riders to support the continuing access to green roads, by responding to the consultation, as outlined in the ACU's excellent advice below. If we lose this access it will be very difficult to overturn. The time to respond is NOW!" Jim Freeman, BMF chair.  Advice on responding to DEFRA’s Consultation on the Landscapes Review What is the Landscapes Review? In May 2018 the government asked for an independent review into whether the protections for National Parks and AONBs are still fit for purpose. In particular, what might be done better, what changes will help and whether the definitions and systems in place are still valid. The review’s final report was published on 21 September 2019. It was led by

Motorcycle Industry Boycotts Russia

Russian Boycott Expands Following the BMF news story on a boycott of Russian motorcycle exports on 11th March, comes news that more manufacturers are lining up to repudiate business with the country, in response to its invasion of Ukraine on 24th February. Meanwhile the EU has announced a blanket ban on all motorcycle exports over EUR 5000 to Russia. The BMF reported that Harley-Davidson was the first manufacturer to pull out of Russia, swiftly followed by Polaris, owner of the Indian brand, and Honda, which has suspended shipments of cars as well as bikes. MV Agusta CEO Timur Sardarov, who is himself Russian, weighed in, publicly criticising the Russian invasion in an open letter distributed via MV. “My family is shocked, all the

Triumph to make many more bikes in the UK

Triumph is to make many more bikes in the UK this year, only two years after moving much of its production to Thailand. Booming demand across Europe and successful launches of the marque in new markets such as China are said to be behind the decision. Production had been progressively been moving to the company's three South East Asian plant since they were set up in 2002-2007 and 2020 saw Speed Triple and Tiger 1200 – the final mainstream models built at Hinckley – move there too, spelling the end of mainstream assembly in Britain. The Hinckley plant has since focused on R&D and limited production bikes, building around 4,500 machines a year. Soaring demand for new Triumphs, particularly the Trident 660

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