A closer look at the National Motorcyclists Council

British Dealer News writes about the work of the National Motorcyclists Council, of which the BMF is an active member. " Motorcycle organisations working together to get our voice heard is proving effective" said Anna Zee, BMF Political and Technical Services Director and Chair of the National Motorcycle Council  " Each member organisation can, and does, work on independent causes, but by working in a unified way our voices are definitely being heard louder within government departments." Click here to read the full article (in pdf format) Top photograph courtesy of Triumph Motorcycles

FEMA AGM Report 2022

The Annual General Meeting of FEMA, the Federation of European Motorcyclists' Associations, was held online, via Teams, on Saturday 12th February 2022. The meeting was chaired by Anna Zee, FEMA President, also Director of Political and Technical services, of the BMF. The attendees, 25 from 16 National Motorcycle Organisations (NMO), both inside and outside of the EU, with proxies and apologies from a further 6 NMOs, approved the agenda: A financial report from the Treasurer, BMF chair Jim Freeman, who reported that, despite an operating loss of 6,224 euros, against a projected loss of 14,243 forecast in the 2021 budget, the overall position was a solid foundation for 2022. The Committee voted to accept the financial operations of the Board, approving the

First rotary-engine bike for many years to be handmade in UK

A track day bike with a claimed 220bhp and a weight of just 129.5kg – giving it a MotoGP style power/weight ratio – is nearing production. It's the Crighton CR700, developed by Brian Crighton, the man behind the racing rotary-engined Nortons of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since then, Crighton has been developing rotary engines for track use. Development of the CR700 has continued since it was first revealed in October 2021, a culmination of work by Brian Crighton at Dorset-based  Rotron Power, which builds rotary engines for unmanned aircraft and where he will assemble the bike. This first rotary-engined machine for many years has fuel injection, a pressurised gas cooling system plus Crighton's own ejector exhaust system, which aids cooling

FIM touring events

The BMF is delighted to announce that we have taken over the handling of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) touring events from the Auto Cycle Union (ACU). The first event is the 39th FIM Motocamp – this one is camping only – from 8-11 June 2022. It will be held at Le Tiel in France, on the west bank of the river Rhone, 90 miles south of Lyon and just across the river from Montelimar. The venue is the local rugby club which offers good level camping in a closed, secure location, as well as toilet and shower facilities. The official dates for the rally are from 8th to 11th June, however the site will be open from midday on Monday 6th

‘Smart’ road pricing on the way, say MPs

Road pricing is likely to replace the current system of fuel duty and VED (Vehicle Excise Duty) in the not too distant future. That's according to the Transport Select Committee of MPs, which has been looking at alternatives. It addresses of what happens as petrol/diesel cars, HGVs, vans and motorcycles are gradually replaced by electric equivalents – how will they be taxed? Currently, the road system is paid for by a combination of fuel duty and VED, which together bring in about £35 billion. The RAC Foundation predicts that as the numbers of petrol/diesel vehicles drops off, this tax revenue will halve by around 2028 and fall to £9 billion by 2035. Electric vehicles (EV) do not pay VED, though this has

BMF disappointed with ‘Action Plan’ for zero emissions

The BMF will oppose any efforts to prevent the use of any internal combustion engine powered bike. The Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) and transport decarbonisation specialists, Zemo Partnership, were tasked in the Government’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan to identify the actions needed to create new UK business and consumer opportunities for zero emission ‘powered light vehicles’ (PLVs). This includes powered two wheelers and other ‘L-Category’ vehicles, as regulation defines them. The publication of the ‘Action Plan’ shows how, working together with industry, the Government can remove barriers, which will allow zero emission PLVs to become significant modes of transport and help ensure industry and consumers are able to fully harness the opportunities they present for the environment, congestion and as affordable personal mobility

Motorcycle working group advises National Highways

National Highways has outlined a whole raft of measures to make the strategic road network safer for motorcyclists, thanks to the diligence of the Motorcycle Working Group, which was set up by the then Highways England in 2015. The specialist subgroup provided briefings on what motorcyclists needed from infrastructure and National Highways has delivered. National Highways 'Guide to Designing for Motorcyclists,' published in April 2021, is a document of best practice aimed at highways engineers, reminding them of the issues faced by motorcyclists, how to maximise their safety and to highlight several changes that have been made to the DMRB (Design Manual for Roads and Bridges), the National Highways 'bible' on road design that take into accounts the needs of motorcyclists. These include

New French experiment with ‘noise cameras’

France has announced a new experiment with ‘noise cameras’ to tackle excessive noise from moving vehicles. The experiment is aimed at testing the technological possibilities and will also need to set the legal framework necessary to use noise cameras as a legal way to ‘punish’ excessive noise. On 3 January 2022 the French government published a decree, allowing a two-year experiment with the recording of noise emission levels of moving vehicles by fixed and mobile automatic control devices. The decree also ‘adapts the regulatory part of the highway code in order to specify the constituent elements of an infringement of the regulations on the emission of noise by a moving motor vehicle and to allow its detection by an automatic control device.

Seasons Greetings from the Chair…

I’ve been asked to write a few words, as a closing comment on 2021, and looking forward to 2022. Something ‘between a Christmas card and the queen’s speech’, apparently, but knowing who said that [thanks Helen!] I’ll take that as I find it. Last year? When we discovered, still are, that Covid wasn’t going to be a ‘one hit wonder’, that we were going to have to live with it. We learnt that making plans was a chancy business, individually and as the BMF. That being careful about mundane things was going to be second nature. That’s enough gloom and doom. We also made progress, in some unlikely ways. For many people the push to get everyone to ‘walk, cycle, public transport’

2021: FEMA’s review of the year

Although physical meetings were not possible in 2021, we managed to keep advocating the interests of the European motorcyclists, in- and outside the European Union. In this article we give an overview of our activities. First, we give a summary and then you will find the more detailed actions by the four main topics. Summary of activities On the topic of the environment and the energy transition, we resist actively the present on electric vehicles. We see a future in electric motorcycles and other small (L-category) vehicles, especially in urban environments but we also want to have the opportunity to choose other low- and zero CO2-emission alternatives. At the same time, those riders who want to use electric powered two- or three-wheelers

Motorcyclists want dedicated charging infrastructure

Electric vehicles like motorcycles and mopeds offer a solution to many of the present and future challenges in urban mobility. That is why they need dedicated charging infrastructure with secure parking places. Part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package that the European Commission launched in July 2021 is a revision of the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Directive and it will be turned into a regulation, which is a binding legislative act. In the draft regulation the Commission proposes binding targets for electric vehicle charging points and hydrogen refuelling points, telling EU Member States they will have to provide for minimum coverage of publicly accessible refuelling and/or charging points. Motorcycle rider organisations and the industry noticed that, even though we earlier filed our views

BMF disagrees with the government’s anti-tampering views

The BMF does not accept the Government’s views on modernising vehicle standards if that means it will be come harder or even impossible to keep older bikes on the roads. The BMF has called for greater clarity on proposed anti-tampering legislation currently being considered by the Department for Transport. “The BMF disagrees with the proposals as defined because the scope appears unlimited,” said Anna Zee, the BMF's Political and Technical Services Director. “There is no indication of who will enforce the legislation or how.” The BMF has chosen to take part in the consultation but has done so under protest. With this consultation the BMF - and other motorcyclists’ organisations - are forced to answer questions and statements that should not be

Top