Metisse Up For Sale

Metisse, one of the best known badges in scrambling of the 1960s and ‘70s, is up for sale. Gerry Lisi, who has owned the brand for 26 years, is planning to retire – the package includes the right to produce 150 McQueen Desert Racers. Metisse was the brainchild of brothers Derek and Don Rickman, who in the early ‘60s combined a Triumph twin engine with their own chassis to create a bike which would achieve worldwide success in scrambles. The name – derived from the French for ‘Mongrel’ – reflected the bike’s varied parts origins. Steve McQueen was a Metisse fan, and in 2007 Gerry Lisi was asked to build a replica of his desert racer. With the McQueen estate’s approval,

TV Star BSA Goes to Auction

Remember Boon, the hit TV series of the 1980s? The BSA Lightning 650 which took a starring role is up for auction, and it could be yours for less than £3000. In the series, which was very successful and ran for seven series, actor Michael Elphick play retired fireman Ken Boon, a biker who runs a motorcycle despatch business but gets drawn into becoming a private investigator. Set in the Midlands, it attracted an audience peak of 11 million, making stars of both Elphick and the BSA, with every episode featuring him on the bike (or appearing to be). Ironically, although he looked every inch the seasoned biker, Michael Elphick wasn’t a fan and admitted in one interview that the BSA

Avon Tyres Return

Avon motorcycle tyres are being relaunched, eighteen months after the historic factory in Melksham, Wiltshire was closed. The closure was significant, as the Melksham plant was the UK’s last production facility for motorcycle tyres. Unfortunately, it was in serious need of modernisation and investment, and was closed by parent group Goodyear in December 2023. Goodyear inherited the Avon brand when it took over previous owner Cooper Tires (also owner of the Dunlop name) and moved production to a factory in the EU. The company is now relaunching EU-made Avon motorcycle tyres, positioning them just below its more premium Dunlop-badged rubber. The relaunched range consists of four models to start with: the Cobra Chrome for cruisers (with optional whitewalls); Spirit ST sports-touring

I’m having a Dave Day 2

Up to 40,000 bikers come together to celebrate the life of former “Hairy Biker” Dave Myers. Over the weekend, tens of thousands of riders rode to Barrow, Dave’s home town, to celebrate Dave’s life and to raise money for charity as part of “Dave Day 2.” Dave’s widow Liliana Myers, speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning, said: “ It was so uplifting and so wonderful to see so many people coming from all parts of the country to pay tribute to Dave. The impact Dave had on biking is his legacy. He wanted people to live their lives and have fun. He was an inspiration.” Dave’s life-long friend, and fellow Hairy Biker, Si King said: “ Dave Day 2 was a joyous celebration of

The NMC and BMF Call On The Government To Ensure That Self-Driving Taxis Are Not “Fast Tracked’ At The Expense of Motorcyclist Safety

Driverless Car Technology Must Take Full Account of Motorcyclists Self Driving taxis must not be ‘Fast Tracked’ until a full set of motorcycle focussed safety principles are in place as part of Autonomous Vehicles Act. The National Motorcyclists Council (NMC) is today expressing its concern that the Government’s proposal to ‘fast track’ pilots of self-driving taxi and bus-like services could risk compromising motorcycle safety unless the Autonomous Vehicles Act and its key ‘Statement of Safety Principles’ is fully implemented first. This month, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, announced that ‘the government will fast-track pilots to spring 2026, introducing self-driving commercial pilots on England’s roads. Firms will be able to pilot small scale ‘taxi- and bus-like’ services without a safety driver for the first time –

Ace Café Early Closing Fridays

The Ace Cafe is to close at 6pm on Fridays for the foreseeable future, due to anti-social behaviour on the road in front. Previously the iconic venue has been open until 10.30pm on Fridays, making it a mecca for petrolheads on both two and four wheels. Café management referred to episodes of “illegal and unacceptable behaviour on the road,” adding that it will not tolerate wheelies, burnouts or excessive revving, and that anyone caught indulging will be permanently barred from the site. It also emphasised that illegal substances such as cannabis are banned at the venue, and that anyone turning up with an illegal numberplate will be turned away. CCTV with numberplate recognition technology is being used to enforce the rules. The

EU Council includes mopeds and motorcycles in recycling laws

Council of the EU says mopeds and motorcycles should be included in the end-of-life vehicles regulation. The Council of the EU has adopted its position on the end-of-life vehicles (ELV) regulation, legislation that dictates how vehicles are recycled, reused, and disposed of when they reach the end of their life. The Council of the EU represents the member states' governments. It is where national ministers and experts from each EU country meet to (amongst other tasks) negotiate and adopt EU laws. The Council’s position increases the level of ambition of the regulation, including in its scope heavy-duty trucks and two- or three-wheel bikes and quadricycles. The Council wants the scope of the Regulation to be expanded to include: vehicles of categories L1e to

Joined-Up Approach To Bike Theft Delivers 2025 TT Victory

Merseyside Police, in collaboration with Liverpool City Council, Liverpool BID Company, Lancashire Constabulary, Isle of Man Constabulary, the National Vehicle Crime Reduction Partnership (NVCRP), the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), and the British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF), celebrates the continued success of Operation Needle, which significantly reduced motorcycle thefts during the 2025 Isle of Man TT Races (May 26–June 7). This established annual campaign ensures a safer experience for motorcyclists traveling through Liverpool, a key transit hub for the world-renowned event. Operation Needle was directly supported by financial contributions from NVCRP, the MAG Foundation and BMF. These funds enabled enhanced security measures in Liverpool city centre, including Oxford heavy-duty bike chains, additional barriers near hotels, increased police patrols, and electronic detection equipment. The

Motorcycles Get Short Straw on Parking

Less that 1% of the licenced bikes in the UK are able to park in a designated space in a council car park. Research by motorcycle insurance broker Bikesure has revealed that out of just over a million parking spaces across the UK, only 4241 are motorcycle-specific, able to accommodate just over 11,000 bikes. Of course, not all of us want to park at the same time, but motorcycles are clearly under-provided for compared to cars – seven bike spaces for every 1000 machines, against 30 for every 1000 cars. Bikesure also looked at how individual authorities were catering for bikes, by counting the number of motorcycle spaces compared to the number of bikes registered in each area. Stratford upon Avon

Ride To Work Day 10 June 2025

“Ride To Work Day” provides an opportunity for individuals to switch from cars or public transport to two-wheels for their daily commute and experience reduced congestion, improved mental health well-being and reduced carbon emissions. “Ride To Work Day” is an international campaign, with similar events happening in other countries across the globe. Its aim is to promote the use of motorcycles, mopeds, and scooters as an important mode of transport, not only for commuting, but as a an affordable and accessible transport option for all ages. Paul Morgan CBE, the BMF’s Government Relations Executive says: “To fully unlock the benefits of motorcycling for improved mobility, better mental health wellbeing and for the environment, motorcycling needs to be fully integrated into the mainstream of

CCM Goes Into Administration

CCM has been placed into administration, after a difficult 2024 which saw output halve to just 150 bikes. The move is a voluntary one by parent company Pitalia Capital, which bought into CCM in late 2021, with an injection of cash to help expansion and pass homologation tests. A post on the company’s Facebook page on 2nd June read: “A legendary name in UK bike manufacturing, known for their handcrafted machines and bold innovation, is now facing uncertain times.” The news comes after months of uncertainty for CCM, which cut back its workforce to just 12 earlier this year, and suffered when Completely Motorbikes, one of its major dealers, closed its doors in October 2024. CCM was left with only eight

Honda Hits 500 Million

How many powered two-wheelers would you say Honda has built since 1949, when Soichiro put the first Dream into production? A few million? It’s actually 500 million – half a billion – an astonishing figure which underlines Honda’s continuing dominance of the world motorcycle market – it grabbed a 40% share of global sales in 2024. But the real story here isn’t that Honda is big (we all knew that) but that its 500 millionth machine was a Activa 125 scooter, which rolled off the production line in Gujarat, India. It was no coincidence that Honda chose to celebrate its 500 millionth bike in India rather than Japan. The company has four factories on the sub-continent, with a combined capacity of over

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