BMF RIDER-Autumn-2024

The TT DebaTe

Cover Picture: Shaun Anderson competing in this year's TT (photo: Philip Magowan/Double Red)

MOTORCYCLE RIDER IS PUBLISHED BY THE BRITISH MOTORCYCLISTS FEDERATION (ENTERPRISES) LIMITED

MOTORCYCLE RIDER

Editor | Peter Henshaw - editor@bmf.co.uk

Designer | Louise Hillier - design@bmf.co.uk

ALL BMF CORRESPONDENCE TO:

Helen Hancock

Administrator

BMF, PO Box 9036, Enderby Leicester, LE19 9BE Tel: 01162 795112

Mob: 07918 903 500

Email: admin@bmf.co.uk

COPYRIGHT: All material published in MOTORcycLE RiDER is the copyright of the BMF. Use may be freely made of it without permission on condition that any material used is credited “reproduced by permission of MOTORcycLE RiDER, the BMF magazine”.

The views of any contribution contained in MOTORcycLE RiDER are not necessarily those of the editorial team or of the BMF.

Chair | Jim Freeman

Finance Director | Howard Anderson

Member Services Director | Peter Laidlaw

Political and Technical Services Director | Anna Zee

National and One-Make Club Forum Chair | Stephen Davenport

Administrator | Helen Hancock

C O N T E N T S

Campaigns, meetings, progress – a comprehensive update

Bigger isn’t necessarily better, reckons Mark

Comp Yoga in the Alps, mud in Wales...etc

Travellers’ Tales

Across deserts, over the Himalayas, and a Guzzi Le Mans to India

Kate Latus used BMF Blue Riband to advance her riding skills

What will replace petrol? Jim Freeman looks at the runners and riders

Last issue, Mark Williams wrote that the TT’s time was up – here’s the response...

Can a 450cc adventure bike have

Paul

reports on bike theft – are we winning the

Exciting

Advice for disabled riders –how to get started

Peter Laidlaw looks back at our 2024 events and forward to ‘25

What a motorcycle-specialist solicitor can do for you

No mountains in Dorset, but the chalk downs are spectacular to ride

Hadleigh & District – how this BMF-affiliated classic club works

BMF contacts in your area

"Please join us as an individual member if you aren't already! Just point your phone at the QR code to go to the right spot on our website!"

Dear Fellow Rider reader,

When you read this the BMF will have held its 2024 AGM, which is the opportunity for you to quiz the BMF’s directors and have your say. When I say ‘you’ I’m assuming that I’m addressing a member of the BMF. If you are not, the AGM’s a reason to become one. Non-members can post on our social media and email comments to the office and the directors, listed in this magazine and on the website, but we are a membership organisation, so that’s who we listen to most closely.

The Election, which took place just as the last issue was finalised, was a landslide, which we and our colleagues in the NMC used as an opportunity to push the rider agenda as much as possible under the ‘I ride, I vote’ strapline. Personally I was chuffed to get a local response from both main parties candidates, including the new MP, Danny Boy Beales. I was fortunate enough to be voting in a marginal constituency where that margin is about 500 votes.

So, what’s been happening, post-election? Short answer, very little. Immediately parliament went into the summer recess, followed by a couple of weeks when Westminster played office musical chairs, then we’re into the Conference season, which means normal governmental and parliamentary activity won’t return much before this magazine hits your doormat or email inbox.

One promise that’s just been made raised a cynical smile round here; the DfT have sworn “to move fast and fix things” , with the potholes at the top of the list. Which sounds terrific – we shall see. Talking of seeing things, there’s a proposed investigation into headlights that dazzle, an issue that riders have been on about for longer than potholes. We’re watching.

We’re also watching what continues to be the ‘elephant’ of our times, Decarbonisation. The proposed governmental solution for personal transport is the Electric Vehicle, with 2-4 wheels. The first wave of ‘early adopters’ have been, and increasingly, gone; although 90% of EV users in 2023 said they’d get another as a replacement, apparently. From which experience a number of conclusions have been drawn, causing many of those who’ve sampled to say, ‘never again’.

The conclusions? The vehicles are mostly OK and getting better, more usable.

The charging infrastructure, away from home charging, is riddled with faults.

Home charging is OK, mostly, if you live in a house with off road parking and an easy install of a charging point.

If you never travel further than an overnight home charge away, that’s fine, beyond that it’s like the wild west.

The finance: a complete holocaust of cost, residual values, governmental penalties and unreachable targets that are affecting industry, investment and markets. Who’d ever thought to read of VAG discussing 30,000 redundancies due to lack of demand? Paradoxically there’s never been a cheaper time to buy an EV, especially used, and even more so if you’re trading in an ICE vehicle. Most new vehicles are ‘sold’ on either a PCP [personal contract plan] or leased, which many have assumed would alleviate the risk of committing to a new EV. The problem now is that the usual termination value, if you’re handing the vehicle back at the end of the contract, is going to be way less than the contracted value, which means negative equity i.e. the ‘buyer’ will owe more than the vehicle’s worth. On the other hand, if the contractor wants to keep it, I suspect deals may be done!

The BMF: always watching, arguing on behalf of our members, in dialogue with policy makers.

It’s what we do.

Food for thought, I hope.

Stay safe, ride safe,

USEFUL CONTACTS

Jim Freeman, BMF Chair jim.freeman@bmf.co.uk

Peter Laidlaw, Director of Member Services peter.laidlaw@bmf.co.uk

Howard Anderson, Finance Director howand@hotmail.com

Anna Zee, Political & Technical Services Director anna.zee@bmf.co.uk

Paul Morgan, Government Relations Exec paul.morgan@bmf.co.uk 07918 903 499

Alex Parsons-Hulse, Reps Liaison Officer bmfregion2rep@bmf.co.uk 07702 229311

Helen Hancock, Admin & Anything! admin@bmf.co.uk 07918 903 500

Net Hopkinson , Membership Secretary membership@bmf.co.uk 0116 2795 112

N EWS L OBBY N EWS R OUND U P

The BMF’s lobbying work has continued post General Election, though initially Ministers and officials declined all meetings as they hunkered down to agree priorities of the new Government. We have been working closely with the National Motorcyclists Council (NMC), engaging with new Ministers and officials so that the key priorities for motorcycling are well understood and at the forefront of decision-makers’ minds as new policies are developed.

The Government is to produce a new Road Safety Strategy –the first in over a decade – underpinned by a “forward looking” approach with a broader, long-term focus on road safety and associated infrastructure. This will be supported by new

Anna Zee (BMF): What she’s been doing on your behalf

Craig Carey-Clinch (NMC):

What the Election means for motorcycling

Paul Morgan (BMF): Policy hiatus...until we have a Government

investment with the aim of significantly reducing deaths and serious injuries on UK roads.

Transport Secretary Louise Haigh (and Lillian Greenwood MP, the Minister for the Future of Roads) held a first meeting with the motoring lobby in early October, making clear that they will seek to “move fast and fix things.” The Government’s plan is to engage with all road users to develop an evidence-based road safety strategy that will completely “shift the dial” on road safety, whilst delivering “cultural and socially responsible” change. Louise Haigh has made clear that the development of an integrated, future transport model, with a clear environmental focus, is critical for the delivery of the Government’s declared missions.

Linking Missions

Before the General Election, the BMF worked closely with the NMC on our manifesto ‘Motorcycling Matters’ (available via the BMF website) setting out the benefits motorcycling can bring to the future of transport as an accessible, affordable, cleaner option than most other modes. If properly supported by government, it has the ability to foster social mobility, economic growth and improved road safety.

We’re now working to link our priorities with the Government’s five ‘Missions’ and its separate policy paper ‘Priorities For Drivers.’ In the coming weeks we’ll be updating ‘Motorcycling Matters,’ using it in meetings to ensure a continued focus on motorcycle licensing, training and road safety, plus improvements in road design. We will also continue to lobby Ministers and departments to make bike access to bus lanes the default position among UK Local Authorities.

Motorcycle APPG Disbanded

The rules about All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG) have been tightened up. As a result the APPG for motorcycling, with whom we have worked on a number of important motorcycling issues, was disbanded. However, we have no reason to think it will be impossible to reinstate and initial discussions have already started with officials and relevant MPs with a view to getting the group back up and running.

Getting Bikes Noticed

The BMF and NMC have responded to several government consultations this year, including bus lanes, historic vehicles, electric bicycle regulations and most recently on the National Planning Policy Framework. The latter doesn’t mention motorcycles at all! Cars yes, bicycles yes, motorcycles no. Given that some of the key aims of the new Planning Framework are to help support delivery of wider government priorities (including reducing pollution and congestion and adapting to climate change) we have reminded the Government of the significant benefits of powered two-wheelers as a low-cost option to achieve these objectives. Motorcycles and their riders need to be front and centre of the new planning strategy as Government seeks to put an integrated and sustainable transport model in place.

Parking, Bans & Tolls

We’ve also responded to the following consultations: Public Space Protection Order (intended to ban car cruising) in Newcastleunder-Lyme, which appeared to have over-stepped its brief by apparently including motorcycles in the ban; proposals to reduce motorcycle parking in part of Newcastle-upon-Tyne; to charge motorcycles for parking in Bath and North Somerset (the same rate as big 4x4s); and a Transport for London (TfL) consultation on future charges for the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels. The latter would have motorcyclists paying the same as car drivers out of peak hours, which is obviously not acceptable and runs contrary to one of TfL’s key aims in imposing the charges: to significantly reduce pollution and congestion around the tunnels.

As we go to press we have just heard that Bath & North East Somerset Council, in what amounts to a victory for motorcyclists and common sense, have now backed down on their proposals to impose parking charges for motorcyclists in the light of the robust objections they received from the BMF and others strongly opposing their plans.

ASA Upholds BMF Complaint

Back in August, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found in favour of the BMF over our complaint concerning JD Sports “irresponsible and unsafe” advertising campaign for Nike Air Max clothing. In our view it was irresponsible, depicting riders engaged in unsafe riding. We featured prominently on the BBC and other media outlets when the story first broke, enabling us to clearly set out our position. The ASA instructed that the relevant ads must not appear again in the form complained of. They have also instructed JD Sports to ensure that their future advertising does not “condone or encourage unsafe driving practices.”

Support the Parking Campaign

Back to parking, we have agreed with the courts that Save London Motorcycling should replace the BMF as the lead complainant in the case of Hackney Council’s introduction of parking charges for bikes, which goes to court on 23rd January 2025. In the meantime, BMF members can help by contributing to the

crowdfunding campaign (justgiving.com/crowdfunding/slmc). At least two other London boroughs, Camden and Hounslow, have indicated that they too want to introduce charges for motorcycle parking, so it is important that we make a stand now against these unfair, ill thought-out and unnecessary proposals, which penalise motorcyclists.

Meetings Continue...

The BMF continues to attend our regular round of meetings, including the RoSPA National Road Road Safety Committee, Transport Focus Road User Panel, the Parliamentary Advisory Council For Transport Safety (PACTS), working parties on Road User Behaviour, Road Environment and Vehicle Design, Scotland’s Motorcycle Focus Group and the Motorcycle Crime Reduction Group, amongst others.

Bikes Into Europe

BMF members having been asking about taking bikes into Europe by van and we have pointed everyone to the current NMC advice – so far no one has reported any issues. The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), which was planned to come into operation in the first half of 2025, has now been delayed further by the EU. Some 1.4 billion people from over 60 currently visa-exempt countries (including the UK) will be required to have received electronic travel authorisation prior to entering most European countries (30 at the last count). We will be updating our current travel advice on the BMF website prior to the implementation of the ETIAS system.

Make PSPOs Specific

Of the two Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) proposals we have seen, there should be no problem for motorcyclists, unless they are indulging in anti-social behaviour like over-revving, wheelies, donuts etc. Normal riding, even in groups, should not be an issue, but we have sought further clarity from the Local Authorities concerned and set out our concerns that there may be wider unexpected detriment for other lawabiding road users, unless PSPOs are tightly drawn and focused on the specific anti-social behaviour a Local Authority (LA) is seeking to address.

Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous driving, which may see self-driving vehicles on British roads by 2026 (the Automated Vehicles (AV) Act became law on 20th May 2024) featured largely in the last PACTS members meeting. We saw presentations on the ethics of autonomous driving and on the problems of what a car can or cannot

‘see' and what it ‘understands,' plus how assumptions in the programming can have unanticipated consequences.

Merely following the law in AV software design may not be enough and could introduce unforeseen risks for road users. For example, where a motorist or rider might need to accelerate temporarily over the speed limit, or potentially cross a solid white line, to get quickly out of danger.

The Government has made clear that road safety is at the heart of the new AV Act, with automated vehicles expected to improve road safety by reducing human error, which apparently contributes to 88% of road collisions. The law will require selfdriving vehicles to achieve a level of safety at least as high as careful and competent human drivers, as well as meeting rigorous safety checks, before being allowed onto UK roads.

Safety in Mind

But there is a big question about the actual definition of a “careful and competent” human driver. The BMF has written to the DfT to make clear that we are opposed to the introduction of AV on UK roads unless it is clear that these will not increase the risk to any other road user, especially vulnerable users such as motorcyclists. We have also offered to contribute to further government discussions on the requirements and testing to be applied to AVs prior to their authorisation for road use and advise on the Statement of Safety Principles that will be applied to all AVs to ensure and maintain the future safety of all road users.

The year ahead is likely to be a busy time for motorcycle lobbying as we seek to forge strong and productive relationships with the new Ministerial teams and relevant government departments. To that end the BMF, together with the NMC, will continue to work hard to ensure that motorcycling issues remain at the forefront of future government planning and policy development.

Anna Zee (BMF Political and Technical Services Director)

Paul Morgan CBE

Autumnal Opportunities Craig Carey-Clinch gives the NMC’s perspective

It was a slightly strange few months after all the heat and light of the General Election, leaving mountains of dust to settle afterwards. While the focus was on key headline government Bills, civil servants were silent on policy detail.

Our engagement quietly continued over the summer, but the overall sense was that as newly minted Ministers continued to get used to their new portfolios, departments have yet to set more detailed agendas, so officials were wary about saying too much.

This all changed the day the party conference recess ended. The early October meeting with Louise Haigh and Lilian Greenwood was an opportunity to draw attention to the need for reform to training and testing, default access to bus lanes and work to refresh the former Government Motorcycle Strategy.

A week later, the NMC was back at DfT Towers in London, this time as part of the Pothole Partnership, to look at how Labour’s manifesto commitment to fix the roads can become reality. Minister Greenwood was keen to discuss what could be done and is clearly committed to the task. All good, but it remains to be seen how far the new government can deliver given the scale of the problem. Our message was to use the funding that there is much more smartly, focusing on permanent rather than costly and ineffective temporary repairs.

Essential Work

So what about other areas? There’s still uncertainty with motorcycle decarbonisation, and so far the Government has said nothing, but discussion about training and testing reform could soon restart. This could be enabled by the move of a senior DfT official over to DVSA. Provision of tests, backlogs in the system, plus other areas, guarantees a very full inbox for the new ‘boss,’ who is well acquainted with the motorcycle lobby.

Other previous consultations remain unanswered, including anti-tampering, Green Roads access and other areas relating to the sport which cross over to DEFRA and DCMS. Plus what the Budget could mean for motorcycling as a whole.

For the NMC the goal of a new Government Motorcycle Strategy remains essential work, which properly recognises motorcycling as a transport mode and alternative to the car. This would include safety investment, recognition in local policies, better and

safer roads infrastructure, ensuring accessibility in both urban and rural areas and support for post-test training. A proper strategy would provide a framework from which other policies and initiatives would flow.

But it’s still early days and the months ahead are crucial for the NMC and BMF. Our aim is to turn threats into opportunities, create further opportunities and to work with Government to create a better and more supportive environment for motorcycling as a whole.

The key to all this is partnership. The NMC and BMF have forged a range of relationships with organisations including the trade, the industry, other motorcycling organisations and also from other sectors. These create better relations with those who may have been previously sceptical of motorcycling, opening better dialogue with Government.

A new Government is always a time of change, but due to forward planning, both the BMF and the NMC were ready for this and look forward to the work ahead to create a better environment for motorcycling and for all those who ride.

Craig Carey-Clinch (Executive Director, NMC)

B i GGER, YES. BU t BE tt ER…?

Big modern bikes? Not for Mark Williams

Truth be told, during what passed for summer this year I haven’t ridden as much as I’d planned to and I guess that like many of us old buggers, that was down to health issues. Worst of all was a literally crippling bout of sciatica in the early spring, which was immediately followed by a nasty and enduring lung infection, so it wasn’t really until late August that I finally managed to put in some miles on my K75/S, the VT500 Ascot having at least been used for some pootling around country lanes on the odd sunny afternoon.

Now the Beemer, despite its manufacturer’s marketing men’s efforts to imply otherwise, was never really a sports bike but, as my combined 20-year tenure of two different examples attests, it remains a great all-rounder. Yes, when Yamaha’s current MT07 weighs in at just 403lb and Ducati’s Scrambler is 412lb, at 518lb it's quite heavy for a 750 and I’m finding it increasingly onerous to haul onto its centre stand, but once underway it’s a well-balanced old thing which responds well to handlebar and foot-peg steering and indeed applied body-language.

It's also fully capable of sustained, comfortable cruising at 70–80mph and thanks to 50lb ft of heft at 6750rpm – max output is 75bhp at 8500rpm – and a slick transmission, entirely amenable to 90-110mph bursts when occasion demands. And on the lamentably few decent road trips I’ve done this year, occasion didn’t demand it often enough: not because I was afraid to drop into fourth and wrench open the adrenalin gland, but because the traffic I intended to overtake was going far too slowly.

Even on open, relatively low-trafficked A-roads, clutches of cars traveling at a steady 50mph nowadays seem to be the norm, which are easily dispatched with a quick twist of the wrist.. But what irked me most along a 130-mile return journey along roads I love and know well, was that bevies of bikers were seemingly happy to bimble along at 60mph when open expanses of tarmac begged to be traversed at significantly higher velocities. Decades ago I once joked in my Bike magazine column that yes, travelling by road was a dangerous business, so best spend as little time as possible doing so and therefore it made sense to ride as fast as possible getting from A to B, but in these wokery-blighted times even a jokey contention like that would draw much tut-tuttery even in a mainstream bike magazine.

And yet in what few mainstream mags that remain, we’re being exhorted to spend 16, 17 and upwards to 20 thousand quid – or indeed more – on machines that are easily capable of doubling

the motorway speed limit, and then in terms of crash bars, metal luggage containers and running lights a further few grand on the gee-gaws that make them heavier, fatter and more illuminated. And if that isn’t enough, engine management computers take the doubt out of traction control, braking, lean angle throttling and judging road surfaces which not too long ago we used our brains and our experience to accomplish instead. That was exactly what made biking the exhilarating experience that it was… and still just about can be.

So confidently swishing past these huddles of R1250s, V4Ss and Super Dukes – to name but a few guilty parties –on my 29-year-old Beemer which yes, does possess (crudely mechanical) ABS, seems almost absurd and not a little sad. OK, I’ve never had the balls to pull in at a filling station or caff where these expensively hatted, suited and booted would-be road warriors refreshed themselves and asked what on earth they weren’t playing at, but I can just about imagine one answer might be, “We’re enjoying the scenery.” Which is all well and good, but if you merely want to enjoy the scenery in the company of the Toyotas and Volvos you seem unwilling to overtake as a matter of caution, then get yourself a Husqvarna Svartpilen or an Enfield Himalayan for five-and-a-half grand.

Or in my case open the garage doors to a 40-year-old Honda Ascot and ride up and over the hills to a nice country pub.

The BMF Photo Comp

W IN a year's FREE BMF membership

The best thing about our Photo Comp is that we never know what’s going to turn up, and this one was no exception.

We’ve got a Goldwing Wedding, the wilds of Scotland, first big bikes and yoga in the Alps. Apologies to those we didn’t have room for this time but do keep sending in your favourite bike-related snaps – we’ve got another Photo Comp in the next issue of Motorcycle RIDER (that’s Spring 2025) and as always the winner receives a year’s free membership of the BMF.

As ever, the subject can be anything motorcycle-related, from rugged road & scenery to your local bike night. And although the bike’s the star, we do like people as well.

The winner of the Sprint ’25 Photo Comp, plus the best of the runners -up, will be printed in the next issue of Motorcycle RIDER.

Thanks and good luck!

Send your photos to: editor@bmf.co.uk

✶ WINNER ✶

Left: Lisa Pawsey had (as you might have guessed) just ridden the Dawn to Dusk Enduro when this was taken by Julia Hayes. We’ll have the full story in the next issue of Motorcycle RIDER.

Above: This Versys is Lewis Halfpenny’s first big bike after passing his test. “Great performance and the ability to go off the beaten track if needed, also perfect two-up.”

Below: Nicholas bagged a Platinum award in this year’s National Road Rally – here’s his Deauville en route, heading for Lynton, North Devon

Right: We mentioned a Goldwing Wedding... and here it is – Clive and Kay ParkerHinder in April 1995. A short honeymoon in Cairo, then straight to the Isle of Wight for the Goldwing Treffen.

Left: “Some lovely roads around here with fabulous open views” is Niels Reynolds’ verdict on the attractions around Birling Gap, East Dean and Beachy Head. Bike is his R1200RS.

Left: There’s nothing Chris Waters likes better than taking his Fantic Caballero Rally 500 down to the local trials park in Birstall, West Yorkshire.

Left: Justin Carter rode his clearly welltravelled Tiger 800 to the Isle of Mull –makes you want to be there, doesn’t it?

Right: Neil Bagly’s very pleased with his Triumph 400 Scrambler, two months in.

Below: Being on the road doesn’t stop Kate Harrington from doing her daily yoga practice. Transalp was bought new in May, seen here on a 4550-mile trip through Europe.

Travellers’ Tales

the latest book from SAM MANiCOM offers 20 motorcycle travellers’ tales – here’s a very small selection

Carl Parker – China – Honda AX-1

I set off in the summer of 2004 into the mountains of western Sichuan and Tibet, following a bunch of questionable map books and an old GPS. It’s impossible to describe the mountains that are only a few hours west of Chengdu, except that within half a day of riding, I was at a 14,750-foot pass called BalangShan Pass. Beyond that pass stretched the rest of the Tibetan plateau, a nearly 1500-mile long (as the crow flies) stretch of the world’s highest and most barren mountains, a promised land of untold beauty and adventure.

It's hard to describe the diversity of landscapes around the Tibetan plateau. Atop the plateau much of the land is hostile, cold, dry and barren. This starkly beautiful area is a high-altitude desert with little human development and demands respect. Snowstorms at the high passes in the summer are not uncommon and you can see roads that snake up the valleys to the tops of hard grey, sharp, snow-capped peaks from miles away. Life down in the lush rolling green grasslands of the valleys could be totally different. There can be a 20- or 30-degrees F difference in temperature, and dotted through the

valleys are small hamlets and monasteries.

It was a rainy afternoon on the plateau and the iron-red clay had caked nicely into my tyres, which made riding the twisty dirt ‘roads’ a slow affair. A gap in the clouds gave me a moment of respite – it was a good moment to grab a stick and clear some mud from the treads and fenders. A few moments later, a local motorcycle came thumping down the road with two people on it.

Many of the towns or villages in what we’d call the middle of nowhere are serviced by motorcycle taxis. They make a lot of sense on many levels because buses or vans may not run very frequently, and bikes are often less sensitive to road conditions or closings from the many landslides which occur whenever it rains.

The two Tibetan riders stopped to check me out and see if I was okay. They wore clothes commonly available to men in China, which many of us would consider unsuitable for the lifestyles they had. In total contrast to me with my riding gear, the men were dressed in smart clothing. They wore pants that were shades of dark grey. One of them wore a simple white shirt and grey jacket, whilst the other wore a trendy-looking leather jacket with a fur collar. Over the top of his dark red polo

Left: Maria Schumaker and Aidan tackled the Himalayas on Indian-made Pulsars

Right: At 64, Chris Donaldson completed the ride he attempted 40 years ago (on the same Guzzi Le Mans)

Below: Gearbox problems in Nepal (Simon Roberts)

neck shirt, he had a string of white and red beads which dropped almost as far as his stomach. Considering the tough environment and general quality of the clothes, I couldn’t imagine anything they wore lasted very long, but they, though a little mud-splattered, looked sharp – and that seemed to be the point.

I communicated through broken Chinese that I was fine but would be looking for a place to stay soon. Without hesitation, they motioned for me to follow them. Since there was no better plan in place, I decided to go along...

Chris Donaldson

– Moto Guzzi Le Mans – India

I sometimes wondered why I decided to make the journey. With the cost, the risk, the discomfort. At 64 years old, trying to act like a youngster. I didn’t make it to Australia 40 years ago when I had youth on my side. How could I make it now? Every leg got harder as I travelled further away from home. The bike and my back were worse for wear and tear and, at times, tears with each mile.

One day I got caught in monsoon rain in the middle of nowhere. And when it rains in India, it’s no joke. It’s like standing under God’s power shower. He didn’t spare the electric, with the warm water turned to full pulse setting. My bike’s ancient wiring loom couldn’t cope with the rain, and it spluttered and coughed like a dopesmoking donkey. Italian electrics aren’t tremendous when they are new, let alone after 45 years of DIY repairs with duct tape and solder.

....But it was the traffic that really got me down... In India, it’s expected that every car will pull out, and each blind corner will reveal a truck on the wrong side of the road. It seemed that every road user was crazy, or rather psychopathic. It wasn’t so much that the trucks and cars might pull out. It was more that they definitely would – with malice. I imagined I was in a computer

game where you run down a road while being shot at or blown up. The game ends with your death, every time. It’s just a matter of when. With a near-miss every mile, my eyes never stopped searching for attackers. A friend in Pakistan had warned me that in Pakistan there are rules of the road, most of which they choose to ignore. But in India, there are no rules: anything goes.

One day, I saw a motorcycle driving towards me on the wrong side of the dual carriageway. I flashed my lights, hoping he would realise his error. But no. He waved and pulled a wheely, missing me by inches. A few days earlier, an ice cream vending rickshaw going the wrong way on a one-way street hit my pannier, knocking it off and sending it barrelling down the street. The only thing that prevented my bike from skidding down the road as well was the box’s quick release mechanism.

The heat drained my energy, and my head was about to explode in my black AGV helmet. I couldn’t drink enough fluids. It was like trying to fill a leaky bucket, I drank three litres of water each break. But I sweated like crazy, and it all evaporated into

nothing in the 40-degree air as I rode. After half an hour in the heat, my concentration would wander and I would drift across the road, which was obviously not a good thing. When I stepped off the bike, my head was dizzy as my brain tried to cope with the dehydration...But, well off the beaten track, this was the India I have come for: sleepy little villages, folk in traditional dress, but less goddamned traffic.

Maria Schumaker – Pulsar 220s – Himalayas

An Enfield is my dream, but Aidan’s research showed that they are heavy, unwieldy and less common; repairs would be more of a challenge. These are the days before the Enfield Himalayan, and the small KTM Duke is only just entering the market. So, it is a choice of Hero Honda or Bajaj, and of them, the Pulsar 220 is the biggest and fastest available. Most importantly, anyone should be able to fix it anywhere; we are travelling light and won’t be carrying tools and spare parts. There are mechanics at every corner, and these being temporary bikes that we'll be selling at the end of the six months, we wouldn’t mind too much if they were being butchered by some rough grease monkey with inadequate tools.

...Aidan freewheels down the other side until his engine catches its breath and we are flying towards the valley. Soon, the frozen river in the gorge below becomes a gargling stream and our limbs thaw out, too. White stupas and yellow aspen along the valley floor are in stark contrast to the dark teal and maroon red mountain sides. My dizziness disappears and I am beginning to feel a lot better. Small villages pop up next to the milky turquoise river. People with scarves blowing in the wind are going about their daily business; dried cow dung for cooking fires is piled up next to the small houses, and donkeys graze by the roadside. Between here and Leh, neatly organised army camps fill the gaps between villages. They have tamed the dramatic landscape, but what’s missing in natural beauty is made up for by warning signs like “I’m curvaceous, go slow!” and “Don’t gossip, let him drive!” Thus entertained, we soon reach the town of Leh.

Sherri Jo Wilkins – The Old Road of Bones, Russia

Incident in Mongolia (Paul Stewart)

Most of the tourist stuff is closed for the season. People wrapped in warm clothes, cheeks red from the frosty wind, are going about their daily lives, spinning the many prayer drums as they walk past them. We find a guest house with safe parking for the bikes and join the few out-of-season backpackers in the only open restaurant with Wi-Fi. Word is going around that the snows are imminent, and everyone is making plans to leave, to avoid getting snowed in.

Before we can escape, our bikes need some attention. I noticed leaking fork seals, so the next day we head to the mechanics’ area at the edge of town and pick a small workshop littered with used

parts and a black oil-soaked dirt floor. The men lay their tools out with care and work methodically. They clean the bike, change the fork seals, top up the tyre pressures and tighten the chain. The mechanic has a good ear and isn’t satisfied with the sound of the engine. He orders an oil change and to our horror less than a teacup of old oil comes out! I had topped it up only a few days ago, but the black spark plug betrays the bike’s oil consumption. The mechanic also gives Aidan’s bike a once-over and welds the side stand back on. He’s clearly appalled at the sorry state of our bikes, and we’re beginning to realise that the service intervals for these Pulsars are a lot shorter than we are used to from our BMWs. We spend the rest of the afternoon exploring town and find a small chain of prayer flags to tie between the bikes’ mirrors. Serviced and their luck secured, our steeds are ready to tackle the mountain roads.

coddiwomplers.com

The Moment Collectors

All of these extracts are taken from Sam Manicom’s latest book – The Moment Collectors Asia. The cover blurb describes it is ‘Twenty Travellers’ Tales from the most diverse continent on Earth.’ And that’s exactly what it is – 20 mini-books of about at least 6000 words apiece, from a wide variety of riders exploring the disparate continent of Asia, from Mongolia to Indochina. And on a very differing selection of bikes of course. As with the previous volume of Moment Collectors, this one includes some good writing and fine travellers’ tales, covering the highs as well as the lows of overlanding.

Price: £14.99. Order From: www.sam-manicom.com/shop

Far left: Jacqui Furneaux, also Enfield-mounted (Gordon May) Left: Street scene, SE Asia

Is this the future? Zero SR/S at public chargepoint

Decarb at a Crossroads?

At the time of writing, government policy is planning to end new petrol and diesel car/van sales in 2035 – 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in Great Britain will have to be zero emission by 2030, increasing to 100% by 2035. This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government. The current Government have indicated that they wish to pull the timetable forward to 2030, instead of 2035, with interim targets to match.

The BMF’s position is as follows. 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.

Could Hydrogen Work?

Fuelling up – but we won’t be doing it like this forever

There are significant gaps between these positions. The BMF’s policy remains unchanged, while governments change and shift stated policy as they see fit, often for short-term political advantage. Which is not an ideal path to follow regarding such a major shift in society and transport policy.

The entire focus of government policy is on EVs, battery electric vehicles being seen as the only way forward, apparently.

Much as the BMF supports Hydrogen and green fuels for ICE vehicles, both are niche tech, as they have been for years.

Hydrogen has been a potential power source, in a similar way to nuclear fusion, with a practical application that is always at some distance away. The recent prototypes by Kawasaki, tested at Suzuka, elicited the following comment from Visor Down's Alex Whitworth on 22nd July 2024:

“First shown at a conference in Japan last year, the hydrogen bike...is based on the Ninja H2 SX supercharged sports tourer and was demonstrated for the first time in motion at Suzuka last weekend.

“The most obvious thing about the bike is its size, because this thing rivals pretty much anything else on two wheels for sheer scale of being. Most of the size is there to create space for, you guessed it, fuel. Hydrogen, being fairly undense, requires quite a lot more storage space than, say, an equivalent amount of petrol. And for that, you get less energy efficiency, meaning you add all the storage and get less far. It's not a great equation, and the presence of Kawasaki's prototype shows it pretty starkly.

“Now, of course, this is just a prototype, and therefore there is the caveat that continued development could see an improvement in efficiency and therefore, potentially, a decrease in the amount of storage space for the fuel and a resultant reduction in the size of the motorcycle. But burning hydrogen is hardly new, and despite Toyota's large enthusiasm even car manufacturers can't yet find the practicality in burning hydrogen to get from lights-toflag, or from your front door to the shop.”

Or E-Fuels?

How about other fuels for ICE engines? Here’s an article from The Guardian (Jasper Jolly, 5th May 2023) about the small-scale production of e-fuels in Bicester.

“E-fuels are likely to find a small niche at most, experts predict. In their way stand fundamental constraints of physics, which would require even more green energy. They are made in stages: first by splitting water using electricity to create hydrogen, and then combining it with carbon from CO2 in a process that requires high pressure and a catalyst. Every stage wastes some energy, and all the electricity used must be zero-carbon.

“One big problem with the e-fuel dream is actually finding the stuff. There are no plants producing it at scale in the world. Nevertheless, some companies have spotted an opportunity.

“Zero Petroleum, which will produce e-fuels on a small scale at its Bicester test factory, was founded by Nilay Shah, a professor of process systems engineering at Imperial College London, with Paddy Lowe, a former technical director at the Formula One teams McLaren and Mercedes, and ex-chief technical officer at Williams.

“The test site will only produce 30 litres a day; Zero Petroleum is fundraising for a commercial scale factory that could make thousands of litres. Shah said: ‘I wouldn't say for your everyday, for your private, light vehicle, it makes sense for them to use e-fuels. We didn't see the primary purpose of e-fuels being small or light goods vehicles.'”

The obvious point is that e-fuels are going to be expensive – any time the

Above: We’ve all lived with fossil fuels for so long, but times are changing

Left: Hydrogen comes in different colours, according to production method – unfortunately they all need a lot of energy to produce it

Above: Kawasaki has launched a petrol/electric 450cc hybrid

Below: Hydrogen-fuelled Kawasaki prototype works, but is a tad bulky and tricky to refuel

military are cited as potential customers (the RAF was an early buyer), and with production measured in litres, it’s likely to cost.

Biofuels? While these may be carbon-neutral, or even carbon negative, they are commonly regarded as using resources which could be used for growing food crops, either for animals, or especially for humans. They are already used in ICE engines, as any rider will know.

EV Drawbacks

Which takes us back to EVs, where the only real option – with zero tail pipe emissions and zero carbon impact – is battery electric with power from renewables. The battery electric problem areas are well known to many of us, by either anecdote or direct experience – what follows isn’t exhaustive.

Suitability: If travelling less than 40 miles away from home and recharging at home every night, then fine – that’s the ideal EV user profile, on two or four wheels.

Residual value: EVs currently depreciate like the proverbial falling brick, as early adopter EVs have been coming off their fixed finance deals and then have to be disposed of.

Car firms will still be forced to meet strict quotas for selling electric cars despite the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles being delayed. From January this year just over a fifth of vehicles sold must be electric, with the target expected to hit 80% by 2030. The previous government confirmed that these interim targets would remain even though Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the petrol and diesel ban would be moved to 2035. Firms that fail to hit the quotas could be fined £15,000 per car.

Industry insiders said the quotas would be a "stretch" for manufacturers to achieve, adding the delayed ban could make it harder to sell electric cars, while Auto Trader suggested firms might cut prices to boost sales and meet targets. What appears to have happened is that dealers have been registering new EVs which have then ‘disappeared,’ only to reappear as used with one keeper, often a year later, with delivery mileage only. The problem is that this devalues new prices, particularly as the ‘used’ EVs still don’t sell.

Electric Motorcycles

So where does all this leave electric motorcycles? Bike Social published this market review in Summer 2024.

“Government had hoped to end the sale of ICE bikes under 125cc by 2030 (or sooner) and larger ones by 2035, but both those dates now seem ridiculously ambitious, given the lack of progress in the electric motorcycle market since 2022. Feedback on the 2022 consultation was supposed to be released within months, but two years on from its announcement the official line is still: “We are continuing to analyse the feedback we have received.”

“Back in the real world there’s been a distinct step back from electrification plans from some manufacturers, particularly when it comes to larger, longer-range bikes. While several major manufacturers including Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki have pledged to launch more electric motorcycles during 2024, as will newcomers to the market like Can-Am, we’ve yet to see any sign of a credible large, high-performance electric bike under development that might be able to create a ‘Tesla’ moment in the industry and skew opinions towards EVs.”

The only real growth area has been small urban electric bikes, there’s no doubt that the top sellers are all in the moped and 125cc replacement market (see box).

Dover to Edinburgh by EV

On a closing note, a BMF member recently made a road trip from Kent to Edinburgh in the family EV car, which illustrates the hurdles owners face.

“Often in our experience chargers which are shown to be fully functioning and ‘available’ are in fact ‘outof-order’ when you arrive at them. And this is often not apparent until you have stopped, parked up, plugged your car into the public charger and then nothing happens; apart from a £40 deposit being taken from your bank account (despite the charger being out of order) which will

then take up to a week to be credited back to your bank account.

“Having struggled for over half an hour with one charger in Edinburgh city centre which wouldn’t charge, I rang the charging provider, only to be told that the charger I was plugged into had in fact not been working for several days. Yet it was still switched on, and registered on various apps as being ‘available,’ with no

fault warnings on the charger screen. Even after the provider had released our vehicle from the broken charger with a promise to refund our £120 deposit (we had tried to connect the charger three times) it was apparent that the broken charger remained ‘live,’ ready for the next unsuspecting motorist.

“There were other issues with this journey. In an ICE car it would take around nine hours, with the EV it took over five hours longer. There remains a great deal of work to be done if we’re all going to be persuaded to switch to battery electric. In an open market, outside the urban, charge at home, short range users, what incentives are there to do so?”

E LECTRIC TOP S ELLERS

Make Model 2023 full year registrations

SUR-RON Ultra Bee 349

VMOTO CPA 274

SUR-RON Light Bee 262

MAEVING RM1 209

VMOTO CUX 196

VMOTO TCM 129

PIAGGIO Piaggio One 96

YADEA G5S 94

TALARIA Sting 77

SCUTUM SEAT MO 125 74

Data from MCIA via Bike Social Market review Summer 2024

N EW E VENT on the BMF Calendar!

When? July 12th 2025

CONNECTED CONNECTED CONNECTED

Where? Mallory Park Racing Circuit, Kirkby Mallory, Leicestershire

As we go to print we are currently busy working on a brand-new event in the BMF’s calendar. BMF CONNECTED will showcase the BMF – our aims, goals, partners and our future working for the riding community.

We are planning a full and varied day of displays, talks, demos, workshops, have-a-go sessions, manufacturer test rides, lots of traders, information stands and charities.

BMF CONNECTED will be a family friendly, informative, fun event with lots to see and do. Whether you’re a rider or want to be one, there will be lots for you to enjoy on the day. This first BMF CONNECTED will be a single-day event, and we’ll look to build on this in the future

• Live music Saturday afternoon/evening, full range of styles

• Refreshments throughout the day

• Lots of camping space, including caravans – plus quiet camping area

For more information on what’s on, and how to get your early bird tickets go to: www.britishmotorcyclists.co.uk/events

Tickets on sale NOW!

Above: Fuel cell bikes are being worked on – but they still need hydrogen

All photos: Philip Magowan/Double Red

Riposte TT

In our last issue, Motorcycle RIDER columnist Mark Williams suggested that time was up for the TT – not everyone agreed...

Family Connection – Howard Anderson

I have been a follower of road racing and also the writing of Mark Williams for a very long time, in fact from the first edition of Bike magazine, but I have to say I disagree with his thoughts in his recent column in Motorcycle RIDER

I have never really been to the TT or Manx GP as a spectator so am unaware of the current spectator mentality but I hope he is wrong in this case. I was part of a team with a rider who unfortunately lost his life during early morning practice in 2000 –Raymond Hanna had taken part in the Manx and then TT from the early 1980s, he was also in his 33rd season as a racer and coming from Northern Ireland was well aware of the risks involved in the sport, but he lived for that sport.

I did not return to the Island for ten years, but continued at home as a FIM qualified Technical Steward attending all short circuits and Road Races. In 2010 my son Shaun decided to race the Manx, so I was there as mechanic. He stood on the podium in the Newcomers, the lure of the Mountain had caught him and the rest as they say is history. This year at the Manx GP he achieved his goal of standing on the top step of the podium in the Classic Senior, having bettered John McGuinness by a mere 0.163 seconds!

As stated earlier I have never been a casual spectator, but I hope no one attends races on the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland or anywhere else hoping to see riders hurt or killed. Knowing how much investigation goes on when a serious incident occurs, the personnel involved take great satisfaction in seeing all competitors leave as they arrived.

While I have no doubt that the Isle of Man events are a good source of income for their economy, I also believe they are trying their best to protect the motorcycling spectators from themselves with the introduction of island-wide speed limits during the festivals. I was there in the ‘80s on my RD400 when only the towns and villages had anything resembling a speed limit and along with ‘Mad Sunday’ a number who went primarily to watch ended up as an RTC statistic.

On the subject of motorcycle sales I don’t believe the TT has the influence it once had, with sports machines no longer selling in large numbers. Finally, thankfully this year the TT had no fatalities and as long as the greatest challenge to man and motorcycle remain I hope those competitors that wish to take that challenge can continue to do so for many years to come. So Mark, on this subject I can’t agree with your take on it!

Danger Understood – Mark Ellott

Mark Williams claims that the TT is too dangerous to continue. While this may be his opinion, it is just that, his opinion, and it is not one shared by those who compete and spectate. And while he is entitled to express that opinion, I am disappointed that he engaged in such sophistry to make his case.

While the birch continued in the Isle of Man until the late 1970s and was finally repealed in the ‘90s, it has no bearing whatsoever on the subject under discussion. It is, frankly, a cheap shot as it attempts to portray the Manx people and their government as somehow barbaric. This is patently untrue. Likewise, the snide swipe at the government’s taxation status (good for them, we should do likewise) is intended to display them as callously putting profit before lives – again, there is no truth in this allusion.

In the same vein, his suggestion that those who travel to the event do so because of some vicarious enjoyment of the possible deaths that might result is also untrue and a downright disgraceful insult. He claims that we slow down to look at road accidents as if this, somehow, is also relevant to the discussion. He might, I don’t and again, it has no relevance.

All sport carries a degree of risk, and motor sport more than most. That it is dangerous is fully understood by everyone who takes part and spectates, and everyone accepts the risk. It is not for Mr Williams to decide on their behalf what risks they choose to take. He doesn’t like it, fair enough, but no one is forcing him to take part or spectate. Therefore, there is no problem that should concern him. There is no reason for the ACU to ban this or any other of the road racing events that take place on the Isle of Man or in Ireland.

His argument that because it is dangerous, it should be banned is an old argument every motorcyclist is familiar with, for we hear it with tedious regularity. With friends like Mr Williams, we do not need enemies.

Personal Choice – Colin Atkinson

I was really surprised to read the article on banning the TT by Mark Williams – no one is forced to race there and most have to find a considerable amount of money to do so. He seems to be using the argument that it is for the riders’ own good that it should be banned as they are not capable of making such a decision themselves. This is exactly the same argument used by those who wish to ban all motorcycles, not only on race tracks but roads as well.

When I first became interested in motorcycles in the late 1950s articles like this regularly appeared in tabloid newspapers each year at TT time, usually followed throughout the summer by more anti-motorcycle articles with regular calls to have them banned. This was why, aged 17 in 1965, when I could afford my first proper motorcycle I straight away joined the BMF (FNOMCC in those days) as I could see the danger to our future freedom on the horizon.

Good laws are drafted to protect innocent people from harm caused intentionally and wilfully by others. Laws banning people from doing things in order to supposedly protect them from themselves are not only bad but self-indulgent for those who propose them just because they do not like what is being done.

Everyone has thoughts on things (not just sports) that they would prefer others would not do but if they were all banned

then life would surely be unbearable. We are horrified how restricted lives are in some countries, and yet some seem willing to sacrifice the rights of others in the UK. We should be grateful for the freedoms we have and strive to hang on to them, not push for more restrictions on life just because we personally dislike something that others are doing.

Mark quotes Agostini as saying he would never return to the TT. That was true back then, but he now makes regular visits and is on record as saying what a great event it is. Phil Read did the same. People can change their minds and in both cases the racers’ original motivation was to get the TT taken out of the GP Championship, as it was such a different sort of race to track events.

Dangerous sports, and there are many, have always existed and people will always want to challenge themselves by taking part. The trick is in allowing them to do so legally while making things as safe as possible under the circumstances without destroying the challenge.

It’s Not the Money – Sir Robert Goff

The IOM Government subsidises the TT/ MGP at a cost of maybe £1m pa after allowing for indirect gains. It is very hard to ascribe a true value to the TT, as the Island’s heritage is so tied up with road racing — but cash up front, the IOM government does not “profit hugely.”

I’m sure Mark Williams’ point that the TT helps the motorcycle business is valid — a lot of people follow the TT.

The Island, despite Mark’s comment, does not really see itself as a tax haven. As a contented IOM resident, I’m not a UK national. “wanting to avoid tax,” but I often wonder why the UK exports so many of its most successful citizens. That ‘fault’ can hardly be blamed on the Island!

I for one get distressed about (mostly) young men dying at the TT, either racing or on holiday in the Island. But ban the TT? Where is the freedom in that? Why not have a spirit of tolerance,

let others do as they see best. You have no need to watch if you don’t like it, but why spoil this event for other people. While riders want to take the risk of racing, and have this excitement, why stop them?

Despite my disagreement with Mark’s opinion, I’m so glad that he can express himself with freedom — is this not the basic asset in a free society?

Williams Responds...

We asked Mark Williams to comment on the comments As Mr Ellott notes, my opinions on the TT were just that, personal opinions which summarised why I don’t want to attend it. But the reasons for that were not as Mr Atkinson presumed, because I thought that the competitors should know better, even for their own good.

However with hindsight I can now see that by stating that I myself didn’t want to witness the almost inevitable bloodletting, I implied that some people go to the island partly or even precisely for that reason, an implication I sort-of justified by noting that we all slow down and rubberneck when travelling past a motorway accident… or in the case of many Spaniards, attend a bullfight.

I also referred to the financial benefits that the steadily diminishing motorcycle trade and the Manx government and its citizens derive from the racing, admittedly without knowing the true figures, which Sir Robert Goff doesn’t either, but I know for sure that for certain canny businessmen, including a dear friend of mine, the island is something of a tax haven. However, my original column probably won’t make the slightest difference to the racing’s appeal, as further evidenced by a sometime girlfriend of mine and her pals who go there every year despite my heated griping!

Take the Blue Riband

DVSA to Advanced – My Story

took the BMF Blue Riband to advance her riding skills

Ipassed my full DVSA motorcycle test in 2022 after being a lifelong pillion but wanting to be at the front end. Then a few months later, I was unexpectedly impressed by a trials rider who appeared head on, between the trees of a raised roundabout. If only I had the skills to do such a (mad) thing. The roundabout jumper landed perfectly to my right and rode off.

After passing my test I had a Honda 125, quickly followed by Royal Enfield Meteor 350 and about nine months of arguing with my husband Richard about the best, next bike to have. He finally gave in, and a 223kg birthday present arrived in May 2024., a Triumph Scrambler 900.

Good Training

A training day with Ian Speight, (www.ianspeight-training.co.uk) was part of the present. Ian has an instantly friendly manner that makes getting down to the business of training enjoyable. With only two years of post-test experience I couldn't always match gears and speed to some situations and would lose confidence. Despite lots of riding, improvements were slow and I wondered how to keep my enthusiasm and even whether to keep my bike –yes, even that!

Ian assessed our abilities during some short, varied rides through pretty villages, sweeping Yorkshire roads and meandering, hazard-filled lanes. He made it clear where I could improve but it was only whilst riding and receiving instruction via blue tooth comms that I seemed able to put it into practice.

But I did feel the benefits at that first training session and

booked four more sessions with Ian, which resulted in me passing the DVSA approved Enhanced Rider Scheme.

I decided to continue to a higher level of advanced riding, and Ian’s encouragement was all I needed to book an advanced test. One of his many roles is that of the National Lead for the BMF Blue Riband Advanced Rider Award, and so it seemed the natural thing to take that one.

After a short warm up training session with Ian, we met up with BMF Examiner Ian (Alf) Garnet. Alf took everything about me, including my left/right trouble, and medium apprehension, in his stride. He was as calming and clearly spoken as Ian.

After an hour of twisting around narrow lanes, buzzing down a motorway, pacing through York, flitting round villages and enjoying wide quiet roads, it was done.

I aimed for Gold but knew a Silver was realistic, and that’s what I got.

I now have a new lease of biking life, with the tools to tackle any situation on a fabulous bike. To be safer and able to demonstrate consideration and skill is the icing on my Scrambler birthday cake. Further training with experts like Ian and Alf is my plan for the future.

Contacts

Blue Riband Rider Award: Ian Speight Advanced Rider Training www.ianspeight-training.co.uk www.britishmotorcyclists.co.uk/bmf-blue-riband-rider-award

Far left: Kate with instructor

Ian Speight

Blue Riband Left:Result! Silver Award, with eyes on more advanced training

ECO B IKE: CCM GP450

A slightly left-field Eco-Bike, says CCM owner PAUl

DilkS

Ifirst heard about the CCM GP450 in 2015, had an enjoyable test ride the following year at the BMF/MCN Peterborough show, and later travelled up to the Bolton factory for another test ride, and to order one. It cost £10,650 and I collected it in March 2017.

After completing the first 1000 miles in a couple of weeks I took the bike back to CCM for its initial service. The only issue was that the performance exhaust I asked for (a Lextek SP8 Carbon) was directed straight at the back of the indicator, melting it! CCM replaced the indicator and repositioned it out of the exhaust’s line of fire.

Back at home, I spent a few days adjusting the front and rear suspension and have left them on those settings ever since, using the rear shock’s remote pre-load adjuster to allow for riding with camping gear. The screen took a few hours to set up – you need three hands – but once set it has remained in position, providing controlled airflow over and around my crash helmet.

The upright riding position is all-day comfortable, with the bike’s light weight and long travel suspension allied to a short

stroke detuned (40bhp) engine making it great fun on twisty back roads. With 20 litres of fuel split between a 10-litre underseat tank and two (one each side) five-litre tanks it is possible to cover 200 miles before the low fuel light comes on, indicating about three litres of fuel left. A few minor foibles include the fuel filler being at the rear of the seat and the slow siphon of fuel from the

Above: Aiming to keep it another 10 years – Paul and the CCM

Left: Slim, tall CCM is the adventure bike personified

underseat tank to the two side tanks, so filling up is slower than usual. The headlight main beam is not very effective, but this has been improved by fitting two LED spotlights. Instrumentation is minimal, with no coolant temperature gauge, or warning lights for oil pressure or battery charge.

Touring Spain, France and Belgium .

In 2018 I took the bike to Spain and Portugal to tour battlefield sites of the Napoleonic Wars. I ignored my military training and left packing the bike until the night before leaving, so on the first night, camping in Spain, was sat in my tent with five torches and no lighter for the gas stove!

As for the bike, all went well on the twisty and well-maintained back roads until I got to a hillfort near Torres Vedras, when it cut out. The stator windings had failed, but RAC European recovery arranged a local breakdown truck, and the driver got me to a Polaris dealership nearby. The stator was rewound locally and refitted (CCM also sent down a new stator under warranty) and I continued the trip with the spare stator in my saddlebag.

After visiting the battlefields, I travelled up through France to Waterloo in Belgium and spent my last night at Ypres to attend the Last Post Service at the Menin Gate before catching the ferry home. Nearly five weeks and 4000 miles, and that stator was the only failure, though I also made a couple of oil changes.

I like my tours, and the following year took an MCI four-day trip to Normandy and the D Day beaches, staying in Normandy afterwards to visit the museums and Commonwealth War Graves, before heading inland to the Falaise Gap. Then it was D roads to Verdun, enjoying the CCM’s handling on the quieter back routes. The bike performed flawlessly over three weeks/2500 miles, and I met other CCM 450 owners at the ABR Festival, listening to a presentation from two of the military team who rode these bikes from Alaska to Terra del Fuego.

Mine has continued to perform well up to the present day, only requiring routine servicing and a few replacement parts including an indicator relay, brake light switch, head bearings and another stator rewind in 2024. Whilst engine spares are still plentiful, I am thinking of buying a second-hand bike (around £4500) to put in the garage to ensure bodywork and running gear are available to keep my bike on the road for the next 7 to 10 years! I may be forced onto an electric device after that.

Left: It’s done some long-distance camping trips – this is day nine in the Dolomites

Above: Campsite near Falaise – Paul likes to travel light

Eco Scores

1.

Fuel Consumption: 7/10

(Target: 80mpg @ 70mph)

The best I can get is about 50 mpg. I blame the close-ratio gearbox which is undergeared at higher road speeds (70mph+) even after changing the rear sprocket from 48 to 45 teeth. The 20 litres of fuel in the three tanks can get me to between 170 and 200 miles before the reserve light comes on (3 litres left). The bike prefers E5 but will work with E10, though the performance difference is clear!

2. Oil Consumption: 9/10

(Target: 2000 miles/litre)

I have occasionally topped-up the oil level between (frequent) oil changes, although this may be caused by the oil breather exiting from the top of the gearbox into the air intake where the oil mist settles out and exits onto the top of the engine. The solution is to reposition the breather at the top of the engine on the timing cover, limiting the oil mist drawn into the air intake.

3. Oil Changes: 9/10

(Target: 1000 miles/litre equiv.)

As a detuned enduro engine the oil capacity is only 1.4 litres, so I normally change the oil (less than a litre without the filter change) around every 1600 miles. This is aided by a Stalbhus oil change valve (ball bearing and spring) with a bayonet fitting and tube to achieve a quick and clean oil change. An oil filter change, oil screen and air filter clean are needed every 5000 miles.

4. Tyre Life: 6/10 (Target: 10,000 miles front, 25,000 rear)

The front Hidenau K60 easily reaches 15,000 miles and I am about to fit my third. The rear K60 will get to 5000 miles but not much more. Sadly, I have yet to find a rear tyre that could get to the Eco-Bike target of 25,000 miles on any of the bikes I have owned.

5. Chain Life: 6/10 (Target: 25,000 miles)

The chain and sprockets last about 14,000 miles lubricated by a Tutoro oiler, running a DID O-ring chain and JT steel sprockets. The gearbox output sprocket is in line with the swing arm front

Left: Instrumentation is a little sparse... Right: New Hidenau K60 a 32,000 miles –generally manage 15,000 each time

pivot point, allowing perfect chain tension throughout the rear suspension travel with an adjustment of between 5 and 10mm of freeplay. No chain guard is fitted.

6. Ancillary Life: 7/10 (Target: 10,000 miles)

No bulbs have needed replacing but I have replaced the rear LED light after a number of LEDs failed. An MOT advisory resulted in the steering head bearings being replaced and I have also replaced the indicator relay and front brake light switch. As I use the bike for some gentle green laning I chose to replace the front and rear wheel bearings after 20,000 miles as a precaution.

7. Engine Life: 7/10 (Target:100,000 miles)

No need to lift the head or open the gearbox yet, and the only weak point is the stator. The rewound stator lasted five years and failed whilst visiting I was visiting my brother in Bristol. Thankfully I had a spare at home and a quick round trip in his car got me back on the road.

8. Max Weight: 10/10 (Target: 180kg)

Fully fuelled, the CCM is claimed to weigh 145kg. I’ve added a tool box (converted silencer) including a small compressor, plus a small Givi top box, tank bag, the chain oiler and spare levers and cables. It’s probably 155kg now, but I can pick it up after a lie down on a green lane, which suits me.

9. Repair and Maintenance: 7/10

(Target: Easy DIY)

As a single-cylinder bike most things should be easy to work on, and the only downside is that access to the air filter, spark plug, and top of the engine require the unbolting and removal of the one or both of the side-mounted fuel tanks. And the swing arm has to be removed to replace the front sprocket.

10. Production Life: 6/10 (Target: 10 years)

Sadly CCM only produced about 430 GP450s between 2014 and 2018, and the 600cc version never made it into production. But

Above: Guardless chains last around 14,000 miles – note gutted silencer for toolkit

Left: Topbox, soft panniers and seat pack hold all the luggage. CCM’s extra tanks allow a 200mile range

the engine (designed by BMW, built by Kymco) has had a longer life – the BMW G450X used the same unit 2007 to 2011 and the Husqvarna TE 449 and 511 2011 to 2014, so you could argue a 10-year production life for the motor.

Verdict: 74%

An interesting exercise highlighting the good and bad over seven years and 30,000 miles. I still enjoy riding the CCM. The light weight, great handling on and off-road, and the fact that it can carry my camping kit or shopping wherever I want. It’s also rare to see someone else on the same bike, so I think I’ve made the right choice.

Tell us about your Eco-Bike

Would you like your bike featured in the Eco-Bike series? It’ll help if you’ve owned it for some time and covered quite a few miles. Just write an article along the same lines as this one, using the same ten criteria and including a bit about what you like and/ or dislike about the machine in question. We will need pictures of the bike (and yourself) in high resolution (at least 1Mb each). And if you have a story to tell but would rather be interviewed than write it yourself, contact us and we’ll sort something out.

Email: editor@bmf co.uk

HOW TO GET STARTED WITH MOTORCYCLE ADAPTATIONS FOR DISABLED RIDERS

If you have a disability or are looking to get back on a motorcycle after an accident that has left you disabled, there are a number of adaptations that can be made to your bike in the 21st century.

Here the team at Bikesure runs you through how you are able to ride a bike, and the steps you will need to take.

The DVLA may ask you to undertake an assessment if they’re unable to provide a definitive answer over the phone.

If they clear you to ride, and you’re yet to obtain a provisional licence, you’ll need to do so.

a third wheel or sidecar, or an adapted trike.

The National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD) will be able to help you with this.

If you want to ride a motorcycle or scooter, you will have to let the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) know of the condition or disability that you have, as they will be able to provide information on whether you are able to ride a bike legally.

If you have the physical ability to ride a standard bike but are concerned about getting back on a bike after an illness or accident, or you have learning difficulties and want to see if you could learn to ride a motorbike or scooter, then you may consider an assessment at a mobility centre.

Some of these centres work with local motorbike schools that will be able to access your individual needs. They will test you off public roads as to whether you are able to complete a Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) test.

NABD have helped thousands of disabled riders since 1991, and the charity is regularly consulted on issues for disabled bikers by the DVLA, Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA), Department for Transport (DfT), Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and the Highways Agency.

They are also able to help give advice for those looking to ride

• Mopeds

• Scooters

If your disability means you’re not able to use and operate a standard bike or scooter, you may still be able to ride an adapted motorcycle or trike.

• Trikes

• Quads

Call Bikesure on 0800 503 3275 for a quote. CAN I RIDE A MOTORCYCLE WITH A DISABILITY?

Speaking to one of their advisors will help to determine if you are medically cleared to either get back on the road, or if you’re able to ride for the first time. If you’re unable to get through to the DVLA due to wait times, you can enquire through your local Mobility Centre.

There are a number of motorbike adaptations available: to reposition the controls, or move the controls to be operated by a different limb, clutchless gear shift, thumb throttle, modified foot plates, drop down stabilisers when stationary,

Don’t forget to consider the cost of motorbike insurance – which is a legal requirement. Bikesure offers bespoke motorcycle insurance at an affordable price.

Motorcycle Theft:

Are the Police Doing Enough?

Motorcycle theft in the UK has become a significant and persistent problem, impacting motorcyclists, the police, and the insurance industry alike. Thefts have surged over the last decade in UK cities, with sub-125cc bikes featuring prominently.

London is a hot spot and Met Police figures supplied by the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) show 4421 thefts in the year to August 2024. West Midlands topped the rest of the regions, with 771 thefts, followed by Avon & Somerset (635), West Yorkshire, Kent and Sussex.

But the good news is that these numbers, although still unacceptable, show an overall decrease compared with previous years – UK-wide figures were 17,188 in the year to August 2023, and 15,832 this year, indicating that efforts of the police, the motorcycle industry and rider organisations to combat theft are starting to yield results.

Case Studies

That said, BMF members remain concerned and continue to report that in many cases the police have not taken any action when a theft has been reported – they’ve been given a crime number and then nothing else happens.

Peter Laidlaw, BMF’s Director of Member Services, had his Honda ANF125 stolen from the locked garage beside his house one night. Despite reporting this to the police the following morning, with CCTV footage of the thieves, the only response was a text advising that they would not be investigating the matter further. After contacting his local MP, Peter did receive a sympathetic letter from the local Chief Inspector, but no further action was ever taken.

Another BMF member, Graham English, had a similar experience but one that left him minus his treasured BMW, £6000 out of pocket and with a distinctly sour taste in his mouth. In 2020 Graham’s bike, which he had previously raced at the TT, was stolen from his sponsor’s showroom. He reported the theft with full details, including VIN numbers, distinctive marks etc, but the police declined to take any further action and closed the case.

Some years later Graham saw his bike for sale on Facebook Market Place – it had been ‘cloned’ but was still recognisable.

Graham alerted the police, and Herts Police requested that Thames Valley visit the ‘seller’ – the officer who did so concluded that the bike was not Graham’s as it had the wrong chassis number!

It was subsequently sold on and in the end Graham was obliged to buy his own bike back for £6000 from the ‘purchaser.’ It appeared that the original seller had bought the bike from the thief. Despite providing the police with a full dossier of what had taken place, and clear evidence to authenticate his original ownership, the police wrote to Graham in June 2024 to advise that following a full case review “no suspects had been identified” and the case would therefore be closed. For good measure, they advised Graham that they “do not have a duty to recover stolen goods in a case where the identification of the goods has not been established”(!)

Beyond the statistics, there are real people involved in what is a complex issue, often involving well-organised crime gangs, while the police are operating with insufficient resources. And the financial and emotional impact of a theft on owners can be very serious. Motorcycles are often more than just a mode of transport—they represent a passion, a lifestyle, and a personal investment. Losing a bike can be devastating, not only because of the monetary value but also personal attachment.

Knock-On Effects

For owners who have suffered a theft, there’s also a knockon impact on insurance premiums. These have been climbing steadily in recent years, with theft one of the primary causes. In high-risk areas like London premiums can be disproportionately high, sometimes pricing motorcyclists out of coverage altogether. In some cases, following a theft, insurers have refused to offer cover at all. The financial burden of replacing a stolen motorcycle, especially if insurance does not cover the full value, has seen some riders stop riding altogether.

Over the last decade, crime gangs have become involved due to the lucrative nature of the trade – motorcycles are generally easier to steal than cars and less likely to be equipped with advanced security systems. Stolen bikes are often either stripped down and sold as parts – often impossible to trace – or shipped

PAUL MORGAN looks at what is being done to combat bike theft

abroad where they are resold at a premium. In some cases, the bikes are even re-registered and sold back into the domestic market with a new cloned identity by fitting the parts to another frame. Motorcycle theft also feeds into other criminal activities, with stolen machines used to commit serious crimes such as robberies or drug trafficking, compounding the problem for law enforcement.

While criminal gangs have moved into bike theft, police numbers have fallen, with significant reductions between 2010 and 2018. Additional budget cuts under government austerity measures have forced the police to prioritise violent crime over property. With fewer officers on the streets and stretched resources, many forces have simply been unable to dedicate the time and manpower needed to tackle the organised gangs behind motorcycle theft.

Joining Forces

February 2024 saw a Fight Motorcycle Theft meeting at City Hall, London, organised by MAG and attended by BMF and NMC representatives. The Metropolitan Police set out their plans to identify, disrupt and arrest bike thieves but conceded that their efforts had been hampered as a result of a lack of resources dedicated to motorcycle theft.

To address these issues, the Government pledged to increase police resources by 20,000 officers. Since 2019 recruitment has increased but there are currently only around 3000 more officers than there were in 2010, and with reduced numbers of support staff, including Special Constables.

But the police are trying to combat theft, with a combination of new initiatives, new technologies and targeted intelligence-

led operations. The Met’s Operation Venice, launched in 2016, established a specialist unit employing a combination of intelligence-led strategies, covert surveillance, and advanced technology to disrupt the gangs, and has seen a reduction in the number of stolen bikes being used in other crimes.

In addition, the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS), a national police unit hosted by Hampshire & Isle of Wight, has brought together policing’s national intelligence capability, Europol, Interpol and Border Force, together with a number of motorcycling organisations to address the flow of stolen vehicles leaving the UK. Targeted action saw a 29% increase in stolen vehicles being identified and intercepted at UK ports in the second quarter of 2024.

The police have also linked up with motorcycle manufacturers, security companies and motorcycle rider groups to promote crime prevention measures. These include fitting advanced security features to new bikes, including immobilizers and keyless ignition systems, as well encouraging motorcyclists to use heavy-duty locks, chains, and alarms, and to fit tracking devices which make stolen bikes easier to recover. Police and rider groups are also working closely with local councils and riders to raise awareness of the risks and to provide practical advice on security and improving local council parking areas.

The BMF is a leading member of the Motorcycle Crime Reduction Group (MCRG), a partnership which includes the insurance and security industries, motorcycle manufacturers and retailers and the police, plus the Home Office. Currently the MCRG is looking at identifying best practice across the best performing police regions and how that expertise might be exported to other areas.

The early signs are that intelligence-led operations, alongside additional police and partner initiatives, are starting to pay off, with the latest figures published by the MCIA showing a 7.9% fall in total thefts, year on year. That’s a substantial improvement since 2017 when theft levels were over 20% higher.

A Challenging Future

But although technology, law enforcement tactics and police and partner initiatives are starting to show positive results in combatting the problem, there is clearly still some way to go before motorcycle theft is brought under control. The previous reduction in police numbers decimated specialist law enforcement teams, and where there has been recent improvement in reducing overall theft numbers, this has often been linked to increased and dedicated police resources.

Without a significant national boost in police resources dedicated to dealing with motorcycle theft, together with a concerted and consistent effort to disrupt and dismantle the organised crime networks behind these thefts, the road ahead is likely to remain challenging. The BMF will continue to work with a range of partners, including the police, local authorities and rider groups and will continue to push for increased police resources to be assigned to tackling motorcycle theft.

Bikes Go to College

it’s a mouthful, but the international Journal of Motorcycle Studies (iJMS) is worth a look – AlEX PARSONS-HUlSE was there

We were pleased to host this year’s IMJS annual conference in the UK. Nottingham University might not be as glamorous as last year’s venue of Colorado Springs, but it was certainly cheaper to get to for us Brits. As ever, speakers were lined up for a three-day focus on all things motorcycling science, culture and art, from hazard perception and Local Transport Plans to motorcycle depictions in comics.

Keynote speaker on the first day was Shel Silva, a PhD researcher working with the charity DocBike – all of their educational work is evidence based and relies on meticulous research, which is where Shel fits in. She’s been working at Bournemouth University, using eye-tracking software to watch where bikers and drivers are looking as they travel. The idea is to investigate, “whether motorcyclists’ identification and knowledge of risk changes according to their qualifications and experience.” It will be interesting to see her completed work published, hopefully in the not-too-distant future. (See Motorcycle RIDER Summer 2022 for a full article on Shel’s work – Ed)

Following a break for coffee, Yuichiro Kawabata from

Kyoto University gave a presentation on his research into the relationship between riders and car drivers in Japan, their attitudes towards each other, biases and misunderstandings.

Then it was Kevin Williams with a talk entitled the ‘Science of Being Seen’ which focuses on ‘looked but failed to see’ collisions. And Mathew Humphrey, our local conference co-ordinator, looked at local transport planning, with devolved government leading to a multiplicity of Local Transport Plans (LTPs). It was quite telling that motorcycles don’t get much consideration in many LTPs, with 25% of the 120 plans examined not mentioning them at all.

Zen and the Art

After lunch (sandwiches, fruit and cake – you can’t talk about motorcycles and not have cake involved somewhere) Caryn Simonson and our conference host Sheila Malone kicked off a more arts-related section with a presentation on the novel ‘The Flamethrowers’ by Rachel Kushner. As an engineer, I often struggle with these more arts-related presentations, but it is one of the great successes of IJMS, bringing together such diverse

aspects of motorcycling. One moment, we are talking about road safety, the next, phenomenology (the philosophical study of subjective experience).

Now then, hands up who has read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance? Italian professor Guido Borelli talked on the alternative aspects of Robert Pirsig’s seminal book, relating to the author’s descriptions of the outside world and linking these to the kinaesthetic (perception of one’s own body movements) experience of riding a motorcycle. David Walton followed on to outline his work on comic-book biker narratives – ‘Crap Like a World Champion.’ That was a highly amusing, eye-opening look at eco-criticism and the underlying ironic messages behind many comic images. Maintaining the art theme, Dr Tom Cardwell (the University of the Arts, London) presented on his latest work featuring a series of paintings of customised leather jackets before Annice Collett from the VMCC (Vintage Motorcycle Club) gave an impassioned presentation on the Club’s extensive library and archive of historical information that she maintains. (Well worth a visit – Ed)

Finally for day one, we moved down to a private cinema to see David Lancaster’s feature documentary ‘Speed is Expensive: Philip Vincent and the Million Dollar Motorcycle.’ After which we retired en masse to the Canal House pub in Nottingham centre.

Above: Matthew Biberman (son of Big Sid) talked Vincents at the National Motorcycle Museum

Left: IJMS is a massive open access resource on all things motorcycling

Imps & Rituals

You might well have seen the IMPS Motorcycle Display Team. Founder Roy Pratt MBE opened the second day by telling us all about it. At 84, he founded the project to help children from deprived backgrounds some 54 years ago. Modelled on the White Helmets Motorcycle Display Team (but made up of children aged 6-16) the IMPS have appeared at the Edinburgh Tattoo as well as shows around the world. Roy’s uplifting presentation showed that the motorcycle can be used as a therapeutic tool – who could help but smile to see film of an eight-year-old ride a sidecar outfit on two wheels with a six-year-old in the chair, waving at the crowd.

It was a tough act to follow, but Eryl Price Davies had a go with ‘The Why of Motorcycles and Auto-moto-ethnography.’ The gist is that he thinks motorcycle studies tend to over emphasise motorcycle subcultures within the western world at the expense of other nations where motorcycles are much more a part of normal life. Jason Wragg followed with a traveller’s tale, based on a journey through the Western Cape of South Africa (academic life can be tough) on a Royal Enfield Classic (actually, that is tough), examining the interplay between motorcycling and the ‘tourist gaze’.

The final speaker in this section was David Carter Morreale

with his touching written work dealing with grief, motorcycling and ritual following the loss of both his biological father and an adoptive/mentor father figure called Jim. David explored the strikingly different relationships he had with these two opposite characters, how this affected his grief in differing ways and how motorcycling, something he enjoyed with Jim for 30 years, has since become a ritualistic obsession.

Braking & Theft

It was time to move away from the arts, and Michael John Abbott obliged with his theories on emergency braking, around existing guidance in this area and his experiments with riders’ effectiveness at stopping from high speeds. It was controversial at times and raised some discussion points, but that’s all part of sharing and debating this new research and ideas.

Next up was my presentation on the reality of theft (and the fear of same) of motorcycles in the UK, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the BMF, MAG and other groups for their help. It was well received and will hopefully lead to some more collaborative work in the future.

Again, we finished the day in Nottingham Uni’s private cinema, this time with Sheila giving us a brief history and exploration of

the short film with specific reference to bikes. This was followed by a screening of Pedro Bruno Rodrigues’ short, ‘Two Wheels and a Crank Camera.’ As someone who can’t sit through a fulllength feature film, I was taken by how the relative briefness and simplicity of this gave it more power in delivering its impact without the need for all that Hollywood nonsense. This of course also meant that we had more time to reach that evening’s restaurant, Las Iguanas.

Museum End

Day three was different. No lectures, no talks, but a welcome visit to the National Motorcycle Museum at Solihull. If you’ve never been, do go. It’s stuffed full of every type of classic British bike that you could ever imagine, including Vincents, which tied in nicely with Friday night’s film screening and discussions. We were lucky to have Matthew, son of the legendary Vincent builder ‘Big Sid’ Biberman on hand to impart his extensive knowledge and some of the exhibits to life. Aided by Andy, a museum volunteer who gave us a full tour.

Then it was time to head home, reflecting on another invigorating and thought-provoking conference – what will next year bring?

What is the IJMS?

The International Journal of Motorcycle Studies (IJMS) is a peerreviewed academic journal focused on all aspects of motorcycles, motorcycling and motorcycle culture. Now publishing on demand, full details of the Journal, including an extensive archive of research papers can be found at motorcyclestudies. org/. Look out for announcements on the dates and venue for next year’s conference.

There’s been a lot happening this year with BMF events. The start was our usual Crunchy Sleeping Bag at the Heneage Arms – it was invented by Mitch Elliot back in 2015 as a cold starter to the year, and it still is. It’s seen a steady growth in numbers and this year was no exception with a welcome cosy atmosphere in the pub and good music on Friday and Saturday nights, although regular band The Gypsies could not be there because of lead singer Gary’s illness. Next year’s Crunchy is 28th Feb to 2nd March.

Happily, Gary made a miraculous recovery and was able to lead the band at the Dambuster Rally at Thorpe Camp Museum. Everyone saw the effort and bravery it took to get to this point – we are certainly grateful for that and as usual the entertainment was great. If you haven’t been to the Dambuster Rally then get your tickets soon. One highlight is the museum, dedicated to aircraft from WW1 string bags to Cold War jets, open to rally goers during Saturday with the NAAFI serving incredibly good tea and cake.

BMF E VENTS

PETER LAIDLAW looks back at this year’s rallies and meets, and forward to 2025

All this with camping, beer and lots of live music over the weekend. This year’s Muncaster was the second – although threatened by bad weather weeks before we got there and rain every night, the days saw sun breaking through. We all know about the weather in 2024!

As you may already know we moved our office to Mallory Park race circuit which has brought more opportunities for events. We have had several monthly evening bike gatherings inside the circuit at the Lakeside Diner. These were all really well attended, with around 480 bikes and a few cars too. This was a great opportunity to ride in, have an on-track photo taken and then park up centre circuit, meet up and chat with fellow riders. We were supported by various organisations, traders, groups and charities. Good food, drink and background acoustic music. A few great sunsets too!

Plans are that all these events will continue in 2025 so check the BMF website and socials for updates – britishmotorcyclists. co.uk/events

Muncaster Castle near Ravenglass on the west coast of Cumbria is another event with a theme, this time with a castle in the background. Rally goers can visit the castle grounds, watch the bird of prey display and even have a go in the weapons hall.

None of this would happen without willing volunteers who put in a great amount of time and effort, but we would like more BMF members to join us in helping make these events a great success. Ring the office if you can help, it will be appreciated –01162 795112.

THE LEGAL COLUMN

Motorcyclists are vulnerable road users, and while no biker wants to think about it there is a risk of a fatal injury whilst riding. At Fletcher’s we work with a number of road safety organisations such as Staffordshire DocBikes and Upright Derbyshire, who encourage riders to take training in advanced riding, first aid, the correct gear, and to be mindful of their own safety. Everyone should take at least one step to make themselves safer.

Between 2004 and 2023 rider fatalities were down by 46% (to 315) but in 2019-23 an average of six died and 102 were seriously injured, every week – 37% of fatalities were in twovehicle collisions, and a driver or rider failing to look properly was the most common factor allocated to the ‘other’ vehicle.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Think Bike campaign, which is still so important and relevant today. It’s worth displaying the yellow stickers (still available) and encouraging kids to count bikes when they see them. Personally, I think elements of the CBT test should be incorporated in the car driving test –doing my CBT certainly made me drive more mindfully.

If the worst does happen Fletchers Solicitors are there for your loved ones and family. We’ve helped thousands of motorcyclists, and their families seek justice and compensation following serious and fatal incidents.

A claim following a fatal collision can be complex. It’s an exceptionally distressing time so it is important to find a solicitor who is mindful of the emotional stress and trauma, provides practical, reassuring advice and has the connections and experience to signpost people to relevant resources available. We can assist with liaising with the police, attending inquests and arranging the necessary steps for probate including letters of administration if no Will is in place.

As with a non-fatal claim, liability still has to be established. This is why it is important to pick a motorcycle specialist so that any arguments can be properly considered and defended. At a time when you least need to be worrying about finances or the future, making a claim with a specialist law firm can take away at least some of this stress.

The law in this area is complex too. The estate can claim for damages under the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1934, including damages for any suffering before death, loss of income between the time of accident and death, funeral expenses and services provided by family and friends.

Under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 a claim can be made for financial losses suffered by the dependants of the deceased, an award for bereavement damages and a claim for funeral expenses if these have been paid by the dependants. The statutory bereavement award can only be paid to a fairly limited number of people, while a claim for dependency has a broader scope as detailed below.

The following people can make a claim for dependency:

- Spouse or civil partner

- Former spouse or civil partner

- Person who has lived with the deceased for two continuous years

- Parent of the deceased or someone who was treated by the deceased as a parent

- A child of the deceased

- A person who was treated as a child of the family of the deceased

- A brother, sister, uncle, aunt, cousin, nephew or niece of the deceased.

While no one wants to think about it, it is important to be aware of the assistance that your family and loved ones can get if the worst does happen. Of course, even better to reduce the chances of it happening in the first place. Think about doing a Biker Down Course, or some advanced rider training, wear the correct kit and make yourself visible. These small steps can make a huge difference.

TWhat’s your favourite day ride? tell us about it in 500 words with a few pictures (high resolution please). You could see it later in Motorcycle RiDER and receive a BMF gift! Send to: editor@bmf.co.uk

P E t ER H ENSHAW on a canter across

Dorset's high spots

his is a ride of two halves, on slow, narrow country lanes and on faster main roads to get you back to the start point. Now, if you have an entirely rational aversion to giant tractors, slippery fords and blind corners, the first half is best avoided – but the incentive is some magnificent views from the top of Dorset’s chalk downs.

We start in West Bay, right on the Jurassic Coast, a well-established gathering point for bikers and a good place to chat, have a cuppa and/or chips plus a look at the bikes. Saddle up and away we go, up to the main road, then take the B3157 for Weymouth – a spectacular high road with the sea on one side and rolling green hills the other. However, it’s also mega-busy, especially in summer, so just after the village of Burton Bradstock we fork left onto a minor road signed for Litton Cheney. In Litton, take the second left, which climbs dramatically up onto the chalk, spitting us out on the A35. Turn right and after a quick blast of a mile or so turn left (signed Kingston Russell).

It's nearly all small roads now, so kick back and enjoy. At the crossroads, roll straight over and a two-lane (well, just about two-lane) blacktop takes us down a sloping ridge into Maiden Newton. Turn right at the bottom then left at the corner shop. Uphill again until we hit the fast A37 at the top, turn left then almost immediately

D ORSET C HALK

right for another minor road heading due east, downhill to a ford and up the side, down again (you’ll get used to this) and across the A352 into Cerne Abbas, home to the famously endowed giant and a couple of nice pubs.

On the way out of the village turn right up Piddle Lane (yes) and across some tightly packed contour lines to an oblique crossroads. Straight over and (you guessed it) down the other side to Piddletrenthide, the Piddle Valley and no tittering at the back there.

Turn right and head down the valley through a few villages, turning left onto the B3142 shortly after a sharp right-hander. Things get a little quicker now – we even have some white lines –up to the roundabout, left on the A354 (signed Blandford). In Milborne St Andrew turn left (signed Milton Abbas) and just over a mile on take a left (signed Hazelbury Bryan) for a long stretch of minor road. Keep following signs to Hazelbury, then Kings Stag for the faster B3134 south (signed Dorchester). Where the B road turns left for Buckland Newton, head straight on – a minor road takes you right up onto the high chalk ridge with magnificent views. Follow this all the way into Dorchester for a look around Dorset’s county town, and at the roundabout turn right, head through King Charles’ Poundbury, back to the A35 and your main road route back to West Bay. All done.

Well used moped – fish market seller, Vietnam (photo: from Sam Manicom's new book, The Moment Collectors: Asia – see page 10).

H ADLEIGH & D ISTRICT C LASSIC MCC

As a young man I liked and rode old British bikes – Nortons, Velocettes, Vincents, Matchless... In those days, only bikes like the Vincent were given classic status, the rest were just old and often troublesome. As spares became hard to locate, the one-make clubs came into their own, with their collections of spares and in some cases ultimately producing new parts. These clubs had local sections in most counties, often supported by a small band of dedicated enthusiasts.

By the early ‘80s old bikes like my AJS were beginning to be seen as historic, not just old, and it became obvious that people who rode these old bikes (whatever make) shared a common interest.

Join the Club hadcmcc.wordpress.com/ about/

So, 40 years ago with the AJS now a ‘Classic’; I thought, why not form a classic motorcycle club for all makes, and bring as many local people with a shared interest together as possible.

That was the idea, but how to make it happen? I decided on the personal approach. One dark night my good friend Bruce Moore and I set off on foot around Hadleigh, knocking on doors where we had seen old motorcycles parked outside, sometime in the past. “This will never work,” said Bruce, but

to our amazement our request to join an as yet unformed club was met with enthusiasm. With Phase 1 a success we needed a venue. Back then, the typical country pub was by and large a successful, thriving business, but with no guarantee that the landlord would welcome a car park full of old motorcycles. The Chequers at Raydon looked ideal, as it had a large car park. I called in one evening and sat at the bar nursing a pint, waiting for a chance to engage the landlord in conversation. Eventually, halfway through my second pint he was free, and being a good host came over for a chat. I tentatively told him of my plan to form a club and would he consider allowing us to meet at his hostelry. Roger the landlord said yes! (As long as we made it a Monday night, his quietest evening).

And we stuck with the last Monday of the month at The Chequers from then, right up to Covid. Post-Covid, we changed to Tuesdays, otherwise we’re still here. We were off. Off on a 40-year motorcycle ride in which I have been privileged to meet so many different characters who share my interest, each with their own stories to tell. Please enjoy your time with us. Chairman CHRiStiAN HARE explains how it started

D OWN YOUR WAY

SCOTLAND – REGION 1

Regional Chair - Tom Duncan 01506 842131, 07887 835321 tom@tomduncan.co.uk

AYRSHiRE - Pauline Speirs 01560 321791, fastrakscotland@aol.com

GlASGOW - Nick Elliott 01416 379305 drnickelliott@gmail.com

NORTH EAST– REGION 2

HAliFAX - Alex Parsons-Hulse 07702 229 311

bmfregion2rep@bmf.co.uk

BiNGlEY - John Lancaster 01274 560174, john-lancaster@sky.com

tYNE AND WEAR- Michael Mangan manganelectricalservices@gmail.com

MIDLANDS – REGION 3

COVENtRY AND WESt MiDlANDS

John Nelson jsnlsn@btinternet.com

DERBYSHiRE - John Hutchinson 07876 756 356 hutchpeaks@btinternet.com

WARWiCkSHiRE - Mark Lunt 07767 870117

mark.a.lunt@gmail.com

NOttiNGHAMSHiRE

Jerry Hough, 07825 997969 jerry.hough@mail.com

HEREFORD AND WORCEStER Frank Whittaker, 01531 635843 frankwhittaker62@gmail.com

liNCOlNSHiRE - Mitch Elliott 07982 802 588 elliott.mitch@gmail.com

StAFFORDSHiRE - Jeffrey Brook 07401 070 934 jeffbrook89@outlook.com

EAST ENGLAND – REGION 4

CAMBRiDGESHiRE - Tim Flinders, 01223 212721

LONDON– REGION 5

Anna Zee, anna.zee@bmf.co.uk

South london Charles Deakin 07951 978 283 deakie57@live.co.uk

SOUTH EAST – REGION 6

HAMPSHiRE - Ian Hammond 07989 531121 iphamonda@googlemail.com

OXFORDSHiRE - Hugh Jaeger 01865 554814, 07762 093310 hugh_jaeger@hotmail.com

SURREY - Michael Gray hello@graymic.co.uk

WESt SUSSEX - Mark O’Dwyer 07824 554 927 markodwyer67@gmail.com

SOUTH WEST – REGION 7

Regional Chair - Jim Peel-Cross 01249 819671, 07470 899546 jimpcross@hotmail.co.uk

BAtH - Carenza Ellery 01225 835599 07962 076370 cbx550mini@gmail.com

BRiStOl - Alan Maynard 07305 544 884 excalibur08@blueyonder.co.uk

CORNWAll - Tiffany Coates 07805 078062 tiffanycoates@hotmail.com

DEVON - James Maynard 07791 412 957 maynard23@live.co.uk

WESt WiltSHiRE - Les Simper 07789 354371

leslie.simper@btinternet.com

SOUtH WiltSHiRE - Roger Stone 07928 822671 rogerstone427@gmail.com

WALES – REGION 8

CENtRAl WAlES - Phil Harries 07968 168486 dpharries1@aol.com

SOUtH WAlES - Steve Preston 07906 167 357 bmfsteve@bmf.co.uk

NORtH WAlES Tina Walker tinaalena@hotmail.co.uk

NORTH WEST – REGION 9

Regional Chair - Peter Laidlaw 07939 260524 peter.laidlaw@bmf.co.uk

CHESHiRE - Jim Bradburn 01606 836782 jimbradburn@hotmail.co.uk

EASt lANCASHiRE - Mick Gibbons 07940 816492 mick.gibbonsindarwen@gmail.com

Steven Bartley, 01254 278187 ste.bartley@googlemail.com

WESt lANCASHiRE - Dave Barton 01772 455018, 07971 519004 bmf_r9@notrab.co.uk

NORTHERN IRELAND- REGION 10

Regional Chair - Howard Anderson 07918 903497 howand@hotmail.co.uk

CO. ANtRiM - David Gillespie (club liaison) 02893 350495, 07882 525777 gwocni@hotmail.com

Numbered Regions

COUNCILLORS

R1 - Kona Macphee, 07747 651 877 kona@cloverleaf.scot

R2 - Michael Mangan manganelectricalservices@gmail.com

R3 - Mitch Elliott, 07982 802 588 elliott.mitch@gmail.com

Mike Cook cmcook34@ntlworld.com

John Hutchinson hutchpeaks@btinternet.com

Kev Mulligan enquiries@skilledbiker.co.uk

Mike Fairhead mjf.phone@gmail.com

R4 - Paul Gardiner paul.gardiner@live.com

Scott Edy scott.edy83@gmail.com

R5 - Juergen Buechner, 07786 931 729 jwbuechner@mail.co.uk

Jim Freeman, jim.freeman@bmf.co.uk

R6 - Neil Smith, 07961 576 624 gunnersmith1959@gmail.com

Kieren Ganley Ganley39@gmail.com

Greg Apostolidis gregory.apostolidis@hotmail.com

R7 - Jim Peel-Cross jimpcross@hotmail.co.uk

R8 -Stephen Preston BMFSteve@bmf.co.uk

R9 - Anthony Beard, 07944 661 779 anthonybeard@blueyonder.co.uk

Dave Barton bmf_r9@notrab.co.uk

David Kershaw David.kershaw@bmf.co.uk

David Flooks daveflooks@yahoo.com

R10 - David Gillespie, 07882 525 777 gwocni@hotmail.com

Chair - Stephen Davenport stephendavenport98@me.com

Secretary - John Gardner 01695 622792 john.gardner119@gmail.com

NaOMC COUNCILLORS

John Nelson - TOMCC jsnlsn@btinternet.com

Norman Powers - TOMCC pollard1942@gmail.com

laurence Mee - TOMCC membership@tomcc.org

tim kirker - VOC tim.kirker@zen.co.uk

Jacqueline Bickerstaff - VOC jacqueline.bickerstaff@btinternet.com

ian Dobie - BMW ian.dobiesnr@btinternet.com

John Nicholas DOC bmfrep@docgb.net

tim kirker - Vincent HRD tim.kirker@zen.co.uk

John Gardner - TOMCC john.gardner119@gmail.com

Jacqueline Bickerstaff - Vincent HRD jacqueline.bickerstaff@btinternet.com

John Nelson - TOMCC jsnlsn@btinternet.com

John Nicholas - Ducati bmfrep@docgb.net

Pete Wilson - BSA Bantam secretary@bsabantamclub.org.uk

MORE BMF REPS NEEDED! If your county is not listed and you would like to be a BMF rep, we would love to hear from you - please email admin@bmf.co.uk WRONG NUMBER?If these aren’t the right contact details, let us know at admin@bmf.co.uk and we’ll put it right.

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