BMF's News Round Up – April 2022
The month's top motorcycle stories, brought to you by the BMF
Power steering for bikes? No, not an April Fool in this round up from April's news, but a genuine system being developed by Yamaha. Electric Power Steering (EPS) is initially intended for motocross bikes, but more as a means of improving stability than reducing steering effort. At its heart is a torque sensor which can differentiate between rider inputs to the steering and external forces. It measures how much effort the rider is applying to the bars, and sends the info to an actuator in front of the steering head, which applies just the right amount of power to keep the bike pointing in the right direction. EPS will find its way onto race and road bikes in the future.
Yamaha has also done a deal aimed at eliminating the big drawback of electric power – slow charge times. Instead, it's working with the other big three Japanese manufacturers to share a battery swapping system for electric scooters. There's nothing new about battery swapping, as Taiwanese manufacturer Gogoro already offers over 2000 battery swap stations, used by ten different scooter makers, including Yamaha. The Japanese big four have agreed to standardise on Honda's Mobile Power Pack. Of course, we wouldn't even need swapping stations if batteries could recharge in ten minutes. According to Horwin, which already sells its e-motorcycles in Britain, we could see the 10-minute charge battery in 2024. It's based on niobium (already widely used in superconductors) and Horwin is working with Brazilian supplier CBMM to develop the ultra-fast charging power pack, with the first bike expected in two years.
Back in the UK, the Spring Budget saw motorcycle Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) break the £100 barrier for the first time, now up to £101 for a 600cc-plus bike. By contrast, some smaller petrol and diesel cars are still zero rated for VED, while riders of efficient 650-750cc bikes pay through the nose for their road tax. Let's face it, motorcycle VED is a crude system – basing it on carbon emissions rather than engine size would be fairer all round.
On a more cheerful note, Calderdale Council has decided to allow motorcycles and scooters into its bus lanes, joining Sheffield, York, Bristol and many other towns and cities across the UK who have been doing this for years. Just under half of Britain's bus lanes are open to bikes, and the other half aren't – where's the logic in that?
Meanwhile, an increasing number of police forces are accepting dashcam footage of bad driving. Forty-three forces now accept the footage as evidence, and anyone can upload film to the National Dash Cam Safety Portal (NDSCP), which has received over 60,000 submissions since it was set up in 2017. One-third of the 2020 submissions resulted in police action, with over 10% going to court.
And finally, as this monthly round up went to press there is further news on the issue of taking a motorcycle into the EU, post-Brexit. Brexit ended the principle free movement between Britain and the EU, raising the potential demand for a carnet (a temporary charge) if a bike is being transported by a third party. But there is anecdotal evidence that some riders have been faced with a carnet demand on leaving Britain, even when on their own machines. “There is nothing in the Brexit deal which covers this issue,” said Anna Zee, Political and Technical Services Director at the BMF. “If I were one of the riders involved I would get in touch with my MP.” By the time you read this we should have the full news story ready for the website.
Written by Peter Henshaw – editor@bmf.co.uk
The month's top motorcycle stories, brought to you by the BMF
Power steering for bikes? No, not an April Fool in this round up from April's news, but a genuine system being developed by Yamaha. Electric Power Steering (EPS) is initially intended for motocross bikes, but more as a means of improving stability than reducing steering effort. At its heart is a torque sensor which can differentiate between rider inputs to the steering and external forces. It measures how much effort the rider is applying to the bars, and sends the info to an actuator in front of the steering head, which applies just the right amount of power to keep the bike pointing in the right direction. EPS will find its way onto race and road bikes in the future.
Yamaha has also done a deal aimed at eliminating the big drawback of electric power – slow charge times. Instead, it's working with the other big three Japanese manufacturers to share a battery swapping system for electric scooters. There's nothing new about battery swapping, as Taiwanese manufacturer Gogoro already offers over 2000 battery swap stations, used by ten different scooter makers, including Yamaha. The Japanese big four have agreed to standardise on Honda's Mobile Power Pack. Of course, we wouldn't even need swapping stations if batteries could recharge in ten minutes. According to Horwin, which already sells its e-motorcycles in Britain, we could see the 10-minute charge battery in 2024. It's based on niobium (already widely used in superconductors) and Horwin is working with Brazilian supplier CBMM to develop the ultra-fast charging power pack, with the first bike expected in two years.
Back in the UK, the Spring Budget saw motorcycle Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) break the £100 barrier for the first time, now up to £101 for a 600cc-plus bike. By contrast, some smaller petrol and diesel cars are still zero rated for VED, while riders of efficient 650-750cc bikes pay through the nose for their road tax. Let's face it, motorcycle VED is a crude system – basing it on carbon emissions rather than engine size would be fairer all round.
On a more cheerful note, Calderdale Council has decided to allow motorcycles and scooters into its bus lanes, joining Sheffield, York, Bristol and many other towns and cities across the UK who have been doing this for years. Just under half of Britain's bus lanes are open to bikes, and the other half aren't – where's the logic in that?
Meanwhile, an increasing number of police forces are accepting dashcam footage of bad driving. Forty-three forces now accept the footage as evidence, and anyone can upload film to the National Dash Cam Safety Portal (NDSCP), which has received over 60,000 submissions since it was set up in 2017. One-third of the 2020 submissions resulted in police action, with over 10% going to court.
And finally, as this monthly round up went to press there is further news on the issue of taking a motorcycle into the EU, post-Brexit. Brexit ended the principle free movement between Britain and the EU, raising the potential demand for a carnet (a temporary charge) if a bike is being transported by a third party. But there is anecdotal evidence that some riders have been faced with a carnet demand on leaving Britain, even when on their own machines. “There is nothing in the Brexit deal which covers this issue,” said Anna Zee, Political and Technical Services Director at the BMF. “If I were one of the riders involved I would get in touch with my MP.” By the time you read this we should have the full news story ready for the website.
Written by Peter Henshaw – editor@bmf.co.uk