"The EU will soon be consulting on new technical regulations for motorcycles which may include 100bhp limits, mandatory ABS and anti-tampering measures for all motorcycles. However, there are EU elections in May next year and this is a good time to encourage MEPs to use their powers of scrutiny.
Go to http://www.bmf.co.uk/pages/bmf_main_pages.php?main_page_id=778
to find draft letters to send to your MEPs. Their details can be found at
Oh dear, I’m over the limit for this, so my bike is going to be illegal? Not much chance of it being implemented with so many bikes currently putting out huge BHP, the real issue is around training people to ride/drive properly. You can still hurt yourself on a bicycle the last time I checked…
There is already a 100bhp limit in France is there not? So the idea that they might push this through is not unrealistic - i’ll definitely sign any petitions - I wonder how much collective muscle/influence us lot have when put up against these eurocrats - are we capable of stalling their fiendish plans to curtail our fun?
The French have sneakily introduced sometime in the eighties the 100bhp limit on a temporary basis (two years) pending a report on motorcycle safety and the relationship between the power output of a bike and accidents. The commission came out with a report saying what we all know, that there is no relationship between safety and bhps, but it’s all to do with age, road condition, training, etc.
So guess what? They kept the law. French bikers are always moaning about this and even sued the government in an EU court (and lost).
Conspiracists say that it was an anti-competitive move as the restriction appeared just at about the time Japanese bikes started making proper competitive (and high bhps) bikes. I wouldn’t be suprised by the French.
Personnally, I can’t imagine that the EU will go this way, the Italians and the Germans will fight tooth and nail against this.
So what’s so great about ABS that it needs to be mandatory?
If the reports on the BMW bikes system are anything like true, it’s a positive contribution towards culling BMW riders.
Watching my son ride his Bandit with ABS also makes me wonder if the idiot boy could now ride a bike without. He leaves the braking so late that the ABS has to work every time. This is safe riding?
We’re going down the route car makers/users wemt down 10-15 years ago. Cars have so many safety items on them now that car drivers subconciously believe that the car will get them out of any trouble, consequently they can drive like a twat and get away with it… if all the airbags were sripped out and replaced with a large spike in the middle of the steering wheel I can guarantee you that everyone would drive a lot more carefully…
There used to be a power limit of 125bhp in the UK a few years ago but this was a “Gentlemans Agreement” between the Japanese bike firms as the power race was getting a bit silly.
I remember having my ZX10 carb tops machined to de-restrict it;)
This agreement was blown into the weeds by Triumph of all people when they bought out the Daytona 1200:w00t:
Think yourself lucky you don’t live is Switzerland, their bikes are restricted to a maximum of 85bhp:hehe:
Exactly. The more cosseted people get, the more they’re likely to do daft things. Especially if they get away with it.
I know it sounds mildly draconian, but to make everyone do at least a CBT before being able to pass their car test would perhaps make people see just how dangerous the roads are - and then adjust their driving styles accordingly.
bikes will all come with four wheels soon, two on the side to stop us falling over like the skid pan bikes, airbags, gps based speed restrictors and automatic go to jail functions, so that if you do break the speed limit at any time the bike will only allow you to go straight to jail…job done…bhp wont mean a thing…
interferring intellectual self pampering do gooders who whould have been shot at birth…
I also quite like ABS, and like my bikes standard, so…