The British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) have commented on the EU Regulation proposals that are nearing final stages, before being voted on in the European Parliament.
Joining the public debate, the BMF have arisen to give their view on the myths and fallacies that have been perpetuated to UK riders, in particular leading up to a UK wide motorcycle demonstration.
These myths, fallacies and a lot more, appear to continue to be perpetuated by a weekly motorcycle publication in the UK, which is now rousing riders to join in a demonstration at the EU Parliament in Brussels.
This newspaper states, “So-called onboard diagnostic systems on new bikes could detect non-standard parts and trigger a warning light until the ‘fault’ is rectified by a dealer.
Routine faults could be reported in code decipherable only be a dealer, preventing home-servicing.
Tuning could become impossible and even home-maintenance severely hampered under proposals to make bikes impossible to modify.”
These statements are a complete misunderstanding of the EU Proposals!
The BMF has issued the following statement on the Proposed EU rules on motorcycles.
Proposed EU rules on motorcycles
7th October 2011
As many of you will know, the EU is proposing to change the way new bikes are approved in bulk for use on public roads.
This will have some effect on the motorcycles we buy in the future.
This is a complicated document and discussions are still far from being completed.
However, lots of myths and fallacies have arisen recently about the issue.
Proposal:
- Anti-Tampering – The European Commission wants powers to introduce rules to make changes more difficult to the engine and drive train of motorcycles
Mythbusting:
- They will not make it illegal to change components on a motorcycle
- There will not be spot checks of motorcycles on the road
- It will only apply to new motorcycles
- These rules currently exist on 50cc mopeds (which are routinely tampered)
Govt says:
- No – not necessary on larger bikes and expensive; also has a problem with “delegated act” aspect
We say:
- No, nay, never
Proposal:
- Commission wants powers to specify minimum safety equipment for motorcycles including mandatory ABS on larger bikes or CBS on smaller bikes (from 2017) as well as Automatic Headlights On (AHO) on all bikes
Mythbusting:
- Original text excludes enduro and trail bikes
- Off switch probably up to manufacturer discretion
- AHO already on nearly all bikes sold in EU
Govt says:
- ABS likely to have safety benefit; still against delegated powers
We say:
- ABS should be consumer choice, still opposed to mandatory AHO
Proposal:
- On Board Diagnostics (OBD) will be compulsory in two stages
Mythbusting:
- Not an onboard tracking device – only shows component failure or component out of range
- Will not stop bike working
Govt says:
- Too expensive to implement OBD II (more advanced system), but OBD I is supported
We say:
- May make repairs cheaper and quicker so could have net benefit, error codes must be available to consumers and should not disable bikes
Proposal:
- Bring pollutant limits for bikes in line with cars in three stages over the next decade. Bikes must remain compliant for 50,000km (less for smaller bikes)
Mythbusting:
- Bikes release a much higher amount of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and some other nasties than cars
- Catalytic converters can be fitted to motorcycles and routinely are
- Bikes over 7 years old will not be banned from entering town centres
Govt says:
- Too expensive to implement later stages compared to benefits, but support initial reduction
We say:
- Strongly support as political support for bikes depends on bikes being at least as clean as cars
Proposal:
- Manufacturers to publish emissions figures for CO2 and therefore fuel consumption
Govt says:
- Support
We say:
- Strongly support as part of a long campaign to get fuel consumption information for motorcycles
Proposal:
- Repair and maintenance information must be made available outside dealer network
Govt says:
- Support, although small producers should be exempt on cost grounds
We say:
- Strongly support as it will create better competition amongst garages and will allow users to service more complicated bikes at home
Proposal:
- Member states can approve a motorcycle individually for use across the EU (similar to current MSVA, but for whole of EU), however bike must conform closer to rules of directive
Govt says:
- Current IVA system is adequate so no change needed
We say:
- Can see some benefit to allowing EU wide individual approval, but rules must be looser
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