Banned:ruralridingatrisk
The peace and tranquillity of lockdowns has shone a not-positive light on noisy motorcycles. Is this the end of loud endcans, or worse still a ban on riding in the sticks?
In 2020, 81 regions of Germany joined a ‘Motorcycle Noise Initiative’ that led to noise cameras (like speed cameras, but triggered by noise) and bans on motorcycles at weekends. Now UK lockdowns are increasing the risk of these initiatives coming here, says the head of the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA), Tony Campbell. ‘The problem of noise has been exacerbated by lockdowns when people have taken the opportunity of quiet roads to enjoy their bikes in a safer environment than normal. But what that’s done is emphasise the fact bikes are noisy.
‘It seems that noise, not just road safety, is becoming the focal point of complaints against speeding,’ says Tony.
‘In a number of German regions there have been bans on motorcycles, so they’re not allowed to go through some provinces at certain times. There have also been efforts over there to persuade riders not to buy illegal exhausts.’
In the UK noise was a relatively low profile problem until lockdown. ‘As an industry we’ve done a lot of work to get Government to look at powered two wheelers as part of the transport solution, rather than those noisy things that are nothing but trouble. They were seeing us in a very different light.’
But lockdown has changed that. ‘The result was that there is now more of a profile around noise and there’s no question it will be a big challenge over the next year or two.’ The problem is rider mentality according to Tony: ‘When I rode sportsbikes in the 1990s we used to ride through villages at 30mph because we knew we were on view, but now there seems to be a different attitude – you get riders coming through my village at 50mph, some of them bouncing the engine off the rev limiter. I love all that but there’s a time and a place.’
So what’s going to happen? In the long term weekend riding bans in scenic areas are possible but the most likely move is clamping down on the sale of race exhausts. ‘We [the MCIA] have to position ourselves as responsible, so we can say the motorcycle industry operates within the legislation and discourages people from tampering with their vehicles. That doesn’t mean you can’t change your exhaust, but it should comply with the regulations.’