Food for thought ........

In a few years time if will not be a case of whether electric is better than petrol ........ there simply will not be any new petrol bikes in the showrooms for you to buy anymore ........ even if you do manage to acquire one by some means or other , you certainly will not be allowed to register it for use on the road .

Bike manufacturers know this .... the current range of four cylinder Suzukis , for example , are the K5 series engines dating from nearly twenty years ago .......... what is the point developing a new generation of four cylinder engines if they are going to be banned from being sold in four years time ? ....

Any new petrol bike engines we see in the next year or two will be updates of existing products only ......... there will be no more new designs .

It will possible to continue using existing petrol engined bikes for a while after 2030 ......... as long as there remains a network of petrol filling stations .........

The main problem facing us , as outlined in the MAG video ....... is that the next logical step after banning petrol engined bikes from being sold , is to ban them from being used on the road ....... this is common sense , surely ? .............

Whether it is an AJS Big Port , Velocette Venom , Laverda Jota , Honda FireBlade , Yamaha R9 ..... it will make no difference ......... They will all be viewed as unnecessary , noisy polluters when compared to the new generation of silent electric vehicles ........ and they will simply not be allowed to be registered for use on the road any more .......... easy ............
 
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rocketonarail said:
In a few years time if will not be a case of whether electric is better than petrol ........ there simply will not be any new petrol bikes in the showrooms for you to buy anymore ........ even if you do manage to acquire one by some means or other , you certainly will not be allowed to register it for use on the road .

Bike manufacturers know this .... the current range of four cylinder Suzukis , for example , are the K5 series engines dating from nearly twenty years ago .......... what is the point developing a new generation of four cylinder engines if they are going to be banned from being sold in four years time ? ....

Any new petrol bike engines we see in the next year or two will be updates of existing products only ......... there will be no more new designs .

It will possible to continue using existing petrol engined bikes for a while after 2030 ......... as long as there remains a network of petrol filling stations .........

The main problem facing us , as outlined in the MAG video ....... is that the next logical step after banning petrol engined bikes from being sold , is to ban them from being used on the road ....... this is common sense , surely ? .............

Whether it is an AJS Big Port , Velocette Venom , Laverda Jota , Honda FireBlade , Yamaha R9 ..... it will make no difference ......... They will all be viewed as unnecessary , noisy polluters when compared to the new generation of silent electric vehicles ........ and they will simply not be allowed to be registered for use on the road any more .......... easy ............
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Honda seem to be bringing out a V3 and Bosch seem convinced there is mileage in direct injection. German car manufacturer's are not going to stop building combustion engines and the whole motorcycle thing seems to be vague or not included in proposed bans? As you correctly say, the petrol station network is the real problem- diesel will have to be served up for Lorrie’s for a long while yet and there are still a lot of petrol aeroplanes so we might have to devise routes that take in airfields . UK has a massive classic car/ bike interest including businesses that rely on them so that may be a factor- I mean quite how many classic vehicles are in the UK ? must be in the hundreds of thousands.
 
I'm not too concerned about it.
None of us are in the youth age range any more, well perhaps there may be just a very few younger enthusiasts of our old bikes, and I expect that we'll be able to find fuel for as long as we're still riding them.
Worst case when we're seriously old, there will be private tracks, clubs, source of fuel, etc. that allow us to enjoy them off the public roads.
We may depend upon the playgrounds of much richer owners of exotic sports and classic cars (think Goodwood?) but I'm pretty sure we'll still be able to ride our toys somewhere and by then perhaps the new bikes will have evolved from short-range commuters into something we'll enjoy if we're allowed them on public roads.
 
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arancia said:
I'm not too concerned about it.
None of us are in the youth age range any more, well perhaps there may be just a very few younger enthusiasts of our old bikes, and I expect that we'll be able to find fuel for as long as we're still riding them.
Worst case when we're seriously old, there will be private tracks, clubs, source of fuel, etc. that allow us to enjoy them off the public roads.
We may depend upon the playgrounds of much richer owners of exotic sports and classic cars (think Goodwood?) but I'm pretty sure we'll still be able to ride our toys somewhere and by then perhaps the new bikes will have evolved from short-range commuters into something we'll enjoy if we're allowed them on public roads.
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Dig baby Dig! You’ll be alright for another eight years ! 😂
 
As for motorcycles here in California, the only bikes that will be banned for new sales in 2035 are dirt bikes. Street legal bikes with a license plate will still be available for new sales even after 2035. There are currently no plans to ban street legal bike sales.

As dirt bikes are considered off road equipment they are treated the same as a tractor and in 2035 no new ones can be sold unless electric. Two strokes bikes will also still be legal if made before 2022.

Now the confusing part, the law banning off road sales after 2035 makes an exception for engines that have more than 25HP. So a 125cc dirt bike will be illegal but a 500cc dirt bike will still be OK?
 
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arancia said:
Government at its finest.

per Ronald Reagan "Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."
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You are correct!

My riding lawn mower has a 15HP engine so I can't buy a new on here in California. But a few hours away in Kingman Arizona I can still buy a new one which I will be dong in a year or two.

My wood chipper has a 27HP engine so I can still buy one here but the smaller model of it which is 24HP is illegal.


EDIT: I guess I should have read the news before posting, Trump has rescinded the previous law banning gas car sales in 2035.

So for now in 2035 you will still be able to buy whatever you want.

How this will apply to off road bikes, I don't know.
 
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I used to read the US Offroad bike mags and you blokes had some very odd laws even in the 1980s. Something about Green Stickers, sure nowhere allows MX bikes for road use but Cal seemed to outlaw any Trailbike for road use. What I did really find odd was something called a Spark Arrester, you had to have a mesh screen in your muffler to stop these mysterious sparks trail bikes from spewing constantly out of their mufflers that caused Bushfires. I've never seen one in any Oz-sold bike.
 
Vince said:
I used to read the US Offroad bike mags and you blokes had some very odd laws even in the 1980s. Something about Green Stickers, sure nowhere allows MX bikes for road use but Cal seemed to outlaw any Trailbike for road use. What I did really find odd was something called a Spark Arrester, you had to have a mesh screen in your muffler to stop these mysterious sparks trail bikes from spewing constantly out of their mufflers that caused Bushfires. I've never seen one in any Oz-sold bike.
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The spark arrester is a leftover from the days of two strokes with expansion chambers. They’d get sooted up and then when you ran the bike hard bits of burning carbon would theoretically shoot out and start fires.
 
electric cars bikes and trucks are fine by me, as long as the electricity is generated by wind, wave or solar, if the electricity is generated by burning gas (bad) or coal (realy bad) or even worse NUCLEAR, (OMG) then it is not green and I dont want it. If I cannot determine how the elctricity was generated, then I would assume the last three.

Why is there no electricity being generated from the burning, searing temperatures deep in the earths crust? and sometimes not so deep as in the volcanic pits on Lanzarote (Canary Islands)
CLEM
 
DaveB said:
Logical fucking fail! The peer did NOT propose ban. He asked if there were any proposals to do so. Biiiiiiiiig difference. The bloke doing this video is an intellectual cripple…
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He actually asked WHAT plans the government have to ban petrol and diesel motorcycles ........... not IF they have any plans ..... there is a difference .........

You have to take this in the context of previous parliamentary questions he has asked over the previous four or five years .

He has a history of raising questions relating to inner city pollution levels , and whether diesel buses should be banned .......... and questions what action the government is taking to ensure more electric vehicle charging points ...........

By raising questions relating to pollution levels , and asking what plans there are to ban diesel buses and petrol and diesel motorcycles , you can deduce that he would be in favour in a ban ......... note that he has made NO mention of asking what plans there are to ban petrol and diesel cars .

All this may be fair enough , you might think .......... But he appears to be including motorcycles alongside large diesel polluters such as buses and trucks , when , of course , motorcycles should be regarded as transport solutions , as Colin Brown and MAG endlessly try to impress on those who draw up transport plans .

The fact he refers to DIESEL motorcycles ..... !! ...... shows he is grouping us together with the large scale polluters he would rather be rid of ..........

He also has a history of asking what measures the government is taking regarding compulsory protective riding gear and training is being considered for E Bike riders ............ another pointer to the way he regards people who use two-wheelers as their chosen method of transport ........

We as motorcyclists may not have much sympathy for E Bike riders , and the way some of them are ridden ............ but it is a fair assumption that Truscott is determined to tar us all with the same brush ........

I would suggest that to assume any differently is to be either extremely trusting , or extremely naive ........... This is a politician after all , and a particularly ill - informed one when it comes to motorcycling matters by the sound of it ..........

BTW ..... Colin Brown is Director of Campaigns and Political Engagement for MAG ..... and as such spends a lot of his time representing motorcyclists at Government level ..... Transport Forums ..... Association of Chief Constable meetings ....... and so on ...........

Having an intellectual cripple attending these meetings on behalf of motorcyclists is far better than having no representation at all ...............
 
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CLEMTOG said:
electric cars bikes and trucks are fine by me, as long as the electricity is generated by wind, wave or solar, if the electricity is generated by burning gas (bad) or coal (realy bad) or even worse NUCLEAR, (OMG) then it is not green and I dont want it. If I cannot determine how the elctricity was generated, then I would assume the last three.

Why is there no electricity being generated from the burning, searing temperatures deep in the earths crust? and sometimes not so deep as in the volcanic pits on Lanzarote (Canary Islands)
CLEM
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25% of New Zealand’s energy comes from geothermal sources: over 1000 mwhr. Much from the Taupo area where we are staying as we finish up our visit.
 
Big moves coming to Hydrogen for long haul trucks in Oz, but the critical thing is using very large Solar Arrays in Western Queensland for the power required to generate the Hydrogen. Nothing is ever simple quick or cheap.
 
Vince said:
Big moves coming to Hydrogen for long haul trucks in Oz, but the critical thing is using very large Solar Arrays in Western Queensland for the power required to generate the Hydrogen. Nothing is ever simple quick or cheap.
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Large scale generation of hydrogen is half way to large scale creation of synthetic fuel. Just combine the hydrogen with the excess CO2 in the atmosphere and you have hydrocarbon fuel. There have been recent breakthroughs that have moved the efficiency of the process far beyond what the Germans used in the 1940’s making this a viable alternative.

Perhaps there will be no need for a wholesale switch to EVs?
 
Rooftop solar in Australia is now contributing considerable amounts of power to the grid - the downside obviously is that it's only produced during daylight hours and is weather dependent - batteries are not going to cut it as effective means of power storage - no way will an expensive battery system power our RC heating in winter in Melbourne.

When solar first started to appear here the elec companies would pay decent money for your contribution to the grid: a feed-in tariff. It's now approaching the point where you'll actually PAY to send power to the grid! If they can actually use solar-generated power to produce a clean fuel (like hydrogen) it will be a big step towards lower emissions, but unfortunately the move to create and perfect the technology seems to have seriously stalled - it's very disappointing.

In the meantime, excess rooftop urban solar could be channelled to charge city bus and truck fleets ... rather than taking it from the coal-powered electricity plants that generate the majority of our power here. Plug your MuskMobile into the wall socket and get all warm and fuzzy with that green feeling.

As for our fossil fuel powered prides and joy ... enjoy them while you can ... as already pointed out, fuel availability should outlast us anyway!
 
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