Modifying your bike could be made illegal: New plans that could make fitting non-OEM parts a crime

[weeksy]

The Motorcycle Action Group is encouraging motorcyclists to respond to proposals from the Department for Transport (DfT) that would restrict owners from modifying their bikes.

The proposals are part of the DfT’s ‘Future of Transport’ review and are lumped in with lots of other vehicle standards that the department is looking to modernise.

Under the proposed changes it would be a crime to ‘tamper’ with ‘a system, part or component of a vehicle intended or adapted to be used on a road’. MAG were in attendance at the webinar where the proposals were first made.

"I was expecting the lack of motorcycle focus in policies for the charging infrastructure, but the anti-tampering proposals came as a real sucker punch," says Colin Brown, MAG’s Director of Campaigns and Political Engagement.

"As the owner of a motorcycle with less OEM parts than aftermarket ones you can imagine my reaction. This renewed attack on the right to do what you wish with your own property is not something that I can see many motorcyclists welcoming."

The reasons for the proposed changes are twofold: ensuring emissions standards after manufacture and for autonomous vehicles.

Currently there is no test for a bike’s emissions once it leaves the factory, which presents a headache for schemes such as the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London, which is based entirely on which Euro rating the vehicle met at manufacture.

Clearly if a bike is nominally Euro 4 but had had the catalytic converter removed, charcoal canister binned and a full remap, its emissions will greatly exceed the emissions limits even if on paper it complies. The other issue is with autonomous vehicles.

The safety of autonomous vehicles is entirely reliant on the system doing as expected, especially when it’s interacting with other self-driving vehicles. If someone was to modify the hardware or software, the vehicle could behave unexpectedly and disaster could ensue.

The Government is keen to get ahead of this and making modifications illegal is seen as an important step on the route to self-driving cars.

This isn’t the first time anti-tampering laws have been proposed. They were originally put forward by the EU in 2012 to be part of Euro4 from 2016 onwards.

Euro4 brought with it considerably stricter emissions levels and the EU wanted to make changing air filters, exhausts, catalytic converters and engine maps a crime. However the legislation was strongly opposed and never became law.

"Clearly the Government has some good intentions with these proposals and we wouldn’t want to oppose those," adds Brown. "However it’s clear that the knock on effect of what they’re suggesting would be ruinous for the motorcycle industry. It would be some of the most draconian rules around vehicle modification we’ve ever heard of."

MAG is opening direct talks with the DfT but says that bikers need to make it clear how unimpressed they are with these suggestions so that DfT engages seriously. The consultation is only short too, just eight weeks rather than the usual 12, so quick action is imperative. You can respond directly to the survey here.

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/ETVHG5/

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

MAG have been spreading these scare stories for as long as I've been riding motorcycles (1983), if it's going to happen, it'll happen, and a bunch of crusty greebos aren't going to stop it.

But why does anyone with any political influence want to stop people modifying bikes, it's a nice earner for the people selling bike parts.

[Skub]

Membership down again?

[MrLongbeard]

Feck 'em, may as well just not have a number plate if this get's any traction

[MrLongbeard]

MAG have been spreading these scare stories for as long as I've been riding motorcycles (1983), if it's going to happen, it'll happen

Or, you know, you could take part in the government consultation.

[Bigyin]

I believe there is some similar legislation already in some EU countries and specifically Germany when a load of Uk yoof in heavily modded cars on their way to a show in Austria were stopped at a service station on the Autobahn and 9 of the cars were seized resulting in 1000's of Euros in fines because of air ride, coil over springs, canted wheels etc of the "Stance" car scene.

The thing to remember is pretty much all of it has been in force over here for years through the MOT procedure but 90% of Police are clueless in relation to vehicle construction and use and when it comes to bikes even some traffic plod have knowledge gaps in what is and isnt legal.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

MAG have been spreading these scare stories for as long as I've been riding motorcycles (1983), if it's going to happen, it'll happen

Or, you know, you could take part in the government consultation.

Having just gone through the first 5 questions it's not aimed at me and I don't have enough knowledge to answer them with any credibility.

[Yorick]

That's the way it is here. All vehicles must be 100% standard.

All the lads here panic at ITV (MOT) time.
Even tail tidies are banned.

[Horse]

MAG have been spreading these scare stories for as long as I've been riding motorcycles (1983),

They are their own worst enemy for this.

For example, there was the Harley with the dustbin-sized exhaust that warned off what would happen if the EU got harsher rules imposed. Ok, years later, standard exhausts nowadays are hardly svelte, but ...

Or there was that series of protest rides, across the UK, one Saturday. Protesting against ... well, who knows, remembers or cares?

[MrLongbeard]

MAG have been spreading these scare stories for as long as I've been riding motorcycles (1983), if it's going to happen, it'll happen

Or, you know, you could take part in the government consultation.

Having just gone through the first 5 questions it's not aimed at me and I don't have enough knowledge to answer them with any credibility.

You can just answer those you want, ignore / no comment the others.
Maybe point out that's its already an offence to tamper with cats so why are they looking to introduce further legislation.

[MrLongbeard]

specifically Germany

Where mandatory GS/ TuV approval on all spare parts and modification parts limits choice and triples the prices

[DefTrap]

I hate standard bikes. I reckon anything Draconian like tuv and I probably wouldn't bother any more.

Luckily over here they don't even have bike MOTs.

[weeksy]

That's the way it is here. All vehicles must be 100% standard.

All the lads here panic at ITV (MOT) time.
Even tail tidies are banned.

What about things like paddock stand bobbins ? radiator guards ? Things that are non performance benefit.

[Yorick]

That's the way it is here. All vehicles must be 100% standard.

All the lads here panic at ITV (MOT) time.
Even tail tidies are banned.

What about things like paddock stand bobbins ? radiator guards ? Things that are non performance benefit.

I suppose they'd be OK.

[weeksy]

That's the way it is here. All vehicles must be 100% standard.

All the lads here panic at ITV (MOT) time.
Even tail tidies are banned.

What about things like paddock stand bobbins ? radiator guards ? Things that are non performance benefit.

I suppose they'd be OK.

I'm also assuming things like KTM power parts, Yamaha/Ducati performance parts like a KTM/Ducati branded Akra ?

[Mr. Dazzle]

I wouldn't have thought the issue about modifications would be solely about performance, it's just about the lack of 'type approval'.

I've obviously done quite a bit of OEM part design and a I work for an automotive OEM now. Everything that goes on a road vehicle needs to be homologated in one way or another. It's not just about performance, it's also about things like pedestrian impacts (minimum sized sharp corners for example), environmental damage, effect on visibility of lights, disposal/recycling at the end of life etc. etc. etc.

Now are your crash bobbins going to have a serious impact on those things? No, probably not. But it's also unlikely that the manufacturer will have gone to the effort and expense of certifying them to demonstrate that that is the case. Do rad cowl manufacturers seriously think about it at all? So 'on paper' they are not safe and hence you can't use 'em. Doubtless there would be some mods which ARE dangerous - give people an inch and they'll take a mile and all that.

It'd be really hard to say "well....crash bobbins are maybe OK, but something else might not be, then this bit sorta depends, etc." so they often just blanket ban non OE stuff. We're actually really lucky in the UK, our rules are pretty lax for a 'western' country.

[Cousin Jack]

What about things like paddock stand bobbins ? radiator guards ? Things that are non performance benefit.

I believe that in Germany such things need to be approved or it is illegal to fit them.

[DefTrap]

A looooong time ago, at an insurance renewal, the guy on the other end of the 'phone asked the standard question "does it have any modifications?" (answer - yes of course it effing does - it was at least 15 years old at the time).

I claimed ignorance.

He laughed.


It seems like a problem that doesn't really exist - in the old days it seemed like it was to prevent folk making bikes 'faster', like we're all tuning gurus and aren't actually making our bikes slower with terrible exhausts and air filters, let alone the M&P piss-yellow anodising and faux carbon indicators.
Now it feels like they're twisting it into a safety issue.

Either way, when I've made insurance claims on bikes in the past that clearly had nonOEM parts on, they couldn't have given less of a shit about it.

[Mr. Dazzle]

It seems like a problem that doesn't really exist

The problem is, for every 99 people who make their bike better* there'll be one bellend who does something genuinely dangerous. You always have the chance said bellend will be collared on the road by the fuzz etc., but it's way more effective/simpler just to ban mods.

*worse

[DefTrap]

The problem is, for every 99 people who make their bike better* there'll be one bellend who does something genuinely dangerous. You always have the chance said bellend will be collared on the road by the fuzz etc., but it's way more effective/simpler just to ban mods.

*worse

Isn't that what MOTs are for? Even an OE part can be fitted dangerously. Presumably OE parts can, in theory, be worse quality than OE replacements?
Are we really making roadside plod in charge of spotting aftermarket parts?