• COMMENT • COMMENT • COMMENT • COMMENT • COMMENT • COMMENT •
Clean and quiet is not our enemy
The tsunami of strategic , regulatory , market and vendor news continues unabated - who said there was never any reason to read the industry magazines in the summer ? Two months ago , I wrote about the new motorcycle exhaust silencer anti-tampering regulations , one of three or four big regulatory or strategic issues that are at various stages of gestation . The anti-tampering regulations are the most urgent in that they become effective later this year . But pay attention too to what is happening at the Connected Motorcycle Consortium , to the Japanese ' Big Four ' manufacturers finding common cause to explore the potential for hydrogen use in motorcycles , at the Swappable Battery Consortium , and , my particular cause celebre , the role that so-called ' synthetic gasoline ' (' synth-gas ' - also known as eFuel ) could have to play in the future of the motorcycle and automotive industries - in fact especially in the larger displacement motorcycle market . The anti-tampering regulations are primarily intended to prevent manufacturers and their dealers from selling so-called ' de-kat ' systems , or more particularly , negating ' dB killers ' and other techniques and methods by which riders can operate their machines without adherence to the prevailing laws . This is an issue where emissions and sound are intertwined , despite the technical differences involved in how to reduce them and enforcing that reduction . Basically , in-play is a suite of measures that make it as close to impossible as can be achieved for riders to bypass the regulations . To , literally , prevent those exhaust properties and characteristics that exist to reduce noise from being " tampered with ". The automotive industry learned the hard way . After many failed and expensive lobby efforts from the 1950s ( laminated windshields ) onwards , right up to seat belts , roll cages , crumple zones , airbag production quality and related safety standards - they learned that safety sells . They , and us in the motorcycle market , have now also been learning that clean and green also sells . On an intellectual level , I have sympathy with the classic liberal interpretation of all laws being bad laws . However , as civil society discovered the first time it passed laws to try and keep you safe from being murdered , some laws actually are ' advisable '. With no disrespect to my former Politics tutors , in my world view , keeping the planet healthy and able to host our species definitely qualifies as " good laws ", so " eat it ". The really , really good news though is that after more than 20 years of getting organised and professional about its industry , its products and its customers , the motorcycle market ' s trade associations and OEMs ( in Europe and Japan at least ) have managed to create a total volte face in the motorcycle sector ' s reputation as a ' worthy ' transport solution . They have done this so successfully that when matters such as stricter anti-tampering laws get into the regulatory crosshairs , we have the organisational infrastructure , communications channels , and , importantly , trust to use our influence responsibly . It is our industry itself whose views were sought and whose input has been used to author delivery of the regulatory requirement . Which means that rather than having ill-conceived , counterproductive rule sets imposed on us , it is our expertise and knowledge that has been leveraged . Hurrah for our side , I say .
' hurrah for our side '
Hurrah too , ironically , for the economic and employment lobbying power of the German automotive industry . The triumvirate of behemoths that are BMW , VAG and Mercedes Benz ( and others ) have ultimately been able to bring a massive dose of practicality and environmentally beneficial infrastructure thinking to the EU ' s 2035 zero-emissions regulations . The occupants of The Berlaymont , the national representatives that sit on the Council of the European Union ( formerly called the Council of Ministers ) and the elected consumer representatives in the European Parliament have been brought into alignment and , where accepting eFuels into the 2035 solution mix is concerned , are now , finally , singing from the same instruction manual . I already mentioned this last month , but Hallelujah and Praise the Lord - I just cannot help wanting to mention it again . This is a success story for the ages and one that should be sung loud and proud from the highest and cleanest of hilltops . It is a HUGE concession . An entirely logical one , and one that , actually , if anything , simply demonstrates the extent to which the EU brought its existing and traditional mechanisms of rule writing into disrepute by failing to acknowledge that other solutions are available . It is a change in the direction of travel that , in and of itself , acts as a massive advocate for bringing consumers and industry together inside the tent . It is a classic advert and case study of both sides - regulators and regulated - working with , rather than against , consumer sentiment in order to achieve best practice outcomes . In the specific case of the motorcycle anti-tampering regulations , I have already been picking up negativity and pushback about my prior remarks , from those who point to the compromise of rights and freedom of choice they represent , and the ( theoretical ) potential for negative economic impact it is perceived as having - forcing factory closures and lay-offs as existing retro-fit exhaust technology becomes obsolete . All of which , as the original 1996 Motorcycle Multi-Directive itself proved , is arrant nonsense , of course . That package of regulations marked the first serious and coordinated attempt to create a framework within which motorcycle noise , in particular , could be addressed . In 1996 , the year before I started this magazine , I hosted a half day industry meeting at what turned out to be the very last IFMA at Cologne . At this symposium , the rule writers ( at what was then known as DG III ) addressed some 200 people from the aftermarket and managed to create context for the new norms . The outcome of the 1996 Multi-Directive was that a decade later , the number of exhaust brands being made and sold in Europe had pretty much doubled and the number of aftermarket exhausts being installed had steepled . In addition to being good for health , good for safety , good for the environment , it turns out that regulations and standards can , after all , also be good for business . Not always , for sure , but as the years have turned into decades , that has increasingly become the case more often than not - safety does sell , but so too does clean air , a healthy planet and peace and quiet .
Robin Bradley Publisher robin @ dealer-world . com
4 INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2023 www . idnmag . com