International Dealer News IDN 150 August/September 2019 | Page 16

news ROOM
No plan for new motorcycles in
BRIEFS Europe to have compulsory speed
limiters
NEWS
Italian exhaust brand LeoVince is
celebrating its 65th anniversary this year -
"innovative research has always been at
the heart of everything that LeoVince
stands for. We started on the streets, but
soon ended up on the racetrack, looking
for innovative materials and construction
techniques. The art of manufacturing
exhaust systems for champions seeking
maximum performance has always been
our school - bringing those same
exhausts to the road for today's bikers".
Indian conglomerate
Mahindra's first new
model in its Classic
Legends Pvt Ltd BSA
relaunch for the Indian
market (initially?) is being branded
as a BSA Gold Star. It will feature an
engine made in Austria by BRP
owned Rotax - an updated version
of the 652 cc single as supplied to
Aprilia for the 650 Pegaso and
BMW F650 Funduro. This follows
Mahindra's relaunch of the once
massively popular in India Jawa
brand in 2018.
Led by shops in Austria, Switzerland and
Germany, calls are growing in Europe for
the formation of an independent
motorcycle dealer association. At present
the only opportunities for dealers to
organise are through their OE dealer
groups. The mood music among over 100
dealers who attended the February
meeting of the Austrian trade
association's meeting was that up to a
third of dealers could be facing threats to
their existence.
The Federation of European
Motorcyclists' Associations
(FEMA) has moved to counter
rumours about the introduction
of speed limiters on new
motorcycles sold in Europe by
getting the European
Commission to issue a
clarification to correct the
widespread and erroneous
reporting that has been seen
online and in print on both sides
of the Atlantic.
"After the news broke in April
2019 that 'Europe' wants
overridable Intelligent Speed
Assistance (ISA) for cars, we
quickly noticed that a large part
of the automotive and
motorcycle press described the
overridable Intelligent Speed
Assistance as "speed limiters
for cars and motorcycles". This
is not correct," says Dolf
Willigers, General Secretary of
FEMA.
Ms Ró a Thun, the member of
the European Parliament who
steered this legislation through
the European Parliament, clearly
stated: "We are not introducing
a speed limiter, but an
intelligent system that will
make drivers fully aware when
they are speeding", but some
journalists have kept insisting
that Europe was about to make
speed limiters on bikes
mandatory.
"To clarify this matter once and
for all, FEMA wrote an official
letter to Matthew Baldwin, the
Deputy Director-General for
Mobility and Transport and
European coordinator for road
safety and sustainable mobility.
In our letter we voiced our
concerns about possible ISA on
motorcycles and we made the
point that no technological
developments regarding a
possible improvement of road
safety should be implemented
without proper consultation of
motorcyclists.
"We stressed the fact that
certainly a measure like ISA
should not be implemented
without first clearly establishing
the need for introduction on
motorcycles. In our letter we
also invited the European
Commission to confirm that the
new regulations do not concern
motorcycles and that a possible
future regulation will not affect
speed either by braking or by
reducing engine power and will
be tested to guarantee the
safety of the motorcyclists."
In response, Baldwin stated:
"You mention some information
circulating in the media to the
effect that Intelligent Speed
Assistance will be required for
motorcycles. This is certainly not
true. As you are aware,
motorcycles are not within the
scope of the General Safety
Regulation and the Pedestrian
Safety Regulation.
"Even if the Commission were
eventually to make a proposal
making ISA systems mandatory
for motorcycles, this would
require an impact assessment
and a cost-benefit analysis. This
evaluation would take into
account the specificities and
needs of these vehicles and the
paramount need for the safety
of riders."