MAG protest unites bikers
By TMX Archives on 30th Sep 11
Last Sunday the Motorcycle Action Group staged an anti-EU protest on behalf of Britains bikers. Editor JD got revved-up!
I guess that some of you out there might just have noticed last Sunday, as you were out and about, a long, slowly-moving (that was the theory anyway!) crocodile of motorcycles making their way along your local stretch of motorway or A road and wondered, "What the hell are they doing?”
Well, what ‘they' were doing - as you may have seen on the television news later - was making a protest against ever-more encroaching anti-motorcycling regulations emanating from - guess where - the European Union! Yes, the unelected, unwanted EU busy-bodies, ever eager to drag your life (and mine) down with more and more Draconian legislation, have targeted motorcycles for a whole raft of freedom-infringing laws and a well-established organisation known as the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) decided that ‘enough is enough' and organised a series of co-ordinated protest rides - named ‘EU Hands off Biking' - throughout the country that brought motorcyclists out in their thousands for peaceful, good-natured demos that nevertheless made their point.
The last thing I ever want to debate in this column is politics but this deserves an exception. Yes, well-known hard-line activist that I am (not!) I actually did take part in my local ‘demonstration' run and duly happened along in a mini-group of seven of us, on my Bandit (fitted with compulsory loud aftermarket pipe) in a 200-strong cavalcade which did little to hold the local traffic up but did make an awful lot of people gawp and wonder what it was all about. Which is exactly what it was meant to do. It was a clever protest. The idea was not to block roads and get-up people's noses. The invasive legislation is not their fault but
attention was drawn to the cause. Most interestingly, the
local motocycling plod who kindly accompanied us, were fully supportive of the action, individually if not officially!
Now, the demo I was on was pretty parochial, but still attracted, as I said, around 200 motorcyclists, a lot more than I thought possible, I thought 50 would have been a good turnout, which just goes to show the depth of feeling. Countrywide there were over 100 such demos and obviously some of them drew bikers from a huge catchment area and duly made their point.
So, you are now thinking, all very well but what has any of this got to do with off-road?
Well, the EU is currently looking at the possibility of making all new motorcycles tamper-proof. Which, to give you the short version, means that from taking delivery of your shiny new bike you must leave it in that as-delivered state for-evermore. No aftermarket bars, exhausts, suspension, levers, sprockets. No fancy footpegs, no trick pistons, clutches, etc, etc. Even tyres may have to be replaced like for like. Then there's the compulsory fitting of ABS to all new machines - something which just doesn't work on loose surfaces. In fact, even on road bikes it only really does its stuff with the bike vertical and braking in a straight line. And to make sure you don't touch anything your bike will be fitted with clever electronics that will detect any tampering and close your engine down until you return your bike to the dealer - the only place where servicing and repair work will be allowed to take place. There were actually several dealers taking part in ‘our' demo - they certainly don't want to lose a major part of their business - the lucrative supply of after-market goodies!
If the whole thing sounds a bit George Orwell that is exactly what it is. We don't know if this piece of ultimate control includes off-road bikes or not - but if any of the proposals see the light of day for road bikes - and the EU is currently deadly serious - then any machine that has to be registered will be included, which means trials and enduro bikes.
Which is why the MAG demos could very well have been doing off-road a huge favour last Sunday.
You might be surprised to know that the demos brought together many of motorcycling's various factions who wouldn't normally give one another a second glance. On our little run there were hardcore bikers, cafe-racers, poseurs, even commuters and scooter enthusiasts and yes, even a smattering of enduro bikes including the odd two-stroke.
So, was it all a waste of time or were us pioneering souls striking a blow for freedom against the all-powerful empire that is the EU? I'd like to think that at the very least it brought the matter to the attention of our own politicians who might just like to make themselves look good by speaking out for their motorcycling constituents. They were at least voted into power whether you like them or not. This in turn might (although I wouldn't hold my breath) make the faceless bureaucrats of Brussells pause, having discovered that the bikers aren't quite the pushover they clearly expected.
Maybe, just maybe it will go further and other factions of society may finally decide, like the bikers, that ‘enough is enough' from the invasive EU and we will make our own laws thank you very much.
Normal service will be resumed next week...!
