IOC have a super cool exclusive photo gallery if you want to take a tour - from the Nortons and Royal Enfield retro brands to the very latest electric Peugeot V2 scooter for clean air final mile.
Meanwhile, we have an MCIA AGM extract below for you, as they re-brand more modern and boss Tony Campbell talks stuff beyond bike as the MCIA are starting to cover light vehicles from Paxsters to Twizzies.
Following the same trend we have words from FORS and the bike licence alignment to the IOC Code of Practice pledge in the new version five FORS; by silver there are no two-wheel L-plates. Enjoy the triple two-wheel focus below; Bike Show, FORS and MCIA AGM at the NEC Birmingham Bike Show.
Bike Show at the NEC for final mile delivery machines
IOC were at the Motorcycle Live NEC show in Birmingham, it was bike courier heaven for kit deals, clothing stacked and racked, Arai helmets from three hundred quid, branded full leathers started at two fifty, boots at fifty, protective clothing galore and glove choice off the scale.
Sadly Black Friday week means little opportunity for the couriers to attend, but the NEC was as busy as any recent year. Let’s not get over-nostalgic but when TV was black and white this was where the motorbike couriers clothed for winter. Today the sector has gone all leisure, MCIA reporting two wheeler average age over fifty, superbike race replicas are taking second stage to the naked muscle bikes and retros are coming up fast, but bike sales reporting around a hundred thousand units a year are looking thin. That said, there is still a solid core of work bike two-wheelers from all the major manufacturers. Going proper two-wheel final mile this year there were strong all-electric scooter contenders, Peugeot V2 and the Keeway and more power came in the form of Soco electric motorbikes. At the MCIA AGM there was even talk of London Police scooters running on hydrogen power cells.
Back on the delivery strength, scooters are accounting for an ever-smaller percentage of those new two-wheeler numbers and folk in the bike business are getting concerned for future sustainability as L-plate sales fall and the average biker age climbs.
On the fun side of the show, they had an Arena motocross event, this year was LED lights in the dark for a full roller-coaster action-packed balance event - flying over the jumps, classic bikes and retro were everywhere. There was a Spitfire aeroplane on the CCM stand and the insurance folk put custom machinery in breath-taking fashion. Lots of 'get on a bike and try', ride over sand humps in the NEC to kids on their very first two-wheel pedal-balance machines.
The place had a buzz not seen for a few years and folk getting the car park bus were laden with bags of kit that must have been keeping the retailers happy. Well done the MCIA for another great NEC Motorcycle live bike show, they laid on dinner for their mid-week AGM to talk electric light vehicles with three and four wheels, but we will pop that in another story as they are getting serious about wheels for work for our whole sector.
MCIA AGM – A new vision for wheels to work on.
Light Powered Vehicles for deliveries. More than just motorbikes.
This week’s Road Safety Week focused on bikes; bikes at the NEC for the Motorcycle live show, then a triple diary delight - the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA) holding their AGM at the NEC. MCIA have a new brand vision with a new logo and strap line, ‘Today's Industry, tomorrow’s journeys.’ It looks set for clean air and final mile express delivery solutions on light vehicles. It looks set to recognise the bikes we work on for Express delivery. MCIA have taken a look at the commercial delivery opportunities for L-class vehicles. Light vehicles, petrol and electric two-wheel final mile machines. Both a solution to congestion access and clean air in the ULEZ zones from April. Motorcycle Industry Association, MCIA chairman Howard Dale spoke change of power source in the next decade and a clean air product for both two wheels and light vehicles such as the Renault Twizzy. Electric, assist and hydrogen all got mentions.
This was the 46th AGM and MCIA CEO Tony Cable spoke passionately about the future challenges.
Looking directly at the express delivery market of final-mile two-wheel solutions. New two-wheel bike sales is a shrinking market, it’s getting hard for legislation and safety, ‘average two wheel rider age is 54 years old, scooter sales are their lowest in years, ‘we need to attract younger candidates, we need to look at delivery riders and not be a leisure sector. Powered two-wheelers must be an option to commute to work on.
‘Wheels to Work and getting apprentices to the workplace on a scooter is a key future for the sector.’ That’s all good news in the hunt for individuals in the high density delivery conurbations, we are talking cargo bike, electric assist and all light vehicles that in the pipeline of the next battery technology.
MCIA had Andy Eastlake, LOW Carbon partnership deliver the NEC Bike Show keynote (Road to zero and clean air.)
Andy Eastlake spoke on working towards clean air for two wheels, zero emission, DfT document, ‘The Last Mile’
‘LowCVP are working with the MCIA on a collaboration group to match technology and market. LowCVP are also aligned with TfL LoCITY groups that the IOC chair. Two-wheel solutions from cargo bikes to scooter deliveries, assisted electric bikes and light vehicles with more wheels, three and four, such as the Paxster mini vans that have arrived at the new DPD Westminster depot
IOC chairman, Carl Lomas,
I greatly welcome the MCIA new vision to spread beyond motorbike into light vehicles.
Tony Cable, MCIA boss closed the 2019 AGM with a new brand vision, a new logo and strap line, ‘Today's Industry, tomorrow’s journeys.’ It looks set for clean air and final mile express delivery solutions on light vehicles.
FORS welcomes powered two-wheelers in V5 of the standard
During this week's two-wheel focus of bike from the NEC show to road safety two wheels and the MCIA AGM, FORS came in to make it a quad date week talking two-wheelers in the new version five of the FORS standard, bronze silver and gold with no L-plates by silver for final-mile two-wheelers.
John Hix, FORS director,
The transport of goods has come to encompass a much wider range of vehicles. FORS has aimed to include as wide a range of professional fleets as possible. We began with a remit for construction HGV operators before expanding our reach to vans and bus and coach operators, and the scheme now has the tools to include powered two-wheelers.
FORS will soon encompass powered two-wheeler (P2W) fleets – made up primarily of motorcycle and moped operations – as the scheme continues to expand its remit to bring best practice to an increasing range of commercial vehicle operators.
Through its newly-updated FORS Standard, version five, FORS makes provision for P2W fleet operations from January 2019, providing this growing sector with access to its progressive Bronze-Silver-Gold accreditation process. The new FORS Standard is now in its fifth iteration, updated every two years to retain relevance in an ever-changing industry, setting out the requirements operators must meet if they wish to become FORS accredited. As part of new FORS Professional training updates, and very much in-line with Transport for London’s (TfL) Vision Zero campaign, P2W fleets at FORS Bronze level accreditation are required to complete Compulsory Basic Training and the theory test every 12 months. At Silver accreditation, members’ P2W riders must have attained a full motorcycle licence relevant to the vehicle’s power output.
John Hix adds
It’s no secret that many deliveries, especially last-mile deliveries are completed on motorcycles and mopeds, and it’s important that we offer these operators the chance to be part of FORS; to raise standards, to implement training and to improve safety for all road users.’ The addition of P2Ws to FORS membership goes hand in hand with a greater national emphasis on the inclusion of P2Ws across compliance, and a recognition of the need to provide training in the sector. Under TfL’s Vision Zero campaign, a wide range of measures have been put in place to raise motorcycle standards, including new advanced training courses and closer working with the motorcycle delivery industry.
Bike Show Gallery
1 Bargains galore on winter bike kit for cold December deliveries
2 British Superbike 2018 opening round winner Bradley Rae
3 Zero-emission electric Soco motorbikes
6 Peugeot all electric V2 scooter
7 Fantic – electric cycle motorbike
8 Keeway E-Z1 electric
16 CCM Spitfire stand
21 Arai helmets from 290 pounds
