Dear Wakefield MAG Member,
Welcome to the Wakefield MAG e-newsletter. If you can't attend our Wednesday meetings regularly, it's the next best thing to keep you up to date with what we are up to.
CONTENTS
1) July (Memorial) Rideout
2) MAG Seeks Directors and Trustees
3) Low Emissions Zones and City Bans could force Motorcyclists into cars
4) Farmyard Party Report
5) Yorkshire Pudding Rally
6) Call for YPR Marshals
7) Sheffield Speedway Report
8) Fleur de Lys Classic Vehicle Show
9) June Social Night (Scalextric Racing) Report
10) Illegal Number Plates
11) Forthcoming Events (for July and beyond)
Our July Rideout will be held on Sunday 23rd July, and is dedicated to the Memory of dear friends and ex-Members of the Branch who are sadly no longer with us. Martin has planned a learner friendly very scenic 'long way round' route to Whitby and 10,000 acres of clear blue sky is guaranteed (well, OK, we can't guarantee the last bit ... but we can live in hope !!!). Usual Rideout rules apply. Meet 8:30am (leaving at 09:00am) at Redbeck Cafe, 339 Doncaster Road, Crofton, Wakefield, WF4 1RT. Hope to see you there.
2) MAG seeks Directors and Trustees
MAG is seeking to fill several vacancies for Directors and Trustees at this year's Annual Conference.
MAG's Annual Group Conference will take place on Saturday 30th September 2017 in March, Cambridgeshire (full details to follow).
Selina Lavender, Chair, stated "MAG currently has a number of vacancies for Directors and Trustees and we would welcome Manifestoes from anyone who feels that they can bring something to the table. We are seeking Directors for both The Motorcycle Action Group Ltd and MAG Media. If you feel you have an appropriate skill-set for either of these and the time to give to it, we would welcome your Manifesto. We also have vacancies for Trustees of the MAG Foundation."
Manifestoes must have a Proposer and Seconder (full name and MAG membership number must be included) and must be submitted no later than Friday 30th June. In the event that the number of Manifestoes received is greater than the number of posts available a vote will be taken at the Conference. To submit your Manifesto, email it to nominations@mag-uk.org or post to Unit C13 Holly Farm Business Park, Honiley, Warwickshire CV8 1NP.
All other proposals to Conference or Agenda items should be emailed to nominations@mag-uk.org or posted to the address above.
Selina added "our Annual Group Conference is not just where we deal with our legal obligations; it is a time when members new and longstanding come together to discuss what MAG is achieving and to help plan the way forward. Plus we have some downtime in the evening to catch up with friends and colleagues following the business in the day. We look forward to welcoming our members to this important event in MAG's calendar."
3) Low Emissions Zones and City Bans could force Motorcyclists into cars
It is feared that motorcyclists who are no longer allowed to commute on their low-cost, pre-2006 motorcycles, may abandon motorcycling and switch to using a car instead. This could have serious consequences for urban traffic, congestion and pollution. The current focus of European mobility strategies is on public transport, cycling and walking. However, public transport will never reach every urban area and cycling and walking are only good for limited distances. This means there will always be a need for individual motorised personal transport. In urban mobility FEMA (the Federation of European Motorcyclists‟ Associations, of which MAG is a founder member), foresees a growing role for powered two-wheelers, especially motorcycles.
Motorcycles are smaller and lighter than cars and are able to keep moving where cars are stuck in traffic, which means they use less fuel, they pollute less and they save travelling time. Motorcycles provide the greatest flexibility of all means of personal transport, because they offer the freedom to travel where and when you want to. In the meantime, motorcyclists experience a growing pressure by city councils to switch from older, affordable motorcycles to more expensive, less fuel consuming and cleaner motorcycles. Several city councils threaten to ban older motorcycles (pre Euro 3, built in 2006 and earlier) from cities or demand high tolls.
FEMA conducted a survey amongst European motorcyclists to find out if the average motorcycle commuter would be willing to invest in a new(er) motorcycle to keep commuting by bike and to find out how the European rider feels about buying and riding a non-emission bike. If environmental restrictions would only allow for light, high-tech but low-power-output motorcycles (less than 60 brake horsepower), a small majority would still keep riding. A small majority of motorcyclists could even imagine enjoying the ride on a non-emissions bike. But, a staggering 87% would not be willing to invest in a more expensive non-emissions bike. If fossil fuel vehicles were ever banned from entering the city, 76% would rather change transport mode than buy a non-emissions bike.
This outcome could have serious consequences for urban traffic, congestion and pollution. Quote from Dolf Willigers, FEMA's general secretary: "It is high time for politicians all over Europe to start realizing that motorcycles and other powered two-wheelers are a part of the solution when it comes to urban mobility, and not part of the problem. Simply banning road users that aren't even the real polluters from entering cities, is very short-sighted and counterproductive."
Meanwhile, the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has responded on behalf of London's 200,000 every day riders to defend an exemption from user charging of bikes in the Capital's Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ). Selina Lavender, MAG's Chair, has shared MAG's determination to ensure an exemption. "The bike charging proposal was part of a package to reduce emissions - even though a shift towards motorbikes reduces emissions. We've made a comprehensive submission to explain why it's utterly counterproductive to tax part of the solution, namely powered two wheelers. The charge is £12.50 a day."
MAG made the following points:
MAG is closely following the emissions debate to ensure that bikers are not charged while other vehicles which make no contribution to reducing congestion (and emissions caused by traffic jams), such as electric cars, are exempt. This remains a key element in the campaigning work of the movement.
Check out the event report Here.
Now the FYP is out of the way for another year, we have the splendid Yorkshire Pudding Rally to look forward to, held at Estrick Estate, Estrick, nr Selby/York, on 4th - 6th August.
The Most Chilled Rally on the Calendar:
The Yorkshire Pudding offers a friendly chilled atmosphere with great weather (usually !!!). It has two marquees for entertainment, one hosting a big stage with bands playing both nights and a comedy show during the day on Saturday. The other smaller marquee is a more chilled real ale marquee with a small stage with artists playing both evenings. A great selection of traders selling bike related stuff and food vans selling to notch food from pizza, fish and chips, burgers and curry, to donuts. As with all our rallies we make sure the best toilet providers work twenty four hours a day to keep everything clean and fresh for you. All our rallies have twenty four hour litter pickers so none of our sites have a litter build up.
Wakefield MAG have just received a new batch of tickets as we had sold all of our first allocation of tickets. Remember, the Yorkshire Pudding Rally is a Pre-Book only event, with no 'On the Gate' ticket sales, therefore, if you want to go to this most splendid rally, you have no option other than to get your tickets in advance (and don't leave it until the last minute as this event always sells out once the dust has settled from the FYP ....
.... Don't say you haven't been warned !!!
Tickets for the YPR are Twenty Five Pounds and available at our Wednesday meetings (for the time being anyway) ... Be quick if you want some.
Marshals Registration for the Yorkshire Pudding Rally 2017 is now open.
Please note the deadline for registration is 13:00 on Saturday 15th July, and you will receive confirmation of your shifts by Sunday 23rd July.
It would help us tremendously if you opt to work more than one 4-hour shift and left it to our discretion as to when and where you work. We will do our best to try and make sure that you have one night off with friends. If you need certain times off or there are areas not suited to you we will also try to accommodate this as much as possible, but please try to be as flexible as you can.
At the event: We ask that could you please ensure you register your arrival on site with marshal's admin to collect a marshal's wristband (giving access to marshals camping). This is to let us know you have arrived even if your shifts are not till later in the day/weekend.
Please help us to make sure you get the rewards you are entitled to from the marshal's package - 15 minutes prior to the start of each shift please report to marshal's admin, and then return after your shift to collect your thank you package.
All shifts will be 4 hours long but in one or two cases a 6-hour shift may be allocated and this will be treated as a 2 shifts for the marshal's package. The thank you package ensures that you are fed and watered and if you work 2 or more shifts, you get a free event T Shirt, and 3 or more, you get free entry to the event.
The site will be open to pre-registered marshals from Wednesday 2 August 2017, for those helping with set-up. All marshals are welcome from Thursday 3 August 2017. Thank you for volunteering to support this event, without you they would not happen.
To register to marshal, go to the rally web site, go to the marshals link at the bottom of the page (RHS) and follow the instructions.
Check out the event report Here.
8) Fleur de Lys Classic Vehicle Show
The annual gathering of classic vehicles organised by the Fleur de Lys Classic Vehicle Society will be held on Friday 7th July at Clarence Park, Wakefield, from 4pm to dusk. All vehicles are welcome and to be classified as a classic they must be aged over 25 years old ie. Manufactured in or pre-1992.
Enjoy a summer's evening in the Park wth some wonderful classic vehicles and enthusiasts. Entry is free for spectators.
More details at: fleurdelyscvs.org/
9) June Social Night (Scalextric Racing) Report
Check out the event report Here.
Source: GEM Motoring Assist
According to research obtained by click4reg.co.uk, 5,395 drivers were either fined, or prosecuted, for displaying an illegal registration plate during 2015. The situation tends to be most prevalent among car owners (contrary to popular opinion that bikers are unfairly targetted and car drivers get away scott free for the same offence), who seek to personalise their standard registration numbers, by adopting spurious logos, alternative fonts and non-standard spacing, usually in an attempt to spell-out something that is meaningful to them but is not always that obvious to everybody else.
The main problem is that certain ANPR cameras have trouble deciphering the non-standard styles and, in some cases, even humans struggle to untangle the numbers. While the situation might lead to traffic offences not being traced, the move can come back to haunt the owner - should the vehicle be stolen, the police will find it trickier to reveal its whereabouts, caused by the recognition cameras being less likely to read the number-plate.
Number-plates, therefore, have to follow a set format and any deviations are not legal for road use. A responsible MoT Tester is obliged to fail a vehicle that wears non-compliant plates. Even if a pass certificate is granted for a vehicle with a non-compliant plate, should the vehicle be stopped by a Road Traffic Officer subsequently, the driver/rider could be confronted with a penalty charge of up to £1,000. In theory, it should not be possible to buy such number-plates, because all suppliers have to be registered with the DVLA. However, lots of suppliers sell 'show plates', often online, without any identity checks being made on the purchaser, as they are designated for, and sold with the understanding that they are for non-public highway usage.
If you are considering a replacement, all new number-plates for vehicles used on the public highway must comply with the British Standard BSAU45d, which must also be stamped on the bottom of the plate, unless they are to be fitted to a vehicle that is registered in the Historic tax class.
You can't say you have not been warned.
Useful links:
Click4reg: https://www.click4reg.co.uk/blog/industry/illegal-number-plates-across-uk/
DVLA: https://www.gov.uk/number-plate-supplier
BNMA: https://www.bnma.org/legislation.html
11) Forthcoming Events (for July and beyond)
Saturday 1st July - Brum Demo 2017
Organiser: MAG West Midlands. TfWM promises more secure parking will be provided for PTW's - so where is it. Time for the new West Midland Mayor to take action. Meet at The Old Hare & Hounds, Rednal, B45 8UU. Details at: www.facebook.com/events/1401440313212626/
Friday 7th July - Fleur de Lys Classic Vehicle Show
See Above. 4pm-dusk, Clarence Park, Wakefield. Free for spectators. More details at: fleurdelyscvs.org/
Saturday 15th July - Wakefield MAG Sea Fishing Trip (Sunderland Coast on the Sapphire Charter Boat)
£55 each, which includes hire of all the gear and the bait, and 8 hours out on the boat. Party of 10 max. More details in the : Feb 2017 Newsletter. All places now booked (although we are operating a reserve list in case of any last minute drop-outs - let us know if you are interested.
Sunday 23rd July - Wakefield MAG Memorial Rideout (Destination: East Coast)
See Above. Meet 8:30am (leaving at 09:00am) at Redbeck Cafe, 339 Doncaster Road, Crofton, Wakefield, WF4 1RT
Wednesday 26th July - Wakefield MAG Social Night - Event: A quiz of some description.
20:30 in the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield
Friday 4th August - Sunday 6th August 2017 - Yorkshire Pudding Rally (YPR)
See Above. Details of this most splendid event at: www.yorkshirepuddingrally.co.uk
Sunday 13th August - Wakefield MAG Rideout (Destination: TBC)
Meet 8:30am (leaving at 09:00am) at Redbeck Cafe, 339 Doncaster Road, Crofton, Wakefield, WF4 1RT.
Wednesday 30th August - Wakefield MAG Social Night - Event: TBC
See the events page for further details and more !!!
That's all for this month, hope to see you all soon.
Ride Safe .. Ride Free
Steve Travis
Chairman
Wakefield MAG
0772 078 4734
Wakefield MAG meet at the Grey Horse, Kirkgate, Wakefield at 8:30pm every Wednesday. New (and Old) faces are always welcome.