I've heard that the proposed ban on 50-125cc motorcycles will be moved forward to 2030, that's not too long folks.
My personal opinion on this is that these smaller capacity bikes/scooters are needed by many folk who cannot afford a car and can't use public transport for various reasons. These little machines are fabulous commuters, often retuning outrageous mpg figures and a cheap and easy to maintain. The decision to ban them is beyond ridiculous, as is the Net Zero farce. I reckon the Gov't just want the little people (me and you) out of their way on the roads, it's soon be a rich mans game, driving. I personally don't buy into this electric car is good for the environment stance, the batteries have a limited lifespan and are hideously polluting to make and dispose of. I firmly believe we're being regressed to the point that we are born, work and die within a few miles, as it was years ago. Personal freedoms will be a footnote in history and it makes me sad.

Source?

From the Government's published decarbonisation plan, 2021 (ie the consultation denoted as, "this year," was carried out in 2021.)




It's still 2035. I'd expect our resident civil servant to know any changes to that before press releases.

I've not heard of any specific ban on bikes up to 125cc by 2030 Smeg. All ICE engined bikes are going in 2035. It's been widely published.

There is a lot of internet mythology about EV's, much of it completely untrue. I do buy into the "electric cars are good for the environment" arguement. They are also good for your pocket. It's easy to work out why. I have family that bought them & none of them will ever go back to an ice. Even with our current higher electricity costs they are miles cheaper to run by far. Also very cheap to service costing between 25-30% of the cost of an ice engined car. The science & practical experience of recent years is showing considerable EV advantages over ice cars for both whole of life carbon emissions & running costs. JD Power says EV's are also proving to be the most reliable form of car road transport. The electric motors are bullet proof & simply don't wear out like ice engines do. They offer performance unmatched by ice's. It's common for the motors to cover over half a million miles without trouble. That's according to the Americans & indeed the trade.

Loads of myths about EV's have recently been busted especially the one about particulate matter from brakes & tyres being as great or greater than an ice car. In fact there are fewer particulates from EV's due to regenerative braking.

There are just so many reasons to buy one in stead of an ICE car. Lithium Ion batteries in particular are proving to have a very long life cycle indeed. Many 13 & 14 year old Nissan Leaf EV's with 100,000+ miles on the clock still have 88-90% battery capacity. This indicates you could run the batteries perhaps for 20yrs or more. Cost to replace the batteries is now quite low by comparison to a few years ago & is going lower each year. You can liken the battery packs to an ice engine. It will eventually wear out. Everything is finite even petrol engines. But Li-on batts are surpassing all expectations. When they do need replacing the batteries can now be recycled into brand new batteries. Nothing is wasted. This is already being done in a small way at specialist factories. More factories are being built to cope with the batteries so there's not really an issue. As yet though, there are few Li-on batteries that need replacing.

capitano wrote: ↑Tue Aug 02, 2022 12:01 pm From the Government's published decarbonisation plan, 2021 (ie the consultation denoted as, "this year," was carried out in 2021.)




It's still 2035. I'd expect our resident civil servant to know any changes to that before press releases.

Perhaps strangely, I'm not up on every department's plans and releases!

Also, since the demise of GSI we can no longer browse the intranets of other departments so there's no way for me to see anything before it goes public unless I'm in the X-WH consultations. Shame, as it made job interview prep a lot easier. (Not that I ever got anywhere....)

MAG believes the ban will be brought forward tp 2030 or sooner: https://www.mag-uk.org/mag-fires-first- ... sultation/

There is one aspect of the comments above that I completely agree with. Namely that the cost of these policies is completely underestimated. It is a simple truth that all of these measures have to be paid for by the public and the cost will impact those on lower income the most. The lifetime cost of an electric vehicle will always be higher than older technology and any savings on fuel costs, tax incentives, and subsidized purchase prices will gradually disappear as government will need to replace income from tax revenues earned from petrol and from premium road tax levels. Politicians see no further ahead than the next election and are rushing headlong into premature policies that most other countries won't bother with until 2040-50. For them it will be someone elses problem in ten years time. Isn't this exactly what happened with the short lived policy of persuading us all to drive "cleaner" diesels which amply showed their ignorance of anything technical.

The other worrying issue is that by forcing the pace of change manufacturers have no option but to use current best technology, which is obviously battery electric right now, and the huge investments in this will limit future better options which could be available in ten years time such as fuel cells/ hydrogen etc. I can't predict the future but we may be on course for another blind ally.

I hope I am around in ten years time if only to be able to say I told you so!

smeghead wrote: ↑Wed Aug 03, 2022 3:21 am MAG believes the ban will be brought forward tp 2030 or sooner: https://www.mag-uk.org/mag-fires-first- ... sultation/

2035 for stopping sales of new fossil fuel machines looks a pretty safe bet and 2030 may even be reasonable.

I would evidence that by pointing at the rate of take-up for electric cars being pretty astonishing given the premium you have to pay (the relative prices of the leccy and petrol VW Up is a good example). Obviously the poorer amongst us (I include myself, but let's not go there about civil service pay!) won't be buying electrics new anyway but we WILL follow once they become dominant on the used market. Let's look at that - the average age of used cars in the UK is about 8.5yrs and the SMMT say about electric cars "... during 2021 ... a 76% increase on 2020's volume and an 11.6% share of the overall 2021 new-car market." At that rate and also looking at what new cars are being launched now, I'd say in 2030 the average 2nd hand buyer will still have plenty of choice of petrol (probably not diesel though) but they'll be disappearing fast just due to what manufacturers are doing of their own accord now. Government action is nearly irrelevant as "market forces" are leading the way.

Electric bikes are coming out pretty rapidly too now, as manufacturers smell the coffee so I see no reason to think our market will be much different.

Personally I am going to miss working the gears, the noise, and so on of a decent petrol engine in my car and am finding new cars to be of very little interest. I get that most riders will feel the same about their 2 wheeled machines. However, as I use my scoot primarily for commuting I'm not so fussed if my next bike has to be electric.

StephenC wrote: ↑Wed Aug 03, 2022 6:39 am I get that most riders will feel the same about their 2 wheeled machines. However, as I use my scoot primarily for commuting I'm not so fussed if my next bike has to be electric.

Not all riders, though.

Having test ridden a Zero I'd have one tomorrow.

I'm not in the financial bracket to be an early adopter, though.