MAG Members offered free ULEZ motorcycle check
Thinking about the new ULEZ charges coming in in London - time to get your bike checked...?
MAG, the Motorcycle Action Group, are encouraging riders in London to get their bike's emissions checked as soon as possible and then see what can be done if their motorcycle emissions are not compliant with the new expanded ULEZ area which is due to come into force in August of this year.
MAG members are being offered a free chance to check whether their machine's emissions are compliant within the proposed new ULEZ emissions area, at a testing station in South East London. MAG are concerned that riders will feel that they have to scrap perfectly good bikes simply based on their age, without checking first to see whether they actually do meet the new regulations.
Altogether, MAG is very exercised about motorbikes in the new ULEZ zone, arguing that motorcycles in fact reduce overall emissions by keeping traffic flowing and reducing congestion. They claim that many pre-Euro 3 motorcycles are actually compliant with the new emissions standards and should therefore be exempt from the charge. Sadiq Khan has now agreed that individual vehicles can be tested, rather than implementing a blanket ban on bikes over a certain age. This means that each individual bike's emissions levels would be known and they could then be registered as exempt if their emissions are in actual fact low enough, despite their being pre 2007.
Bikes made before 2007 can still meet emissions targets if they emit under the 0.15g/km NOx limit set by TfL (Transport for London) and if they are properly tested and registered with TfL, then they won't need to pay the ULEZ charge. Once a motorcycle is registered as exempt on the TfL list, then when it's picked up on cameras inside the low emissions zone and checked against the database of registered machines, it won't be charged.
A lot of riders have already had their pre 2007 bikes tested, and many are already compliant on emissions, so are registered as exempt from the charges.
Testing, Testing, One, Two, Three
There are
three registered motorcycle testing stations now, which charge £175 for a test. In the test your bike will be put on to the dyno and the exhaust gas measured as your machine goes through a sequence of drive cycles mimicking various riding conditions, and readings will be taken at each different output and an average acquired. Your bike will then either pass or fail - but there is hope if it fails, one of the testing centres, in Deptford in South East London, is offering MAG members a 'no pass, no fee' offer. The test centre, run by Ian Wills, won't charge you a re-test fee if your bike fails. This means you can get work done on it in the hope of passing, without then having to pay a re-test fee, and only pay the £175 if the bike passes.
As quoted by MAG, Ian Wills says :
“Well-maintained, properly set-up and cared-for bikes stand a much better chance of meeting the standard and passing the test. If a bike passes the test, we upload the results straight to the TfL database and your bike is registered by TfL as exempt the next working day. We are finding most bikes are passing without any work.”
The offer is open to all members of
MAG
so it makes sense to take advantage of it if you are a member, or you can join if this appeals and you aren't already a member.
Have you had an emissions test for your bike and if so how did you find it? Did it pass straight away or did you need to do work on it? We'd really like to know so contact us at:
[email protected] or on
Facebook.
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