ROAD NEWS
MIA INCREDULOUS THAT THE CLEAN CAR STANDARD INCLUDES MOTORCYCLES
When is a ‘ Clean Car ’ not a car ? When it is a motorcycle . The MIA ( Motorcycle Industry Association ) says it has been surprised to learn the Land Transport Clean Vehicles Amendment Act , which enables the Clean Car emissions standard that will come into effect on January 1 , 2023 , also applies to any importer of a road-going motorcycle . The Act applies to any motor vehicle weighing under 3500kg , but goes on to define vehicles that will incur penalties or earn credits under the Clean Car Standard ( CCS ) as light passenger vehicles or light commercial vehicles – namely cars , SUVs , utes and vans . “ It all comes down to interpretation of the Act , and whether the section on the Clean Vehicle Standard only applies to light passenger and commercial vehicles , or all light vehicles ,” says MIA Principal Technical Advisor Mark Stockdale . “ The problem is that under the Act any importer of a light vehicle has to set up a CO2 account and record the CO2 emissions values of all light vehicles they import before they can be registered – which includes motorcycles and potentially electric bicycles – even if they aren ’ t subject to penalties or credits .
“ The MIA was under the impression the Act only applied to cars , SUVs , utes and vans , and was incredulous to recently learn from officials that all importers of light vehicles have to set up a CO2 account – by 1 December 2022 ,” Mr Stockdale said . “ What makes it more farcical is that motorcycle importers can ’ t obtain CO2 data for their motorcycles , so they can ’ t enter any data in the CO2 account , and they have no CO2 targets under the Act anyway . “ It ’ s all a pointless exercise and a mistake in the drafting of the Act which will put motorcycle importers to unnecessary extra work . What with the rollout of the Clean Car Discount causing issues for used car importers in particular , this mistake will create new problems for both new and used motorcycle importers , and other vehicles which are also meant to be exempt , like Special Interest Vehicles or low volume vehicles . It ’ s another illustration that this is a government of mistakes ,” Mr Stockdale said . The MIA says the solution is for an emergency amendment to the Act to clarify that vehicles declared to be excluded in the accompanying regulations , are excluded from the whole section on the Clean Vehicle Standard .
BMW ADDS AKRAPOVIC SILENCERS TO R18 ACCESSORIES
Since the get go BMW has made it clear it wants the R18 Big Boxer to have a similar level of customisability as its American competitors , and the German firm has just upped the ante with the introduction of Akrapovic silencers to the official parts catalogue . The new cans are 97mm shorter than the two standard rear silencers and are made of durable stainless steel , coated in matt black and , together with a silver end cap adjustable in 90-degree steps , go a long way to give the rear end of the R18 a more sporty appearance . Akrapovic has also incorporated BMW ’ s iconic “ propeller ” symbol into the centre of the end cap as a high-grade detail and special identifier for the exclusive pipes . With a combined weight of 8.2kg , the two Akrapovič rear silencers are a total of 1kg lighter than the standard R18 units . Best of all , they reportedly sound rather good and BMW has homologated the new pipes so they should pass noise tests where the fun police like to try and ruin things .
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