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Our must go summer events….

Warm summer days and balmy evening rides are just a memory as Autumn has taken hold with the inevitable cold wind and rain. But, what a fantastic summer of bike shows and riding. Here in the southeast we are lucky to have two committed motorcycle companies, The Bike Shed and Malle London that are spending a lot of time and money in bringing new biking events and festivals to the motorcycling fraternity and in turn attracting a younger audience to two wheels.

May Bank Holiday weekend saw the Bike Shed show return to Tobacco Dock, London. An amazing exhibition with 250+ custom bike builds the event has become one not to miss. Quality eateries and bars, live music, tattoists, trade stands and the Bike Shed’s barbers all mix to make a fantastic day out.

Next event in our calendar is the Malle Mile, billed as the ‘British Inappropriate Motorcycle Race and Exhibition in Motion’. It’s held at a private estate in Orpington with various grass track races where winning is not the main purpose….having fun definately is with the bonus of great food, bars and music! The weekend has the feel of a bunch of friends all who ride motorbikes and like to party hard into the small hours…roll on the 2020 Malle weekend.

Last weekend the end of season Bike Shed Festival was held at Lydden Hill raceway in Kent. Once again, this time along with the Malle London chaps, an awesome motorcycling weekend was held. On track racing and the off road trials, food, beer and partying (there is a theme to what constitutes a good weekend in our book). The hard work and attention to detail these two companies put in to their events has to be applauded.

Our diaries are poised for the dates of these shows next year….see you there!

The ULEZ is nearly here

Motorcycle and scooter riders in London need to ready themselves as the ULEZ (Ultra Low Emission Zone) will launch in just 3 months time on April 8th, riders of older bikes in London’s central congestion zone will thereon face a 24 hour charge of £12.50 per day.

If the charge is not paid, they will receive a £160 fine, which is halved to £80 if paid within 14 days.

The ULEZ, is being introduced by Mayor Sadiq Khan in a bid to improve air quality and has been described as the world’s most radical crackdown on vehicle emissions. It will initially apply to older powered two wheelers driving in the central London congestion charge zone and will be charged alongside the current Congestion Charge. While motorcycles are exempt from the C-charge, those that fail to meet “Euro 4” emissions standards (typically those registered before 2007), will be required to pay the £12.50 a day ULEZ charge. This will mean many of the delivery and commuter riders in the capital either giving up their rides or incurring the expense of upgrading to a newer bike.

Despite many well organised protests by groups such as ‘We Ride London’ and Motorcycle Action Group’, Khan has not backed down and refuses to acknowledge the advantages that two wheelers bring, namely reducing both pollution and congestion.

As ‘We Ride London’ quite rightly say, this is an unfair and counter-intuitive tax. Motorcycles & Scooters are part of the solution to reducing pollution, congestion and overcrowding but we continue to be ignored by the Mayor.”

A TFL webpage has been set up allowing owners to check if their vehicle is subject to the charge.

And as if to add injury to insult this is only the start as from 25 October 2021, the ULEZ area will be expanded to include the inner London area bounded by the North and South Circular Roads.

Goodbye Puncture, Hello Bike-Seal

‘There’s a nail in the tyre…’ this was a phrase that I always dreaded! Sods Law invariably meant that the motorbike with the nail in the tyre was due out on hire, a panicked rush would ensue to get the tyre either safely repaired or replaced before the customer arrived.

However, due to a recent visit with a mate on his new Yamaha MT07 to the Bike Shed in London’s Tobacco Dock the puncture nightmare I’d faced on a weekly basis ended for me. He casually bought in to conversation over breakfast (Blackheath Tea Hut never disappoints) that he’d installed Bike-Seal into his tyres ‘It’s the original stuff and fantastic, stops me worrying that I’ll get a puncture!’ ‘What’s that?’ I said…

So, I’ve been riding bikes for the thick end of 30 years and for the past 3 years have run Motobox UK Motorcycle Rental & Sales and although I knew about the various slimes and gunk that you could pump in to a punctured tyre to get you home or to a tyre repair shop I hadn’t heard of a puncture prevention product.

Roll forward a month or so and we are now retailers and installers of Bike-Seal and every motorcycle on our hire fleet run with the puncture prevention system installed….we love it and our customers can tour UK and Europe safe in the knowledge that a puncture won’t spoil their trip.

If you want to protect yourself from 95% of punctures with the treaded area of your motorbikes tyres, you need Bike – Seal. It works… Permanently.

A unique Puncture Prevention System. Seals up to 15mm punctures permanently. One 500 ml bottle fully protects 1 large Motorcycle (2 Tyres)

Installation of the product gives the following benefits:

  • Protects tyres from 95% of tread area punctures
  • Seals punctures up to 15mm
  • Stops most rim and bead leaks and slow punctures permanently
  • Protects tyres for legal life of tyre
  • Greatly reduces possibility of catastrophic failure
  • Non-Corrosive
  • Mechanical not chemical process
  • -35 c freezing point
  • On road/off road
  • No distance/speed restrictions
  • Tube/tubeless
  • Eco friendly
  • TPMS compatible
  • No shelf life/expiry

Easy self application. Complete with telescopic delivery cap (also extension tubing if required), and valve core removal key. Full instructions on carton and label.

(Please note some right angle valves can be problematic, so dealer installation is recommended).

We’ve Moved to Kent (The Garden of England)

Our time based in a barn on the Ashdown Forest has sadly come to an end due to the landlord finally getting planning permission to build on the land after many years trying….but every cloud (and all that) we have relocated to a fantastic showroom in Hildenborough, Kent.

Hildenborough is a great location for us and our customers, just 10mins drive from Junction 5 M25, quick rail links to London from Hildenborough or Sevenoaks train stations but lovely B roads on our doorstep. The county of Kent is known as The Garden of England and has many great roads linking the historic sights and attractions dotted throughout the county and nearby counties Sussex, Surrey and Essex.

A Christmas Gift Idea

There are a myriad of gift vouchers available to give as a Birthday or Christmas present but not many will create a lasting memory.

A Gift Voucher from Motobox UK allows you to give the person in your life with a motorcycle licence a fantastic experience on one of our bikes. We can supply all the protective kit required so no problem if their own kit is long gone or no longer fits!

Our Gift Vouchers are available in any denomination from just £10.00 and are valid for 12 months.

All our usual terms and conditions apply which are shown on our website motobox.co.uk