Safety expert urges retailers to meet the latest riding kit standards

A leading motorcycle kit safety expert says he would support heavier involvement from Trading Standards to stamp out sellers peddling substandard products at biking shows and other events.

Paul Varnsverry is the Technical Director at PVA-PPE Group, who work in partnership with brands to ensure their riding products meet the latest safety certification, and believes more needs to be done to protect customers purchasing biking gear at shows and festivals.

“These products are an unknown quantity,” Varnsverry told MCN. “To filter out any vendors who may be selling non-conforming products, I certainly think it would be advisable for show organisers to invite Trading Standards along to an event.”

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The proposed move comes after Newham Trading Standards were welcomed along to the recent Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show, discovering 11 retailers that had potentially unsafe riding kit, which had not been tested and certified, for sale. Some had falsified labels and fake body armour fitted.

MCN Editor, Richard Newland, commented: “We were delighted to welcome Trading Standards to the Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show – having engaged with the team in advance of the show and reminded traders in advance of their legal obligations.

“MCN has a zero-tolerance policy on the miss-selling of fashion items as protective kit and we take an even more stringent approach to products intentionally mislabelled to deceive buyers.

“The discovery of what appeared to be some non-compliant items proved that MCN was absolutely right to welcome Trading Standards to our event. Bikers are safer because of the results of that partnership.”

The latest legislation came into force in April 2018 and deemed that all riding kit sold in the United Kingdom and European Union is now considered personal protective equipment (PPE), meaning it needs to be tested and certified by law before it can be sold.

Any remaining items that arrived on UK shelves before this date can continue to be sold until stocks run out but it seems some vendors are unsure of the law.

“There’s a lot more that retailers need to know about this legislation to make sure they are meeting the legal obligations it sets them,” Varnsverry continued. “I think it’s a learning exercise for event organisers and exhibitors and I think engaging with Trading Standards for the event can only be beneficial.”

He continued: “By purchasing certified kit, you’re getting a known quantity. You really cannot guarantee untested, non-certified products.”

MCN would like to see other event organisers working with their local Trading Standards organisations, to help eradicate non-certified products from all future biking events.

Keep yourself protected with the following three steps:

• Look for the CE mark and/or UKCA mark. The UKCA mark is now appearing more regularly and UKCA certification has to be in place as of January 1 2023 when goods are placed on the GB market.
• For any product sold with the above marks, a user information booklet should also be supplied. This will tell you how the product has been tested and where.
• Look for the declaration of conformity. This will include who the manufacturer/brand is, what the product is, what standards it’s been tested to, who by and the certificate number. It must be supplied as either a hard copy, or via a web link in the booklet.

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Bikers flock to see the latest machines at the MCN London Motorcycle Show after one-year Covid hiatus

First published 14 February 2022 by Jordan Gibbons

The return of the Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show after a one-year absence was a huge success, with over 31,814 people making a pilgrimage to ExCeL in Docklands.

Stands full of superb new bikes drew the crowds, with some models making their first appearance in the UK at the show. One of the star turns was the Ducati DesertX, which was only revealed two months ago. Powered by the engine from a Multistrada V2, the retro adventurer was a huge pull for many showgoers.

In total there were 21 different manufacturers with machines to suit everyone including Artisan Electric, BMW, Can-AM, CCM, Ducati, Honda, Indian Motorcycle, Kawasaki, KTM, Langen, Lexmoto, Macrais, Maeving, Royal Enfield, Suzuki, Talaria, Triumph, Ural, Yamaha, Voge and Yadea.

The star-studded flattrack racing madness in the central arena proved popular with the crowds as MCN’s ‘King of the Roads’ circuit saw teams of professional racers duke it out for the top spot.

Veteran road racers John McGuinness and Peter Hickman were the captains, with their teams stuffed with the latest racing talent of Chrissy Rouse, Danny Webb, Dom Herbertson and Charlie Nesbitt plus the Neave twins, Tim and Tom.

MCN Sports Editor, Michael Guy, also used the racing as the perfect time to reveal on stage that Taz Mackenzie has won MCN’s Rider of the Year award.

There was also a victory for rider safety as invited Trading Standards officers ensured only compliant biker gear was on sale from the plethora of retailers.

Meanwhile, this year’s show saw Silverstone Auctions bringing along a huge selection of modern and classic machinery to tempt experienced collectors and amateur enthusiasts alike. The sale was a roaring success with a 1936 Brough Superior SS80 attracting the highest sale price of the auction, at £61,875.

Our three top bikes of the sale were a 1958 Norvin Café Racer, a 1000cc Vincent motor in a Norton frame, which sold for £42,750; an immaculate 1999 Aprilia RS250, which went for £15,188; and a record-setting CB400/4 which hit a new high of £15,950.

Then of course there were the amazing displays including a celebration of Rossi’s career with six of his GP winning bikes, the adventure stage with scores of guest speakers, a plethora of customs from Built magazine plus Barry Sheene’s classic XR14 which was regularly fired up on the Suzuki stand. Roll on 2023!