By Colin Brown, Director of Campaigns and Political Engagement, Motorcycle Action Group (MAG)
A Cruise That Shattered Assumptions
My recent cruise along Norway’s coast was meant for fjord-gazing and respite, a break from the grind. But when your job is your passion—advocating for motorcyclists at MAG—your mind never rests. In Norway’s clinical, twee port towns, polished like tourist traps, I hunted for bikes. On a coach trip from Olden, our Scottish-born guide shared a local farmer’s quip: “In winter I milk the cows, in summer I milk the tourists.” The jest rang true amidst the postcard-perfect quays, thronged with visitors.
Government reports, like those from the Department for Transport, and media outlets, such as The Guardian, often claim charging infrastructure and high costs are key barriers to electric motorcycle uptake in the UK. That always sounded plausible to me—until I stepped off the cruise ship in Norway’. To be clear, I didn’t get the chance to speak to Norwegian riders, as I was swept along in the tourist bubble, but what I saw (petrol bikes roaring, a plethora of high-end electric Porsches whining, and a plentiful supply of chargers) and researched (just 1.2% of Norway’s motorcycles electric) upended this view. If Norway’s wealth, chargers, and subsidies cannot sway bikers, UK infrastructure or EV economics will not either.
On the dark side though, this holiday-born revelation fuels my fear: the UK government, chasing Net Zero, will push mandates to crush motorcycling’s soul. Will we let them?
Norway’s Electric Car Triumph
Norway’s electric car success is a marvel, funded by oil wealth in a twist of irony. In 1960, Norway’s GDP per capita was £4,000, trailing the UK’s ~£5,500 (adjusted). The 1969 Ekofisk oil and gas field find transformed it into an energy titan, boosting GDP per capita to a projected ~£47,000 by 2025, double the UK’s ~£23,000. Oil profits, channelled into the £1.4 trillion sovereign wealth fund since 1990, yield ~£70 billion in interest annually, supporting lavish EV policies through state budgets bolstered by fund returns. Since 1990, value-added tax exemptions (capped at £35,000 since 2023), no registration taxes, and free parking in many cities have made electric cars cheaper than petrol ones, driving 91% of new car sales electric in 2023 (83% full battery electric the rest hybrids). Norway has 477 charge points per 100,000 population over four times the UK’s 117. I saw electric Porsches (£80,000 in Norway post-subsidies, ~£120,000 in the UK), their presence screaming wealth.
Why would this embrace of EVs not extend to motorcycles? Surely, bikers would follow the national trend in such a haven.
Norway’s Motorcycle Failure
Yet, Norway’s bikers defy the electric tide. Only 1.2% of its 200,000-bike fleet is electric, a stunning failure for the EVangelists. In ports, I saw petrol bikes, their exhausts drowning Porsches’ hum, but no electric motorcycles. Chargers, usable by bikes with CCS or Type 2 connectors but built for cars, line fjord stops, suggesting infrastructure is not the primary issue. Norway’s incentives dwarf the UK’s: value-added tax exemptions up to £35,000 and no registration taxes make electric bikes like Zero’s SR/F (£15,000 post-subsidy) cheaper than in the UK (£17,000). Petrol bikes face 25% tax and emissions fees, hiking costs. I didn’t get the chance to speak to Norwegian riders, as I was swept along in the tourist bubble, but stats and sights suggest they reject electric’s silence. Why does Norway’s formula fail for bikes?
UK’s Misguided Focus
In the UK, many pin slow electric motorcycle uptake on sparse chargers and high costs, like Zero’s SR/F (~£17,000) versus petrol bikes (£10,000–£12,000) with ~186+ mile ranges. I broadly accepted this view until Norway’s lesson proved otherwise. The UK’s 47,000 chargers (2023), backed by £2.3 billion since 2014, prioritise cars. The Plug-in Motorcycle Grant (since 2017) offers £500, down from £1,500. The Vehicle Excise Duty exemption, saving ~£20, ended April 2025; electric bikes pay £20, like small petrol bikes. London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone favours electric bikes, but only pre-2007 petrol bikes face £12.50 charges, and ~70% qualify for exemption, making ULEZ a weak driver.
But Norway’s robust chargers and subsidies, far beyond Britain’s, fail to move bikers. If infrastructure and cost do not drive uptake there, why would they here? The issue is bikers’ love for petrol’s soul, not logistics or price.
Mandates: The UK’s Looming Threat
Norway’s failure to move their motorcycling community amplifies my fear for the UK. Lacking Norway’s wealth, the UK wields sticks more readily than carrots. The Zero Emission Vehicle mandate, effective January 2024, fines carmakers £12,000 per non-compliant car if 28% of 2025 sales are not zero-emission, rising to 100% by 2035. No motorcycle ZEV mandate exists (yet), but the 2035 ban is unlikely to exclude our bikes. Keir Starmer’s “harder and faster” climate push, reinstating the 2030 car ban, suggests a push for stricter measures. Seeing Norway’s incentive failure, will the UK abandon motorcycle subsidies that it cannot afford and are demonstrably not effective in Norway, and impose a ZEV mandate cudgel for bikes? The UK’s sub-1% electric fleet and weak policies make lazy mandates a growing threat. Why must bikers bow to Net Zero’s legal chains? Bikers reject electric’s hush, cash or no cash.
Join MAG’s Fight for Freedom
My cruise, meant for calm, rewrote my assumptions. Norway’s oil wealth buys chargers and the means for its citizens to buy expensive EVs, but not bikers’ hearts. Electric Porsches (£80,000 Norway, £120,000 UK) glide, but motorcycles sing petrol’s hymn. Norway’s 1.2% and the UK’s sub-1% scream riders want fire, not wires. Governments may wield bans, but MAG stands firm. We will not bow to mandates crushing our soul. Why let bureaucrats cage our roads? Join MAG for Riders Resistance Weekend. Stand with us to keep the roar alive, to ride free, to smash coercion. Your bike, your fight—join us.