In fairness, this seems like a problem with an easy fix. But I spotted the other day a news item that offers up yet another reason to avoid Chinese motorcycles: the US government might ban them.
Or, well, it plans to ban integral parts of them. According to a press release from the United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the government has proposed a new rule that would “prohibit the sale or import of connected vehicles integrating specific pieces of hardware and software, or those components sold separately, with a sufficient nexus to the People’s Republic of China or Russia.”
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That phrasing is a little confusing. What it means is that if your vehicle has connectivity, and the software/hardware enabling that connectivity can be reasonably traced to China or Russia, said vehicle would be banned in the United States.
“Cars today have cameras, microphones, GPS tracking, and other technologies connected to the internet. It doesn’t take much imagination to understand how a foreign adversary with access to this information could pose a serious risk to both our national security and the privacy of U.S. citizens,” explained U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “To address these national security concerns, the Commerce Department is taking targeted, proactive steps to keep (China) and Russian-manufactured technologies off American roads.”
If you want to nerd out, the full text and background of the proposed rule can be found on the Federal Register. Go there to get into the weeds of what, exactly, the government means by “connected vehicle.”
And although Raimondo addresses cars specifically, the BIS says that “the proposed rule would apply to all wheeled on-road vehicles.” In fact, considering that there are presently no Chinese- or Russian-branded cars being sold in the United States, on-road motorcyclists will be among the first to experience the effects of this legislation.
The moto brands hit most obviouisly will be the Chinese ones, such as CF Moto, Kove, Moto Morini, et. al. (As best I can tell, Benelli does not presently operate in the United States. There were apparently plans for the Chinese-owned brand to return to the US market this year, but I’m willing to bet this proposal throws up some serious roadblocks.) All of those manufacturers offer bikes with some level of connectivity.
CF Moto, which has apparently made pretty good strides in the US market (it boasts 300 US dealerships on its website), stands out in particular. Many of its bikes have telematics boxes and features that can be controlled via an app. This would put the brand directly in the crosshairs of the proposed regulations.
Meanwhile, I’m not aware of any Russian motorcycle brands other than Ural, which is no longer manufactured in Russia and definitely doesn’t produce connected bikes, anyway.
Because the proposed rule focuses not on China/Russia-manufactured vehicles, but on any vehicle operating software/hardware of China/Russia origin, there is a potential for to affect far more manufacturers. Makers of hyper-connected bikes, like BMW, will right now be making sure that their systems can’t be seen to have “a sufficient nexus to the People’s Republic of China or Russia.”
The BIS is presently seeking public comment but after that, it seems likely this rule will be enacted. If/when that happens, here’s something to note: the regulation is coming from the Biden administration. Looking beyond President Biden’s term, it seems pretty reasonable to assume that whoever wins November’s presidential election would continue the policy. Kamala Harris has signalled that her administration would continue most of Biden’s trade policies, and Donald Trump has promised to implement aggressive tariffs against China; he’d almost certainly be happy to agree with Biden on this one point (though, you’d expect him to remove the bits of the regulation that pertain to Russia).
So, manufacturers won’t be able to just wait a few months for America’s leadership structure to change. Meanwhile, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the British government (and some others) following suit. Especially if such a move could be seen as benefiting local manufacturers.
As I said at the beginning of this article, though, for brands like CF Moto, this is a problem with a pretty easy fix: just don’t sell connected bikes. It seems to me it’s a feature that can be easily stripped out without affecting the riding experience.
Or, I suppose, CF Moto could just install Bosch systems, since the US government’s proposed rule doesn’t go so far as to ban China/Russia-manufactured vehicles. It’s only focused on the technology within them.
For now…
This proposed rule change does make you wonder, though, doesn’t it? A ban on all vehicles manufactured in China would have a major impact (say goodbye to pretty much any bike from KTM), but if the relationship between China and the West continues to sour, is it really so impossible to imagine?
If you want an affordable motorcycle, perhaps the safe bet is to buy a Royal Enfield.
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