How to check before you ride
- Read the plate under the sign. A motorcycle ban is a round sign with a red border and a black motorbike. The plate beneath it carries the days, hours, direction or noise limit. A ban with no plate applies all the time.
- Know your bike’s noise figure. Tyrol’s ban turns on the stationary noise level in your papers, not on how loud the bike sounds. Look it up before you plan a route through the Lechtal or over the Hahntennjoch, especially with an aftermarket exhaust.
- Check the authority, not a forum. Each row links to the body that sets the rule. Hours and seasons are changed from time to time, trial orders become permanent or lapse, and new closures appear on popular climbs.
- Watch the direction. Several bans, including the Kesselberg, the Sudelfeld and the Lochenpass, apply only one way. Riding the road the other way, or earlier in the day, is often the easy fix.
- Don’t trust the sat-nav on closures. Navigation apps rarely know about time-based motorcycle bans. Ask your host the night before; local hotels know which roads are shut at weekends.
- For passes, check the status on the day. Snow, rockfall and events close high roads even in summer. Our Alpine passes table links the status page for each pass.
Motorcycle restrictions: questions
Are motorcycles banned in Tyrol?
No, but bikes with a stationary noise level above 95 dB(A) in their registration papers may not ride a set list of roads in the Reutte district, including the Lechtal road, the Tannheimer Tal road and the Hahntennjoch, every day from 15 April to 31 October. Quieter bikes can ride them as normal.
Where do I find my bike’s stationary noise level?
On an EU registration certificate it is in field U.1, given in dB(A), with the engine speed it was measured at in field U.2. On other papers, look for the stationary or near-field noise figure, or ask the manufacturer or dealer for the type-approval value.
Is the Kesselberg closed to motorcycles?
Only uphill and only in the afternoon and evening. From 1 April to 31 October, motorcycles may not ride the B11 from Kochel up to Urfeld between 15:00 and 22:00. The downhill direction and the morning are open.
Can I ride the Nürburgring Nordschleife on a motorcycle?
Not in the public tourist sessions, which no longer admit motorcycles. Bikes can still ride the Grand Prix circuit on its motorcycle dates and on organised training days.
Do I need a Crit’Air sticker for my motorcycle in Paris?
Yes, to ride inside the Greater Paris low-emission zone on weekdays between 08:00 and 20:00, foreign bikes included. Bikes rated Crit’Air 3 or worse may not ride in the zone during those hours. Order the sticker only from the official French site.
What does a motorcycle ban sign look like?
In Germany and Austria it is a round sign with a red border and a black motorcycle, often with a plate underneath giving the days, hours or direction. A ban that applies only to loud bikes, as in Tyrol, carries a plate with the dB(A) limit.