Outback Motors owner Urs Mueller said the changes came into effect in May. 

“I reckon 90 per cent (of motorcycle handlebars in Mount Isa) will be illegal,” Mr Mueller said. 

Queensland’s Vehicle Inspection Guidelines has an amendment under section 6.10 that reads: “for motorcycles manufactured prior to July 1988 the lowest part of the hand grip on the handlebars is higher than 380 millimetres above the steering yoke. 

“For motorcycles manufactured from July 1, 1988, the height of the lowest part of the handgrip is more than 380 millimetres above the lowest part of the upper surface of the rider’s seat.” 

Mr Mueller said former vehicle inspection guidelines required the height of the lowest part of handgrip to be higher than 380 millimetres above the attachment point of the handlebar to the motorcycle. 

According to Mr Mueller, this basically means the height has to be measured from below while they formally were measured from the top.  

Mr Mueller said this could make a difference of up to five centimetres. 

He believed the changes were pointless and could cost up to $1000 to fix affected motorcycles. “We ride bikes because they are cheap and we don’t want to spend a fortune on it,” Mr Mueller said.

He checked the vehicle inspection guidelines earlier this week as part of his habit but did not expect to see any changes.

“When I read that I couldn’t believe it, no one said anything,’’ he said.

“They (the state government) quietly sneaked that law in and that stuffs people up.”