Motorbike recovery on the M65

A quiet motorway, and a dark one

There are no service areas on the M65, and at night long stretches are quiet and unlit. If the bike stops, don’t wait next to it in the dark: get behind the barrier and well up the bank, with your phone torch ready so the truck can spot you.

Where riders are heading

A lot of M65 riders are on the way to the Ribble Valley, the Nick of Pendle or the Yorkshire Dales via Colne. Where the motorway ends at Colne, traffic queues onto the A56 and A6068, and bikes overheat in summer jams.

Nearby: Blackburn and Burnley, Accrington, Nelson and Colne and Preston.

If your bike stops on the motorway

1. Get to the left. Hard shoulder, emergency area or the next exit if the bike still moves.
2. Get behind the barrier. Leave the bike, climb over the barrier and stand well up the bank, away from the traffic.
3. Stuck in a live lane? Call 999 straight away. Keep your helmet on and get off the carriageway if you safely can.
4. Call us once you’re safe, and send a WhatsApp location pin or the number on the nearest marker post.

Never try to fix the bike on the hard shoulder. On smart motorways with no hard shoulder, use an emergency area (the orange-surfaced lay-bys) and the SOS phone there connects you to National Highways.