Uk Import and SVA

[Diesel Dave]

With the Tiger now safely home and as import and export within the EEC is supposed to be an easy matter.....

With great trepidation I ordered an 'import pack' from the DVLA and opened the rather thick envelope - wow!

Anyhoo it turns out that things are going to be a lot easier than I thought as the bike is over 10 years old (1996) - Phew.

Just an MOT to get then submit the following:

V55/5 form
Customs VAT declaration
Registration fee £55
Insurance Cert
Road Tax fee
Proof of ID x 2

Well that's about it - so I could even get away with marking up the speedo glass with MPH and some beam bender stickers on the headlamp glass.

Problem is.......... Bikes too big for my little trailer DOH!

Dave

[sbrumby]

probably a silly question but how do you get an MOT as its all electronic now and I presume your new bike is not on the dvla list?

[Diesel Dave]

Hi Sam,

You can get both MOT and Insurance using the VIN number.

The only MOT problem is not having a drop down on the motorcycle page for fuel other than petrol.

BTW I've really confused the insurance company, they can't get their heads around having a bigger engine and less than half the power.

Cheers
Dave

[Anorak_ian]

Wow, seems too easy!

Not having done it yet as I have a reg for mine, but, is it that easy for a UK build?

[SUMO]

uk build not even close to that easy - MSVA time if you build it yourself - more fees and more work and more stupid rules [ mine wil be MSVA'd and all that guff]

[Anorak_ian]

uk build not even close to that easy - MSVA time if you build it yourself - more fees and more work and more stupid rules [ mine wil be MSVA'd and all that guff]

I guess it would be cheaper to get a frame with a v5c and then change the fuel type on it to diesel, rather than go down the MSVA route.
The problem is getting a pre 1972 frame with a v5c.

[Diesel Dave]

The only reason I can think of for a pre '72 frame would be to take advantage of the road tax free status.

The next milestone is about '84 after which indicators are required (unless for a bike mostly used off road).

If you need to chop the frame about then it's likely that an engineers report will be requested by the insurance company - this is not an onerous task and can be performed by your local bike shop for a small fee.

As far as the DVLA are concerned then a simple swap of fuel type and engine number is straightforward enough unless you make substantial modifications to the frame - and this includes any neck/backbone stretching especially then an SVA will be required. This is still far simpler than most other countries in the Eurozone.

Holland insists on the frame being presented in an unpainted state for inspection of the welding and structure. Germany makes you the official manufacturer if you weld a tab to the frame.

Authorities rarely have the proper experience to deal with motorcycles - a recent phone call to my insurers to discuss the Tiger engine conversion resulted in the underwriters agreeing to the motor swap so long as the gearbox was unaltered; it took some time to explain that motorcycles in the main have integral gearboxes. Overall so long as you remember that you are dealing with fallible systems and human beings you can navigate your way through most of the crap.

It's very tempting to try and avoid paperwork - most of us hate it, but please remember that it will only become important after something nasty has happened and then it will be really important.


As far as insurance goes I've been mildly impressed - adding the Tiger to the policy with all the mods - 80 quid and that's with a 1000cc motor.

Keep the faith
Dave

[Crazymanneil]

Interesting stuff.

With regards to insurance another option is part time traders insurance or similar. A friend of mine has this and splits it with another 1 or 2 people. There are some requirements like you have to register 6 vehicles on the policy (don't have to own them though so parents, friends etc). Then the insurance lets them drive anything they want (there are some very modified cars involved!).

He told me the insurance company offered to add motorbikes to the policy for an extra £70 though they didn't go for it as none of them have a license!

Point is there are options out there if you get really stuck.

Neil

[andrewaust]

Hi Guy's



I'm curious (Probably more nosey ) How much in total does it cost to register and insure a motorcycle where you guy's are for one year?

We are seeing prices exceeding $800.00 total for one year here.


A;)

[Nanko]

Here in The Netherlands 106 EURO (<500 ccm) 125 EUR (>1000ccm ) a year at 12.500 KM max.

[SUMO]

if you cut the frame it is classed as "radically altered" and you need to get the msva - thats kind of like an old engineers report but heading towards the german TUV a little bit

if you can make the engine fit without altering the frame then its fine you really dont need to do anything much more than fill in a form for the dvla and tell your insurance company when you insure it

[Crazymanneil]

In Northern Ireland (assuming rest of UK is similar) its about £80 for MSVA last I looked. The MSVA test seems pretty relaxed compared to other countries, especially since there are no emissions tests for amateur built diesel motorbikes etc. Although they do look for things like tyre weight ratings and pointy things sticking out anywhere. Best if you don't need the MSVA at all though as others have said.

I have the MSVA manual if anyone has any questions. Worst £30 odd I ever spent - they even include a notepad to make the folder look bigger! Still, the less regulations the better I guess.

Can't have HID gas discharge headlights on a UK bike boooooo

N