MOT & Tax ?? Please explain for an Aussie :)

[ricks_1969]

Hi all, Im from Sydney Australia and am wanting to travel to the UK in the next 2 years for a motorcycling holiday of the Uk and Europe. I want to buy a bike when i arrive and will probably ship it back to Aus when i'm ready to return, to do this with less registration hassle in Australia i am limited to a bike built before 1989, I have been watching UK Ebay to get an idea of prices etc and would prefer something like a GSXR750/1100, FZR1000 or something similar, I dont understand all your registration requirements such as MOT and Tax, are these transferable when a new owner buys the bike? are they both required? is there anything else for the bike that i would need to gain entry to European countries?

[gsmunn]

Yes they are transferable. The MOT is a test to state the bike is roadworthy, and the tax last for 6months or a year normally and says that you have paid to use the queens highways

[ricks_1969]

[Kingstondavo]

One thing to check is driving license validity. As far as I know a foreign license is only valid in the UK for 12 months m not sure how it works if you enter then leave then come back though!

MOT lasts for 12 months.

Also, don't forget third party insurance is mandatory here and in most of the EU.
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Current Ride - 2010 Hornet 600

[ricks_1969]

[GrantT]

Anyone can turn up at an MOT centre and MOT the bike and it lasts for 12 months.

Insurance wise, its a combination of rider and bike. Generally you insurace a specific bike for a specific rider. Look on websites like www.gocompare.com or www.comparethemarket.com to get an idea of prices.

[parkmoy]

[ricks_1969]

Yes, thanks all for the info and links It's all starting to look a lot clearer.

Thanks again

[Matt B]

The DVLA says:

"You can drive any small vehicle eg cars and or motorcycles, shown on your driving licence, for a period of 12 months from the date that you last entered the country, as long as it remains full and valid"

So if you leave the UK and go over to Europe, when you return your 12 months will start over.

Insurance - you may have some issues trying to insure a bike with a non EU licence, not sure.

Whatever you do though, make sure when you take the insurance out that you are covered to ride in Europe and check how long this is valid for. Some insurers include 30 days or 3 months Europe cover but you have to inform them when you are going.

And for riding in France dont forget to take ALL your documents, GB sticker, hi viz jacket in case you break down, dipped headlights on in daytime, and from next mont a French approved breathalyser kit... Jesus
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stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[multijoy]

[weasley]

Would you also need a UK address to register the vehicle at? I always wondered how people buy cars and bikes on holiday, then sell at the end - where do they get registered to?
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Yamaha XJ600 | Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat | KTM 990 SMT | BMW F900XR TE

[c_dug]

Lots of bikes are sold with a long MOT and Tax anyway so if you are unfamiliar with the processes it will probably be easier to look out for a bike that comes with than to go through taxing and MOTing yourself.

Importing back to Aus seams a strange move to me but whatever floats your boat, pre '89 is really whittles down the choices of suitable bike though!

Insurance may be an issue as you are a non UK resident, the only way to find out is to try though. I would recommend phoning around and seeing what the best quote you can get is. I got £200 off my online quote just by ringing around a few insurers.
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[ricks_1969]

Wow!! I'm glad i have asked these questions early as there seems to be a bit more involved than i first thought, I'm wondering about the question of having a UK address for the tranfer of registration also ? I do have distant relatives in the Uk who i haven't really had much to do with but i guess i could probably use there address if needed. In Australia each state in the country has a different registration scheme requiring different plates and everything, Is the UK like this too ? My relatives are from Cornwall, so could i buy a bike from anywhere in the UK and use the Cornwall address or not?
Also when entering the EU with a vehicle, does the vehicle have to be registered in the persons name who is riding it ? also I'm not 100% sure but i think i may be able get a UK passport as my mother and grandfather were born in the UK, I think its called citizenship by decension or similar, not sure if it would make much of a difference anyhow as my trip will be relatively short but may make some difference on entry etc to some countries.
With importing the bike back to Aus, I just thought instead of trying to sell before leaving i would just take it back, I have a shed full of bikes anyhow and would probably gain some sort of pleasure of still owning the bike i toured the EU on back at home.

[multijoy]

For the EU, it's easier if the paperwork matches your ID docs. The odds of it being checked is pretty slim, however - you'll be unlucky if they do anything more than check your passport at the border!

All you need to register the bike is an address. You could get away with a mailbox if you didn't want to stir up the ancestral links!

If you can get a UK passport without an issue, it'd mean you wouldn't need to muck about with visas all the way to Turkey, but not essential for buying the bike.
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'11 CBF1000A, '99 C90, '98 CB500
silky666: He rode amazingly well considering his bike is the weight of a small van and had slicks on.

[weasley]

If you ride a UK-registered bike in continental EU then you will need the registration document in your name or a certificate of temporary export from the registered owner (effectively their permission for you to take the bike abroad).

The are no state or county borders within the UK, you can own and ride it anywhere you like within England, Scotland and Wales.
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Yamaha XJ600 | Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat | KTM 990 SMT | BMW F900XR TE

[ricks_1969]

Thanks for all this info, It certainly looks a little clearer to me now. There is one more thing that I'm not sure about tho, I just had another look on Ebay and noticed that a lot of these bikes for sale state "A Reg" or "F Reg" etc, could somebody please clear this up for me...
Thanks

[Matt B]

Its the year identifier and can be either a suffix or prefix letter depending on the years. Later the identifiers turnded to numbers.

The suffix registrations system ran from 1963 to 1982 and has the year identifier at the end.
The prefix registrations system ran from 1983 to 2001 and has the year identifier at the start.

So F123 NOB would be a prefix F and that year is August 88 to July 89.

They are all listed here: https://www.vrm-group.co.uk/car_plate_registration_years.htm
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stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[ricks_1969]

[parkmoy]

[hellkat]

[hellkat]

Also, if you find that your Aussie insurance doesn't cover you, and that you require insurance from a company here, then you might like to check out "ebike insurance", which is a company which does short-term insurance.

Not especially cheap, but it does what it says on the tin, can be arranged online and on a short term basis. Remember to cancel it a month before you want it to run out, they require a months notice and it would be a pisser to have gone home again and still be paying for bike insurance you weren't even using.
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Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[jimac]

If you're going to use a relatives address for registration be aware that they will need to be able to contact you in the event that you and your bike are caught blitzing through one of the many, many speed cameras that you will encounter while touring these sceptred isles! Things may get a little complicated otherwise.

[Kickstart]

Hi

MOT is almost equivalent to the Aussi RWC. Lasts 1 year (and unlike some other European countries there is no allowance for riding outside that, beyond going to and from a pre arranged test)

Note Northern Ireland does have somewhat different bureaucracy for registration and MOT than the rest of the UK.

VED is often called road tax. This is FAR cheaper than Aussie rego, but doesn't include any form of insurance. You need at least 3rd party insurance to get VED.

UK insurance is far more expensive than Australian insurance (as it is covering everything, not just the bits that rego doesn't cover).

Years ago when I was in Aus, bikes there were quite a bit more expensive than in the UK, same with cars. But bikes and cars last far less time in the UK (suspect partly because being worth less it is not financially viable to spend as much fixing them).

Your Aussi insurance won't cover you here. You might be able to use your Aussie no claims bonus but I wouldn't bet on it.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[kawakid]

[Kickstart]

Hi

In most areas probably not. But with bike not sure how many land up being scrapped due to rust rather than any number of other failures that make them uneconomical to repair.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing