Scooter tuning's legal status

[DYankel]

Hi,
I'm a 22 year old student from Vietnam. I'm going to the UK (for 1 year) and France (for 2 years) for my studies. I'm planning on buying a Pcx 125cc and tune it, bore it up to 170cc and change some visual traits of the scooter. The reason to tune a scooter like this is mostly passion for looks and acceleration rate related, I don't like going too fast (over 100km/h, and I don't plan on doing that with a puny PCX anyway), and because it reminds me of my old scooter at home. Is this illegal in the UK, I have researched for this, but mostly people are concerned with 50cc mopeds and scooters for under 16 years of age riders, while I'm 22 and I have an A2 licence, and I'm sure a PCX, even with a displacement of 170cc can never surpass the 34HP limit. I'm also very confident with my riding skills and provided I have never caused or got into a road rash in my 8 years of riding, I'm sure I'll be even more cautious while riding abroad.
So is scooter tuning a 125cc scooter illegal in the UK for a 22 year old adolescent who has an A2 licence? Do I have to notify anybody when I perform the aforementioned modifications? In Vietnam we have to notify the relevant authorities only if we change the color of the vehicles, while changing the displacement and everything on the inside is done illegally (basically changing the tyre size is illegal here so nobody cares anyway).
Thank you for reading. please Forgive my english as I'm not a native speaker.

[wr6133]

For clarity you have an actual A2 licence from a European member state?

Buy a bike or a maxi scooter (300-400cc), it would be easier. If you really wanted to go crazy modding a scoot then if you do it by the book I believe you would need to inform the DVLA of any engine size increase and colour change (not everyone bothers). You would also need to inform the insurer you use to insure it about any modifications and they will then charge you 3 metric fuck tons more money for insurance..... again not everyone does this, though if you plan on lots of cosmetic mods if you were in a crash it would be a bit obvious.

Just buy a proper bike.

[DYankel]

Well I have an A2 licence from the vietnamese authorities but since France and I think the UK have agreements with Vietnam to let A2 licences be exchangeable, I am sure about France's. Well I guess I'll just buy a Forza and forget about modding then. Because in Vietnam nobody actually gives a shat about insurances (we're obliged to have our bikes insured but most people buy motorbikes insurances at half a pound to avoid annoyances from the police rather than actually being careful). In Vietnam we also mod our bikes heavily. My friend's PCX does not even look like a proper PCX . Thanks a lot for your help. That actually clarifies the situation for me.

[stevo as b4]

The PCX does seem to have a few aftermarket tuning bits for it, considering it's a modern and not at all sporty scooter.

But your unlikely to even make a r/w 20bhp even with all the bits you can find. Something like an X-max 250 or similar would do the same job and save you a lot of cash on modding IMO.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Currently there is nothing specifically illegal about it that I know of in the UK (France might well be different). But if you bore it out the DVLA (registration authority) should be informed (and it will affect the annual tax), insurance is affected, etc. Also pretty much anything you do is likely to to involve a louder exhaust which is technically illegal, but unless way too loud it is a non issue.

All the best

Keith
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