ULEZ Emission Testing & Bikes that will probably pass

[HondaCityExpr...]

Hi,

I'm living in London and looking to get a bigger bike from my 1985 Honda City express which will now be unusable due to the London ULEZ charges.

However modern E4 bikes just aren't doing it for me, so I've found a place that can test your bike and if the emissions are low, you get a free ULEZ pass.

So, does anyone have any recommendations or experience on bikes that might pass or pass with minimal work?

I love Honda CB100, Yamaha RXS1000 etc from the 70s to 90s eras.

Any opinions and guidance would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Andy

[ThatDippyTwat]

The "place" you know of is, AFAIK, the only one allow to test for ULEZ exemptions. They managed to get an RD350 through, so if you throw enough money at it for tuning, Pretty much anything can pass. Whether you want to ride it in the state it passed an emissions test is your call.
____________________
'98 VFR800 (touring) - '12 VFR800 Crosrunner (Commuting) - '01 KDX220 (Big Green Antisocial Machine)

[Bhud]

Couple of points

[HondaCityExpr...]

Hey Bhud, thanks for your reply, I certainly have been focusing on the look and feel of the bike and overlooking the practicalities, so thanks for bringing them to my attention, definitely something I need to put more thought into.

I actually know very little about bikes, however I am partial to a tinker. My 1985 Honda express has been reliable (perhaps giving me a false sense of security) and I only use it to go to the shops, visit friends etc, so I won't be totally relying on it for commuting. I have my electric push bike as a backup if it ever goes wrong. I'm also a freelancer and work from home 90% of the time and never use the bike to get to work.

I have been looking at modern bikes too. Are there any you'd recommend, I'm looking at a sub £2000 budget for a used one. I've got the Lexmoto valiant, mutrs, mash, harold all on the watch lists.

I just struggle to part with that much cash for something so so, when I could spend the same or even less on something I absolutely love, even if in the long run it will definitely cause me extra headaches and cost more as the years roll on

The other thing is safety, how much safer will I be on a modern bike?

[Bhud]

Any modern bike is bound to be good, as long as it works.
Sorry, don't know what to recommend.

However, I will say this. Quality is our main problem today. Regardless of the age of the bike, QC is the number one concern. Old bikes need parts, and the new ones coming from China are mostly just complete junk. I've had a 12V horn (bought from a reputable shop) that was dead right out of the packet. Plus a manual fuel tap (not exactly a complicated device) that seeped petrol through in the "off" position. Inside, there was a nasty little bit of plastic with 2 holes drilled in it. No rubber seals. No gaskets. Just nothing. Useless right out of the packet, but on the outside it looked great.

With a new bike, that's a whole collection of Chinese parts that have to be right, and so does the assembly. So you'll need to check on forums for reviews and reports on whether the bike is any good. I think the days of buying something that works well after 40 years are long gone. But it's reasonable to expect it to work for a few years.

[Easy-X]

Get your vehicle marked as "historic" on the V5 and it's ULEZ exempt: