Imorting A GS from Ireland: How hard can it be?

[Repoman]

In January we moved back to the UK from Ireland and I have been in the process of trying to get my GS registered with a UK plate. My bike is an 03 GSA first registered in Ireland.

Should be pretty easy, just a couple of forms to fill in....

.....but of course not, this is the DVLA we are dealing with here....

Firstly I get the bike insured (E bike, good quote, GS and 3 scooters covered, no hassle, happy to insure on Irish plate) OK so far.

Next I get it MOTd. Use SPOD motorcycles in Warrington. Very clean and professional, no problems.

OK: V55/5, MOT, Insurance Certificate and proof of ID in hand I head off to Trafford House, the main DVLA centre for Manchester, a place with all the allure of a 1970s dole office - truly Orwellian in its bureaucratic misery.

After waiting 45 mins with my "import" ticket in hand I am called to the window where I am told that I need a certificate of conformity because the bike is less than 10 years old. WTF? I can register my scooters - 40 years old, 6v lighting, made of string and pasta - no problem but not the GS.

Contact BMW UK. Contact as in e mail and fax - they dont allow you to actually talk to them - and explain situation. Turns out they have a homologation department, who true to their word and at no charge provide a Certificate of Conformity with my chassis number on it within a few days.

Return to Trafford "Misery Towers" House and wait another 45 minutes. Hand in paperwork. Clerk takes £100 off me but expresses doubt that the C of C will pass muster. "Doesnt look right" he says (Its all in German by the way, but I waited 15 minutes on the DVLA enquiries number to check that German was OK - it is, evidently) He agrees to submit paperwork and I am told to return in 48 hours to collect regsitration number.

Return today, expecting the worst and I'm not disappointed. Evidently the C of C isnt adequate. Clerk says that Swansea have rejected it. No further explanation offered. "So what is acceptable?" I ask. Cant tell me but they agree to find out.

15 minutes later they return having phoned Swansea. Evidently it is something to do with KM / MPH speedo (My bike has KM only Speedo btw) and the bike will have to have an SVA (Single Vehicle Approval) Test. I am given the application form with the cheery advice that this will cost me £150.

I havent yet had the energy to tackle the VOSA helpline to investigate further, but I'm filled with dread about taking the process further.

A couple of questions..

Has anyone else been in this position?
Will the SVA test "approve" the bike with KM clocks or must they be in MPH
If I have to get it converted, any ideas on how much it will cost me?

How fekkin irritating is all this!

And my Vespa failed its MOT today too....

 

[bustupbiker]

If the speedo is cable driven!!! then you can get a converter from Motrax WHO BTW also sell electricary 1's too if it is driven by magic. Then all you need to do is over write the KPH with MPH on the dail, both converters do the trick and the figs on the dail will indicate as is:::20-30-40 will now be MPH.
Hope that is enough, worked for me and saved that £150. OH! i think the mechanical 1 is around £29 and the electrical 1 £50 Errr! i think.
Cheers. Lyn.

 

[Zoton]

Cant you just use a gps , have seen road bikes with mot's that have a calibrated cycle mph speedo
Might be something or nothing.

 

[roddy]

I believe the issue is that speedo's for this country at least, must be able to show mph or 'mph and Kph', this is why when grey imports where the rage you used to get the wee sticky on the kph speedo to indicate where the appropriate mph was, the MOT station should have pick this up I think.

if you have a look at this MOT site it may offer a better explain nation.

I would have thought going for a SVA for a mass produced bike, I assume you haven't changed it drastically, is a bit OTT.

HTH

 

[roddy]

took this from the VOSA web site

Recognition of Foreign Single Approvals
If your vehicle has been singly approved by another EEA Member State to standards
equivalent to those of British MSVA, it is eligible for a Ministers Approval Certificate on that
basis.
You must provide evidence of the actual standards to which the vehicle was tested by or
on behalf of the authorities in question.

 

[roddy]

this sounds more like what you need read this it clearly states the speedo needs to be in MPH but it's only a partial inspection, should save you some money.

HTH

 

[Redboots]

When you had the MOT done, they should have failed it for not having an MPH speedo... yes?
If you buy an MPH speedo, there is no need for the SVA because it then conforms.

Feel sorry for us poor sods in France. The C of C has to be in French (cos its France), and BMW FR charge €100 for it!
I have to import a R100GS into France and as its pre '96, I cant get a C of C but possibly a Certificate of Type , failing that, I need an SVA.

Had similar problems with a Valkyrie I imported. Had to get an SVA even though it was a '99 bike 'cos they wanted to check the mirrors!!!
They did'nt give a toss about the 6-into-6 Cobras.
By the way, there is NO MOT for bikes here.... hence all the "fag-packet" number plates you see

John

 

[jez]

I think the speedo is not part of an MOT, thats what I was told when my r65gs was tested and passed with a kmh speedo on Friday. I half expected the same rigmarole as Repoman as far as test and registration were concerned but it would appear that older bikes don't need all the bullsh*t paperwork. Test at 2.30 pm and reg document/tax disc by 5.00 pm.

 

[Repoman]

Thanks All for your resposnes - Roddy that link is v.useful

I am going to ring VOSA as well, just to make sure.

Jez - that's exactly the bllx I was referring to. Because my scooters are more than 10 years old I can get them all legit in 2 shakes of a lamb(retta)s tail...but not a 3 year old GS with 40 years more engineering development (well, apart from the GS engine that is..)

 

[NA1959]

Bike Mot in UK

As stated above the speedo must be in MPH for the UK and NI. Also in some cases due to the age of the vehicle it must also have KPH as well. The diggets must be on the face of the speedo and not stuck on unless the entire face is clear and consice. (It must be easily read at night when lit up!)

It all falls under the Dept of Transport Construction and Use regulations and they are sumarised in useful guidance notes on the VOSA website.

If you bike passed its mot in the UK with a KPH speed I feel this was a mistake and the testing station should be contacted to clarify the position on why they can pass it yet DVLA Swansea have now regected your bike for registration.

 

[jez]

read this http://www.motester.co.uk/motquiz.html Q5
then click for answers. speedo is not required for mot

 

[Deak]

If the seat height is 900mm or higher and the ground clearance is at least 310mm you could try registering it as a competion enduro machine. These are exempt from SVA irrespective of age.

I registered a Jap import DR250 last year with this loophole. The DVLA took some persuading, but after a brief inspection at the DVLA local office, they agreed it was an combined on/off road motorcycle and was exempt from SVA.

The seat height/ground clearance was the critical issue at the inspection. My standard 1150 has a seat height of over 900mm but with the centre stand it has less than 310mm ground clearance but could be made to fit, so to speak. A GSA will have more clearance anyway with taller springs.

Might be worth a try

 

[Padge]

Just a side note on this..Did you try to get any refund on the VRT?

VRT on the new bike was about 1500Euros, and if you push hard enough with the nice folk in Roslare you may get a percent of this refunded.

That is, if you paid VRT in the first place.

In January we moved back to the UK from Ireland and I have been in the process of trying to get my GS registered with a UK plate. My bike is an 03 GSA first registered in Ireland.

Should be pretty easy, just a couple of forms to fill in....

.....but of course not, this is the DVLA we are dealing with here....

Firstly I get the bike insured (E bike, good quote, GS and 3 scooters covered, no hassle, happy to insure on Irish plate) OK so far.

Next I get it MOTd. Use SPOD motorcycles in Warrington. Very clean and professional, no problems.

OK: V55/5, MOT, Insurance Certificate and proof of ID in hand I head off to Trafford House, the main DVLA centre for Manchester, a place with all the allure of a 1970s dole office - truly Orwellian in its bureaucratic misery.

After waiting 45 mins with my "import" ticket in hand I am called to the window where I am told that I need a certificate of conformity because the bike is less than 10 years old. WTF? I can register my scooters - 40 years old, 6v lighting, made of string and pasta - no problem but not the GS.

Contact BMW UK. Contact as in e mail and fax - they dont allow you to actually talk to them - and explain situation. Turns out they have a homologation department, who true to their word and at no charge provide a Certificate of Conformity with my chassis number on it within a few days.

Return to Trafford "Misery Towers" House and wait another 45 minutes. Hand in paperwork. Clerk takes £100 off me but expresses doubt that the C of C will pass muster. "Doesnt look right" he says (Its all in German by the way, but I waited 15 minutes on the DVLA enquiries number to check that German was OK - it is, evidently) He agrees to submit paperwork and I am told to return in 48 hours to collect regsitration number.

Return today, expecting the worst and I'm not disappointed. Evidently the C of C isnt adequate. Clerk says that Swansea have rejected it. No further explanation offered. "So what is acceptable?" I ask. Cant tell me but they agree to find out.

15 minutes later they return having phoned Swansea. Evidently it is something to do with KM / MPH speedo (My bike has KM only Speedo btw) and the bike will have to have an SVA (Single Vehicle Approval) Test. I am given the application form with the cheery advice that this will cost me £150.

I havent yet had the energy to tackle the VOSA helpline to investigate further, but I'm filled with dread about taking the process further.

A couple of questions..

Has anyone else been in this position?
Will the SVA test "approve" the bike with KM clocks or must they be in MPH
If I have to get it converted, any ideas on how much it will cost me?

How fekkin irritating is all this!

And my Vespa failed its MOT today too....

 

[luke scott]

Just a side note on this..Did you try to get any refund on the VRT?

 

[Padge]

Yup.. Got a nice cheque refunding 700Euro VRT from them last year ...Not a bike, but you have a reasonable arguement.

A well written letter requesting a refund based on the difference between VRT paid to register and what it would cost to VRT today may just work.

I'm sure someone in Brussels would love to get their teeth stuck into this if you pushed hard enough.

 

[luke scott]

Yup.. Got a nice cheque refunding 700Euro VRT from them last year ...Not a bike, but you have a reasonable arguement.

I'm very impressed. i never thought they would refund vrt in any circumstances.

 

[Redboots]

read this http://www.motester.co.uk/motquiz.html Q5
then click for answers. speedo is not required for mot

Sorry mate but it refers to an odometer which mearly counts the miles
A speedometer on the other hand.....


You used to be able to get away with not having a speedo if you could tell your speed by the rev counter in top gear. Some old Astons used this sytem, but a long time ago.

John