Motorcycle identification by year

[Myke Rocks]

Why do so many UK (mainland) riders identify their bike's year by E.G. 56 1200.
Living in a different part of the world, I first of all had no idea that BMW built 1200s in 1956, and later surmised that maybe it is an unitelligible (to outsiders) reference to a year idenitifier on their number plate.
Would it not be easier, & more logical to do as the rest of the world does, and, for example Say: 07 1200?
Myke

 

[BillN]

The correct way of identifying a BMW is with both the build date, (obtained from the VIN number), and the registration date

 

[John Armstrong]

Why do so many UK (mainland) riders identify their bike's year by E.G. 56 1200.

Would it not be easier, & more logical to do as the rest of the world does, and, for example Say: 07 1200?

"56" = September 2006 to March 2007 registration ie a six months period.

"2007" bike could have been built in September 2006, and sold in 2008.

As it's a UKGSER site and most are from the UK I'd guess having the registration gives the majority the knowledge of which 6 months the bike was registered in. Plus how many "outsiders" buy UK bikes and haven't researched the registration designators?

 

[Myke Rocks]

As I suspected

"56" = September 2006 to March 2007 registration ie a six months period.

"07" bike could have been built in September 2006, and sold in 2008.

As it's a UKGSER site and most are from the UK I'd guess having the registration gives the majority the knowledge of which 6 months the bike was registered in. Plus how many "outsiders" buy UK bikes and haven't researched the registration designators?

Yes. An utterly stupid way of designating a bike's age. It can be one of two years, and, as a UK resident, unintelligible to me.

 

[John Armstrong]

Yes. An utterly stupid way of designating a bike's age. It can be one of two years, and, as a UK resident, unintelligible to me.

How many UK bikes have you bought?

 

[EggChaser]

Try this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_the_United_Kingdom

And bear in mind the same idea has been used for car and bike descriptions in the UK for a long time i.e the Alphabetic designators never changed at year end either - although the did switch from annual changes to 6 month changes because of car output using up the available combinations.

 

[Myke Rocks]

How many uk bikes have I bought?

How many UK bikes have you bought?

Nine so far in my life, from mainland UK.
In all cases, owners advertised them as E.G. 2000 or 2005
myke

 

[Myke Rocks]

Try this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_the_United_Kingdom

And bear in mind the same idea has been used for car and bike descriptions in the UK for a long time i.e the Alphabetic designators never changed at year end either - although the did switch from annual changes to 6 month changes because of car output using up the available combinations.

Yes, I know it has been done for a very long time. My first UK mainland bike was a honda 450 RPL29F circa 1967. Around that time they changed from date change at start of year to middle.
Regardless, it is impossible to identify the year from the current designation, only to guess within 2 years.
Maybe this is why some people on this site are unwilling to say 2006, since an ambiguoius signifier might make some people think it is a 2007 bike, though, in reality, what does it matter when you are only commenting on an event.
Myke

 

[Bohsfc]

The 5 on a UK plate actually represents an 'S' for September and that is how the year is split by the 6 month period of '0?' for the start of the year and '5?' for the end.

That was how Vicki Butler Henderson explaind it all those years ago when she was Top Gear.

 

[Two wheels good]

reg nums

The 5 on a UK plate actually represents an 'S' for September....

A useful memory aid at the moment ... except the current 09 and 59 signifiers will change each decade; e.g. in 2019 the plates will have 19 and 69