Adventure Bike Rider Forum

Cornishman wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 6:31 pm

Snaf MKII wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 3:07 pm If you're a UK resident you can't ride or drive your own foreign registered vehicle in the UK and have to register it in the Uk within two week of arriving.

Since registration went online you don’t have any time to ride an imported vehicle before you register it. You are not even allowed to ride it out of the port.
You are correct, a U.K. resident cannot use a non U.K. registered on U.K. roads.

I'm fairly sure that in recent times (10+ years) you have not been allowed to drive at all prior to registration, currently UK import registration is still a paper exercise as you have to submit original documents and get a HMRC NOVA declaration. We have two imported cars, one pickup and several bikes so have been through the process several times over the years. Back in the good old pre digital days you could insure a vehicle on foreign plates but I can't recall if it was legal to drive it or not.

As an aside that's really barmy, never understood UK insurance, was lovely when I went to Portugal and my mate throw me his keys and said lets go (He nicked his brothers bike) and it was all nice and legal...

Anyway things have developed, missus is becoming the owner of the bike, it will be registered and owned in Belgium, I will be named rider on the insurance and the broker (he deals specifically with international insurances) has confirmed that it will be legal to ride both in Europe and UK. If for some reason this falls apart, the bike will simply stay in Europe as my next long term riding destination is Denmark/Scandinavia...maybe even Iceland in my dreams... Oh and the silly bit is that I only need to keep the bike roadworthy/serviced as there is no Control Technique/MOT for motorcycles either in Belgium or actually in Portugal. That's really how all this started.. I got stuck in sodding Portugal during COVID due to running out of TAX/MOT and I am trying to keep myself and the bike legal for obvious reasons. Once again thanks for all the advice.

No MOT in Ireland either. Some of us leave our bikes in Spain etc. My daughter lives in Antwerp so a Belgian acquisition is next.

nice place Antwerp and that's an awful lot of BMW's there and lots of mileage.. usually prefer the Dutch side of Belgium to the French...but love the Ardennes

Must admit that the last time that I was in Antwerp, a few years back, the railings around the harbour were all rusted up and those cobbles in the city centre were a nightmare.
Got the sort of impression that you should walk around with your biker gear on in case someone tries to mug you.

92kk k100lt 193214 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 10, 2022 1:39 am No MOT in Ireland either. Some of us leave our bikes in Spain etc. My daughter lives in Anterp so a Belgian acquisition is next.

I thought Spanish law required vehicles to be Spanish registered once they'd been in the country for six months.

Snaf MKII wrote: ↑Thu Feb 10, 2022 5:53 pm

92kk k100lt 193214 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 10, 2022 1:39 am No MOT in Ireland either. Some of us leave our bikes in Spain etc. My daughter lives in Anterp so a Belgian acquisition is next.

I thought Spanish law required vehicles to be Spanish registered once they'd been in the country for six months.

It could do but we move them between Spain and France.