Hi guys, I've fitted a set of TORs on my speedy and I'm slightly concerned about insurance and MOT!! Will my bike still pass an MOT with 'not for road use' pipes fitted? Again will my insurance still be valid? Thanks all, Dave
I have had TOR's on my speedmaster for 2 years and its has passed the MOT every time ,in fact the tester always remarks how good it sounds as for the insurance you can declare the extras and it will cost you more premium but if you claim they will add the extra bits where as you cant claim the extras if you don't mention them ,if that makes sense hope this helps
Dave I'm sorry but you have to be very careful with exhausts that are stamped 'not for road use' as it can mean if you have an accident the insurance company can also use that as an excuse not to pay out, best to declare it with your insurance company to be on the safe side. You should not also be able to get an MOT for your bike with these on (but does depend on who you take it to). In theory with your insurance failing to declare any alterations to you bike is considered gaining goods or services by deception (Fraud) Also If you are stopped by a traffic officer your vehicle can be PG9'd and taken off of the road straight away. Saying all that at the end of the day your bike is a Speedmaster and unless the pipes are really loud you shouldn't have any issues, as it seems to be the sports bikes that are the ones that are mainly targeted, the above is the worse case and you would be very very unlucky for this to happen, but you do need to be aware that it could. Cheers Steve
Hi Dave, Its a question that my conscience got the better of me with and I wouldn't use them as you know for fear of being criminalized. Technically, you wont pass an MOT, no-one with the triumph tors should, your insurance will also legally be invalid if you haven't told them, of that I'm fairly sure. As for declaring them to the insurer, how do you do this? You cant exactly tell them that you are making a modification and that it will no longer be road legal, they won't insure you. All Tors are too loud, this is why I wouldn't fit them, I was also concerned about the legal situation as i'm the unlucky one that would get caught and into bother for having illegal pipes. They are illegal BECAUSE they are loud....... My honest opinion is that Triumph shouldn't even be making them available, I was amazed that most dealers actually fit them to the demo bikes as well, so presumably, their insurance is also invalid.....who knows? My other bike is a bandit, its got an aftermarket shock and I have even declared this to the insurer, its a safety item and far better than the original in every way. Result = price went up because its a "performance" mod. When you had the bike serviced, your dealer installed the new ECU map, they presumably knew that you were not going to trailer the bike away and ride it on a private airfield so should they have done this? I don't know, what is clear is that by remapping the ECU and using the pipes, you have released quite a bit more power and torque. This is a performance mod and therefore should be declared even if the pipes were legal. In summary, I doubt you are insured, but you would be very unlucky to experience difficulties due to this. The triumph dealer I spoke to on the subject told me that the cops don't care about cruisers making noise but its not something I was prepared to find out about the hard way. If you are really worried, flog them on ebay for a profit and I will visit you to put the ECU back to the standard map. Al
All exhausts should have the e stamp on them apart from original exhausts and any that are shown as a factory option to add on to your bike brand new. I had a set of Arrow cans on my 2011 Speed Triple and also as long they are a factory option you do not have to declare them with your insurance broker which helps save on the old insurance bill. Al With regards to a dealer changing the fuel mapping and this happens a great deal as Triumph are always tinkering with the fuel maps, as long as it is done by a certified dealer there is no issue, but when you start adding power commander's and exotic fuel maps that when you need to declare it. When I had my 2009 Fireblade the bike had R&G protectors on it, I declared it with my insurer (Hastings I think) and they added £50 a year on to the bloody premium!!! Dam Insurance companies!!
Yes, insurance companies make a lot of money out of peoples changes to bikes, even ones that, as in your case could save them money in a spill!!!!!! So, as Dave will see, there is a great deal of confusion on the subject, as you are suggesting he shouldn't need to declare the remap yet my understanding is its a performance mod, which when used with the tors cans increases performance. I believe that an insurer requires you to tell them of any performance modification but I'm very happy to be totally wrong, Indeed, I hope I am! As far as I'm aware, the tors are not factory options, they are dealer fit options, I'm not a lawyer but if I was going to guess, id say they are not a factory option because they would make a new bike illegal for the road right out of the factory. So, there are as many opinions as riders; What's clear is that intelligent people can both have a different understanding of the situation, when this happens, it means ordinary folk will be very much in the dark. Al
