OK so a bit of a complicated one. I have an English license but have a 2011 Street Triple which is bought in France, registered in France and insured in France. The insurance company will cancel my insurance for me if I re-insure the bike in the UK. However I imagine to pick up some UK insurance I would first have to register the bike with a UK license plate which could potentially cause an issue when cancelling my initial insurance. Has anyone any experience with this or any advice? Thanks
A UK insurance policy would normally be valid in the EU, and I would have expected vice versa. Which would be fine for a holiday or similar. Have you brought it here permanently? If so you would probably need to get it registered as a U.K. bike, then get U.K. insurance.
Hi JD, I've done the reverse operation many time on different cars and bikes. Re the domicile aspect : are you planning to move to the UK permanently and give up your French residence? Re the insurance aspects : assuming you are registered with a French insurer, if you leave France permanently and no longer have a French address, the French insurer will almost certainly not be able to continue cover. Re bike registration : if you want/need to register the bike in the UK it will need a UK MOT. To pass the MOT it will need UK dip headlight(s) and possibly an MPH speedo - although most modern Triumphs with a LCD screen are switchable between MPH & KPH. Motorcycles all have to have an MOT every year in UK. Personally unless there's a specific reason to change the plates, I would leave it on French plates for a while, which would be perfectly legal. Gives you time to get settled in, if it's a permanent move.
As said previously if your staying in the UK for up 6 months or less it's perfectly legal to use your French plates or it used to be. Any longer you will have register the vehicle with the DVLA. The bike will need an MOT before it can be registered and as it doesn't have a UK registration number the MOT station will use the bikes vin number or frame number on older bikes as its identification on the MOT. Not sure but I also think you need UK insurance before you apply for the registration, insurance can be taken out using your bikes vin number also. There's a fee to pay, it used to be £55. Have a look at the DVLA website it should tell you what's required.
Did this with a bike I brought back from Germany. . When your insurance is due get the bike insured in England using vin no. Then take it for a mot then re register
