Scooter around Europe- Is it possible?
 

Hello everyone!
I have been reading through The HUBB and have found bits and pieces of answers, but nothing to flat out reassure me that I'm not getting myself into a heap of trouble. Please bear with the very long message that will soon follow:

I will be traveling to the UK (from USA-as a tourist) this fall. I will be traveling throughout the UK and continental Europe for 3 months. Ideally, I would love to get a scooter for the trip. As far as I know, I will not need a VISA because my passport will serve as one for up to 3 months.

Disclaimer: I have spent many weeks researching this with no luck. I have seen some information about motorcycles, but nothing about scooters. I am not sure if the rules are the same or not, because I know there is the issue of different ccs and different rules surrounding them. I have checked with travel agencies, friends, and googled 'til I could google no more. I apologize if these questions seem awfully redundant, but I would be very grateful for any answers you folks could provide me with!

Question #1.
Would I be able to purchase a scooter through a used dealer/craigslist? I know that I physically could- but realistically and legally?

Question #2.
Will I need to register? If so, how would I go about doing so? I do not have any friends in the area.

Question #3.
Will I need insurance? If so, where can I find out more information?

Question #4.
Let's say I am all set to ride in England- then I cross the English Channel...will the rules change? How will I need to prepare to cross the various boarders during my journey? I have been unable to find a website with specific information for the laws in each country.

Thank you very much for your time!

Because I'm new to the forum, I'm not allowed to send PMs, so I will just reply to folks through here I guess :oops2:

Lindsey: Do you mean I can just use a hostel I am staying at as my "residence" on insurance paperwork? I'm afraid I don't know what you mean by a Backpacker's Address. Would the motorbike license be something I would need to get here in the US and then just get an international license? Or would I have to apply for the motorbike license in the UK? As far as the "road tax" would I pay that upon purchase, or is that essentially a registration? Would I need Export Plates or is that something different altogether?

Thank you again!

Lindsey: Does the "Green Card Scheme" insurance require any additional paperwork? In the US, immigrants need a "green card" to live here- is it the same there? Will I need one of these for my stay? Or is this something completely different?

Thank you!

This and that.
 

Any tourist visiting the UK needs to show a UK address but that doesn't mean they actually need to be really living here. There are ways and means. Youth Hostels are only allowed to let rooms for a few days at a time. There are private hostels called Backpackers hostels and with discretion and a little flexibility with the law you could have such a place as an address. Theoretically no-one is meant to stay in a backpackers for a whole year but, well perhaps some do. Yes? It has often been done but don't shout about it. In reality you should be fully resident here but a bit of flexible thinking is needed sometimes for travelling. If it comes to the crunch I'm sure some HUBBer would be obliging. The most important things are to have good insurance and be skillful at road use. Ciao, Lindsay.

Nope.
 

No, that's simply a coincidence. The Green Card for insurance has nothing to do with work, visas, nationality etc. It just indicates the UK insurance is extended the the countries listed on it....all EU and most of the Balkans. Lindsay.

The problem is that I will not be in any one place for a year. I will only be in the UK for a week or so before moving onto someplace else. I am just wondering if things will be sent to the address that I might need for the journey or if the person whose address I place on the form would then be obligated. I wouldn't want to make anyone at risk of getting in trouble (except for myself, anyways). I feel so dumb for not understanding this better, thank you for being so patient with me!

Also my apologies for spelling your name incorrectly!

What about registration? Is that required?

Time.
 

You need to be a bit street wise in this. It would take time to find a good scooter. If it is MOTed and has road tax still for the period you'll use it, you only need about one hour to get it insured over the phone and be road legal in UK. But you will then need to get the insurance documents through the post to be on your person for continental travel. I'd expect, if you are old enough for the licence to ride a decent size of scooter, you could get a good scooter for about £600. Insurance I'd be guessing at as it depends on so many personal factors and you only need it for part of a year. Be prepared for the insurance company to insist on a year's payment though. And don't push them or they may not like insuring you as they suspect your residence isn't "solid" enough. It can all be done though. Fall in Europe can be warm, cool, dry, wet, windy or all of these every few days. But your plan is not off the wall. Lindsay.

Registration.
 

The scooter will carry a licence plate. You need to get the owner to send part of the scooter's registration certificate (V5) to the government who will send you back a new document. Hey Presto! It's registered in your name, at your UK address! Tell the friendly traveller folk at your backpacker-permanent-address to keep your mail and off you go. True, this is not totally as the government would like it but it's not really important. This registration takes about a week, but I'd allow 10 days. Lindsay. You need passport, driver's licence, MOT certificate (if over 3 years old scooter), road tax, V5 and an atlas.

Thank you!!

i`ve heard people waiting upto six weeks for a log v5 registration certificate ,but i think you can stil get a temporary v5 from the licencing office which to get you round europe shouldnt be a problem but have a look on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency site , if you need an address should be back in the uk in the next few months and can help

Thank you very much! I appreciate your help. I will definitely be in touch closer to the time to see if you would still be willing to help me with an address.

I have been looking up international insurance quotes (everywhere else seems to say that I must be a resident?) and they are showing 7,000£ per year! That cannot be right, can it? I looked at the ones Lindsay provided me with, but they all said I must be a resident. Is that where the address comes in handy?

Thanks again!