The second after-market fuel pump I bought fit the bike, it has now been MOT'ed and only 350 quid and a few trips to the garage later is road worthy again. I built up the courage to start the DVLA process to register the bike in the UK (so I can then sell it), but the online forms don't seem to accommodate for my circumstances very well... it's a privately owned bike, which I bought brand new in Greece 13 years ago. I asked for a "registration pack" via the DVLA website and they sent me a pack in which I learned that I've already broken the law because "I must notify the authorities within 14 days of bringing the bike to the UK" - well guess what, that's news to me. The bike has been in the UK for over 10 years now. I never used it much (I live in London, so commuting was always public transport or bicycle), and have not used it at all in the last 7 years (since having kids). As a EU national, I didn't have to get a permit to move to the UK to live here permanently. I never realised I needed such a permit/registration for my bike, and since it was registered, taxed and insured (full EU coverage) in Greece, I thought it was all kosher. It's not as if they told me at the border last time I drove the bike through Dover... I wonder when this requirement came into force and how people are supposed to know.

So with a very heavy heart I decided to go ahead with the registration (this is costing me time AND goodness knows how much money by the time I'm done paying the fine for missing the 14-day deadline). I then realised that DVLA want me to register with HMRC first, who want me to go through the NOVA (Notification Of Vehicle Arrivals) process. This process does not appear to have a "I brought my own vehicle to the UK" option; it's all about buying something from abroad and bringing it into the UK. So I'm kinda stuck and landed exactly where I did not want to be when I embarked on this journey to "do something useful" with my disused Vstrom; on the wrong side of the law, and with unpredictable time and monetary costs ahead of me.

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2011-2012: 5 months in Chile
2009-2010: 5 months in Turkey-Iran-Pakistan-India