Buying a bike in the UK?
 

I'm headed to London next month with the intention of buying a bike to tour Spain, France, Italy. Currently, I'm browsing ebay.co.uk, motorcyclenews.com and gumtree.com
Can anyone recommend other classified sites for used bikes?

Also, can anyone recommend an inexpensive insurance provider?

And what are the steps for registering a bike there?

thanks in advance

Matty

Matty,

To register the vehicle you'll need an address in the UK (or rather use of one), then just send the form off. Can take a few weeks to come through but you can go to a DVLA Local office and get a hand-written one. To be honest for those countries you might not get asked for the reg document at all.

Bike Trader UK - Buy & Sell New & Used Motorbikes, Motorbike Loans Finance, Bike Insurance, News & Reviews at Bike Trader

happy riding

You seem to have most bases covered for buying althought there is Bike Trader UK - Buy & Sell New & Used Motorbikes, Motorbike Loans Finance, Bike Insurance, News & Reviews at Bike Trader

To register you will need an address, somebody put down that you will need proof of residence, I have never heard of this and am sure it is incorrect.
Insurance can be a bit of a problem for foreign riders, I hear that Carole Nash Bike Insurance – Motorbike & Motorcycle Insurance Quotes | Carole Nash might be of help.

Do you know about things like the MOT test? this is the annual safety check on anything over three years old, if buying something this old go for a bike which has just had it done. The is also the road fund tax, about £65 a year on bikes over 600cc and is another thing to aim for is 12 months of this to run. You need both MOT and insurance to renew this, big brother operates big time here with numberplate recognition cameras which check whether all this is in order, don't ride before it is!

When you buy a bike you will be given part of the reg document to fill in and send off, this can take 2 or 3 weeks to get back to you, the seller sends off the other part. It is still OK to ride as long as you are insured but technically you should not leave the country on the bike without it so allow for this wait in your trip planning.

If you PM me I will give you my e-mail address and you can ask me anything which come up at the time.

:welcome:

There are many price comparrison websites here..

They search all providers and usually bring up some very good prices.

Cheap Car Insurance Quotes, Life & Home Insurance - Confused.com
Gocompare.com


After you get the best price, phone the company and tell them you're a foriegner. They all have different policys etc.

You WILL need a U.K address though.. Same for buying the bike.

I would definately sort out insurance before you buy any bike and ask how long the policy covers you in Europe. Many have 90 days "green card", some 30 days and some not at all and charge it as an extra.