M620

My “problem” is that I travel to a holiday home a number of times during the year on the motorcycle as it’s more cost effective. Bennetts policy is after a total of 90 days in the EU - not necessarily all in one trip you are out of insurance cover full stop until back in the UK.

In the end I went with MCE as they give up to 183 days in any policy year, a lot more use to me. Things may will change from November 1st pending the no deal Brexit anyway as our entry into the EU will be more closely monitored.

I think this is why people end up hoarding, people would rather keep their stuff than let it go for stupid money

+1 to that - i still have bikes that I have not ridden in 15 years

As my bike insurance is coming up for renewal and due to the positive recommendations for Bennetts in this post I thought I would give them a try as they are part of the Saga group who our car is with, and requested a quote. Competitive compared with my current insurer, almost £60 cheaper - but be very careful if you take your bike abroad quite a bit like i do.

Having contacted Bennetts customer services to check if their policies drops to third party only for the duration of the policy after 90 days as stated in section 5 of their policy document - see reply below

Subject: Re: I contacted your call centre today regarding an online quote and to...

Reply-To: Wayne from Bennetts <[email protected]>

Hi , my name is Wayne.

The EU cover is for a maximum of 90 days per period of insurance. Once the 90 days is up, there's no cover in place at all until the vehicle is back in the UK. This is something that has been confirmed to us by our panel of underwriters.

--

Wayne from Bennetts

My reply

Ok Wayne - but I suggest that your panel of underwriters consults the Motor Insurance Bureau, the Gov.UK website both of which confirm my interpretation.

As far as I am concerned draw a line under it. I don’t have to be insured though Saga.

Thanks for putting your company’s interpretation in writing it will make interesting reading.

So be aware that if you insured with Bennetts and go out of the UK for more than 90 days their interpretation is you will have no insurance cover whatsoever till you are back on UK soil

Vehicle Must be older than 1975.

And registered with DVLA as a “historic” vehicle - otherwise it’s illegal for any vehicle registered after 1st January 1973 to display them.

https://insidedvla.blog.gov.uk/2015/11/17/whats-the-story-with-black-and-silver-number-plates/

This is the DVLA form you need to apply for the details - it gives the “valid” reasons you need to be able to make the request. You may have a good case as it was your fathers. Good luck if you try.

https://www.gov.uk/request-information-from-dvla

That looks a bargain to me , I am sure you will have no trouble finding a taker. Just a shame If it overlaps with a week in Brittany I have booked - maybe next time if you have space

I had 2 of the older VFR750's,

brilliant bikes!

I'd have another tomorrow

So would I just a shame the body panels age

but the engine is basically a 20+ year old design even if it has been changed through the years.

What’s wrong with a 20+ year old design ? The road going version can be traced back even longer to the 1980’s in the VFR 750, and a lot of those are still going strong with ridiculously high mileages on them. I recall one of the bike magazines stripping a VFR 750 that had something like 250k miles on it and been used by a number of couriers with next to no maintenance. They gave the major parts to Honda and they found none of the components out of the original tolerances.

I had a 1990 RC36 and when the valve tolerances where checked by a Honda dealer at 36k they didn’t need any adjustments, and the dealer said they very rarely need adjusting for the life of the bike as long as you change the oil regularly. They have even been compared as being the “Rolex” of bike engines.

Great all rounder can’t really go wrong with one. The rear hub problem is water Ingres so don’t point a pressure washer at the rear hub, it turned my bearings into rusty mess - you live and learn

Same thing happened to a friend of mine - apparently it’s a common problem and not a cheap fix just replacing the 30A fuse with an inline one. There are a numbers of forum’s giving advice like this one for example

https://www.triumphrat.net/daytona-deliberations/177358-daytona-955i-2003-electrical-problems.html

Good luck trying to find someone to fix it my mates was off the road for weeks trying to resolve the problem

I just love Deauville good choice

If you are visiting France this is the official French advice if it helps

https://mobile.interieur.gouv.fr/Actualites/Le-ministere-de-l-Interieur-se-prepare-au-Brexit/Permis-de-conduire

You can always cut and paste it into google translate if your French isn’t that good

 

So.. just to make this simple. you only need to take two sentences from the French Government.

1. With withdrawal agreement. If you are a tourist in France, you can drive for the duration of your stay with your driver's license obtained by examination in the UK.

2. No withdrawal agreement. If you are a tourist in France, you can drive for the duration of your stay with your driver's license obtained by examination in the UK.

At the risk of being pedantic you missed the last, and possibly important sentence in the French government advice,

“If you are a tourist in France, you can drive for the duration of your stay with your driving license obtained by examination in the United Kingdom. International driving license is not required if you have a translation of your driver's license”

Plus 1 to the above

If you are visiting France this is the official French advice if it helps

https://mobile.interieur.gouv.fr/Actualites/Le-ministere-de-l-Interieur-se-prepare-au-Brexit/Permis-de-conduire

You can always cut and paste it into google translate if your French isn’t that good

I'm ringing the insurance company up tomorrow for a green card, which I'm told is just a translation of your policy wording.

It’s a bit more than a translation- it’s a certificate in a specific format its own right, and it does have to be printed on green paper

Smart move raesewell, France are currently returning all applications to exchange a UK licence for a French one (unless it’s been lost/misplaced or its due to expire imminently), pending the outcome of Brexit. There is currently no requirement to exchange any valid EU licence for another EU country you reside permanently in, unless you committed a traffic offence involving points or disqualification in that country.

This is an extract from a French forum I am on https://www.bikersclubfrance.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=2318&p=21371#p21371

I know a lot of expats who tried to get it done due to the suggestion that in the event of a no deal Brexit they would need to take a driving test for each and every group applied for. As we would be third county status, and as described above would need a IDP to validate our GB licence the day after a no deal Brexit which is becoming more and more likely by default by the day.

“The guy who bought it from me mentioned an issue with the fuel tanks on the newer one but can't remember what the problem was”

The fuel tanks on newer Guzzi’s are plastic and they swell up after a few years, some so much once you take it off it’s impossible to line the rear mounting bolt up again.

I am on the June Lands End - John O Groats Garbage Run, if you are interested see the link https://www.thegarbagerun.com They do fill up very quick though

Anyone on this forum going as well ??

As they have said above, I avoid Paris whenever possible - especially on a UK registered bike - the Parisian’s don’t take prisoners.

You might like to consider the Portsmouth - Cean route. It’s a longer ferry crossing but does put you further south avoiding Paris. It will put you back on the Michelin preferred route on the A28, just north of Alencon & Le Mans.

... I've got a test ride booked on the new V850TT Guzzi in early April......will report back on what it's like.....

If you want something a little smaller and less weight the V7 range of Guzzi’s are worth a look too

Result

Nice bike hope it all works out okay for you.

Hello

I recently put an ft500 engine in my cb250rs, does anyone know if on the insurance site the 'non standard engine' covers engine swaps or is it different standard engine internals that it covers?

Also has anyone had any experience dealing with the dvla and telling them about engine swaps? Does it go very smoothly? Or can they be picky with information they need?

Thanks.

Sorry but from personal experience of shoehorning larger engines into cars, I think you will have a lot more problems with getting insurance than with the DVLA. I wouldn’t be surprised if you need an engineers report befor anyone would even start to quote. The DVLA may also want an inspection on the vehicle to confirm it’s safe and roadworthy.

Stihl are the go to trimmers for the purpose you describe.

Plus one to that - I have a lot of hedges and have “wasted” time & money on cheap to mid range petrol trimmers in the past

Although Stilh equipment looks expensive it’s well worth the initial outlay. Hawthorn is a barstool to cut back, so you need a good trimmer to start with

I bought a Shark Evo one 2, to replace my old Shoei flip front, mainly down to price. The Shark is a lot cheaper, it’s slightly heavier than a Shoei as it is moulded plastic rather than fibre construction. The finish is good but not quite up to the Shoei standard, other than that I like it.

The old adage “you get what you pay for” applies but I think the Shark is good value for money. It scores well in the tests and has all the current certifications required.