reading the jan 2012 old bike mart this morning i have read the article of excluding pre 1960 motorcycle from the MOT that would be good 2 things spring to mind will there be useage restrictions ie only us them on the week ends so if you wanted to ride your motorcycle at any other time it would have to be MOTed and also there have been rumours of banning road use of say pre 1950 motorcycles altogether ie trailer to shows only

So far Roger this is only rumour.

And don't forget we have Lord Montagu watching our ass.

Rob.

email (option): robmiller11@yahoo.co.uk

it would'nt suprise me if they did'nt start taxing your ass as well

There is a online survey on this matter,I personally think things should be left alone as they are.We old vehicle users are under attack from the green lobby bloody hippy types as it is with their concerns about emmisions from old vehicles. This is the online survey link mhttp://fbhvc.co.uk/mot-survey/ .Also dont rely on any Lords owning their classic collections of vintage cars looking after our asses Dave..

I think it's a good idea to do away with MOT's for pre 1960 vehicles. We don't get given much as historic vehicle owners, so take what is offered to us. The last thing we got from the government in the UK was historic tax class, and that was back in 1997. I have a collection of bikes and try to keep as many as possible "on the road". This means an MOT for each, which costs me a small fortune. Some of my bikes do less than 100 miles in that year, but it still cost me £30 for an MOT.
Some parts of a current MOT test don't apply to many vintage vehicles and the parts that do, like the brakes, the tester has to adjust the figures on the computer so it passes the test. They are never going to be up to modern standards and it makes the test irrelevant. Pre 1960 Goods Vehicles are already MOT exempt and it is just bringing all other pre 60 vehicles in line. This is what the Department of Transport want and I would have though we would all want this too?

There has been no mention of any of the things you've all said.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth..!

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

Hi,
I have to agree that I would prefer things left as they are as at least I can take to the moral high ground if anybody talks of banning older vehicles. If I have to go through the same test with a (nominally) 12bhp 250cc BSA C12 as a new 120 bhp Hyasuzuka or some such then it would be more difficult to justify a ban.
However, I have to take issue with Dave's point that 'We old vehicle users are under attack from the green lobby bloody hippy types as it is with their concerns about emmisions from old vehicles.' The real serious Green Types have a problem with all emissions not just from old vehicles. But the Green Party encouraged use of older vehicles as they are less polluting than the massive emmisions caused from producing new vehicles.
What we have to be afraid of is the fat cat producers of new vehicles and the polititions who are in their back pocket. There are many 'Green' spokespersons for pressure groups demanding the banning of older vehicles/ electrical items/ consumer goods/ etc, who if you scratch the surface, you will find are bankrolled by Mr General Motors and the like.
I may not have long hair, wear flowers in it or go to San Francisco but I am very proud to be a bloody hippy type. I re-use and re-cycle and that includes old vehicles. My every day bike is a 1981 Enfield India Bullet. My 'new' car will be a 1979 Austin Allegro.
Well rant over and a Happy New year to one and all.
Regards
Clive

email (option): cliveandjo@lineone.net

The Department of Transport want to give us something...This is nothing to do with emission or limited use of vehicles etc. This is nothing to do with the "Greens" or "Hippies" where has all this come from..?

You're all being paranoid...

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

Dont forget that there is scope for converting old vehicles to run on cleaner fuels , which we may all have to do eventually anyway , and you can bet your bottom dollar that if it were to become an absolute necesssity to come up with a workable alternative , it would suddenly be found that lo and behold , some crackpot genius somewhere had quietly been doing it in his garden shed for years . For example I would love to find out more about the briefly celebrated British inventor who during WW2 got his austin car to run on un-pressurized methane from chicken shit, and other similar stories , such as a Mexican scientist who in the 1950's discovered a way to produce enormouse quantities of hydrogen for next to nothing , and was 'told to shut up' by the big petro-chemical companies . anybody know anything?

I'm happy to live with the MOT in its current form..it isn't really a problem to me. If the powers that be decide that they can save some money by no longer running the system for a section of road users that represent a tiny part of the mileage covered each year, I'll be happy with that too.
I'm not too concerned when the Goverment get rid of things generally..they tend to be more troublesome when they introduce things..
If the choice is keep the current MOT or don't keep the current MOT and there are no implications with regard to the intoduction of an alternative system then it is a non event surely? (and a 'no brainer').
There was talk of replacement of the motorcycle MOT in its entirety with a 'random stop' system...I don't know what the current status of that idea is but in that event I would rather keep the MOT..at least you only get checked once a year and you have 12 months advance warning!
Currently I am far more concerned about anti tamperinhg legislation which will have much more serious effects if introduced...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Maybe he just said that to cover up his "black market" petrol supply Rob

email (option): robmiller11@yahoo.co.uk

Not everyone has room for 20,000 chickens either.. ... ..Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

After a night on the ale, I produce methane in considerable quantities....

...No-one's ever called it 'environmentally friendly' - quite the reverse actually

is this cutting of MOTs is just a money saving sceme they are shutting all the local DVLA centres to save money

why not try getting your bike to run on it then . . .

Too Risky !

Ian, your careful use of 'in its present form' is most pertinent here bearing in mind the changes made on 1st January to the car MOT (I can see no mention of it applying to motorcycles - yet).

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/car-servicing-repair/mot-changes-2012.html

An instant fail for a non-illuminated speedometer chaps !

The 'modifications' aspect would create an open season for subjective MOT testers too. They could fail on non-original brake levers (if they knew what original was).

I reckon most old bikes would fail on wiring tidiness too !

Here in Belgium there is no MOT for motorcycles as they struggled to get homologation off the ground for two-wheelers. If you look at the new car test then it is clearly becoming a test of show-room specification rather than something dealing with primary safety and the talk of exemption for older vehicles is probably because they realise that they simply can't apply the new regs to old vehicles.

Personally, I'd be happy with a simplified basic test for old bikes - a sort of track day scrutineering system.

Nice idea..but doesn't that mean we would have to have one piece leathers and a fancy helmet?.. ...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

You know what I mean ! I can do 'monkey-on-a stick' in bright colours anyway !

The 'powers that be' don't seem to know if they are coming or going..on the one hand they propose anti tampering legislation and on the other they suggest doing away with motorcycle MOT test...Without the latter how will they keep track of the former?...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com