Moving to UK. Motorcycle strategy advice needed

I've a nice low mileage late 2004 Triumph Sprint ST with colur-matched
factory hard luggage coming avaialble in the next couple of months.

Cheers

 

I understand your wish to keep it (see sig - it's a '99 model), but it
might not be worth the hassle.

Sell your bike/mothball it and buy one over here to use, then sell it
when you head home.

It may seem like an expensive option, but I think it'll be much less
hassle than faffing around with shipping/import tax/road use regs, etc.
How much is your time worth to you?

 

No, just expensive.

 

Acksherley.... it can be cheaper over here than there. For four wheels, any
how. My Avensis costs me around the 400 squids mark in the most expensive
damn area in London. Fiend in LA, with clapped out old Golf (Rabbit!) was
paying over a hundred dollars a month for third party, fire and theft.

Ali

 

He's going to need to exchange his driving licence for a British/EU
licence too. As he's American he can't just swap it over (Although a
Canadian can) which does amuse me somewhat.

The DVLA website seems to imply that he would need to apply for a
provisional car and motorcycle licence, then train if needed followed
by passing both his car theory and then car practical and motorcycle
theory and then motorcycle practical tests if he's planning on staying
in the UK for more than 12 months. If I recall correctly car/bike
training in the US is very, very, very basic compared to the much
higher standards that the Driving Standards Agency over here require
so it's probably only a good thing that he gets used to lane size in
the UK and also having bends and corners to negotiate.

"Visitors: You may drive vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes and with up to 8
passenger seats, provided your full licence or driving permit remains
valid for up to 12 months from the date of entering the United
Kingdom. However, you may only drive large vehicles which have been
registered outside GB and which you have driven into the country."

NFI what a 'large vehicle' is - I assume a coach. They must let yanks
drive rental cars in England? Or perhaps they don't. Hmm. I'm not
sure of this.

 

It was round about 11 Mar 2006 11:49:55 -0800,, when the famed
of the dreaded http://groups.google.com was struck
by a sudden insight:

Anything to do with the Gordon Lightfoot song, by any chance?

[..]

 

Minibus, Transit, that sort of thing.

Winniebago!

 

Yes. Great Lakes Brewing company, they tend to name their beers after
localy significant things... and the Edmund Fitzgerald sunk in lake
Superior (which is the basis for the song.) They also make a Burning
River ale, in memory of when the Cleveland river was so polluted that
it lit on fire.

 

On Sat, 11 Mar 2006 19:02:05 -0000, Rusty Hinge 2

snip>

No it isn't.

When did you last insure a bike? I pay just over £400 for
comprehensive cover on a Kawasaki ZX10R and a Yam FZR250. That gets me
protected no claims bonus, European cover, breakdown cover and I can
ride anyone else's bike with third party cover.

I don't think that's a kings ransom for that sort of cover on two
bikes, one of which is a fucking rocket machine.

 

snip>

If he's got any sense he'll treat that with the same contempt as I
would if I was told I needed to take a test to drive in a different
country.

He can probably bullshit his way out of any police interest by showing
his merkin licence and saying he's only visiting. If they check and
find out he's been here over 12 months they can hardly take away a
licence he doesn't have.

 

Basic driver training is pathetic here... much is left to the family
to see that youngsters are properly trained. In most cases this is the
blind leading the blind. In my case, my father was a driving
instructor for UPS, private truck owner-operator, and life-long hot
rodder. I got extensive training, including commercial training when
I drove for UPS in college.

Also, it's plenty twisty here. Great swaths of the US are horrific
flatland, but around here there's hardly a straight-away to be found.

 

Why do I think that there would not be a problem? Because I'd expect it
to be a quick re-map if anything at all.

 

But you're old.

Although I must be getting older. The GSXR only cost £250 to cover this year
with Aunty Carole [1].

[1] TPFT, but in London with no garage.

 

Where is 'here'?

 

No I'm not.

I'll accept that as more proof that insurance isn't expensive.

 

Now that's a sweet reason to buy a bike in the UK... screaming small
displacement bikes. My '88 FZR400 is the one bike I regret selling.
We haven't seen a decent 400cc on these shores since then. Are
2-strokes still kosher? Certainly not the answer for 2-up, but no one
has said I can't buy two bikes.

 

I wish Aprillia still made the RS250 and I still harbour a mental
desire to own one if only for the laugh I'd have on twisty roads.

The FZR is great fun to ride but it's not been warm enough recently to
go and explore the limits of its handling.

 

Sorry, in the first message it mentions I'm in Pittsburgh, PA.
lat=40.44056, lon=-79.99611

Pittsburgh is just west of the Appalachian mountains, which, in
addition to being home for those who enjoy the company of their
cousins, are home to some fine twisties.

 

That's what I had in mind. I got to sit on a illegally registered
RS250 (in the Mobil livery) here, and I've never felt as connected to a
bike. At 6' it was a bit tight, but it just felt right. Plus, for
some reason I ride much faster on smaller bikes. The 400 forced me
ride smoother, to carry more speed, and to preserve the momentum. I
felt more in command of it too. The Daytona constantly reminds me
that I'm only using a small percentage of its potential.

 

right, missed that bit.

I know where it is, I'm near San Francisco California. We've some really
neat roads too, unfortunately today they are mostly under snow/ice.
Someone simply must pay for this travesty.