Hi Naz. My Blade was a Cat B. The insurance companies tend to write them off at the drop of a hat. I managed to get the complete bike back after signing a disclaimer to say that I'm aware it cannot be put back on the road. There's absolutely nothing wrong with my original frame. I've had to do a fair bit of research in the legality & process of re-registering a frame swapped bike & think I'm almost there. The DVLA will issue a Q plate if they cannot reasonably determine the age of the complete bike. I bought a used frame without a V5 (but that's another story!) and went ahead with the swap. The easiest way to do it, admin-wise, is to buy a same year frame with a V5 and registration number (expect to pay up to £1500). You simply 'take ownership' of that bike and just update the V5 to show your different engine number. If you're buying a frame without a V5, they're much cheaper (£400 - £500 ish). Honda UK have been brilliant & the DVLA reasonable so far, but I'll find out soon enough when I try to register my 'new bike'. Honda will confirm whether the frame number is legitimate and will issue a Certificate of Conformity if the frame is originally from a UK spec bike. Whereabouts in the country are you?
Essex/London, I ended up with a brand new frame which made the issue more annoying because I couldn’t find a frame with a v5 or one without. Registration for a q plate is straight forward but the insurance is the problem. I’ve put mine up for sale and just seeing what it fetches, if it doesn’t sell then I’ll break it unless I do manage to find someone who will insure at a sensible price
I'm in Southend mate. When I spoke to DVLA, they said 'As long as you use at least two major components (engine/forks/swingarm etc.) from the original bike we can re-register it'. I'm definitely going for an age related plate & will be p*ssed off if they don't keep to their implication. Are you able to swap the frame over yourself?
Essex/London, I ended up with a brand new frame which made the issue more annoying because I couldn’t find a frame with a v5 or one without. Registration for a q plate is straight forward but the insurance is the problem. I’ve put mine up for sale and just seeing what it fetches, if it doesn’t sell then I’ll break it unless I do manage to find someone who will insure at a sensible price I can do all the work myself so the work aspect was never an issue. I bought a brand new frame for £8/900 from NutJob IE using their discounts the frame is normally just over £1600 so It was a bargain and a no brainier if dvla did what they said they would
I found I was in a slight catch 22 situation. They recommend photographic evidence when it's near completion and a supporting letter when you submit form V55/5. They also want my MOT cert, but that's no issue for you there. I gather yours is sorned? They also want V890 (sorn declaration) unless you plan to tax it immediately.
Forgot yours is slightly different to my situation so you will have to put the effort in to build and then wait and see what dvla do, i had to do a mot as my 3 years ran out but that is worthless because they changed their mind and said q plate only which requires a different test which will cost £85 valid for 3 years and then vehicle Reg fees of £55 I think... then tax or sorn
So the frame you got, could you not of just applied for a v5 as the new owner, as there’s not much to do if that is the case.
Afraid not. I was told, by the person who sold it to me, that it was a frame 'as bought over the shelf'. Turns out it's a U.S. spec frame that used to be part of a complete bike that was very likely to have been previously stolen, as the steering lock hole in the headstock is elongated.
That’s a shame, that’s what makes the whole process of registering long winded, well I hope it all goes well for you
If I was you I would do a HPI check, I have just bought the wife a write off car only 2 k 6 months old, Only very slight damage, When we have checked it out it does not show as damaged on HPI, they say there is 85,000 more cars etc written off than logged at the dvla each year
