Last year a van reversed into my '16 blade. Minor fairing damage and a snapped wing mirror when I dropped it in surprise. No big deal, I though, insurer should sort that quite quickly. After 3 months of insurer screw ups, they informed me it was a Cat B write off. Apparently the forks were bent, and if the forks are bent they assume frame damage. They sold the salvage to me for £900. I had the forks checked, and they were perfectly straight. I've taken it on one track day, with another planned in 3 weeks. I've sent off an application to the DVLA to get it reclassified, having been inspected by another garage, an MOT, and lots of photos and written evidence to support the idea the bike should not have been reclassified. The DVLA have responded stating that my CBR 100 [sic] has been classed as either Cat A or Cat B (I know, that's why I wrote the letter to them) and that I have to take to Authorised Treatment Facility and have it destroyed. I have absolutely no intention of doing this, but does anyone know where I stand if they try and press me on this?
What a disaster. Sounds like the insurance people screwed up royal. Did they send a professional clown out to inspect it? I hope you get it sorted.
Technically if it's Cat A or B then the insurers shouldn't have sold it to you unless you're an authorised breaker. First step would be to track down an SVA or IVA test centre and try to get it re-registered through them. Second option is to pay an insurance approved repair centre to examine it for reclassification, otherwise you're looking at it being a track bike.
I might be covering my butt by 'fictitiously' selling it as salvage to a guy who provided a dodgy name and address. If it's only going to be tracked V5 doesn't really matter.
It's kind of sorted in as much as I now have a track bike for £900, I've got a replacement road bike - it's all good. Was just trying to be a little greedy and see if I could get it back on the road again. I not too bothered about getting it reregistered - it was only a nice to have. I'm more worried about the horror stories I've heard of the police turning up to track days and confiscating Cat B bikes. If they shouldn't have sold it to me, what now that they have? Is it actually mine? Thanks for the responses guys.
Yep, it's yours if you have the sale documents from the insurance company. I 'think' police can only confiscate a bike if it's used on a public highway. @T.C might offer a definitive version. Either way, if you didn't want to continue with it on track, you'd make a killing on parts sales!
Be careful as public highway may not mean what you think it does. If you go to a track day where the public are admitted it can be classed as a public highway. IIRC a landowner was done for drink driving on his own property as it was open to the public on that day for a fair or something.
Yeah, fair point. That follows legal precedents set many years ago when a place is deemed to be a public place if it is any place where the 'public might legally gather'. That is why various 'drinking in a public place' etc charges are sustained where a person claims he was in a private place, but it was open to partygoers and the like.
For it to be a highway there needs to be a public right of access, whereas access to the track is at the discretion of the owner/operator. If someone is legally allowed to bar entrance to someone, then there is no right of access.
You'll be fine. You've got paperwork and it's not illegal for them to have sold it to you, just a regulation that they may have broken. Either way it's not your problem. As for cat B bikes at track days, other than the fact that the police have better things to do, they would have their hands full with the number of damage repaired, race bikes and bikes without chassis numbers, wrong engine no.s etc.
You shouldn't have been sold a cat B. I'd keep quiet, ride it till you want rid then break for bits and chuck the frame in a skip.
Seems extreme. I'd enjoy it as a track bike and eventually sell it as a track bike. In fact, sell it to me
Or buy a used frame off eBay and move everything across. Will be a PITA selling a cat B, even as a track bike.
My mate had a deal on scrap bikes off the old bill and he was not allowed to keep the frames or sell them. He sold all the bits but not the frames
