Licence and L-plates

A1 and CBT

Up to 125 cc, 11 kW and 0.1 kW/kg, from 17. On L-plates after a CBT: no pillion, and no motorways.

Full-power two-stroke

Around 21–23 kW in the brief, so it needs an A2 or a full A licence. MCN’s line is that anything above the restricted 15 bhp is illegal on a provisional or A1 licence.

15 bhp and 11 kW

Both phrases are in the brief, from different sources. This site does not treat them as interchangeable. Check the rule that applies to your licence.

Insurance

Tell the insurer about derestriction. That is the standard advice in the brief. The wording they want is To verify with the insurer.

RS4 and the current RS 125

Described as around 15 hp and A1-legal from new, with no full-power version. The 2021 figure of 15.2 hp is not explicitly converted to kilowatts in the brief. To verify.

The hardware behind a restriction — blanking plate, CDI retard, catalyst — is described inguide 12. Changing it does not change the licence you hold.

MOT

Use the current DVSA motorcycle inspection manual. Wear limits are not copied onto this site, because they change and the brief does not quote them. To verify the manual for the year of the test. The workshop list — bearings, brakes, lights, exhaust, stands — is in guide 13.

Importing a bike from Italy

This is the path for an Italian bike that is not yet on a UK V5C. A bike that already has a V5C does not go through it again.

1. Tell HMRC via NOVA within 14 days of the bike arriving.Pay any VAT or duty they ask for. The amount on a particular bike isTo verify with HMRC.
2. Type approval.Bikes over 10 years old are exempt, so there is no MSVA. On the V55/5 the brief says to put “exempt” and the reason “over 10 years old”. A 1998 motorcycle is inside that exemption.
3. V55/5 to DVLA.Include the original Italian registration document, proof of the date, ID, insurance, an MOT if the application needs one, the first-registration fee and the tax. The fee in the brief is £55, from a summary, and it is marked To verify. Use DVLA’s current fee and the current form.
4. V5C.The UK registration mark is issued with it. Fit number plates after that, to the current plate rules.

A ZD4 plate with W in position 10 is model year 1998 in the brief’s table. That is not automatically the date of first registration. If a bike’s build year and its registration year disagree, say so, with the documents. Do not pick the convenient date.

What this page will not do

It will not estimate the duty on your bike, complete a V55/5 for you, or describe how to hide a derestriction at a test. The honest record is the one you can show an insurer and an MOT tester.