I want to ride in the UK...

Dustin

Dustin

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So, I am contemplating a month trip to the UK and need some info. I want to fly over, buy or rent a little bike and ride around for a month.

Is this possible? How does insurance work out there? Is there a lot of hassle involved with purchasing a bike out there?
 
Dustin, I have never been to England and would love to take that trip! But I have driven in countries where I have had to drive on the left side. I really did struggle for the first couple of days nothing comes naturally I was always thinking about it. I hope you make that trip happen, have fun and be safe.
 
Dustin said:
I'm wondering if buying a cheap bike and selling it after the trip is the way to go. The real question is the insurance
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Some provinces, let alone countries do not allow insurance on non-residents owned vehicles (Alberta does). I guess it depends on how much hassle you are willing to go through to make this happen. Have you looked into the cost of shipping one of your bikes over there and just having your insurance cover it while out of country? Having more than one bike allows you to arrange that far in advance so it is easy to co-ordinate your schedules. I suspect the easiest would still be rental (one stop shopping).

I am lucky, I have a GSA 1200 waiting for me in Europe (Poland) for just the cost of maintanence, should I choose to go.
 
To buy a bike is easy... You could take it on the day of purchase. To ride a motorcycle on the road you need a valid MOT (roadworthy certificate) and minimum 3rd party insurance.

Insurance is expensive, especially if you don't have a no claims bonus (i.e. history of insurance with no claims)... However they may give you credit for insurance history from the US. Buying a bike may still turn out to be your cheapest option however if you can buy low (winter) and sell high (summer) but that's sometimes tough to do. It depends largely on the bike as many people here will buy a "winter hack"

Let me know if you need more specific info, I would be happy to help out.
 
I lived in England twice for a total of 3 years and loved living there. I have not been back since 1999. I don't know anything about the insurance cost, but I would encourage you to consider doing this during the summer to get the best weather. I hope you get to go, there is so much to see, its a great place.
 
I have some close friends who are from there and emigrated to Canada fifteen years ago. Recently, they told me they may want to take an extended holiday in Norwich (where they're from) and that I would be welcome to stay there with them for some time.

I wonder if being Canadian (part of the commonwealth) helps with paperwork and such to insure a bike for a month over there

As far as the bike goes, I would be perfectly happy with a £300 250 or something along those lines.

I hear horror stories about the cost of insurance out there but surely it can't be too bad for a month of riding
 
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I think it would be fairly easy to source buyiing a bike in the UK with an MOT (safety certificate) and road tax. Your problem will definately be with the insurance.

As I understand it, to have a British insurance policy on a vehicle you have to be the UK resident registered owner. As an example, I have a holiday home in France. My bike is registered in the UK to me and I have UK insurance on my bike which covers use in Europe. When I visit France, because my vehicle is road legal in the UK, it is road legal over there.

The rules in France are that because my bike is English registered, I have to have English insurance. There is an exception to this if I was applying to import the bike to France. I could obtain French insurance for a short period to cover the importation.

If I bought a bike in France, to obtain insurance on it I would have to be French resident, with the bike registered to my name and address, together with French insurance.

A UK insurance company would not insure the bike as it was registered abroad. If you enquire with a US insurance company, you may find they have similar conditions to insuring US registered bikes.

There is a possibility that if you knew someone in the UK who had a UK bike registered to them, they could put you on their insurance policy as a named driver. They would have to declare that you were non UK resident. This sort of thing happens when people swap homes for holidays between the US and UK and the swappers want to use each others cars while on holiday.

Your best bets are the above or hiring a bike, which will probably be more expensive.

Hope this helps. There's plenty of FZ owners over here spread all over the place, so if you get to the UK make sure you put a shout out on here first and maybe some of us could meet up. Bring plenty of beer money if you do !

Hope it works out. :tup:
 
wish I rode while I was over there, spent '95-'97 stationed at Lakenheath (well, Feltwell, little satellite RAF base)...

had a few friends who rode at the time... amazing country side, would make a good month long tour for sure!
 
I'm from England, Kent to be almost exact.

I would recommend renting as well. Not sure about prices, but being that you want it for a month I think you could perhaps find their weekly rate and haggle a little. Renting will also work out cheaper I would think as the insurance and breakdown cover would most probably be inclusive in the hire cost. This way you can ride a good quality, reliable bike rather than buying a load of crap and it breaking down and ruining your stay.

I can't recommend a good ride or anything as I don't get out enough myself!

Hope you have a great trip, and remember, KEEP LEFT!
 
Thanks for all the information! I am now starting to think that it would be best to hire a bike, even it will cost me extra £££. The hassle saved would mean more time to enjoy England.

I will keep you guys posted. :)
 
I "hired" a motorcycle in London for a day. It was an older CBR500. Very successful experience. It helps if you can ride in a car or bus for a few days before, and carefully observe how the lanes are used. You have to keep telling yourself to stay left. I even practiced driving on the left over here in the USA when there was no traffic. Left turns are sharp. Swing wide on right turns.

On another occasion, I hired a motorcycle for a week and rode up into the Lake District of the UK. Hunt's Motorcycle in Manchester, England - Tel 0161 432-1303 or Hunts Motorcycles : New Honda and used bikes for sale in Manchester I highly recommended this dealer. There are numerous choices in and around London, but as you move away from the city, the choices subside. I rode clear up into Scotland.

Be sure to take your best rain gear, and plenty of layers of clothing. It is cold over there.

The rules did not permit it, and I was short on time, and it is expensive, but the thought crossed my mind to take a ferry over to The Isle of Man. Ferries run from Liverpool and Haysham. Send me a PM if I can help. Good luck.
 
Dustin said:
Truth be told, I'm actually kind of scared of learning to drive on the left. My friends say it's easy get adjusted to, though
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Just do it, don't think about it too much. You only need to think about it when you pull out of junctions and at roundabouts.

If I were you, stay away from London completely. If you want to go in to the city get the train or bus in. I commuted in to central London for 4 years and had a fair few near misses with my trusty old Sv650.

Take the scenic routes, twisty lanes etc it's great biking! Stay away from boring motorways and you will enjoy your riding. However, be sure to come in July/August for the best weather!
 
Also on the learning to ride on the left note, when you first set off just follow some cars. Follow each one for 10 mins at a time, turn in to the same bends, follow them off the same roundabout exits etc
 
When I lived over there I drove a lot, I even have an English driving license. When I got back to the USA and was driving or crossing the street I had a lot of problems adjusting back to the right side. When I went to shift, I kept hitting the door with my left hand because I kept reaching for the gear shifter and all that was there was the door. I did not have a bike over there, so I have no experience with that. I also miss the roundabouts (also a good Yes tune).
 
cos_fz1 said:
When I lived over there I drove a lot, I even have an English driving license. When I got back to the USA and was driving or crossing the street I had a lot of problems adjusting back to the right side. When I went to shift, I kept hitting the door with my left hand because I kept reaching for the gear shifter and all that was there was the door. I did not have a bike over there, so I have no experience with that. I also miss the roundabouts (also a good Yes tune).
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yeah, we have roundabouts popping up around here now... first time I went into one... it was hard not to go left :eek:... I think they are starting to learn about the benefits of roundabouts here now.. I hope someday they get rid of all stop sign intersections and eventually more... they just work
 
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