Greetings from Germany

[stationary traveller]

Hello all, expat living in Germany here. Just thought I'd say hello. My name is Frank and I have an eclectic collection of motorcycles in various states of disrepair, although I am working through them. Current registered and TUeVed bikes are the BMW K1100LT and Triumph 900 Sprint, but in the soon to be sorted queue is the Honda C90.
I've been one of those "guest" observers of the site for a while, for which I apologise. But I have enjoyed travel stories when I should have been working, as they will eventually awake the inner Ted Simon.
I'll also be studying modifications. I have a friend who is looking to fit a 125cc engine in a DAX, which looks an entertaining prospect. Don't hold your breath, I suspect it will take a while.
Just a final note about my C90. It is a 1972 model, found at a house clearance in Stuttgart, still on UK plates but no V5. I have converted it to 12V (not the engine, just the electrics) so I can have better lights. I just need to change a leaky oil seal and it will be good to go.
Except, I have no papers. So I have three choices. (1) Back to UK and get it MoTed, etc., as I still have the tax disc which expired in Jan 1973, evidence enough. (2) I ask TUeV Sud for a Datenblatt and try and register it in Germany. (3) I ask some kind hearted UK owner of a 1972 (or close) Honda C50 (not C90) to send a scanned copy of their log book (blanking out name and address) so that the technical details can be used to register it as a moped. The Honda Cubs were never really sold in Germany, although you see occasional Belgium built C50s, so I'm sure my cunning plan will work.
Anyone out there willing to be an accomplise in my criminal plan?
Regards
Frank.

[wightegi]

Hi welcome ,you have a bit of a job on then. Is the bike still on the UK database ? I can check for you if you do not know where to look ,just PM me the reg number.

[stationary traveller]

Hi Wightegi, I think I checked this when I first got it, and think it wasn't there. Wasn't 1983 the date when the records got transferred? Anyway, JYK67K I think.
Frank

[Newtsalad]

That reg doesn't show up on DVLA database.

I understand it's extremely difficult to register a 90 in Germany. However I would countenance you to take the legal route, and don't be tempted into nefarious deeds, unless you're a career criminal and don't mind the heat.

The fact is authorities aren't stupid, and I know from personal experience DVLA are clamping down on resurrections of old bikes. A V55/5 application sees them check the bike details with Interpol!

Getting the bike on the road legally, is as satisfying as sourcing unobtanium parts, in my opinion. I'd no more carve a piston from wood than ride around on a ringer. It's a state on mind. Just crack on, jump the hoops put in front of you, rise to the challenge. There will undoubtedly be a way to get the bike legal, just a matter of time, effort, and figuring it out. Much like keeping the old stuff running.

And normally.... Any posts advocating skulduggery get deleted here.

[stationary traveller]

Hi Newtsalad, it isn't that I'm trying to hide a stolen bike, just that I was looking at registering it as a moped as it saves on tax and insurance. Plus my son will be able to ride it.
About three years ago, I moved back to Germany after a spell working at Jaguar Land Rover. I took my BMW (that I bought in Scotland) for the TUeV and had it registered later that day. But it helped that I had the V5.
I'll likely go the "proper" route in any case. I've seen a couple of C50s in need of restoration for sale and if I get them, it should fulfill my moped lust, as one already has the correct paperwork.
Regards
Frank

[knapdog]

How can it ever be a moped when it's not a moped?

[Newtsalad]

I think the moped laws here, are inflicted by the EU, so are common across the EU. And this would preclude any C50 being a moped, even if it has 'Moped' on the V5, as they no longer meet the criteria for a moped, and don't fulfill the grandfather clause, which allows pre 1979 ish and have pedals to still be mopeds.

[None the Wiser]

Hello,
Nice to see a fellow Brit in Germany with a Cub ! I have been just up the road from you here in Heidelberg for nearly 20 years now , also have a collection of very different bikes and thought my 1982 C70c I've had since 1988 would be an interesting rarity on the roads of Baden - Württemburg . However TUV Süd had other ideas . I attempted to register it in 2004 and gave up due to petty minded bureaucracy very quickly , but last year being a bit older and wiser and knowing the Germans a bit better I decided I would have another go . I have all the paperwork for the bike , it is registered in my name but even so nothing is straightforward.
At the moment the bike is 90% together after a full resto last winter but its not actually been through the TÜV yet , the problem at the moment being the lack of an E number on the headlight ! I have battled for the last year trying to sort out all the things they have queried from original tyre sizes to the need for a decibel reading for a drive by noise test ( I kid you not , and it is going to cost me €200 for the privilege ! ) I did try to get a Datenblatt from TÜV Sud but suprisingly enough there was none for a C70c in their records. Eventually I got in touch with Honda Deutschland who managed from my paperwork to get a Datenblatt from Japan for me , So now I am getting close to the big day and they say if everything is roadworthy they see no more problems with registering it .
I hope you have more luck with your C90 , maybe being more popular than my rather rare C70c helps , and maybe a different TÜV engineer that is not so picky as mine , but persevere and maybe we can have a German Cub meet ( On the Innova forum .de is also a C70 Passport that has been registered and other info about Cubs in Germany )
All the best
Richard

[Newtsalad]

^^^^ Wonderful news! Sounds like a nightmare dealing with the TUV. Maybe DVLA isn't so bad after all... and that's bad enough!

So, out of interest... How does having a UK V5 logbook in your name help? Or doesn't it? As getting a V5 is relatively straightforward, Dating cert, MOT, V55/5 application and £55. They push for insurance and the Tax too, but two people have insisted they registered without, bike going straight to SORN.

[stationary traveller]

It is a good story. Different TÜV stations are different in how they handle things. I, too, have had "noise" issues from an Oldtimer bike, despite it being too old to have to meet any requirement and having a new exhaust from original tuning. They just said it was too loud and that was that. That was the main place in Cologne.
For the C90, I was going to go to Volklingen, where they did the fastest ever TÜV on the BMW. But a friend told me of an even better place locally which I might try. I'm hoping I can get a Datenblatt from TÜV Sud, but like the idea of asking Honda Deutschland.
Saying all that, I once managed to get a Kawasaki z650 with a z750E engine registered, but that (a) involved going to a motorbike shop where the owner could pursuade the tester and (b) getting a copy of the 'schein from a z750E. I went to three other places who refused to even look at it. One said I shouldn't have told them about the engine swap as they wouldn't have noticed.
NewtSalad, the law basically says that if a vehicle is registered in one EU country it can be registered in any of the others. So having UK paperwork obviously would solve my problem. For a motorbike to be a moped, one needs a "Betrieberlaubnis" and then it never needs a TÜV, you just buy a special moped number plate every year (the numbers and letters are a different colour every year so you can't use an old one). Most people here think the C90 is a vintage Simpson moped anyway, hence hatching the plan.
Something tells me I should just get the thing to the UK and register it at my brother's address, just to get a V5 and then bring it over with proper paperwork. But with the registration number not on the DVLA computer, I'm not sure how this works. As I said, I do have a tax disc. Is this enough to get a V5?
Frank.