A mate of mine who owns a 77 Gilera moped has just sent me the following
Extract from Bennetts website
From 20 May 2018 the MOT test for vehicles over 40 years old will be abolished. It means that cars and bikes will simultaneously become MOT and VED-exempt the moment they hit 40.
The move means that from next spring, pre-1978 cars and bikes will basically become free to own, other than fuel and insurance expenses.
While pre-1960 vehicles are already MOT-exempt, the new rolling 40-year rule will bring vastly more vehicles into the same fold. And while anything from the 1950s or earlier is likely to be a chore to use in modern traffic, bikes from the late 1970s have the performance and brakes to be viable daily transport.
Although the new rules apply to all ‘Vehicles of Historic Interest’ – VHIs – to use the government’s terms, motorcyclists are likely to feel the positive sides of the new rules most keenly. While few people have the garage space for a collection of cars, it’s easy to shoehorn a variety of motorcycles into a garage. And while bikes have evolved enormously over the last few decades, the fact that they don’t have to pass crash tests, and don’t have power steering, air-conditioning or airbags, means that old ones are far closer to their modern equivalents than cars. A 1970s Ford Cortina wouldn’t make for comfortable or practical modern transport, but something like a 1970s Honda Goldwing or BMW R100RS could make a sedate daily commute with nearly the ease as a modern middleweight.
According to DfT figures, there are around 90,000 currently licensed bikes made in 1978 or before. Of them, around 37,000 are pre-1960 and so already MOT-exempt. The new rules mean some 53,000 existing, licensed 1960-1978 bikes will become MOT-exempt – and the number will rise each year thanks to the rolling 40-year limit. In a couple of years, the first BMW R80 G/Ses will be MOT exempt, for instance, and we’re only seven years away from MOT-exempt, 40-year-old GSX-R750s that still have enough performance to blow away plenty of modern supercars.
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It's a bit weird as I cannot find anything on the DVLA website about this other than the cut-off point for not needing an MOT is 1960
Extract from Bennetts website
From 20 May 2018 the MOT test for vehicles over 40 years old will be abolished. It means that cars and bikes will simultaneously become MOT and VED-exempt the moment they hit 40.
The move means that from next spring, pre-1978 cars and bikes will basically become free to own, other than fuel and insurance expenses.
While pre-1960 vehicles are already MOT-exempt, the new rolling 40-year rule will bring vastly more vehicles into the same fold. And while anything from the 1950s or earlier is likely to be a chore to use in modern traffic, bikes from the late 1970s have the performance and brakes to be viable daily transport.
Although the new rules apply to all ‘Vehicles of Historic Interest’ – VHIs – to use the government’s terms, motorcyclists are likely to feel the positive sides of the new rules most keenly. While few people have the garage space for a collection of cars, it’s easy to shoehorn a variety of motorcycles into a garage. And while bikes have evolved enormously over the last few decades, the fact that they don’t have to pass crash tests, and don’t have power steering, air-conditioning or airbags, means that old ones are far closer to their modern equivalents than cars. A 1970s Ford Cortina wouldn’t make for comfortable or practical modern transport, but something like a 1970s Honda Goldwing or BMW R100RS could make a sedate daily commute with nearly the ease as a modern middleweight.
According to DfT figures, there are around 90,000 currently licensed bikes made in 1978 or before. Of them, around 37,000 are pre-1960 and so already MOT-exempt. The new rules mean some 53,000 existing, licensed 1960-1978 bikes will become MOT-exempt – and the number will rise each year thanks to the rolling 40-year limit. In a couple of years, the first BMW R80 G/Ses will be MOT exempt, for instance, and we’re only seven years away from MOT-exempt, 40-year-old GSX-R750s that still have enough performance to blow away plenty of modern supercars.
........................................................ END ..............................................................
It's a bit weird as I cannot find anything on the DVLA website about this other than the cut-off point for not needing an MOT is 1960