It’s a safe bet that some of the readers of this blog are disabled bikers and perhaps even members of the National Association for Bikers with a Disability www.nabd.org.uk. It’s probably also safe to say that like myself they are on a limited budget when it comes to getting on the road and will have had to have a trike built, or even built one at home with the help of friends and family.
Being a home built vehicle its going to need a thing called an MSVA (Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval) Easy enough to book and have done if your trike is built to the criteria laid out in the MSVA and it complies with the C&U (construction & use) regulations. It might fail however if it has adaptations for use by a disabled rider fitted to it.
The list of reasons a perfectly well built but adapted trike would fail the MSVA is a bit long to list here but if your trike would fail because it’s adapted for use by a disabled rider it’s not all bad news.
Fortunately there is a way to get your registration and inspection sorted out without too much bother. As a disabled person you are entitled to use a dispensation within the legislation that means that you only have to take the trike to your local DVLA site or office for an inspection before registration and for a MOT and weight certificate so they can issue your tax disk. The MOT station should also be able to stamp your frame number on for you. The weight of the trike will also determine the class of MOT it will be subject to and the price of the MOT. A trike with a weight of less than 410 kg will be a class 3 test and cost £35-00, any trike over 410kg is class 4 and will cost £50-00
I have been through the process and have been taking notes so that I may be able to steer some of you through it without too much hassle. This is sort of how it went.
Contact your local DVLA office and ask for form V627/1 a Built Up Vehicle Inspection Report and form V55/5 Application for a first licence for a used motor vehicle and declaration for registration.
Now I have to point out that my trike was home built using components from at least 4 different vehicles and as such is classed as a built up vehicle and not a new one. There may be different forms for other vehicles.
Make sure the person you speak to at the DVLA has all the information about your build and adaptations so they can send the correct forms. There’s nothing worse than having to fill in and post a second set because you were sent the wrong ones the first time.
The DVLA staff at the Manchester office were extremely helpful and made sure I received the correct documents to complete.
I found taking the forms into our local office a better option than posting as it saved time and one or two mistakes were corrected on the spot instead of having to wait for them to be posted back and forth.
Some of you may have been told that you can ride the trike to the inspection. This is not true and if caught you could face prosecution, the trike needs to be on a trailer. As an unregistered vehicle it is not allowed on the road and the DVLA staff told me it had to be on a trailer when it arrived for the inspection.
The Manchester office of the DVLA will not do a home inspection on your trike so if you live in the area you need to take this into consideration. Each office has it’s own way of doing things so it’ll be best to check than wind up disappointed.
It used to be the case they would but in an effort to reduce waiting times it’s now an appointment at a DVLA approved site instead.
Apparently it saves time as they can do more inspections in the time available if they do not have to travel to folk’s homes. I’m all for this as I expected to wait for a month or so at least but got in within 2 weeks.
There are some folk that tell me that they did it differently and rode to tests etc, or in some cases they had home visits. That may well have been the case but recently things have changed at the DVLA concerning the process with regards trikes and bikes built for use by disabled riders, for the better I hope. Hopefully in the near future all DVLA offices will start to use a countrywide strategy to get this done as simply and as quickly as possible.
So off to the inspection, not a MSVA test but an inspection to show that the trike is exactly as you describe it on the built up vehicle report and the registration application. Make sure you arrive in good time, these places run like clockwork and you will not be seen if you are late.
At the inspection the DVLA Inspector took a few photos and took the details of the parts down for comparison with the receipts I had submitted. He then told me he would put the details in the system that afternoon to produce the documents and Identity for the Trike. They would be posted out the next day. Once they arrive you can then take it for a MOT test and stamp the VIN on it. You can make your own Vehicle Identity Number up but I found it best to let the DVLA issue one as it saves time.
The DVLA will then issue your tax disk and registration number with for your trike. They will issue a number plate authorisation certificate so you can get your plate. Your registration document will arrive in the post a short time later. It’s also a good idea to itemise your receipts and include the list and all receipts with the forms when you send them off. I would also write a letter explaining your reasons for building the trike and highlight any adaptations you have fitted to suit your needs. This makes it easier for the staff at the DVLA to process your application without them having to contact you for additional information.
The more you tell them the first time means they don’t have to waste time writing to you. You will also need to include your DLA 404 to prove you are in receipt of the disabled tax entitlement. The proof of entitlement is down to the person registering a trike and you will be liable if you make a false declaration.
It’s a relatively simple process but make sure you have all your paperwork in order and I strongly suggest you do a proper job of the build. Even though our trike is not having an MSVA I am pretty certain it would pass one. Don’t do a half-baked job on your build just because you can get it registered without a MSVA, your safety and that of others depends on your building it right.
It’s also worth noting that if you fit a bolt in rear end you may be able to have your trike re- registered without having to have an MSVA or use the dispensation. I did my GSXR with a bolt in rear end and I only had to have a visual inspection and pay for the tax disc once it had been re- registered as a trike.
There are also some sad people out there who think the dispensation within the MSVA for a disabled rider is a loophole to be exploited. This is well out of order and in fact is a criminal offence. Supplying false information on the declaration you sign is in fact fraud and you will be prosecuted if caught out.
Rick Hulse, Chairman of the National Association for Bikers with a Disability put a lot of time and effort into winning the dispensation for disabled riders and it should not be abused. The NABD is always involved in ongoing consultations to try and improve the system and protect rider’s rights to build and use home built trikes and bikes.
If the abuse continues the government will pull the dispensation for disabled riders and ruin it for hundreds or even thousands of disabled riders all over the country.
The build wasn’t easy, or that hard come to think of it. The process of registering the trike was simplicity itself. It was only easy because I took the time to make the calls and gather all the paperwork I needed. I do think a simple bulleted leaflet with the steps on sent with your application forms from the DVLA would be helpful and hopefully it’s something they may consider and implement in the near future. It would save people a bit of time having all the information before you apply.
Like most things in life, It was easy because I made sure I got all the information I needed before I tried to register the trike and if you go about it in a similar fashion you will have relatively little bother in getting on the road.
I’ll be doing it all over again once the new trike build is done, I’ll see some of you on a country lane sometime soon.
Summer is upon us, the weather is looking decidedly ‘trikey’; remember to take care out there while enjoying yourselves.
Ride safe folks.
MSVA Information
Links to DVLA information
Form 55/5 http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/motoring/buyingandsellingavehicle/registeringavehicle/dg_4022316
V627/1
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/diol1/doitonline/dg_4017568
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