Riding with no brake light certainly caught out a few friends of mine. They don't tail gait anymore or just follow tail lights, I still giggle thinking of pulling one mate out of hedge who was following me waiting for me to brake before he did.
My last excerpt was taken from 1.3, which then refers back to 1.1. As long as all lights are permenantly disconnected/ covered up you will get an advisory(daytime mot)
Yep, its pretty contradictory..........but as I said I always thought it was speedo / reflector(why?) / horn..... Maybe the tester will decide, like he does with my bike...........because the rear seat cowl can be removed, I have to have pillion footrests fitted..........but he doesn't care if remove them when I leave his premises.
Seems it's down to how the tester interprets the rules, my daytime 748 has no switchgear just horn & button and a brake light.
What about tyre tread (or state of tyres) ? you see I wanted a daytime mot for the track R1 (similar reasons to above) but just thought its unlikely to get one turning up with tyres chewed up at the edges etc. theres me worried about that and all along I just needed to disconnect my rear light?
It's the "all or nothing" that seems daft to me, surely they could still issue a daytime use advisory, even if you turned up with indicators and a brake light.
I spoke to my tester on the phone this morning having just sailed through MOT last week. He adopts the approach that if 'it' is fitted, 'it' has to work...... ......On the subject of brake lights, he takes the view that bikes should have one, regardless of other lighting, but agrees the MOT manual sections seem to contradict each other. AL
Popped in to see my tester whilst out and about this morning, He needs to see a bike with; Plate Reflector Horn WIthout; Lights Indicators Brake light (as this is part of the rear light assembly and should be covered). I didn't get into the what ifs and ands.... But I'm not comfortable even riding the bike to the test station without indicators and a brake light! Oh hum....Another hurdle to overcome...
Gary, is the bike fitted with a race seat with no aperture for the rear light? if so, you can have use of my modded plate hanger and tape over the tail light bit on it for MOT.
Nelson you don't need indicators, that's what God gave you arms for. I do run a brake light but at MOT time I have to tape it up.
Thanks Mike, much appreciated! I'm going to be running a 1098 seat jobbie. Sooooo, perhaps a brake light wired into that and tape over when I arrive would be ok for the MOT overlord?
My 749R has a daytime MOT: No Lights at all (MOT man said if I fitted a brake light or reflector he would fail it) Horn (battery powered bicycle type) Number Plate Sorted. R
The must have a reflector bit confuses me because if you're only using it in the daytime wtf is it going to reflect unless the sun is really low? Be careful with battery powered horns because even though I've got a very user friendly tester he flinched a bit at the one I shoved on my KTM enduro bike and told me to get a better one for next year. They also have to be a single tone which removes quite a few bicycle ones from the equation.
I dunno...jus did what I was told! I wanted a brake light da maan said: "nooo!"....so I didn't fit one. Like you, just want to be able to take it for a spin around the block to check mods/get fuel etc etc. Good luck.
Section 1:4 of the MOT Test Manual is once again contradictory..............It clearly states a rear reflector is a Statutory Requirement.......but it is preceded by a paragraph that infers it isn't necessary if there are no other lights...... ............That's how I read it. AL
Same as, just going to do as I'm told... Just seems daft though, surely brake light and indicators make bike safer, ok not necessity for daytime jobby, but not cause for a failure.... ho de hum ho...
m1i00000001 here's the link to the full manual... horn is technically the only requirement.... By rights, you could need a MOT to register a bike so how would you have a reg number.... That's getting picky but you get the picture my understanding is more or less what Ricky suggested. No lights or all of them. You can fit a brake light, but that enters into a bit of a grey area where tester discretion comes to bear. however, its never clean cut, as ever..... Daylight MOT's were originally for enduro or trials bikes where they had to use or cross a public highway, hence references to types of tyres or ground clearances etc. on pretty much all our bikes, a daylight test will contravene Use & Construction regs and you can get done for this. There was a crack down a few years back around Matlock and I think the Lincs force had a push on it to. It was thrashed out on the DSC forums a few years ago and a couple of lengthy chats in the workshop...one of my customers was a traffic officer most local bobbies will probably let it ride but most traffic officers are clued up. Doesn't mean they'll wade in with the riot act, but there are grounds for them to have a word. there is also the insurance question. The bike will be classified as modified....taking bits off is no different to adding parts especially when you remove lights and indicators that open up the "didn't see you" claims. Telling some customer services bod you have a daylight test isn't the same as telling them you've modified the bike they will try and wriggle out of any payout if they can. its a tricky area and by no means water tight so just be careful you have all angles covered. The MOT is only part of it
Update for anyone not lost the will to live... Reason for the opening post was that following my incident with the dopey, Mondeo driving, twat whore, I am now converting bikey to track only with a daytime MOT. The bike had been written off and is now a CAT C. My original insurance company then promptly withdrew cover (thanks for that) leaving me uninsured! Calls to other insurers revealed the need for a post crash re-MOT and in some cases a copy of the engineer's report before any new insurance could be granted. After untold misery and many, many calls, I finally have insurance without the need for re MOT or sight of engineers reports. Soooooooooooooooooo, If I now finish the bike without lights and ride it with the current (full fat) MOT am I going to be be risking bother from plodzilla? Bearing in mind the bike won't be ridden at night and was constructed with a headlight switch. I will be fitting flashers and a stop light. Answers on a postcard and you may win a caravan or speedboat....:smile:
