Hello people, as some of you may know, i purchased my 900ss from a member of this forum who had the bike on a Q plate due to the bike being stolen and recovered back in 1998. The bike has a DVLA given vin number and no engine number as both of them have been grounded off (thanks to the idiots who nicked it). Not sure why, but i went mad trying to get the identity of this bike and with the parts number i managed to almost be sure it is a 1991. I just wanted, to the best of my abilities, to try and get an age related plate. One day in March i phoned DVLA and asked if there was anything i could do to have an age related plate. Once i gave my registration number the operator at some point said that he had to put me on hold to verify some information. My heart went to my throat as i feared he may have seen something i wasn't aware of but instead, he said that the good news was that they only needed to have the age of the bike confirmed. I have subsequently taken my bike to a Ducati dealer for an inspection and i obtained a letter on headed paper where they also believe after inspection that the bike is a 1991 model. I am in theory ready to send them my V5, a picture of the bike and the letter but i am fearing what outcome this may generate. In one hand, they may issue me with an age related plate and stick to what they mentioned on the phone they wanted me to provide (but you never know!) but in the other hand, as they registered the bike on the V5 as 1998 model and are now facing the evidence that instead my bike is a 1991 as per confirmation from main dealer, that they may ask me further inspections or even worse, scrap the bike? if that is even a possibility? Don't ask me why i have these insecurities, i just love this bike so much and gave me so much fresh air i needed in my life after a terrible few years .....that i fear i may lose her somehow lol. Thanks for the time reading this, pretty long and boring.
Sounds like there's a lot invested in your bike beyond the nuts & bolts. Could you get something in writing - maybe just an email - that confirms your phone call? Perhaps then you'd have the peace of mind to give it a go. Good luck...
Between 1994 and 2001 I used to inspect vehicles on behalf of the local VRO (read DVLA) for people who were applying for Q plates. Hated Q plates with a passion as they were a licence to nick a newer/better same type vehicle. Wherever possible I would push for an age related number. To achieve this the vehicle was gone through with a fine tooth comb. I was fortunate in having access to forensic techniques to recover ground off numbers. However, if the numbers could not be recovered I dated everything. Date codes on all the plastics, labels on seat belts, casting codes on metal, paper labels on wiring looms and glass codes (you can pick out the ones applicable to a m/c). The VRO had a percentage (which I forget) and if this was exceeded then the Age Related number was issued. Things have changed since 2001 with all the VROs closing but I suspect the DVLA will insist on an inspection if they reconsider issuing an age related number.
Let’s see what I can do, I will certainly try that. A lot has to do with the person opening the envelope lol can be either easy or nightmare
You’re right that it depends on who opens the envelope, but whoever it is will either accept the application or reject it and send it back . I can’t see it being any worse than that , but make sure that you state the dating evidence is from the manufacturer. If the dealer isn’t in the list of approved/authorised dating cert providers one envelope opener will just reject it
I can't see any reason (or grounds) for DVLA to announce that because you have the temerity to apply for an age related plate, they are exercising some feudal law of enforced scrappage. Other than that, I hope you get what you want. But if you don't, just enjoy the ride.
Absolutely, that is what my common sense tells me. In the meantime and since I wrote this topic, I have sent all the paperwork to DVLA. It marks almost a month now but I haven’t heard anything yet. I recon there will be some updates in the coming weeks. I am sceptical despite being told that all they needed was to establish the age of the vehicle, that they will issue me with an age related plate. The main question then will be: if they do issue me with an age related plate, will the bike keep the same dvla given vin number? It’s all unknown and all I can do is wait. The Q plate won’t put me off this bike and I will indeed enjoy riding it. It was just a try considering they told me they only needed the age to be verified from a specialist or manufacturer. Will keep you updated guys
I can't help with identifying the manufacturing year of your bike, but others are already advising on this. However, I did have a problem registering a bike brought from Italy with DVLA, which dragged on for quite some time with inconsistent responses, from different staff members each time I called to answer their queries. Also, each time they raised a query, they sent back via normal post, all of the application paperwork mailed securely to them. In addition, when I answered each query and returned the application pack to them, I went to the back of the queue for applications. Finally, I complained to the CEO of DVLA, Ms J Lennard, about what was going on, and asked her to intervene to help progress the application. She kindly responded by giving the task to a nominated person to progress the application, who was helpful, and within a reasonable time the registration was completed satisfactorily. In case you consider a similar request is appropriate, her email address is: [email protected] . I hope your quest is successful, without the need to complain. Good luck. Tom.
thanks Tom, very helpful contact if needed. I also hope this goes smooth and without drama but you never know, like others have said, who opens the envelope once delivered. The person I spoke with over the phone was quite excited and literally said “the good news is that we only need to establish the age of the vehicle to issue an age related plate”. I am taking this with a pinch of salt until I hear back from them.
