Restriction... Is it 100% neccesary?

[ophic]

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

Insured for a totally different vehicle. If you had 3rd party other vehicle cover then they'd point out that for most policies they specify "if the other vehicle is insured by the owner" or summat like.

I've checked my policies in the past, none of them have ever stated this. Separate issue tho.

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

Only way round it is probably if you had a trade type policy with "any other vehicle" cover without the stipulation that it must also be insured by the owner.

It's a vehicle that doesn't match the stated description. Same as an unrestricted bike that is insured as restricted.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the law protects the 3rd party. However it seems that there's no point having insurance on a restricted bike if you're riding it unrestricted, cos if you've got no insurance, the 3rd party would have to manage the proceedings against you himself. Which is preferable to your own insurance company doing it, with their experienced legal team.

[yorkie_chris]

I dunno, in that scenario I'm fairly certain plod would do you for no insurance.

[ophic]

So its a £300 fine and a stern telling off? Harsh

Ah it's been a while since I read a debate on this topic! I kept mine restricted for about 2 months before getting bored with the lack of power and taking the restricting washers out. I was stopped twice in this country and once in France, random routine checks as far as I could tell, and never was anything said about being restricted. Obviously for the legal reasons it's not advisable but it's your choice!

[yorkie_chris]

I would be more concerned about the possible 6 points ophic

tis not worth the risk (IMO)

plus the SV restricted will have plenty of power for you.

Originally Posted by ophic

It's a vehicle that doesn't match the stated description. Same as an unrestricted bike that is insured as restricted.

I don't know the law on how far you have to modify it to not be the same vehicle, but obviously to you and me you can see the difference. One is a modified version of the original, the other is a different vehicle. I suspect it might be something that comes down to individual judgements, we need a motoring lawyer here I reckon (and even then, they may not know, as it's surely not a common point to raise in a courtroom)

Originally Posted by ophic

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad the law protects the 3rd party. However it seems that there's no point having insurance on a restricted bike if you're riding it unrestricted, cos if you've got no insurance, the 3rd party would have to manage the proceedings against you himself. Which is preferable to your own insurance company doing it, with their experienced legal team.

Heh, don't give people ideas! The approach I meant before is that as long as they are only 'hurting' (potentially) themselves, then it's up to them whether they ride around unrestricted...I'd hope the morals of most people would be "fine if I'm risking myself/my licence/my bike, but I'm gonna make sure others are sorted out if something happens". Who knows how true that is ...

[yorkie_chris]

Yeah but the good thing with the bikes is chances are you're not going to hurt anyone else too badly (unless you're being a **** in town centre...). Even in a monster ****-up the worst you're going to do is bend some cage a bit.

Originally Posted by hovis

tis not worth the risk (IMO)

plus the SV restricted will have plenty of power for you.

How do you know that?

When my eldest daughter passed her test in 1998 she bought a restricted RS250 Aprilia. She declared it the most gutless pile of crap she'd ever ridden, because by that time she'd been top 3 in various schoolboy MX championships over the previous 8 or 9 years and knew exactly what to do with power. Within 10 mnutes of getting it home she and I had derestricted it. We then did the same with her NC30 and the CBR600 that followed. She only had one accident in that time, and that was down to poor observation rather than a surplus of power.

You cannot tar all new riders with the same brush.

The law sticks a blanket limit on every new rider regardless of experience. My old housemate passed his test on a 125, waited 2 years then went out and bought a 1200 Bandit which was instantly derestricted by putting a race can on. The law is an ass.

[yorkie_chris]

There's more to derestricting a bandit than putting a race can on it though