Triumphrat

patman

Hello,

I will soon be moving to Oxfordshire (from the US) for a 3 month internship with the Renault F1 team, and am looking for a bit of advice.

I ride an 02 Daytona (stripped to look like a Speed Triple), but will not be able to bring it with me. Since I will be living and working in the countryside, I will need to buy a bike as transportation. I have looked a bit on ebay and such, and prices seem similar to here, but I do have a few questions:

How strict are the speed controls? I planned on getting a sportbike of some kind, but would I be better off getting something slow to keep me out of trouble? Does anyone know what happens if I do get caught speeding on an American license?

What sort of paperwork is involved with buying and registering a bike in the UK? Is insurance required, and is it affordable?

Is there anything else I need to know about riding a motorcycle over there that I'm not thinking of?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can give me a bit of advice!
Pat

Rose

Hi there, I'm in Oxfordshire and literaly down the road, so drop in and say HI.

Check with the DVLA do a google, there you will be able to check to see if you can drive on a US licience, (especialy as its not european).

Max speed here on motorways is 70mph but everyone does around 80. We haven't got your type of roads here and you may have a shock at how small they are in comparison to what you are used to, so be aware of your driving skills.

I'm sure Nick and BonnieT will be able to give more advice.

Your have a great time and there is a biker cafe called "H" where most of us meet up.
Oh yeah, George white of swindon, huge selection of bikes etc, great cafe and outletshop, thats on the internet as well, plus you have Swindon Triumph.

Where are Renult based as Williams is pretty close as well.

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epynt1050

Hi Pat
You can ride on an American license for at least 6 months (it might be 12 months). Insurance is mandatory and will need to be in place prior to purchase if it is a new bike.
Registering a bike is very easy. The dealer does it all (for free) if you buy from a dealer (new or used). On a private sale, you just tear off part of the current document and post it. New docs come in about 10 days. If you buy used, make sure it has a current "MOT" certificate. This is annual test by a testing station to certify the bike is roadworthy. Quite stringent so failures can be expensive. Get a bike with a new MOT then it will still have 9 months left when you sell.
Be very careful when you start - easy to forget we drive on the "wrong" side when you first start out of a morning.

davids

Hi Patman hope all goes well with the internship & you enjoy your stay.

Good advice offered by others about the MOT cert with your bike and look for something that is already taxed for road use (ie has unexpired road fund licence). It may be worth looking on the 'motorcycle news' website as well as ebay to get a feel for bike prices.

'Performance Triumph' is in Swindon (where I live) and a stones throw from the previously mentioned George White bike superstore (both may be worth a visit) & has an active RAT group. Swindon is about 30 miles from Oxford on ok road (with speed cameras) & they have a 'Trade Bike' section where you can get slightly older bikes but still relatively low miles eg under 18k miles in a range of £1300 - £2500+.

Speed limits in town are 30mph unless posted otherwise, on ordinary roads out of town 60 mph unless shown otherwise, on motorways the max is 70mph which almost everyone ignores & drives at 80to 85mph. Lane discipline on motorways is different than the US - you need to keep to the two left lanes unless overtaking or generally running faster the the rest of the traffic in which case use the 3rd (rh) lane - do not - overtake on the left (undertake!) it's not generally done, will be unexpected by others & will cause aggravation. Generally uk roads are tighter and twistier than you may be used to - depending on which part of the US you hail from I suppose.

Also there are some interesting places in relatively easy riding distance, Stonehenge, Avebury , Bath, Bristol etc. If there's anything I can help with don't hesitate to ask especially if you come to Swindon.

Oh one final thing - make sure you have some wet weather gear! Happy rides

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Bonnie06Tangerine

You might want to check into getting an international drivers license if you plan on going over to mainland Europe. You could probably check through the embassy and possibly get it before you even travel over. If you know that you won't be traveling then you can just go under the six month allowance...it is up to you. The roads are a lot more narrow and the speed traps over here come in the form of cameras. The picture will snap off if you are speeding and then you will get a notice in the mail about your speeding ticket. Quite wickedly efficient. Get yourself an Ordnance Survey map and have at it...the riding is great!

Voldemort88

A good thing to do is join in with a local riding club. Their rideouts will get you familiar with the terrain and what is or isn't acceptable riding locally.

The local cops will nail anyone judged to be riding antisocially. Some counties have recently become very strict on this. There are a wealth of small "B" roads which are full of twisties and empty of cops, so there's plenty to enjoy. The roads will be narrower though, so take a little time to acclimatise. You could also do some track days.

Here's a couple of links to the main UK used bike websites:

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/bikesforsale/

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/bikes

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Nickwiz

Lots of good advice there. As far as what type of Bike. Sport bikes are popular but be aware that speeds of over 120mph have ended up in prison sentences for some, here in UK. The rural roads are narrow too, compared to what your probably used to and traffic density is high. If you wanted a modern bike a street triple or secondand speed four is a good bet. I got rid of a 955i Daytona because I found it ultimately frustrating to ride here in the UK. I plumped for a Thruxton and its a top fun nice simple bike. Of course if your happier on a sports bike then its no problem owning one, I'm just not sure you'd really get the most out of it though I'm sure there are those who'll disagree. Obviously if you want a cheaper bike for three months you can get all sorts of Japanese stuff and at probably lower prices than a Triumph. But Your coming to the UK so why not buy British!

lewilewi

The high way code
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...code/index.htm

I would have a good read though it .
It may safe your life !



also a link for speeds on different types of roads
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAn...code/DG_070304

I'm sure you'll have fun on our roads

KuzzinKenny

1 other thing, you are comin over here at the start of our winter so you might not even get to ride !! snow, ice, high winds, frost, salt and rain, that should about cover a typical day

enjoy yer stay over here, you should get SOME quality ridin time !!

KK

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patman

Thanks all for the replies!

Sounds like it will be easier than I thought, which is great. Unfortunately, it looks like I will only have 1000-1500 GBP or so to spend on a ride, so I might end up with an older 600cc jap bike or something. Hopefully some of you Triumph guys will still let me ride with you...

I am not so worried about the roads or traffic patterns (I have driven in Ireland before and had no trouble adjusting to the wrong side of the road) and I am from West Virginia, which has some of the smallest, curviest roads in the US. I am a bit leery of city riding; I've never been in any UK cities, but the way they rode in Paris was sort of scary, but I'm sure I will pick it up.

I am not sure where I will live yet, but I will be working in Enstone, about 20km north of Oxford. I asked my supervisor about the weather and he seemed to think it would be Ok for riding, is this not true?

Anyway thanks again for all the info,

Pat

PS- how do I type a pound sign with a US keyboard, or can I?