Bikes going Historic

Iain Macauley, Automotive Journalist talks us through the ins and outs of classic bike ownership and coming up to that milestone of 'going historic'.

You may just have taxed or MOT-ed your 1984 bike for the last time.

No, it's not about to be legislated off the roads, scrapped or stolen - it's heading for "Historic" status, soon to hit the "more than 40-years-old" threshold set by DVLA meaning you can use the roads for free.

And, assuming you keep your machine in roadworthy condition, for your own good as much as anything else, it will not need to go through the annual rigour of the MOT test when, inevitably, something that was working perfectly well when you departed your garage declines to operate correctly at the MOT testing station.

It will, of course, correct itself over a bump on the way home.

I've only ever bought or owned modern classics that were already historic, or a decade away from such status, so had no experience of the bureaucracy involved in road tax class status.

So when one of the bikes in my ownership was about to cross what I believed to be the Historic dateline into 2023 I discovered I'd jumped the expectation gun.

Possibly like me you maybe thought that once your bike hit 40 years old, then it could go "Historic" - as in my 1983 Yamaha LB50 as 2023 arrived. Ah, not quite as clear cut as that: while I may well have paid my last road tax fee, it wasn't until April 1, 2024 that "Historic" could appear in the taxation class line on its V5C.

The key phrase is "more than 40 years old". Now, a year is usually 365 days long, so that notion can be quite vague - but find the right page on the DVLA website and it becomes crystal-ish clear.

The motorcycle club quiz night aces amongst us will know the rolling 40-year regs for tax-exempt "Historic" vehicles means if your post-January 1, 1984 classic bike was built before January 1, 1985, or registered before January 8, 1985, you can now look forward to applying to have its taxation class changed to "Historic" on the V5C registration document. That means you won't need to pay road tax from April 1, 2025. And that could amount to a good few £s a year. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/historic-vehicles

But you also need to actively apply for the change to Historic taxation class - a "vehicle tax exemption".

Now, in an increasingly digital world you'd expect this to be something conducted and completed online. But it's not.

Some of us will be delighted to discover the process involves actually having to engage with a fellow human.

According to the UK Government you need to hike (or ride) down to the Post Office, one that deals with vehicle taxation matters, armed with your V5C registration document, V11 road tax reminder (if you have one), MOT certificate (if your bike needs one), or evidence of exemption from MOT.

The upside has to be that you'll be dealing with a person, rather than online with a moody or smart-ass AI (Artificial Intelligence) bot, or a computer that says "no" at the slightest provocation.

The Post Office counter person will check everything necessary is present and correct and send it off to DVLA. Within six weeks you should get your updated V5C, and, if there's any refunds due, an appropriately-valued cheque.

I couldn't resist looking for a few 1984 modern classics that go Historic on January 1 or 8 2025, or April 1, 2025 - depending upon your take of what happens when.

While 1984 didn't exactly spawn the prettiest bikes according to today's eyes, there was certainly some noteworthy machines finding their way out of showrooms.

Credit: Ducati

A handful that stood out for me included the not-quite-right-looking Ducati Pantah 500, and Honda's equally not-quite-there update CB750F. There's a Pantah on sale online for £5,000, and a CB750F for £3,500.

One Honda that does look right is a VFR 1000 "Racing" - a limited run production racer - at £15,000. At the opposite end of the scale is a Honda CD200 Benly, ready for restoration at £450. I mention that, because I had one, restored it - and made the mistake of selling it: the beauty was in its simplicity.

Credit: Suzuki Motorcycles

Others that warrant historic as well as Historic status include the likes of a £6,750 BMW R80GS - trail and offroad bikes were just coming into their own in the 1980s - a Morini 350 at a tempting £2,350 and a howling Suzuki GSXR400 at £3,395.

Apologies if I've set the buying juices going...