shakennstirred Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 Will cops now start targeting road trials. Heard reports from a couple of rider's, that a cop just happen to be passing a road trial last month and he decided to pull everyone that came out the farm track on to the road. Did them for small number plates and tyres not for road use. If true, it could be the thin end of the wedge and it may give them the idea to set up outside these trials for easy money. Anyone heard about it or was it just a rumour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totalshell Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 sounds like its made up nonsense.. tyres are perfectly legal for road use in uk as long as they are inflated and have a mimum tread depth.. so yes its a made up story.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldilocks Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 Michelin tyres are legal for road use in the UK but not for USA / Canada. Could be done for low pressure. We haven't got a leg to stand on regarding the registration plate 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 4 hours ago, totalshell said: sounds like its made up nonsense.. tyres are perfectly legal for road use in uk as long as they are inflated and have a mimum tread depth.. so yes its a made up story.. Riders need to check which tyres they have fitted for road trials if they want to avoid that kind of charge 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old trials fanatic Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 (edited) Think you will find there is more than a grain of truth in this. Warnings and producers given if i heard correctly. Its bound to come as all the bikes used that i know of are sitting ducks for the police. We all know the bikes are illegal if we are honest. At the very least do everything you can to comply including taxing and insuring your bike. Blow up your tyres before going on the road. Even a detachable legal number plate is a grey area but at least you are trying. Perhaps a water trough to disperse the worse of the mud which is another one they will use. Its only going to get worse so make the most of it while you can. Edited August 13, 2017 by old trials fanatic 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadof2 Posted August 13, 2017 Report Share Posted August 13, 2017 I have known this at a few trials several years ago, these trials are now run all off road. Remember last years Scott when the police targeted spectators and retiring riders. This situation is entirely the sports own fault, stupid rear mudguards, lack of reliable speedos etc. It is also one of the reasons the sport is declining because the bikes can't be used for anything else. Like I have said previously on this TC before. if it says "not for highway service" on a tyre buff it off with sandpaper or a flap disc. The ACU should take the lead on this by negotiating with the manufacturers and the government. A horn should not be required. A proper mechanical speedometer should be fitted to front wheel. The rear mudguard should not point skyward and should have pre drilled mounting holes for a proper plate. DVLA should assign motorcycle registration to minimise number of digits and they should be able to be smaller than standard car size. Another problem trials, mx and enduro bring on themselves is lack of adequate silencing. Just pointing the outlet at the ground would make a huge reduction the apparent noise level. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyboxer Posted August 14, 2017 Report Share Posted August 14, 2017 7 hours ago, dadof2 said: I have known this at a few trials several years ago, these trials are now run all off road. Remember last years Scott when the police targeted spectators and retiring riders. This situation is entirely the sports own fault, stupid rear mudguards, lack of reliable speedos etc. It is also one of the reasons the sport is declining because the bikes can't be used for anything else. Like I have said previously on this TC before. if it says "not for highway service" on a tyre buff it off with sandpaper or a flap disc. The ACU should take the lead on this by negotiating with the manufacturers and the government. A horn should not be required. A proper mechanical speedometer should be fitted to front wheel. The rear mudguard should not point skyward and should have pre drilled mounting holes for a proper plate. DVLA should assign motorcycle registration to minimise number of digits and they should be able to be smaller than standard car size. Another problem trials, mx and enduro bring on themselves is lack of adequate silencing. Just pointing the outlet at the ground would make a huge reduction the apparent noise level. One thing I agree with you on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasserguy Posted August 14, 2017 Report Share Posted August 14, 2017 No such thing as a small number plate. It's the lettering size and a spacing measurement. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/533255/inf104-vehicle-registration-numbers-and-number-plates.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbofurball Posted August 14, 2017 Report Share Posted August 14, 2017 Conversely at another trial a while back some troublemakers were throwing stones at riders while on the road; the police attended and didn't pull any riders, and scared off the neer-do-wells. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shakennstirred Posted August 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2017 (edited) 7 hours ago, gasserguy said: No such thing as a small number plate. It's the lettering size and a spacing measurement. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/533255/inf104-vehicle-registration-numbers-and-number-plates.pdf You being pedantic, it's a term. Also To comply with those regs it needs to be a minimum size to fit everything on with the correct spacing, most trials bikes I have seen don't comply, so yes they are to small Edited August 14, 2017 by shakennstirred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabie Posted August 14, 2017 Report Share Posted August 14, 2017 in the modern world of ANPR (ie computer readable number plate) i don't think "movement" on number plates is realistic the rest of it, broadly bikes are built for a pan european legal system (which we may be brexiting), and bike manufactures have to jump through hoops to get them on the road, and we (riders) have to jump through more hoops to get the bikes on the road. should we (the sport) try and spend vast sums of money (raised by who from where ???) on hiring lobbyists and trying to get the law changed or loopholes added for our obscure minority sport ??? we can if that is what need to be done, but even then we can only hope to change what is on the legislative agenda, which beyond incorporating EU law en masse into UK law doesn't seam to leave any legislative time in the next few years, if after that some sort of transport bill comes up we might get an opportunity. off the top of my head, are the trials importers members of the MCIA ??? (Honda as the current importers of Montesa) How much does the MCIA spend on lobbying, or should it be the ACU and AMCA ??? Even if you were Honda, are you going to rock this boat for the tiny number of units you sell in the trials market, and of those units how many are put on the road (we can look this data up from new registrations with the DVLA that are published) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dadof2 Posted August 14, 2017 Report Share Posted August 14, 2017 Many of the rules we are expected to abide by are regulations, nor legislation. There is a big difference. The problem is not so much the laws being pan european or not, its the manufacturers making bikes that do not comply with them properly. If the ACU, AMCA and manufacturers representatives got together and presented a reasoned case to the government to reduce the size of the digits and plates and reserve the registration combinations with fewer digits for motorcycle use they may listen. When rear mudguards were at reasonable angles and the size fitted to monoshock Yams, Fantics etc there was hardly ever a problem with number plates, since the introduction of thin pointy things stuck up in the air numerous riders have been warned that if they don't put it right they will be prosecuted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzuki250 Posted August 15, 2017 Report Share Posted August 15, 2017 10 hours ago, dadof2 said: If the ACU, AMCA and manufacturers representatives got together and presented a reasoned case to the government to reduce the size of the digits and plates and reserve the registration combinations with fewer digits for motorcycle use they may listen. It wouldn’t be difficult to manufacture a replacement mudguard for the correct number plate, but how many people would actually buy one! I can really see the DVLA changing the size of digits for trials riders… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbofurball Posted August 15, 2017 Report Share Posted August 15, 2017 Another thing to note, I don't remember myself or anyone I know ever being pulled for a small number plate on trail bikes without there being significant other problems with the bike ... and we've ridden a LOT of road miles. I use my XR for popping to the shop all the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gasserguy Posted August 15, 2017 Report Share Posted August 15, 2017 On 8/14/2017 at 0:34 PM, shakennstirred said: You being pedantic, it's a term. Also To comply with those regs it needs to be a minimum size to fit everything on with the correct spacing, most trials bikes I have seen don't comply, so yes they are to small If the police write you up for a small number plate it will be chucked out. No such thing. Simple. They need to give you a ticket for wrong size lettering and spacing. Yes, every trials bike i've seen is worth a warning or ticket........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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