Licence and L-plates

A1 and CBT

Up to 125 cc, 11 kW and 0.1 kW/kg, from 17. On L-plates after a CBT: no pillion, and no motorways.

Full-power two-stroke

Around 21–23 kW in the brief, so it needs an A2 or a full A licence. MCN’s line is that anything above the restricted 15 bhp is illegal on a provisional or A1 licence.

15 bhp and 11 kW

Both phrases are in the brief, from different sources. This site does not treat them as interchangeable. Check the rule that applies to your licence.

Insurance

Tell the insurer about derestriction. That is the standard advice in the brief. The wording they want is To verify with the insurer.

The hardware behind a restriction — blanking plate, CDI retard, catalyst — is described inguide 12. Changing it does not change the licence you hold.

MOT

The current DVSA motorcycle inspection manual, read on 25 October 2026, says the tread must be at least 1.0 mm throughout a continuous band of at least three-quarters of the breadth of the tread, around the whole tyre. A brake lining or pad worn below 1.0 mm is listed as a dangerous defect.

Haynes 4298 still gives 1.5 mm of friction material as a workshop minimum. That is a service figure, not the MOT category. Re-read the DVSA manual before a test, because the categories move. The workshop list is in guide 13.

Insurance

GOV.UK requires the bike to be registered, taxed, roadworthy, and covered by at least third-party insurance before you ride it. An MOT is required once the bike is old enough to need one. What you must tell an insurer after a derestriction is stillTo verify in that policy. The legal page does not replace it.

Importing a bike from Italy

This is the path for an Italian bike that is not yet on a UK V5C. A bike that already has a V5C does not go through it again.

1. Tell HMRC via NOVA within 14 days of the bike arriving.Pay any VAT or duty they ask for. The amount on a particular bike isTo verify with HMRC.
2. Type approval.Bikes over 10 years old are exempt, so there is no MSVA. On the V55/5 the brief says to put “exempt” and the reason “over 10 years old”. A 1998 motorcycle is inside that exemption.
3. V55/5 to DVLA.Include the original foreign registration document, proof of the date, ID, insurance, an MOT if the application needs one, the first-registration fee and the tax. GOV.UK’s fee page, checked 25 October 2026, says £55, paid by cheque or postal order, not cash. Read that page again on the day you apply. DVLA says the V5C can take up to 6 weeks, and plates are made after it arrives.
4. V5C.The UK registration mark is issued with it. Fit number plates after that, to the current plate rules.

A ZD4 plate with W in position 10 is model year 1998 in the brief’s table. That is not automatically the date of first registration. If a bike’s build year and its registration year disagree, say so, with the documents. Do not pick the convenient date.

What this page will not do

It will not estimate the duty on your bike, complete a V55/5 for you, or describe how to hide a derestriction at a test. The honest record is the one you can show an insurer and an MOT tester.