Bike Checker

Getting a new motorbike isn’t a small purchase. Depending on the spec and age of the bike, it can often be several months’ salary to get a top-of-the-range bike.

So it’s a purchase you have to make with good knowledge and information to help you decide if the bike is the right one for you.

We are here to help people buying either a new or used motorbike to make an informed choice.

To do this, we have developed technology that lets you check a whole variety of things about the bike you are looking at buying.

How does our motorbike check work?

We have built an online tool which can answer most questions about the bike you are looking at buying.

To get an accurate report, all you need is your bike registration number. It includes numbers and letters and is found on the front and rear of the vehicle.

Just type in your bike registration number below and a full report on your bike’s registration will be created.

This draws on many data points to provide a factual and accurate history of the bike.

Your registration number or number plate is also sometimes referred to as your VRM (Vehicle Registration Mark).

How reliable is our bike checker?

Our bike checker uses data from a variety of sources to compile a full history. This includes the Driving Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which are the two main bodies dealing with vehicle history and safety.

We also look at finance databases such as the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud Theft Register (MIAFTR) and draw on the Police National Computer database.

This means we use official government and police records as part of our thorough checks.

Does our bike check offer a full history of the vehicle?

We have developed our bike checker to cover as full a history of the bike as possible.

Does our motorbike check cover previous accidents to the bike?

Yes, it will let you know the total history of the bike. This will include letting you know if the bike has ever been involved in an accident.

Sellers must disclose whether a motorbike has been involved in an accident. This is regardless of whether the seller is a dealer or a private seller. Although it is a criminal offence for a bike seller not to tell the truth, some do not do so. In failing to disclose this information they break both the law and the duty of care they have to you as a buyer.

Will our bike reg check tell you if a bike has been stolen?

Our reg check will tell you if a bike has been stolen.

Statistics released by the police and court system show that the number of motorbikes being stolen is increasing. Often these are stolen to order, and ready to be sold on. This means that the second-hand bike market is full of them.

So, if you are looking for a used bike there’s a good chance you could stumble across a stolen one during your search.

Driving a stolen bike is illegal. Because of technology, there is always a good chance a stolen bike will be spotted once it has been reported as taken. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology is based on camera checks on licence plates. If ANPR detects a stolen bike, the police will be alerted.

If you have bought a stolen bike, you will never have the legal right to keep it. The first thing the police will do if they find you on a stolen bike is to impound the bike and take it off the road. The second thing they will do is investigate whether you were the one who stole the bike.

Even if you have the right papers to prove that you bought the bike in good faith, and the police are happy with your story, that still doesn’t get you off the hook completely. Your insurance company will also look into the issue. In many cases, they may not pay out for a stolen bike because they will judge you should have checked the proper ownership before buying.

Using our simple reg checker will help you see if your desired bike has been stolen before you buy it.

Does the bike checker look for ‘write-offs’?

Writing off a bike off is a decision taken by an insurance company not to insure the vehicle any more.

Sometimes used bike dealers are tempted to break the law and fail to let you know if a bike has been written off.

Luckily, we have built an online tool which can help you check if a bike has been written off.

To get an accurate report, all you need is your bike’s registration number.

Will our bike checker cover accidents involving the bike?

Driving any bike that has been involved in an accident, no matter how small, carries risks. The bike will always be less safe to drive.

You need to know the real history of a motorbike before purchasing it.

That’s why our bike reg checker also includes a full accident history for a specific bike.

Does the bike checker also look at outstanding finance?

Sometimes when people buy bikes, they often have to borrow to fund the purchase. This borrowing (or credit) is usually secured or linked to the actual bike itself.

Most people who have borrowed against a bike have usually have paid it off before selling it. But not everybody behaves so honestly.

Until a bike finance deal has been fully paid off, the bike is usually not the previous owner’s property to sell on. In the eyes of the law, the vehicle belongs to the finance company.

This means that if you ended up buying a bike with outstanding finance, you legally will not own it until the existing finance has been paid off.

Unless you check the state of any outstanding finance, you can be left out of pocket. This can be painful especially when you have already paid out for the bike itself.

Don’t worry. We have built our bike checker tool to let you check if your intended vehicle has existing finance before you buy.

All we need is the registration number of the bike that you’re interested in purchasing.

Does our bike reg checker cover the spec of the bike?

If you are looking to buy a brand-new or second-hand bike, then you’ll need the spec to see if it has the features you need. Basically, you will need the spec to try and work out if the motorbike is the right one for you. This is especially important if you’re buying a bike online.

Our bike reg checker is a comprehensive tool that will give you all the information you need to know about a bike’s spec, including:

• Fuel Efficiency: We will show the miles per gallon (mpg) figure for your intended bike so that you can see how far it will travel with fuel.
• Environmental considerations: Our bike spec will include details of its fuel consumption and level of CO2 emissions. This will be important to you if you are environmentally conscious. It will also be relevant to you in terms of the road tax you will have to pay.
• Brake horsepower (BHP): This tells you how speedily any bike can accelerate from zero miles per hour. Quite simply, the bigger BHP a vehicle can manage, the quicker it will go. Greater BHP also makes things like driving bikes up steep hills easier.
• Speed: We will show you how fast your vehicle can go.
• Size and weight: Our report covers all the dimensions of your intended bike.

We just need the registration number of the bike that you’re interested in.

Simply type in your registration number below and a full bike spec will be created.

Do we look at the previous mileage of a bike?

We cover the full history of a bike, including its previous mileage.

The number of miles a bike has done is a very good indicator of how well previous owners have looked after the vehicle, and how much they have driven it. As a general rule, the more miles a vehicle has spent on the road, the greater the risk that something could go wrong in the future.

That’s why you should also know the mileage of a bike before you buy it.

And it’s why we have designed our bike reg checker to include this vital information.

What about things like an MOT?

Before you can take a vehicle on the UK’s roads, you need an MOT to demonstrate if the bike is fit to be driven or if it needs repair.

The MOT test is an annual inspection to make sure your bike meets both environmental and road safety standards. It is a check of different parts of your bike. The MOT makes sure that vehicles are safe to be driven, and does not injure you or other people.

In England, Scotland and Wales, you must get an MOT for your vehicle on the third anniversary of its first registration with the Driving Vehicle Licencing Authority (DVLA). After that, you need to get an MOT test EVERY YEAR on the anniversary of the last MOT.

Our bike reg checker also includes information on when a bike’s next MOT test is due and if its MOT certificate is up to date. Without an MOT, a bike cannot legally be driven.

Will the bike checker also cover road tax?

Yes, our bike checker covers road tax too.

The amount you are charged in road tax depends on different factors including the date the bike was first registered for road use, and its engine size or level of CO2 emissions. All of these things are known as ‘variables’ – each one can be different, and each one can mean you pay a different rate of road tax.

We will tell you the amount of road tax you will be expected to pay on any bike. This will help you can make an informed choice.

Does our bike check cover whether a bike has been imported?

Because we offer a full bike history, we will always indicate whether or not the bike you are interested in has been imported.