My friend has picked up a used aftermarket can for his bike from an aquaintance.It promises to free up a few extra BHP - but more importantly - it makes his 1000 cc bike sound like a 1000cc bike rather than a garden leaf blower.
Problem is - his insurance company will not validate his insurance if the bike is found to be running an ‘illegal’ can and my good friend can’t tell if it’s road legal or not - as the bit that is usually stamped with ‘not for road use’ has accidentally got scratched off while it was lying around in the corner of some garage godammit!
So - if his bike (God forbid) get’s written off and is inspected by an eagle eyed insurance assessor - will the assessor bother ascertaing if the can is road legal or not - and if he says that it is not legal can my friend say that he had no way of ascertaining the legality of the can - which passed through an MOT ok - and that therefore the insurance company has no right to invalidate his insurance?My friend is sitting next to me right now, I have tried to console him with tea and biscuits but he is looking a bit glum.Please shed some light on this matter for the sake of our biking brother.
One question - do you reckon that if the MOT guy notices that the bit on the exhaust (the spout) which is often stamped ‘not for road use’ has been accidentally scratched rendering it illegible, will this lead to raised eyebrows and an MOT failure?
Cool! So in theory if there is nothing on the can saying ‘not for road use’ and it has got through it’s MOT can the insurance co. still refuse to insure the bike on the basis that their assessor thinks it’s running a dodgy can? Even though it has got through an MOT and has scratches where ‘not for road use’ usually stamped?
It could just be a scratch on the can no way of proving it said something before.
The insurance company would have to be a right nightmare to cause you problems like that. Just claim ignorance that it was on there before and you thought it was standard
The law says that your bike will fail the MOT if:- e. A silencer fitted to a motorcycle first used on or after 1 January 1985 which is not marked with either:-
The make and type specified by the motorcycle manufacturer.
British Standard classification BSAU 193 or BSAU 193a or an EEC approval number prefixed by a small ‘e’ marking or an ECE approval number prefixed by a capital E.
A silencer marked ‘NOT FOR ROAD USE’, TRACK USE ONLY’ or similar words.There are businesses around which will sell you stickers and or plates which could be used to cover-up/hide unwanted graphics and wording on the exhaust pipes. However, these tag/s should not be fitted to a non standard can or exhaust to try and break the law or pass it off as legal for an MOT.
The can has no British Standard or E markings on it so surely it’s going to fail the MOT - plus the insurance company could argue it was fitted with a race can because it has no kite/E marks and invalidate the insurance.
My friends insurance company specifically asks him if the bike is fitted with performance enhancing parts (e.g. race cans) whenever he renews with them - so yeah - they could shaft him on this I reckon. :crazy:
Get what your saying - but what if bike is written off (and my friend is lying in hospital with a broken leg so is unable to swap cans ready for the insurance inspection) so when the insurance assessor spots the can with no kite/e marks and decides it’s a race can he tells the insurers who invalidate the insurance.
I don’t think this is paranoia - insurance companies will shaft you any way they can - and I’ve personally experienced being hospitalised after an accident - my bike ended up in a scrappy miles away where it was inspected by the insurance company - luckily the bike was totally legit. If it had not been legit and I had (theoretically and for the purposes of argument :hehe: ) wanted to swap cans before the inspection I couldn’t have as I was on crutches and couldn’t even get to the toilet to have a p1ss let alone travel somewhere to swap cans! :hehe:
tell your m8 to out it on and if he is ever unlucky enough to be in a situation where an accessor has to come and access it tell him to take said can off and report it was stolen maybe at the roadside where was left or in transportation by the transportee’s etc, you catch my drift?
1: The MoT: just get one done with the standard can on. No problem.
2: Keeping the insurance valid: Be honest. Always the best policy with those sharks in the end. Declare to the insurance company the non-standard can as “non performance enhancing”. (Or words to those effects, depending what questions they ask.)
Just because it’s noisy doesn’t mean it will go any faster. Only very few whole exhaust systems will have much impact on a bikes power without some other work being done. A noisy can on it’s own? Just makes you more liable to be noticed.
Firstly, the insurance can only become invalid if it is specific in the policy (usually the small print) and they cannot apply the rules retrospectively if it is not in there in the first place, so read the small print.
Secondly, the insurers will usually pay for the cost or original equipment rather than after market parts, and as we all know OE parts are considerably more expensive than after market.
In the event of a crash, (particularly a crash caused by someone else) the cost of the repairs or loss of value would be claimed against the third party under the Special damages schedule, and your insurers would have no say over this or even get involved in your claim if you went through a private personal injury law firm rather than legal expenses.
The only time an insurance company can kick up much of a stink is if the modifications directly contributed to the cause of the crash, but even then they would still have to offer you third party cover so that you do not get hit for third party legal costs, and this only happens if you cause the crash.
good post. look at it this way… is your car fitted with an OE exhaust? or is it whatever make kwick fit threw on it? tell them the original exhaust fell off and you bought a replacement aftermarket one that does not alter the bikes performance. Whilst your in the garage though, get a grinding wheel…followed by a polishing wheel on any writing that might get you into trouble.
All that tosh about it having to have “E” numbers stamped on it is precisely that…tosh. It passes its MOT at the discretion of the MOT tester… if you are worried about it being too loud, get it MOT’d at your local harley davidson dealer! Job done.
