Passing the ULEZ compliance test

My 1993 Triumph Trident 900 successfully passed the TfL ULEZ compliance test yesterday.

Honours go to Garfield Motorcycles in Enfield, an official testing station. The very helpful guys there said only about 1 in 100 bikes fail, sometimes the bike needs a carb adjustment or a different air filter.

Yes it’s £175 but it’s a one off fee, plus I live inside the zone so it works for me.

Phone Fred to find out more.

By the way, while waiting I heard some horror stories of some other places that charge hundreds of ££ fitting cat converters to bikes and really messing them up. I was quoted £600, plus the fee, by one well known ‘testing station’ in London.

8 Likes

I see (and smell) some very old smoky two-stroke scooters in the zone. How are they passing? There are quite a few of them and they look like they’re in regular use - not just a Sunday morning jaunt to a club meet-up - so unlikely they are paying £12.50 daily.

:woman_shrugging:

I believe that ‘historic’ vehicles, i.e. those over 40 years old that pay no road tax, are exempt from ULEZ

2 Likes

Vehicles built before 1 January 1973

1 Like

Pre 73 vehicles exempt.

There really aren’t that many.

1 Like

the test is a one off test.
theres nothing to stop you taking it for a test, adjusting things to make it pass, then changing it back. AFAIK 2 strokes can be made to run badly, but cleanly to get through the test.

2 Likes

You’re overlooking the ‘historic tax class’ exemption.

This means that as well as not having to pay VED or have an MOT, anything over 40 years old is exempt from the ULEZ charge.

Exactly. I was kind of intimating they will help you pass.

May l remind you that early japanese bikes are approaching the 40
year deadline and are the fore runners of todays superbikes.

2 Likes

Yes that’s going to be interesting.

I saw one this morning, I won’t dox him on a public forum but it wasn’t 1973, the VRM was LK06[xxx], LK being London and 06 being 2006.

It was definitely a smelly smokey two stroke.

I get the distinct impression 2T is unpopular here!
Around 1973 I bought my first brand new bike from Eddy Grimstead. It was a Suzuki GT380 - 2 stroke triple. What a great bike. By heck it was quick! Loved it.

1 Like