My Ambassador is nearing completion and as it is an American import it needs to be registered. I have been through the process before with my Eldorado which was a 73, but they insisted on registering it as a 74. Anyway, my Ambassador is a 71 so tax exempt and I believe now, mot exempt.
To register my Eldorado I needed to mot it. If my Ambassador will now be mot exempt, do I still need to mot it once, before I can register it?
Anyone know?
You do not need to have an MOT or insured to have it registered with a machine over 40 years old .
Just make sure that the frame number is very clear as it might need to be inspected (the guy that inspected my bike should have gone to SpecSavers). 
My bike is registered in 77 although made in 74. I have finally worked out why, I thought it had languished in a showroom because people were waiting for the T3 but now realise that the early 70s were the time of the three day week and a general shortage of cash. Puts it into perspective for me.
I had a problem with the DVLA because an MOT tester could not read the frame number (thick powder coating) and so it went onto the system wrong. Eventually after a long protracted correspondence they sent an examiner down who confirmed what I and my log book were saying was correct and the MOT tester also needed to go to Specsavers.
As an aside I got a pair of prescription reading glasses from Specsavers (my first visit to their shop) for £25. My usual independent optician wanted five times that! I will be back…
I haven’t got to that stage with my Ducati rebuild, but popular wisdom seems to be that it will need an MOT for first registration, even though I have a dating letter that says it was built in 1957. I won’t know until I try…
I think I would take it for an MOT anyway, to make sure I haven’t missed something. I am planning to keep taking my 2 Guzzis even though they don’t need.
RR a man of sound judgement and good sense. I too will take my Guzzi and Triumph to be MOT tested even though they will be exempt. I would also like a second opinion of my rebuild, and the MOT station will be able to test the brakes objectively which I can only guess at! 
I think that now you will not need an MOT for a historic vehicle.
However when I was going through due process for the '36 Nimbus I imported I couldn’t resist the opportunity to ride down to the station with no number plate. Felt just like the Queen.
(It seized solid at the bottom of the hill just before I got there and they had to bring it home on their pick up for me. Turned out that at resto the previous owner had left the powder coating on the inside of the brake drums. The hill was long enough to cook up the coating and then adhere to the shoes. I had a hell of a job getting the brake plate out to clean it all up).
I will take it for an mot, I just thought I might be able to get the registration out of the way first.
Well I’m none the wiser really. Does anyone know of a web site with official information on it?
Please read my post again , it is quite straight forward . I have this month registered a 1966 Stornello and now waiting for the V5 for 1962 Moto Guzzi Hispano Cardellino .
If you feel you need to have an MOT get it after you have a plate on it and test ridden it .
Good luck
+1 for this.
Have heard that MoT exempt refers to bikes that are already registered.
Registration first and exemption thereafter.
Good luck.
Steve
Well I must be really lucky then !
See, there are two sides to this and I just need clarification that is gospel. If I knew where to look, I’d look. I’ve done it all before - the process is not the problem, just the necessity or not of the mot. Perhaps the DVLA can tell me.
Thanks for your imput everyone. I guess this will be usefull for others too.
I built an old 1952 Norton, and registered it with NO MoT… when the V5c arrived I then had to get it taxed and send the V5c back to DVLA to have it changed to Historic.
The DVLA are really very helpful, and it is no problem, I am about to do it again with a 1970 BSA
Checked the post this morning , brown envelope , inside a V5 for my Cardellino .
This machine is Historic and when I applied for a registration number I did not have to have it insured or MOT tested .
I wish posters would check their facts before posting on here
The front brake (double disc) on my sidecar bike is almost non-existent but that passed (knackered master cylinder and yes I’ve a new one to fit). An MOT friend of mine said that he’d never failed a bike for brakes! I think you as the rider probably know if your brakes are ok or not, a lot more than some rollers and a dial.
Roy Green from the Forest of Dean
Re motorcycle brake tests go here http://www.motuk.com/bike/3-3.asp
As far as I’m aware this is still current and I was startled a year or so back when my tester wrapped a strop around the top of the forks and proceeded to wind the handle to test the brake efficiency
Quoth I “there could be no friction material there at all and it would still pass” The examiner agreed 
Its not the most “onerous” test in the world!
I have to disagree with the two posters above, I have had a cracked liner in my rear drum brake on the 850T and the liner had rusted pushing it away from the aluminium hub slightly. I never noticed it (probably as I have now twin discs on the front and the rear drum is more decorative than used) but it showed up on the rolling road with the needle flicking up slightly on each revolution.
The other problem with slowly deteriorating brakes is that I tend to ride around the problem. Yes it is obvious if there are no brakes at all, but it is never an ok or not ok situation, personally I like to have a modicum of objective measurement, pads and shoes can be measured and replaced and hydraulic systems bled or fluids changed, and the whole system can be tested on a rolling road even if the measurement is very basic.
I will continue to take my bikes for MOT testing.
I wonder when we will see the first Fatality caused by a poorly maintained motorcycle or car, and the entire system has to be rethought ??
in my car club most of the ancient vehicles are well looked after
however there a couple that I would never ride in and if I see them on the road I give them a wide berth