Becoming a Motorcycle MOT Tester (Uk) - Anyone done it ? Advice sought.
 

My work are putting me through for this....

I know very little about what I have to do. Some kind of two day course and some exams I think.

Anyone know some good training material ????

Cheers, Ted

Any chance of a dodgy MOT or two once you've qualified? ;)

I did the truck one. Don't sweat it, it's just weird. Day 1 is such rubbish as what to say if a one-legged Welsh lesbian asks for their fail to be explained in Urdu, how sticking oily fingers up your nose (or in other places) is bad and not a reason to ring injury-lawyers-for-U and how you should put YOUR name in the box marked NAME, not "Dennis" because that's what the pumps called. On day 2 you hit things with a toffee hammer, good goes ping, bad goes through like wet cardboard. Leave your brain at home, do what they say and you'll be fine.

Andy

Blimey, that's going to be a bit of a poisoned chalice Ted. It'll be a bit like working as a traffic warden - the best you can do is break even. Everyone will hate you when you fail their pride and joy for something subjective and no one will thank you when their old nail passes. You're probably going to need to develop a whole new circle of friends outside of biking :rofl:

Have a look here Ted, https://www.gov.uk/become-an-mot-tester/overview it probably has most of the info

hah..... Not dodgy no. But HU sticker on the bike would probably get a favorable eye. ;)


I wouldn't be a t**t about it. I know some places who are just total con men. Failing perfectly good bikes just so they can get the work or a retest fee etc.

The bikes got to be safe though hasn't it. I think I'd be generous tester as long as tyres aren't totally bauld and the bearings aren't held in with blutack. doh

But I know what you mean :rofl:

Ted,

It can't be hard to pass; my mate's uncle did and he's a muppet.

I've never understood why people get all stressed-out at MoT time, if you're riding the bike it should be in safe condition all the time not just one day a year. I've never had a bike fail on anything other than maybe headlight alignment or something daft like that.

Getting cross with the tester because he won't pass your bike with square wheel bearings and brakes soaked in fork oil is just stupid.

Aye....... It shouldn't be rocket science..

However, I've had bikes fail in the past though over things I had no idea about..

de-aminating number plate for instance. Even thought it passed 5 times before at different places in the same condition. It was peeling slightly in one corner. He then charged me £20 for a new plate... T**t.

I had a bike failed due to no rear foot pegs because I hadn't removed the pillion seat.

Crappy stuff like that..... Pointless regulation interpreted by idiots.

Crappy, dishonest MOT places are proverbial. It might be an idea to get a list together of decent MOT places around the UK...and places to avoid!

Don't get me started on that soap box! It is a **** system. How can it be fair or seen to be fair when the bloke who fails you for having a strident horn, or indicators that flash at the wrong rate is also the bloke trying to sell you the repair? The solution is to separate off the inspection from the repair and automate it. Go to US states that have it or Australia and you'll find a big shed full of test gear. Drive in one end, the machines do the same test fairly on every vehicle, the one bloke has a quick look for corrosion and you get a pass or fail ticket. You can even buy the tax and insurance in the same half hour at the same place. Far too good a solution for UK gov and their industry masters.:nono:

The testers are stuck in the middle between the public who just want to jump through the hoop, their employers who want to sell as many tyres, shock absorbers and light bulbs as possible and their desire to actually make the roads safer.

Andy

Certainly round my way getting a bike MOT done at all is becoming a bit of an issue. One by one all of the old time oil stained dealerships where the MOT guy had been testing bikes since Noah asked him for advice on ark construction have closed down and the owner of the one remaining old time dealership has just developed skin cancer.

The other dealers are all of the shiny suits and corporate branding type full of monthly sales targets and customer service mission statements. I'm fully expecting this year's advisories for my bunch of old nails to be next years slick patter about how I need to let a fully qualified professional technician carry out the life critical repair. "Your safety is our main concern sir - what would your children think if you killed yourself due to faulty wheel alignment"

All the more reason to name and shame the con men and celebrate the decent guys. There should be a one-stop website where everyone can go to find out where's good in their area, and where to avoid!

If all goes to plan, i'll certainly not be failing road worthy bikes for the sake of tyre sales...

And yes, I know it goes on A LOT.... Not in our place, but others I've worked in.

The problem there is that there is no way to justify someones judgement or remark.

Some honest and to the book testers could be slammed because the guy didn't like the fact he rode 20 miles in the rain to get failed for a dangerous bag of nails.

Unfortunately, a lot of bikers are arseholes.

Not just bikers Ted, a lot of people full stop fit that description.....

that's true but that's why you'd need a system to evaluate reports and look for patterns; if a dozen people say the same thing about one test place then its likely they're onto something, whereas if most feedback is positive but one grunt moans about his rust bucket failing then his bias should be clear.

It just strikes me that most things are peer reviewed on the net these days, from hotels to shops to eating places. I can't see why MOT testers can't be dealt with the same way.

Anyway its probably a bit off topic here. If I had the requisite skills I'd set it up myself, but alas...:)

You don't need skills at all......

Just get someone to set up a website for you. Probably cost about £300.

Then get people to use it. Then the advertising revenue will pay for it's upkeep.

Before you know it your a .com billionaire and sipping Pina Coloda's off a supermodels cleavage on your private Yacht in the Bahamas.



However, in reality, there is probably some kind of law or government guideline that says you can't f**k with Vosa....

Hi,

We have something like MOT in Germany too called TÜV.

Yes that seem to be what they do. We have different regulations here. Older bikes registered on German law have to have a rear fender, EU registered bikes not. German registered bikes need 60cm³ mirrors, EU registered bikes not but they need a E stamp. Same with the distances between lights etc. This way they can fail your roadworthy bike while the person before you just pased with exact the same bike.

The same sentance is used here too. They are laying at you like politics. Its not about road safety...just about making money and depends a lot on were you go...

As with all tests, whether it be your gcses, driving test, mot test, you have a right to appeal a test outcome. All assessors work on behalf of their governing body, not for them. If someone is not happy with a result tell them to appeal your decision with vosa. I am currently undergoing my mentor training with BMW to become an IMI assessor and the appeal ladder is massive where if my apprentice is not happy with my assessment/reason for failing him then he can appeal 1 level at a time. It rarely gets above the second level of appeal.

Maybe you could add such a section in a site such as this; this particular sub-category covers motorcycle insurers, a subject close to our hearts once per year.
Motorcycle Insurance - Best Reviews of 2012 & 2013 at Review Centre

The feedback in there carries "stars" but you still have to assess how many reviews there are in order to give your own weighting to the average star rating.

But, can anyone be bothered? Probably not - motor vehicle testing is a very localised issue so we talk about the local facilities down the pub etc

I have two places local to me that I use for MoTs; one is a tiny little old-school bike shop and the other is an independent car repair place.

Both seem to be able to cope with the varied bikes I MoT; trail, trials, enduro and road.

The bike shop knows I'd do any work myself so won't make much out of me (I did need a new numberplate once because it wouldn't pass with half of the last letter missing (bastards !!)

The car place has no wish to get involved with bike repairs.