buying a bike in UK to export. Do I need to do the V5 thing
 

Hi all,
I'm buying a dirt bike in the UK which has a V5. I'm not a UK citizen, will not be registering or using the bike in the UK, and exporting by ship to Africa soon after buying where I will register it as a local bike.

Do I, or the seller, need to do the V5 transfer? Any advantage to me having it if the bike is never registered in UK?

Thanks

The Seller will need to send off the bottom section of the V5 to say who he has sold the bike to. I am British and lived in the UK until 2007. Although I have never bought a bike in the UK with the specific intention of exporting it, I have had experience of re-registering UK registered bikes abroad (albeit in Europe). In each case, I have had to produce the original registration document (V5 for UK, Carte Grise for France) in order to re-register the bike. My assumption is that the registration authority in Africa will return the V5 to the UK to confirm that the bike has been permanently exported. (It won't matter if the V5 isn't in your name, so long as you can produce a receipt and/or bill of sale from the previous owner confirming the amount you paid for it.)

Don't forget that you will not be able to legally ride the bike in the UK without insurance, e.g. if you are riding it to the dock for export.

When you buy it you can Write your own name and country in the other half of the V5..
A better way in my opinion is to register it in the UK. THEN tell them (DVLA) it has been exported to another country and ask them for a certificate of export. You then have a better set of documents. The DVLA will try to fob you off saying the export certificate isn't necessary, but despite EEC rules it can be. Remember to photocopy all documents before parting with the originals. ie it is very difficult to Import a vehicle into France without the Export certificate. ( it does vary from prefecture to prefecture though)

ok thanks for the help. I've spoken to some people here and it seems there will be no problems registering the bike here regardless of paperwork (things here are... should I say, a bit flexible when it comes to paperwork and processes).

We will do the V5 as suggested.

cheers