Officially a Historical Vehicle

[Kookaburra]

Last week I handed in the registration plate for the 1985 R65 and at a saving of several hundred $'s a year in registration and compulsory insurance costs I was issued with a historical vehicle plate for the state of New South Wales. I have to be a member of, and certified by, a registered MC Club (thanks to the mighty BMW Touring Club of NSW) and  keep a 'log book', (aka a scrappy piece of paper with lines so narrow you need a magnifying glass to fill them in) about my person for inspection on demand by the local constabulary or Roads and Maritime Services brown shirts and not ride for more than 60 days per year.
How does it feel? Well I could have done this three years ago (at the 30 year qualification date) but there was a certain pride in having regular registration plates on a motorcycle that could still get up and go on the tollways strangling Sydney. But now I no longer ride to work and the economic realities of retirement have cut in. I  have to accept that me and the R65 are both historic vehicles in reasonable nick who have many thousands of kilometres still to travel. Roll on this years Scrapheap Challenge.
BTW the historic vehicle plate is now the shiniest part of the bike.

[Bob_Roller]

You can get historic vehicle plates in Aridzona when the vehicle is 25 years old .
No restriction on vehicle use .
I've got 4 vehicles with historic plates, one car and three bikes .

[wilcom]

Aridzona when the vehicle is 25 years old

My 1984 R65 will be eligible for historic plates in 2041 here in the Republic of California

[tunnelrider]

2041!  Blimey Wilcom that's positively Draconian of the Californian powers that be.
They have to be 40 years old here, to keep the same plates but pay $40 reg/year compared to $550 now.  Seven years yet 

[wilcom]

2041!  Blimey Wilcom that's positively Draconian of the Californian powers that be.
They have to be 40 years old here, to keep the same plates but pay $40 reg/year compared to $550 now.  Seven years yet 

If I wanted an "antique plate the bike must be pre 1942. That means the folks at the DMV don't even consider me an antique! I bet my wife could enlighten them a wee bit on that issue 

However, I'll stop complaining about the wait for plates and keep paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $125 a year for registration. Ya want to talk Draconian, that $550 you're paying is outrageous

[marcmax]

In Georgia my registration goes down a little every year. It is down to about $35 now. I can get an antique plate (25 years) but it costs an extra $100 annually. Not worth it to me. I can get a Veterans plate for free. Been getting one since they started the program three years ago.

[skippyc]

25 years old in Victoria. My R65 is on club plates, $76.

[Barry]

It's 40 years  in the UK.

My 79 R45 will be eligible next year for free road fund tax and MOT exemption which together saves £95 per year. For an R65 it would be £120 per year

[Lucky_Lou]

It's 40 years  in the UK.

My 79 R45 will be eligible next year for free road fund tax and MOT exemption which together saves £95 per year. For an R65 it would be £120 per year

Mine too.................. Lou

[Kookaburra]

First weekend outing with the historic plates to the historic town of Windsor where the Roads and Maritime Services brown shirts are attempting to cut a swathe through the historic town to build a new bridge. As well as the save the park and heritage protest rally there seemed to be some sort of shiny Harley dinosaur gathering at the adjacent historic pub. Made for an interesting mix of tribes.
Magic ride in the winter sunshine and couldn't resist putting in the occasional squirt just to show historic vehicle doesn't mean no get up and go.

[tiggum]

The only thing we have here in Tennessee is an "Antique" tag for vehicles 25 years old or older.  I paid $25 for a PERMANENT (i.e., no annual renewal) registration for my 1983 R65LS, but can only ride on weekends and holidays, to club events or shows and to the shop for service.  The bike must still be insured to at least meet the state's minimums for liability insurance.  Seeing as how I don't propose to ride much anyhow this is fine for me.  By comparison, my little base model 2000 S-10 pickup costs about $85 per year to license, I spend a ton for liability insurance and it is only used as a local "runabout".

[tunnelrider]

Ya want to talk Draconian, that $550 you're paying is outrageous

  Yep it's steep alright.  Motorcyclists here pay more for reg than any other road user, except probably commercial heavy traffic.  We have publicly funded health insurance so no liability health insurance is necessary, but the cost of your vehicle's reg is rated on the govt's perception of how safe your vehicle is... (never mind half of all motorcycle injuries are caused by 'safe' drivers...) That irony is hopefully one I'll never have to think too much about...

[wilcom]

We have publicly funded health insurance so no liability health insurance is necessary,

It sounded expensive for bike registration, but it sounds cheap for bike registration AND health care. On the surface it seems like a "deal" to me LOL

[davidpdx]

    I was reading about safety gear online and the article mentioned that something like 30% of motorcycle wrecks happen to people without a motorcycle endorsement on the license. Maybe it's not quite as dangerous as it seems if you know how to ride.

[Bob_Roller]

Factor in the general cluelessness of the human population these days, it's not hard to see this as a byproduct, of inexperience and no respect for this adventure .