Getting a Q plate changed to an age related plate.

[ogri211]

Has anyone successfully got a Q plate on a bike changed to an age related plate. The reason I ask is I have just bought a kawasaki from a mate that is Q plated, it has not been on the road since 1996, I am going to apply for a v5 using the frame number as I have told Swansea that I bought the bike without any paperwork, the guidelines say that a Q plate is issued to a vehicle that you cant determine the age, I know that the bike is a 1980 by the frame number and I believe it was Q plated in 1985 because the engine was damaged beyond repair much the same as a newer bike now would be classed as a cat C or D but now still retains its original reg. I am hoping that they cant find any trace of the plate and tell me to re- register the bike when I get it mot'ed I would be grateful to hear if anyone has had any success with this.

[Trigger]

Impossible to get a Q off any vehicle.
The bike would not of been issued a Q because of engine damage. Only way is another frame that has V5 

[Nurse Julie]

A Q plate is / was issued also where the vehicles 'identity' is in question, ie a bitsa bike or a kit car. In fact, that was the main reason for having a Q plate issued. I have never known a Q plate to be issued just because of an engine change, that's a simple paperwork exercise of just having the engine number changed in the log book. I have never known anyone to achieve getting another plate issued, either by legit means or otherwise.

[Bryanj]

Tried it no way, even if you do a concourse nut and bolt resto. The only way is a registered frame with V5

[ogri211]

Cheers, I think back in the 80s they would issue a Q plate to a bike that was an insurance right off before they had cat C and D I may need to try and register a Canadian Frame I have.

[Trigger]

A bike that had been a write off in the 80's would of had to have frame damage to warrant a Q plate.
Back in the 80's the DVLA tried to introduce that all imported vehicles had to be Q plated to show that they had been through type approval but, the SMMT blocked it before it even became public knowledge   

[Arch stanton]

Back in the 80,s when the Q plate was introduced.
Q plates denoted "vehicle of inderminate age"

[ogri211]

I think the reason the bike was Q plated originally when it was almost new the engine got badly damaged in a crash , as the cost of rebuilding it was more than the value of the bike so it was written off the bike is a Kawasaki Z1300 so the cost of rebuilding the engine with new parts would have been very expensive back then. The V5 says on it constructed from parts, nowadays if you can age the parts and the bike is a true reflection of a vintage vehicle it can get an age related plate based on the youngest part, but back then when the vehicle was new to re- register it after it had been written off it had to be inspected and if some of the major parts IE: the engine were not original it was classed as constructed from various vehicles and given a Q plate. But to answer my original question it would look like unless Swansea have lost the details of my frame from their system and I can go through the route of getting a dating letter ect, I think I will need to rebuild it using a Canadian frame that I have when I can sort out all the NOVA stuff. Thanks for the input.

[ogri211]

Got a NOVA letter today from HMRC for my Canadian frame so thats the way I'll be going I dont suppose anyone will be looking for a Z1300 frame on a Q plate.