VFRDiscussion

Well, it did not go as planned...

I had scheduled both the van and the bike to be inspected today, but I was in London last week and basically ran out of time to prepare the yellow bike for its inspection. Everything was going well...until it came to start the engine. No fuel pump priming!

That was the upgraded fuel pump from the A&A kit, so I should have the OEM pump somewhere, but I ran out of time to do things involving pulling pumps out of VFR tanks.

I also have my blue bike here in Leiden now, and I swapped that tank onto the yellow bike, which gave me a working fuel pump, but the bike still didn't want to start. I suspect stuck injectors may be responsible. Then I ran out of battery. So I pulled the plug on the inspection, just over 24 hours in advance, so I wasn't billed for it. We shall try again in August...

And the van passed!

There is a saying in Dutch: stagnation means decline. Sorry to hear. Hopefully you find the culprit easily.

I've also started to re-think my registration strategy.

This bike was highly modified. But I recently removed the A&A and the underseat exhausts and even re-installed the OEM exhaust in hopes that this would make passing inspection easier. I'm sure it would, but I might also be making a rod for my own back...

The reason is that the kind of RDW inspection my bikes are required to pass in order to be registered as "personal imports during a move to NL from outside the EU" is a relatively simple one--just the basics of roadworthiness and (seemingly most importantly) loudness. That's it: Exhaust, headlights (side lights), red rear reflector.

But if I register the bike in "stock" condition, it would be out of compliance as soon as I reinstated the old mods. There's no annual inspection (APK) for motorbikes in NL, but the police could stop me at any time, or if I stuffed it under a lorry the insurers would probably investigate. The supercharger alone would technically require a "full inspection" at the Test Centre in Lelystad, during which everything on the bike could be measured, probed and tested. Not only would that be a huge hassle which could result in a rejection, but it's also another (very expensive) test I'd have to pay for.

I'm now thinking that it may be better to take a fully modded bike to the local RDW inspection, establishing that as the bike's "baseline" and requiring no planned subsequent inspections. There is a chance the local inspection station could see the mods and refuse to inspect it (thus triggering a Lelystad inspection), but that step would be unavoidable if I got the stock bike inspected now and the modded bike inspected later, anyway--so I'd be no worse off.

I think it's worth a try (and another inspection postponement to reinstate the mods).

Ciao,

JZH

Sounds sensible m8 and a realistic approach.

Good luck.

Sounds like a plan.

In many ways I would have preferred the German system for registering all allowed upgrades via available approval documentation (so-called Teilegutachten). Just a visit to DEKRA or TUV for registering it and a simple check if fitted correctly. Lower cost and no risk regarding insurance coverage.

Still, it wouldn't cover 'unique' improvements (like for example brake delinking or your exhaust).

Inspections! It's all coming back to me...

Living on the east coast they were pretty detailed, and frequent. Once a NJ inspector didn't like my (DOT certified full face) helmet! Now in CA there are no inspections for bikes, and no safety inspections for cars, just SMOG once they get older. Weird.

JZH, how's your multi-level bike storage and display project coming along?

Saint Stephen wrote: Fri Jul 31, 2026 9:49 pm Living on the east coast they were pretty detailed, and frequent. Once a NJ inspector didn't like my (DOT certified full face) helmet! Now in CA there are no inspections for bikes, and no safety inspections for cars, just SMOG once they get older. Weird.

I figured it would be the other way around. CA single handedly killed off more good products with their "may cause cancer" stance than all other entities combined. I'm still mad about Westley's Bleach White. It's no better than soap and water now. I guess they just have too many vehicles to handle comprehensive annual inspections and their enforcement.

Don't get me started on "Prop 65" warnings...

Bike storage is progressing...slowly! I ran out of time and money to do it before I had to import the bikes, so I did what any self-respecting Yank would do: I rented a storage unit. I've given myself 6 months to sort out the home storage. We'll see!

Ciao,

JZH