Bike check

Bikes are easy to steal, easy to disguise and often sold privately for cash, which makes checking a used motorbike before you buy even more important than checking a car. Our bike check works on any UK-registered motorbike, moped, scooter or trike. Enter the registration and the free check shows the official DVLA and DVSA record straight away.

What the free bike check shows

• Make, model, colour and engine size, so you can see the bike matches the advert.
• Tax status and MOT expiry, and whether you can legally ride it home.
• Every MOT test since 2005, with fail reasons, advisories and the mileage at each test.
• Mileage readings, with any reading lower than the one before flagged.
• The date the latest V5C was issued, to compare with the seller's logbook.
• Year of manufacture and first registration, and whether the bike is marked for export.

Bikes under three years old won't have any MOT history yet. That's normal.

What the paid checks add

The checks that protect your money come from police, insurance and finance records, which aren't in the free government data:

• Stolen markers from the police and insurance records (Standard check, £4.99).
• Insurance write-offs and the category, plus salvage auction records (Standard check).
• Previous keepers, plate changes and colour changes (Standard check).
• A VIN check: type in the frame number from the bike to confirm it matches our records (Standard check).
• Outstanding finance and log book loans, plus high risk markers (Full check, £8.99).

Bike write-off categories

Since October 2017, motorbikes use the same insurance write-off categories as cars:

• Cat A: scrap only. The whole bike must be crushed.
• Cat B: the frame must be destroyed, but parts can be salvaged. It can never be ridden again.
• Cat S: structural damage, such as a bent frame or forks. It can return to the road once properly repaired.
• Cat N: non-structural damage, such as fairings, levers or electrics. It can be repaired and ridden.

A bike can come off at low speed and be written off for cosmetic damage, because fairings and parts are expensive compared with the bike's value. A Cat N bike can be a good buy if the repair is right and the price reflects it. A Cat S bike needs a closer look at the frame, forks and wheel alignment. More on the categories in our write-off check.

Check the frame and engine numbers

The most common motorbike fraud is putting a legal bike's number plate on a stolen bike of the same model. The plate passes every check, so you have to match the bike itself to the paperwork:

• Frame number (VIN). Usually stamped on the frame at the headstock, where the forks turn. It should match the V5C exactly, with no signs of grinding, filing or re-stamping.
• Engine number. Stamped on the engine casing. It should match the V5C too.
• Locks and keys. The ignition, fuel cap and seat lock usually use the same key. Mismatched locks, a forced steering lock or only one key are reasons to ask questions.
• The logbook. Compare the issue date with the latest V5C date in our free check. Our V5C logbook check explains how to spot a fake.

Reading a bike's MOT history

A bike MOT looks at the brakes, steering, suspension, tyres, wheels, lights, frame, exhaust and noise. When you read the history, look for:

• Repeated advisories on the same part, like a corroded frame, leaking fork seals or worn wheel bearings, that never seem to get fixed.
• Mileage that stops going up, or drops. Bike clocks are cheap and easy to swap, so a replacement speedometer should come with paperwork.
• Gaps of more than a year, which can mean the bike was off the road, possibly after an accident.
• Very low mileage between tests on an older bike. It may simply be a summer bike, but check the wear on the tyres, chain and sprockets agrees.

Our MOT check page explains how to read the results in more detail.

Before you hand over the money

1. Run the free check before you travel to see the bike.
2. View it at the address on the V5C, and ask to see the seller's ID.
3. Match the frame and engine numbers to the logbook.
4. Run a Standard or Full check on the day you buy, as finance can be taken out against a bike at any time.
5. Pay by bank transfer rather than cash, so there's a record of who you paid.