BMW “Airhead” Motor Bikes

[R100GSPD<P>Regards<P><P>R100GSPD<P>]

Hi All, This is my first post

We have moved to France, being what I would call “semi retired”.

I have a small collection, (maybe 12 plus), of BMW motor Bikes – 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.

Two questions that I would like some help with, (I have read previous posts about Bike registration in France).

Registration

How much will be the approximate cost per Bike, (carte grise etc) remembering that these are BMs so the C of C should not be a problem ( !!!). – is it less than £100 per Bike?

Insurance

In the UK I can insure up to 5 Bikes at once – one rider, (me), under a BMW policy.

The cost is very reasonable, – e.g. I paid just over £200 a year fully comp for a R1150GSA, R100GSPD, R90S, R100S and a R80GS Basic – total value over £25k. – plus the ability to add and subtract a Bike for an admin fee of £15.

Does anyone know of a similar scheme in France as I am sure that if I ask the BM dealer in Bordeaux I will get the usual “blank look”.

The best scheme that I have found so far here is about £100 for the first Bike then a reduction of 20% for the second etc etc – but this is only third party insurance – which I would probably be quite happy with if it could include insurance when the Bikes are at home as usually I never let them out of my sight when I am out on them

I am an “old git” with lots of riding experience.

Great if someone could give me a couple of simple answers

Any BM Airhead enthusiasts in 33 or 24?

Cheers

[LesFlamands]

Hi

I'm a BMW enthusiast as well. I only have two and one of those is an oilhead. Our 1988 R100GS took us from the UK to Cape Town a few years ago but never made it back to the UK (no fault of the bike). I also have several other bikes but all those that came from the UK are still UK registered and individually insured. I have heard that PFA do a type of rider policy but have not looked into it. I have 3 French bikes including the 1150GS and 3 UK reg. bikes which are only used occasionally so I've had no problem with the UK reg.. Insurance isn't a problem either.

I hope you get lots of useful responses but I'm off on my holiday in a few minutes so I'll not see this thread until I get back in a couple of weeks

[R100GSPD<P>Regards<P><P>R100GSPD<P>]

Charles

Thanks

Have a good holiday

 

 

[Fritz]

Good luck. You'll need conformity certificates, dealer assesments, VAT paid certificates, visits to tax office, then carte grises, then insurance. Lots of hassle eg BMW France 'lost' my CC request and I had to go thru BMW in Stuttgart b4 they got their ass into gear.  And then eventual huge insurance bills. Very difficult to find multiple bike deals in France.

Sell yr bikes in the UK before moving, I say, then stick with your two favorites and even then, 3rd party FT on one and fully comp on your most used.

[R100GSPD<P>Regards<P><P>R100GSPD<P>]

Fritz

I hope that it will not be a problem - I already have an R80 registered here, (ex UK), and I think the CG was £70 - insurance is maybe £90.

Four Bikes will cost me £300 to £400, (depending on the age), with AXA, but I would prefer a BM policy, with flexibility as i plan to continue changing the odd few Bikes each year, (I quite fancy a R1100S).

Anyway there are certain Bikes that I could not part with, I have a R80G/S Paris Dakar and a R90S, and plan to spend time "restoring" older BMs.

OK the French are "culturally different" - I spent about 15 years running French subsidiaries of UK Cos and we have had a holiday home out here for some time - but the reason why we are all here is because the way of life is preferable to the UK and, however frustrating, the normal things in life are quite possible, some just take a little more time and have to be looked at in a differnt way.

Presumably that is the whole purpose of this Forum, to provide and exchange information and to highlight the differences.

Lets be positive -(I know that there are lots of frustrations and the French do grind you down - they have me in the past), but a lot of this is because of our UK cultural upbringing, (which is not a bad thing), versus the French way. It is also quite amusing!!!!!!

Anyway - what i wanted to hear was that the CG was still about £50/£75 and that to insure a Bike is about £100 for an old git like me - but there is this company, (tel no: XXXXX), that is good for Bike insurance, rather than going the traditional French route.

France is such a great country to Bike in that we cannot let all their beauracratic crap spoil things.

Tomorrow I have a petrol tank to sort out – the red paint on the inside must be flaking as I am getting red bits in the float bowl and had an interesting “stop start” ride this afternoon.

[M3GS]

Hello GSPD,

If you are the same chap I think you are, I recently sold you a GPS unit. The world is truly very small.

Can't help you on your questions really, as our house in 82 is not yet completed, but I do plan to keep my GSPD Classic there from next summer onwards, so I shall be keeping a keen eye on this thread. My other bike is a 1200GS which will remain on English plates for the forseeable future. Like you I shall be spending a lot of my French time working on and riding old airheads, so maybe a meet may be on the cards in the coming year or two!

Best of luck with your query and your bikes.

Roger

[R100GSPD<P>Regards<P><P>R100GSPD<P>]

Roger

It is indeed a small world

The Garmin V, to put on my R80 GS Basic - but I never did as before I had the chance I was offered a good price for my Basic, (from a guy who was leaving to live in Spain), so it is still in the box.

I use my 2610 in France but only really in the car.

I sold my Adventure about 2 months ago as i really much prefer the "older" Bikes

I rode the 1200GS - and i really wanted to like it - but I just could not for lots of reasons and as soon as I got back on my GSA, for me, the 1150 was a better Bike.

I suppose I prefer the R100GS PD to anything - OK it is not in anywhere near the same performance class as the "oilheads" - but I just feel comfortable on it.

After that it has got to be the R90S - which is an amazing Bike considering it was produced 30 years ago.

I would love to get my hands on a R69S just to compare.

Lunch next summer somewhere halfway.

Keep in touch

Bill

[M3GS]

>>Lunch next summer somewhere halfway.<<

I'll hold you to that Bill - we are probably less than 100 miles apart.

A bientot,

Roger

[zrx1100]

Hi,

Sorry to barge in on your discussion about BM's but was interested to read that a couple of you seem to have kept or going to keep their bikes on a uk reg, is this because of the hassle/cost? Do you have to keep them taxed/mot'ed to keep them in France as an insured bike? Just wondered what I will do when I hope to move over next month with mine.

[M3GS]

Hi ZRX,

We were drifting off topic anyaway!

I plan to leave one of my bikes in the UK and bring the older one to France permananetly next year. With the latter I can run it on my UK insurance and plates for a period of up to 60 days legally, before the insurance lapses. The bike as far as I know does not require a valid UK tax disc whilst in France, but it will have a current MoT whether that is required or not.

If I wish to keep riding after that there are French insurers who will cover me (at a price) on English plates for up to 12 months in total, after which I am legally obliged to register the bike in France or take it off the road.

This should give me sufficient time to wrestle with the frog bureaucracy, but if not I will lay it up until such time as I either sell it or succeed in re-registration. I am reasonably sure of the above but no doubt someone will put me right if not!

Cheers

Roger