The vehicle licencing authorities

So having got it off the vessel and into the country you are now given a 12 month grace before you have to get Norwegian licence plates. Get your timing right or you could end up with a mess like I went through. Make sure that you bring the following items from your home country. A spare set of licence plates, a KM Speedometer, an EU marked approved front light, and a noise level certificate for your pipes. Lets deal with the first two items. If you order the speedo in Norway it will take about 2 months to arrive, the light has to come from a factory in Germany and they don't do one of runs so you have to coincide with a production run. Took me 4 months!!!!! Get the items before you leave or start the process the day after you arrive. The pipe documentation; well that was a real kicker. It makes no difference if you have stock pipes the documentation is required absolutely. If you can't get it then you have to have your bike noise tested at a certification company like DNV and it will cost you about $1,600. So that piece of paper is real important!

I thought I could just call the place I bought the bike from. This happened to be Warrs in London. now I don't like given them bad press because they've always been pretty good, but on this account I met a stone wall. I must have called about 6 times before I gave up. Responses varied from "No problem we'll post it" to "There is no such thing" depending on whom you ended up talking to. So I was not impressed. I also tried the place in Dorking once and got a similar blank answer. In the end it was a good member of THROB (The Harley Riders of Berkshire), Dave Griffiths (aka Smee) who put me in contact with the Harley distributor in Nydal, Norway. Finally someone who knew what I was trying to accomplish. He just asked for the part number on the pipes and, Hey Presto, two days later I have the coveted documentation in my oily hands.

So it's time to get your bike registered in Norway. First off get some insurance. I can't recommend any insurance company (anywhere in the world), since they all give you a pain in the ass if you want to claim BUT Storebrand in Bergen are OK. You won't get plates without insurance and the two are computer linked. Having UK insurance cuts no ice.

Now to dealing with the customs and excise people. First of all she, (yes there is only one) only works part time, so it's pointless just driving to them and hoping to get this dealt with. Make an appointment and don't be late! Loads of forms asking all kinds of questions that even a fully trained mechanic would have trouble with. But that's OK since I found that they don't know what the questions mean either and are happy to leave them unanswered too. Like brake horse power, maximum torque in 1st, 2nd 3rd gear, wet and dry weight and so on. They will then tell you that you can "pick up your Norwegian plates from the BILTILSYNET" (The vehicle licence guys)! Beware this is where you have to be really prepared or you'll regret it!

What now happens is that the Customs people want your UK plates BEFORE you collect your Norwegian ones. The two offices are 6 miles apart! Are you following this? Is there a flaw in some logic here? You bet. How do I drive from one to the other without plates? Easy - you go to the License people first and HIRE a set of temporary plates. BEWARE! Because what they don't say is that you don't just go and pick up new plates at all. What you do is start the process of having your bike thoroughly tested to assure compliance with their road traffic laws!! So the danger is you trade your plates and find that you are hiring temporary ones for months at a time and it ain't cheap. So get your bike ready to pass first time or it's gonna hit the pocket hard. No one warns you of this. By the way in case you thought of being cute (Remember the extra set of plates) DON'T turn up with UK plates because they will just turn you around and tell you to go surrender them before they will even look at your bike. Then before you surrender make sure you have an examination appointment with the License people because it can take days to get one. Turn up early!!! NEVER EVER be late because if you are not on the lot when they come to see you they cancel your slot and you go back to end of the line.

Are you getting a feel for this by now because now we get to the trying part. They go through a check list one item at a time in the order it states it on the list. If you fail one item the list stops at that point and you're sent away to fix it. make another appointment to retest and extend the hire period of your temporary plates!. This means that they don't do the whole test and give you a list of what's wrong so you can have it all fixed. NO, one bit at a time. In fairness to them if you don't look like a "Hairy" and speak politely I have known them to issue plates even with items of failure providing you can assure them that you are a responsible person and agree to have it all fixed by an agreed date.