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Historic/Vintage Plates in Ontario

7K views 13 replies 4 participants last post by  smurfy71 
#1 ·
Hi folks,

I've got an '83 Shadow 750 and I'd like to learn more about the possibility of getting historic plates and insurance for it in Ontario.

Has anyone here registered and insured their bike with historic plates? If so, can you shed some light for me about your registration experience and which insurer you're with?

What I learned so far from scouring the web and other forums:

- Bikes over the age of 30 years qualify for vintage plates
- Most Service Ontario reps don't know about the vintage plates, the registration process, or requirements, so I should expect some friction here.
- Insurance is typically hard to find but there are insurers who deal with this kind of specialized policy.
- Insurance typically has some limits on the bike's use: There is a limit of 1500km/year, as well as restrictions on the bike's use for bike shows, testing after tuning, etc. It's not meant to be a vehicle for transportation.

Is there something else I should be aware of?

Cheers,

Vlado
 
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Discussion starter · #3 ·
Sounds like we have pretty similar rules as you do in Washington state. That same argument came up some posts I read, in case of getting pulled over :D I wonder how that is affected if I have a passenger on board, such as if my wife and I go out for a ride and coffee?
 
Discussion starter · #6 ·
Thanks for the feedback guys, this is good to know :)

I'm in a mid-size town of about 500k people (and growing). I'll mostly be riding through the countryside as I'm a new rider and traffic makes me nervous still. Hopefully the smaller town cops won't be to vigilant.

I'm curious about your insurance. Do you have a different insurance class for vintage bikes? Is it less expensive than the normal coverage, and if so, what is covered and what is not?
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
Ontario's a little bit more draconian, so we require proof of insurance prior to being able to get your plates and get your car/bike on the road. Same goes with home insurance, where banks need proof before they can activate a mortgage or approve a sale/buy.
 
Discussion starter · #11 ·
Ah, I missed the "motorcycle" in that 1975 line in my first read-through. It's weird though because I've seen threads that mentioned the "over 30 years old" being good enough.

I found one insurer who supposedly insures vintage bikes (J.D. Smith Ontario Quotes for Motorcycle and Scooter Insurance in Ontario). I'll call them up and see if they can help clear this one up :)
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
I learned something new while speaking to Hilda at the J.D. Smith insurance company. It is very unlikely to get insured for a vintage bike unless you have the following qualifications:

M licensed more than 3 years and continuous motorcycle insurance for 3 years

...

and the bike used for parades, charity rides and motorcycle shows with limited pleasure rides and appraised for at least $3,000.
The appraisal value is a new bit of info, which I had not come across before. I imagine they'd like to keep people from abusing the vintage bike program for old beaters and instead have real vintage bikes. The full M license requirement makes sense for the same reasons.

I don't yet have confirmation on the "older than 30 years" and "motorcycles from before 1975" rule.
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
Aaand just confirmed that the bike has to be 30 years or older :)

Now I'll just have to patiently ride for about 5 years, get my M, and keep insurance in good standing :)
 
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