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Inspection Manual — Motorcycles (Group A)

The class 1 and 2 inspection manual: handlebars, forks and steering, wheels and tyres, transmission, exhaust, controls and the horn.

What this topic covers

The class 1 and 2 inspection manual: handlebars, forks and steering, wheels and tyres, transmission, exhaust, controls and the horn. The full MOT Tester Annual Assessment app contains 60 questions on this topic, each referenced to its section of the DVSA manual.

Worked examples

Here are a few practice questions from this topic. Try answering each before reading the explanation.

Example 1

A motorcycle is presented and its VIN cannot be found. What is your action?

A. Major ✓ correct
B. Minor
C. Pass
D. Dangerous

Explanation: A VIN missing or that cannot be found is Major, as are an incomplete, illegible or obviously falsified VIN and more than one VIN displayed. Minor and Dangerous are not used in this section. Passing would leave the machine unidentifiable against its record. (Section 0.2, defect (a))

Example 2

A handlebar is so insecure that it is likely to become detached. What is your action?

A. Pass
B. Minor
C. Dangerous ✓ correct
D. Major

Explanation: A handlebar so insecure it is likely to become detached is Dangerous, while a retaining device missing or loose without that risk is Major. The likelihood of detachment decides it. (Section 2.2.1, defects (b)(i) and (b)(ii))

Example 3

A steering ball joint dust cover on a motorcycle is damaged but still keeping dirt out. What is your action?

A. Minor ✓ correct
B. Pass
C. Major
D. Dangerous

Explanation: A ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated is Minor while it still excludes dirt, becoming Major once it is missing or no longer prevents ingress. This is the only Minor defect in the motorcycle steering section. (Section 2.1.3, defects (g)(i) and (g)(ii))

Example 4

A sidecar outfit is found to have toe-out of the sidecar wheel relative to the motorcycle. What is your action?

A. Pass
B. Minor
C. Major ✓ correct
D. Dangerous

Explanation: Toe-out of the sidecar wheel relative to the motorcycle is Major. Note the asymmetry the manual draws: any toe-out fails, but for toe-in only excessive toe-in fails — outfits are set up with a small amount of toe-in by design. (Section 2.4, defects (b) and (c))

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