what does having a bike certified/safetied involve?! | GTAMotorcycle.com

what does having a bike certified/safetied involve?!

5:12

5:12

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hello peeps,

i figured newbies (like me) in motorcycling (or any other vehicles) are wondering what does certifying a bike entails? besides the common generic answer of 'to ensure that the bike is safe for the road/to be ridden.' could we provide details as to what is done and what the process involves?

ie, what's checked? who can certify a bike? is it required (insurance or registration etc), how are things checked? what to do after? what happens after? (do you get an actual piece of paper, a certificate, saying it passed the inspection?), expiry date for the cert? how is this process different from having the bike serviced by your local dealer (ie: specific maintenance like oil change=dealer service? or overall maintence?=safety?), cost? how long it takes? etc etc.

maybe this can be a sticky too if deemed worthwhile. thanks in advance for all informative inputs.

5:12
 
cool thanks.

one thing to note, i was reading the requirements for registration of a used vehicle (purchased privately), that IF a bike was registered as 'unfit' or 'not plated' prior to sale that a 'safety cert' is required before the buyer can regsiter the bike.

did i read/understand this correctly? when registering a bike, is there some sort of 'condition section' like, 1) bike will be registered but a safety must be done within so and so days? or is it a one time thing where all docs must be proivided and if 1 is missing then no registration will be done.

for example: the seller didn't register nor plate the bike. the bike was just used within his property let's say, so no need for plate. buyer buys the bike, and before the bike can be transfered and registered to the buyer's name, the bike must pass certification and must provide the certificate when registering the bike. (doesnt matter if seller used the bike or just kept it in the storage while it was in his possession).

any thoughts?
 
5:12 said:
one thing to note, i was reading the requirements for registration of a used vehicle (purchased privately), that IF a bike was registered as 'unfit' or 'not plated' prior to sale that a 'safety cert' is required before the buyer can regsiter the bike.
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You can transfer ownership of a bike irrespective of the status of the plate. In fact, I just did this. Assuming the ownership papers show "unplated" (as they do in my case for example), then bike must pass a safety certification to get a plate to go on the bike for road use. The safety certification has a "use by" date, namely it is valid only for a certain number of days once performed (30 I think). The bike must be plated within that time otherwise a new certification will be required.

for example: the seller didn't register nor plate the bike. the bike was just used within his property let's say, so no need for plate. buyer buys the bike, and before the bike can be transfered and registered to the buyer's name, the bike must pass certification and must provide the certificate when registering the bike. (doesnt matter if seller used the bike or just kept it in the storage while it was in his possession).
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Correct
 
so there's no chance of getting an 'unplated/unfit' bike on the road even with a temporary permit/plate? (of course insurance will be activated) for example, re register the bike under my own name as unplated/unfit and get a temporary plate so i can bring it to a mechanic and get it certified? then go back to mto and re register the bike plated/fit. im reading different inputs on other threads. others say yes others no. so for now im looking for a fresh experience regarding this. i'd be calling mto anyhow.

towing/hauling the bike is an option. but let's put this one aside for now.

thanks.
 
5:12 said:
so there's no chance of getting an 'unplated/unfit' bike on the road even with a temporary permit/plate? (of course insurance will be activated) for example, re register the bike under my own name as unplated/unfit and get a temporary plate so i can bring it to a mechanic and get it certified? then go back to mto and re register the bike plated/fit. im reading different inputs on other threads. others say yes others no. so for now im looking for a fresh experience regarding this. i'd be calling mto anyhow.

towing/hauling the bike is an option. but let's put this one aside for now.

thanks.
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Do you mean unfit as in No safety or unfit as in a Salvage title?

If it is a salvage title you can never have it on the road again regardless of making all the repairs.
 
jeffjones said:
Do you mean unfit as in No safety or unfit as in a Salvage title?

If it is a salvage title you can never have it on the road again regardless of making all the repairs.
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I don't think that's what the OP is asking. It's about how to get a bike without plates to a shop for a safety without resorting to trailering.
 
robmack said:
I don't think that's what the OP is asking. It's about how to get a bike without plates to a shop for a safety without resorting to trailering.
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Ok, wasn't sure of the exact meaning of "unfit".
Just wanted to make sure if that was his case he might be doing alot for nothing.
 
guy didn't even fire my bike up when he gave it a safety????
checked the lights, brakes and just looked at it...
 
I did some more research. "Unfit" is a vehicle status which indicates the vehicle has not got a Safety Standards Certificate (SSC). "Unplated" means that the vehicle is fit but the original plate associated with the fit vehicle permit has been removed. A vehicle status is very different than a vehicle Brand. There are only two brands for motorcycles -- "None" and "Irreparable". There is no Salvage brand for motorcycles, only for cars. A motorcycle branded irreparable can never ever be registered for road use in Ontario.

There used to be a condition of Fit Unplated but that no longer exists and it may not have applied to motorcycles. That particular status did not require a SSC.

Both vehicle statuses, Unfit and Unplated, require that the owner obtain a SSC before being allowed to complete registration and get plates.

It is possible to obtain a Temporary Permit for the Unplated status, for the purpose of driving the vehicle to the inspection station to obtain the SSC, but not for the Unfit status. This permit will cost $15 and the permit is valid for 10 days. There is more information at:

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/vehicle/temp.shtml

I hope this helps.

P.S. I highly recommend that you are certain the motorcycle is safe before getting a temporary permit and driving it on the roads. It could be a dangerous move should there truely be a fault in the vehicle.
 
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as soon as the bike is registered as unfit you cannot get a temp plate. If the bike was plated and you want to put it in your name and get a temp plate then you just say you have insurance on it, give them the co and policy # and they will give you plate and T sticker for 10 days.

If you say you do not have insurance and you do not have a safety cert then you better not transfer it, they will transfer it as UNFIT then you will not be able to get a temp plate. Found this out the hard way.

I would check the following overbefore taking it for cert:
Check true-ness of wheels, and tracking of rear wheel.
Check wheel bearings for sounds/noise ( checked mine while on stands spinning with a stethoscope and a rubber wheel on a drill to spin the tire)
Check steering bearings, ensure side to side movement is free, no sticking at any point with the front wheel off the ground
Check brake system, fluid levels, pad thickness, rotor condition. If fluid is low check for leaks, check brake cables for cracking, wear.
Check tires for age, cracking and tread depth.
Check rear chain for corrosion, wear, adjust chain tention, check sprockets for wear.
Check lights, signals, horn, safety killswitch.


If anything is worn, change it, fix it.
 
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I probably should of mentioned the bike is Already in my name and has a clean title. It's just registered as unplated. I think the temp slip sounds like the way to go. Thanks again!
 
thanks for all the replies. very informative.

yeah unfit could be due to many factors, but basically if the bike was not plated previously (even there were no issues) and when you try to register it again (ie: new owner) the bike is deemed unfit and a cert is required to change unfit to fit.

i think salvage would be on the 'brand' section and separate but could be related to the bike being fit/unfit.

the bottom line is that the bike would have to be taken to a certified mechanic and have a full inspection (not just for safety cert) to fully identify any issues whatsoever wit the bike. safety cert would just do the very minimum basic requirements for being road worthy.

and yes, no temp permit for any 'unfit' bike. confirmed with mto.


my situation is from a private sale. just to share the order of events :)
a) person 1 sold the bike to person 2.
b) before person 1 sold the bike to person 2, the bike was plated and was certified and had its maintenance. this was done by person 1 before selling the bike to person 2.
c) person 2 bought the bike and registered the bike non plated as the bike was only going to be used in their lot. this way the bike was placed in 'unfit' status since it was not plated. bike was used on and off and mostly stayed in the storage for 3 years. total mileage used in 3 years was less than 200km (from riding within person 2 lot).
d) person 2 sold the bike to person 3 (me). to registed the bike (unfit/unplated) under my name, a safety cert is needed.

so there you go. hopefully there are no (other) issues with the bike. otherwise, refund!!!
 
All depends on how you did things.

You can only get a temporary permit if you take the previous ownership in at time of transfer and it has a FIT designation.

Don't do what I did. I bought a bike mid winter and went up and changed the ownership over to my name and got it registered as UNFIT because I didn't want to bother with insurance / safety in the middle of winter.

In the spring I was NOT able to get a temp permit because the vehicle is now registered as unfit.
 
dddale said:
All depends on how you did things.

You can only get a temporary permit if you take the previous ownership in at time of transfer and it has a FIT designation.

Don't do what I did. I bought a bike mid winter and went up and changed the ownership over to my name and got it registered as UNFIT because I didn't want to bother with insurance / safety in the middle of winter.

In the spring I was NOT able to get a temp permit because the vehicle is now registered as unfit.
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This is what I did last year. Had to tow the bike to get a safety.

But isn't there a rule stating that you have to register the bike within six days of purchasing it?
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