Harley-Davidson Club Finland

I saw this bike on your site:


Long forks, turbo charger on panshovel engine , extrasize rear weel end so on...
My best complimets to her owner but it seem quite impossible to me to have such a bike omologated for ordinary road use in Italy.
Can you do that in Finland, and is it quite esasy or not?

Small talks among bikers say that in Finlad it is easy to omologate older bike but not new ones. Does it correspond to truth?

Thank you for answering.

I don't know if this particular bike has been properly inspected and approved by local authorities, but basicly it's possible.

Few ground rules about finnish bike building:

- You can alter the frame by cutting, welding and bending the tubes.
- There's no limitation to the width of the tires. Only limitation is that difference between outer diameter of front and rear wheel can't be over five inches.
- Modifications to the engine: It is possible to have a legal turbocharger on your motorcycle since you have to present a dynoslip at the inspection. This means that you can run the dyno with low boost and have very low readings...
- We have some basic dimensional limitations of motorcycles even though they are not in accordance with EU-directives: Max. wheelbase is 200 cm and max. angle of front fork is 47 degrees.

EU-regulations are hitting us the same way as you - this means that modification of newer bikes is getting harder every day. They are also talking about a yearly inspection - same as with cars - for motorcycles also. Luckily we have some active individuals and organisations who are fighting against this.

Biggest problem in Finland is the ridiculous system about defining the identity of the vehicle. We have a list that determines a percentage for each part on a motorcycle. For example, exhaust is 5% and engine without transmission is 18%. Based on this list, in order to keep the identity of the vehicle, the vehicle must have over 50% of its original parts left. Even removing a part is concidered same as changing it.

I hope I explained you something about our situation - I understand that it's not much easier with you but you have your ways around the system? Like registering a custom built bike first in Germany and importing it to Italy after that?

If you have any questions about some specific detail, feel free to ask. This is such a huge entirety that it would take me the rest of the year to explain...

Thank you for prompltly answering.

What you say is correct: it is used here to have a german omologation an take the bike back to Italy.

Some authorized engineer has the right to omologate any alteration if complying both with domestic and EU rules.

Both the way having a madification inspected and legally approved means to pay some 1.000 euros or more. It means also in case a placing a 150 tire instead of a 130!

Hope to see you on the road!

Ciao !

It is really fine on the moon that we are not as a lonely people living in the country where the restrictions have no correct sense but they must be drawn up in order to make everyones easy and rational life as bureaucratic and difficult as possible.

In Finland a vehicle tax has been tailored to be in accordance with the EU legislation from there from here and always according to situation. The result could be downright comic but because of inconsistent tax policy the comicalness is very far from biker real life.

There are too many examples of senseless rules to print them all down on this colum and it is not worthwhile because it will create bad mind only. Generaly, it looks that usually there are no other reasons behind all stubid orders but a grasping tax authorities only - of course, this grasping tax goal has been hidden and covered by such a spurious and hypocrite cover as a traffic safety is, even if there are no connections to the safety factors at all.

Nobody can for example understand the fact that a new model engine installed on a hard tail chassis causes more risks in the traffic than the older model engine if installed on the same frame ........of course and once again, the unfair taxation is the real reason.

Anyhow, instead of some self-pity weep, it could be more effective that all motor cyclists' interest groups in Europe would have more co-operation in order to kill lockal despotism. Perhaps to get a more jointly harmonised, appropriated and EU dirctive based laws on bike construction and taxing would restrain these mindless dictators power in each individual countries.

On the other hand, I don't know how many biking MEPs we have European Parliament, but because there are no common and reasonable guidelines at the EU level, I feel that there can not be too many of them .

In spite of the fact that we have all those brainless autocrats, I use my chance to wish you and every bikers a Merry Christmas and happy New Year !