Vivre La France (sort of)

[johnnyp]

Well it’s been a while since my first post in the Introduce yourself section titled “TRX Newby in France”. So what have I been up to?
Had a few sorties on the TRX a while back and love it to bits. The Micron cans sound divine and the way the bike punches out of turns is thrilling. The yokes have been dropped by previous owners, as recommended and the handling is fine for me. Fairly neutral and turns in quick enough. The suspension feels harsh if I catch a bit of a pot hole so I think I need to have a tinker there. I was a bit disappointed with the front brake with the blue spots fitted. A very wooden lever feel but will stop OK if you squeeze hard enough. A bit of research on the forum got to the bottom of that and I sussed that it still had a 5/8 master cylinder. So, R1 14mm item sourced on Ebay for £15 and fitted but yet to be tested but I’m sure it will transform the front brake back to what I remember from my 1998 R1 back in the day. All good news there then but a bit of the shine has been taken off new ownership – read on.

It’s taken me until today to get the bike registered here in France! As some of you may know, La France is famous for her beaurocracy. To get an imported bike registered here you need a Certificate of Conformity so my first try was with Yamaha UK but no joy there as the bike is too old for them to issue the certificate. So contact made with Yamaha France and I knew this would cost money from my first experience with BMW France for a BMW R1100R back in 2006. Yam France wanted a cheque for 121 Euro and photographs of front, back and both sides of the bike. I obviously fitted the standard front callipers, silencers and winkers for that. I also thought it prudent to include a photo, with the part number showing of the continental spec headlight I bought. All sent off and five weeks later I get a response but only in the form of a partial conformity and instructions to go to an organisation called the DREAL to have the lights and indicators checked (bit pointless me sending the headlight photo then!) – don’t ask me what it stands for but they deal with vehicles and conformities. Once again money needs to change hands, this time 86 Euro. I get a rendezvous three weeks later and the guy starts to give the whole bike the once over and virtually ignored the lights. He was looking closely at the tyres so I asked him why. It seems that the UK allows US spec tyres but France doesn’t. Luckily mine had European markings – Phew! However it was his duty to find something wrong and the holiest of holy did. I had no back reflector, a known UK MoT failure point. There is no Mot (Controle Technique) for bikes in France which is very surprising given the nanny state here. In fact if there was such a thing I reckon half the nippers whizzing round on shagged out 50cc, bald tyre, iffy braked, feeble lights lash-ups would be off the road overnight. Might do something to improve the poor accident record too. He also insisted that I put a sticker on the speedo next to the milometer saying “Miles” – WTF!!! It’s clearly marked in MPH for the primary units and KPH also but smaller. He very kindly said I could put it on the outside of the glass rather than take the speedo apart. I’m biting my tongue pretty hard at this point but thought it best not to antagonise him as he has the bit of paper I need. So off to the local bike shops to get a reflector – dream on. Nobody sells reflectors in France clearly because there are no Mot failures. All the main dealers could look me up a part number for any of their mainstream models and order me one – they can F*** off as I know what that would cost and how long it might take. Good old Ebay UK £1.99 plus £1.99 P&P – sorted. Photos of fitted reflector and speedo sticker e-mailed the DREAL man then wait. After a week I give them a call only to find he’s on holiday. Wait another week only to find my dossier has been sent to department head office in Limoges – F*** me! How many rubber stamps do they need.

Anyway, this week a brown envelope arrived by recorded delivery and with trembling fingers I open it to find the front sheet pertaining to my TRX but all the rest of the documents relate to a Fiat motor home. Eh? I’m losing the will to live now. The documents had the address and phone number of the poor buggers who were clearly having a similar experience to me so I give then a call and arrange to meet them for a coffee and give them their docs back. They were incredibly relieved as the DREAL had previously lost their UK reg doc and they’d had to go via the Gendarmerie for approval to use the vehicle with a photocopy. Absolute total incompetence and I’m paying for the privilege of being dicked about. Phoned the DREAL who weren’t happy that I’d delivered the missing docs to their rightful owners but they did admit to having my missing docs in the office (big sigh of relief). Hot footed it over there this afternoon and got a feeble apology from the woman in the office claiming she must have been tired (I wouldn’t have been keeping here awake at night I can tell you). So straight round to the Prefecture office to get the French reg doc. Yet more money needed here too, this time 78 Euro. Then get a number plate made for 18 Euro. Total handed over to date 303 Euro, this cheapish bike is not so cheap now.

I feel so much better now I've got that off my chest, telling you guys about it is like therapy. Hope you had a smile at my expense.

So I’ll rivet the plate on tomorrow and get out there and check out that front brake with the smaller master cylinder. Micron cans and blue spots are back on. Got to get a few blasts in while the weather holds. YeeeHaaa

[Snod Blatter]

Hope you had a smile at my expense.

Sure did! Makes the UK look half decent..

[M.V.]

Wow, I thought we had it bad here in Victoria!

Just goes to show, no matter how bad things are there's always someone worse off. I'd hate to meet the poor fellow who's worse off than you though

[HolerTogni]

Hi JohnnyP!

Oh wow ...

Sad but true, this could've happend in almost any country in the world ...

Nowadays no country can claim for it alone anymore to be 'famous' for its bureaucracy.

I experienced (nearly not so) funny things with rented cars in the US and in Sicily, with the German TÃœV checking bikes and cars, know of other guys, who became exasperated with inapt and petty-minded arrogant officials, who prevented them from doing or starting their business ...

But according to my experiences it always also depends on the human being you deal with.

"Been somewhere else done similar"-greets from Munich!

[alextrx850]

I now have a new direction to the art of perseverance Johnny.
Well done, the end result is being out there on two wheels....worth it ?
Yeah...
Another like from OZ.

[Rod.s]

I laughed all the way through that story, luckily you speak french!

[Wombat]

And I thought we (Australia and Victoria in particular) were leaders in Nanny State-edness!

Bob

[Rod.s]

And I thought we (Australia and Victoria in particular) were leaders in Nanny State-edness!

Bob

Just look into buying a house in France!

[dicky]

And I thought we (Australia and Victoria in particular) were leaders in Nanny State-edness!

Bob

While I certainly agree about the Nanny State treatment that we usually get, there are exceptions...

My brother in law bought an insurance write off VFR-800 in January.
It was back in the road, fully reg'd and insured before the end of February, and he had no problems at all.
The write-off registry people passed him without even taking a serious look at the bike because he had carefully documented and photo'd each area of damage and repair, as per their guidelines.
The local bike mechanic issued the road-worthy cert and commented on hoe good the bike looked. He also commented on the write off registry usually giving everyone a hard time.
Vic Roads actually helped to get him a quick appointment for registration inspection, and when he arrived at their office they fast tracked him straight through in less than 30 mins.

Sometimes you get to deal with decent people, and if you have done everything according to what they request it can go smoothly.

If only I could find a spare-parts desk that was staffed by a decent human being. I'd even settle for just a human being, most of them seem to be staffed by dummies.

dicky.

ps. I once got let off by the NSW highway patrol when I was busted doing 148km/h outside Cooma. There are some nice guys left in the world.

[cobbadiggabuddyblooo]

Ditto ,
I've had numerous accounts where I've done all the hard yards so its just a matter of ticking the box and walking out with a smile on my face.
Approach them with the right attitude and that's a big plus to start.
But every now and then you come across that " Bad hair day" person"
As Kev just stated in another post at least we don't have to worry about tail tidies now with registration.

[johnnyp]

Hi Rod.s
Where in France do you fancy buying a house? If you're looking in the Dordogne/South West area look me up. I've been here ten years and may be able to give you a few tips. It's a good time to buy at the mo due to weakish Euro and plenty of property on the market there are some good deals to be had. I see you're in Brisbane - small world as my sister lives in Caloundra.

[drix]

Bienvenue en France!

The French administration is painful indeed but think of it as a small glitch in an otherwise great country... think about all the reasonably priced and incredibly tasty food & wine, the amazing views and roads of Dordogne, the gorgeous French women and all... but then my opinion might be a little skewed here!

Well done for going through all this and succeeding! Didn't you consider buying a TRX frame with a carte grise and do a swap?

[Rod.s]

Bienvenue en France!

The French administration is painful indeed but think of it as a small glitch in an otherwise great country... think about all the reasonably priced and incredibly tasty food & wine, the amazing views and roads of Dordogne, the gorgeous French women and all... but then my opinion might be a little skewed here!

Well done for going through all this and succeeding! Didn't you consider buying a TRX frame with a carte grise and do a swap?

I spent 4 months working in Aix-en-Provence and can attest to the gorgeous French women, vive les femmes françaises

[dicky]

I've spent 13 years working for a French company and I can attest to the bureaucracy. It's not just their government that are experts in making things difficult.
I've also been visiting France for 13 years and can also attest to the beautiful women.
Also, never underestimate how powerful the French accent can be, particularly if you here a girl say something like 'Why don't you come over here and sit next to me?"