brake light

[hayley1963]

I have been told i need a back brake light on my bike to pass a MOT,seeing as i dont have a battery how am i meant to fit one!!
i have a 1951 royal enfield re2 with miller electrics...no indicators mirrors etc just basic.does anyone know if there is a way around this :-/

[m3bobby]

I thought that on a bike of that era, it would be tested as it left the factory. I questioned a MOT guy near me about this very subject and he said he wouldn't look for it if it left the factory with out one.

This may of course be his opinion only and not the DVLA's!

[250greeves]

It should have had one when it left the factory. I think the exemptions at that time were if the bike couldn't exceed 25 mph (like a moped) or if the bike wasn't fitted with lights at all. I don't think this was the case.
If you have no lghts fitted at all you can have it tested for a "daylight" MoT - my trials bikes have these - the restrictions are obvious.
If you can find a copy of the wiring diagram there might be some clues there.

Best of luck

[Rex]

I have been told i need a back brake light on my bike to pass a MOT,seeing as i dont have a battery how am i meant to fit one!!
i have a 1951 royal enfield re2 with miller electrics...no indicators mirrors etc just basic.does anyone know if there is a way around this :-/

Yes, fit a dual filament lamp holder and wire in a stop lamp. AES do nice replacement holders for about five quid. You can wire it into the gennie output but keep the lamp wattage as low as possible!

If you're handy you could fit an LED into the rear light.

[hayley1963]

its never had a back brake light.its the model up from the flying flea..what i dont understand why after 58 years without one all of a sudden it needs one...i have a front and back light which you have to be doing 20mph before they come on.but you can put a dry batt in for parking.i believe the enfield 150 ensign is the same. no indicators etc

[Goldie]

its never had a back brake light.its the model up from the flying flea..what i dont understand why after 58 years without one all of a sudden it needs one...

You may find out, if some idiot car driver shunts you from behind.

[hayley1963]

my husband follows me on his fj1200..because of that reason i have put some push bike mirrors on it...but there is no where for indicators back brake lights...i might get it rewired and see what can be done.its still as all the original wiring on it

[L.A.B.]

its never had a back brake light.its the model up from the flying flea..what i dont understand why after 58 years without one all of a sudden it needs one...

I think the fitting of a brake light was made compulsory during the late fifties or early sixties on motorcycles that were manufactured from 1936-on, so it should have had a brake light fitted by now?

In my opinion probably the easiest way to fit a working brake light would be to use a small dry battery (rechargeable or otherwise)?
It should be easy enough to wire in a brake light circuit, bulb and switch that would work independently from the bike's own electrical system.    

[hayley1963]

thankyou everyone. i bought it with 12 months MOT on it. it runs out 11th april.so i took it this week to be told i need a brake light...someone in manchester mot,ed it last april without one? i am only the 2nd owner since 1951..i have no idea how its got a MOT before

[m3bobby]

Found this on the MOT regs site, looks like some testers bend the rules!!

This inspection applies to; all machines except those which have neither front nor rear position lamps, or has such lamps permanently disconnected, painted over or masked that are (see 1.1).

Exemptions
For this test if a stop lamp is fitted, it must meet the requirements of this inspection, but need not be fitted to a machine which:

a. cannot exceed 25mph, or
b. was first used before 1 January I936.or
c. was first used before 1 April 1986 and which has an engine capacity of less than 50cc.

Operation
Stop lamps may operate in conjunction with either the front or the rear brake, or both. On machines first used on or after 1 April 1986, the stop lamps must operate by the application of each system.

On machines without a battery or with an insufficiently charged battery, it will be necessary to run the engine.


Its pretty black and white in print.

[hayley1963]

when you run my engine there is no power to the lights..you have to be doing 20 to 25mph to get any light..if the light is inadequate it tells you to change to a lower gear....so the back and front lights are not very good to begin with..so i dont know how they tested the lights to begin with.everyone as told me to give up and buy a jap bike

[Justin_Faithfull]

While the regs. are quite clear there is one big problem.
There were many motor cycles produced up 'til the early '60s which had flywheel generators & direct AC lighting systems with no battery (mainly Villiers). These bikes would have left the factory with no brake light as standard because the flywheel generators of this period could not cope with the load of a brake light!
I rode a 1954 James Cadet which had no brake light for many years, but had a sympathetic MOT man.
From a safety point of view a brake light is definately a good idea. I would suggest you see if your Miller Flywheel puts out enough power to fit a rectifier & battery, giving you a DC system.

[hayley1963]

thankyou for that.as this is my first bike i only passed my cbt last year..i had a dream of learning on a british bike and passing my test on one i have had a lot of negative response ,,like your not really going to ride that and its no good for modern traffic!
and now my  MOT as problems.. i just spoke to the enfield re2 adviser on the phone from the reoc and he said my miller electrics will not run a back brake light

[52t-bird]

Hello, I sympathise with you as i have similar brake lamp issues on my pre war bikes and early Lambrettas BUT you are riding the bike in 2009 not 1950 so it is a good idea to fit a brake lamp. It is not difficult, as you were advised earler to fit a dry cell battery with wiring and brake switch independant of the bikes wiring circuit. This would be cheap and easy to do and would satisfy the tester. As an ex MOT tester it is always difficult to weigh discretion against the safety of the rider and if your tester is in a Jap bike shop as most are these days he would have no experience or admiration of our prehistoric machines! Dont give up on your British bike experience as it is a lifestyle choice not a mode of transport. If it was just transport we would all be riding Honda 90's!

[33d6]

I don't live in the UK but where I live ALL vehicles with full road registration must have a brake light regardless of age (we have a generous limited club permit system if you want to avoid all the hoo ha). As the owner of several British two -strokes the newest of which is a '51 James I can tell you it is easy to fit a brake light to your bike. I even have working blinkers on my James. All the old two strokes have a minimal electrical output compared to a modern bike but using modern electronics, LED tail & stop lights etc, you can improve them quite a bit.
Don't give up, I admire your spirit. It can be done!
Cheers,