WE’VE GOT MAIL!

Lots of letters and a lot on a single subject, too

I was just reading in the pre-war rebuild that a speedo is not a legal requirement on a vehicle registered before 1937. Is this a legal loophole if caught on camera or whatever for exceeding the speed limit? Meuryn Howell, member 1674

I like the way you think but sadly it won’t wash! There are actually two offences going on here: speeding (breaking the designated limit) which isn’t affected by your vehicle instrumentation at all. The offence is exceeding the limit. Regardless of what instruments are fitted to your vehicle, if you break the limit then you’ve committed the offence.

The other offence is not having a speedo fitted to a vehicle, and that’s an entirely separate matter. As I recall, it doesn’t strictly speaking need to be a dedicated ‘speedo’ – just a method of accurately assessing velocity. So a marked up tacho would do. Or perhaps a very smart person who’s intimately acquainted with a specific bike could accurately the speed in each gear to the satisfaction of a DfT inspector. I used to be able to do that on a CB250RS, when I rode one for 700 and more miles each week. But I wouldn’t fancy my chances of accurately judging the speed in each gear on the B25…