Some can't believe it, some don't want to believe it - but it's a fact!
Many mods on your 125cc bike are legal.
It doesn't matter if it's a KTM Duke, Yamaha MT, YZF-R or Honda CBR. We would like to use this blog article to show your options for legal tuning. Not only so you can tune your bike, but also so you know better!
For these tuning parts you do not need papers
Despite German rules, laws and bureaucrats, it is possible to do simple tuning on your bike without big hurdles. You can divide legal tuning parts into different categories. For some you don't need any proof, for some you need one and for others even more proofs.
The first category includes license plate holders. Sounds boring at first, but it is an essential tuning part. Take a look at the long, bulky plastic parts that don't match the design of the Duke from KTM, the SX from Aprilia and the MT from Yamaha. That's an imposition, isn't it?
Attaching a tuning license plate holder only has to meet 2 criteria. Everything else is up to your imagination. First, the license plate must be at least 30cm but no more than 120cm off the ground. Secondly, it must be illuminated, easy to read and placed at a maximum angle of 30° to the road. If you keep these points in mind when buying and mounting the holder, that's all.
Another example for this category are CNC parts like oil filler plug, brake cylinder cover or handlebar ends. They can be easily exchanged for the original parts and offer a purely optical added value.
Just like decals and stickers - These offer an inexpensive way to completely customize your bike with just a few simple steps and make it YOUR motorcycle. This does not even require an E-number, because they are not add-on parts, just stickers. If you need help with the application of your decor, we have prepared a video for you.
125cc tuning parts with E number
E-numbers can be found on food, clothing, furniture and even tuning parts. They are assigned by the European Union for all kinds of goods to identify them as parts approved in Europe. They are valid in all EU member states and allow for a language-independent designation.
Tuning indicators are a good example of this. Like license plate holders, the installation of turn signals is also tied to one criterion. The front turn signals must have at least 240mm distance to each other, the rear 180mm. If the turn signals then have (at least) an E-number, you are on the safe side and do not have to provide further evidence in the event of a control. The same applies to mirrors. The installation criterion is a visible surface of at least 69cm² and the E-number.
Note: Only if the parts are correctly installed in accordance with the relevant legislation, the operating permit of the motorcycle is maintained.
ABE, parts certificate and EG-BE
You want to stand out from the rest with the sound of your Duke or give your YZF-R a few colorful accents? Then you often need a special permission for it. Why? Because you change the functionality that the manufacturer has made legal as a type approval.
While mirrors and turn signals are only add-on parts, levers, discs, foot rests and exhausts belong to the parts that are important for the function of your motorcycle and the compliance with standards and rules. And the change of the function must be just proved in its legality. This usually works via the 3 possibilities: ABE, EG-BE and parts certificate.
A parts certificate can in theory allow any part, as long as it meets emission standards, installation guidelines and the safety rules of the StVO. The best thing to do is to contact your local TÜV inspector. He will then enter the parts directly into your vehicle's papers. Whether this type of tuning is worthwhile for your 125cc motorcycle, however, is rather questionable. This procedure is significantly more expensive and time-consuming than all previous and subsequent variants of the approval.
An ABE (General Operating Permit) is a booklet or collection of sheets that lists the vehicles for which the tuning part is permitted, what purpose it serves, what conditions it fulfills and how it must be mounted so that it is recognized as legal during a check.
An EG-BE is an international approval that consists of 2 parts. On the one hand, the parts themselves must be marked (similar to the E-number). On the other hand, similar to the ABE, papers are enclosed. These are fortunately not quite so detailed. Mostly it only says for which vehicle types the part is approved and which marking the part has to show. Over 90% of the exhaust systems in our store have such an approval. These are marked with the label "legal". Exhaust systems without valid approval, which are therefore only intended for the racetrack, have the marking "Racing Version".
So simple can be the tuning of your 125cc machine ;)