Operation of the WOVR comes under the Road Traffic (Vehicles) Regulations 2014 and includes a few surprises.
Firstly a vehicle in not notifiable if it is more than 15 years old at the time of the damage.
149. Notifiable vehicles
A written-off vehicle is notifiable if —
(a) it is a motor vehicle, motor cycle, trailer or semi-trailer; and
(b) in the case of a motor vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer — the vehicle’s MRC does not exceed 4.5 t; and
(c) it was manufactured within the period of 15 years ending on the day on which the damage occurred (if known) or otherwise on the day on which the vehicle was written off.
Secondly it has to be under water for a long time and be completely immersed
A notifiable motor cycle is a statutory write-off if it has been fully immersed in salt water for any period or fully immersed in fresh water for more than 48 hours.
There are a lot of BMW motorcycles that are sold over 15 years old. There are 99 BMWs for sale on Bikesales. If Bikefacts is correct one in 16 bikes has been recorded as a write off.
My view is that immersion should be triggered if the bike's electrics have been immersed for more than 6 hours.
WOVR is up for comment now.
Bozo