How do you import a Honda Super Cub, Monkey or Dax to the UK?

Deregistration in Japan or Thailand, any export plates and the export paperwork are handled by the seller. If you need it, we arrange the transport to the UK, and we handle the customs import declaration, NOVA and the DVLA paperwork.

Where is each Cub-family model built?

Honda Japan prints the maker and the country of manufacture under the specifications of each model. These are the current models, as read on Honda Japan's site on 19/10/2026:

So a Dax, Monkey or C125 on a Japanese dealer's floor, with Japanese plates and a Japanese bill of sale, is still Thai-built for customs. For the Super Cub 50 and 110 the page does not say, so do not assume Japan: the frame plate, the registration papers and the seller's written answer decide, and we check them before you pay. The CT125 Hunter Cub follows the same pattern, covered in our Thailand guide. An older bike with the same name may have been built somewhere else, so the papers of the actual bike are what count.

What duty and VAT do you pay on a Cub, Monkey or Dax?

The UK Trade Tariff (read 19/10/2026) shows 8% third-country duty on bikes of 50cc or less and on bikes from 50cc to 125cc. It shows a 0% preference for Japan and for the EU, and no preference row for Thailand. gov.uk says VAT of 20% is charged on the total cost of the vehicle, plus delivery and extra charges and the customs duty.

Here is an illustration with made-up numbers for a 49cc Super Cub: bought for £2,600 with £350 for delivery, so £2,950 at the border. The delivery figure is an example, not a price.

The right-hand column applies only if the bike was made in Japan and you can prove it. What counts as proof of origin for a used Japanese-market bike is not spelled out on the official pages, which is another reason to send us the papers before you buy. A Thai-built Monkey, Dax or C125 cannot use the 0% column at all. Our duty and VAT guide has the table by engine size.

Does a 49cc Super Cub still need a NOVA?

Yes. gov.uk says that if the engine is 48cc or less (7.2kW or less if electric) you can register the vehicle without telling HMRC first. Honda Japan lists the Super Cub 50 at 49 cm³, which is over that line. Check the engine size on the registration document of the bike you are buying, because that is the figure that matters for yours. If it is over 48cc, you tell HMRC within 14 days of arrival, and gov.uk says you may be fined if you are late, without giving an amount. The 123cc Monkey, Dax and C125 are well over the line. See our NOVA guide.

Does a Cub, Monkey or Dax need an approval test?

If it is under 10 years old and has no European Certificate of Conformity, normally yes. gov.uk says a two-wheeler not registered in the EU applies for MSVA (motorcycle single vehicle approval) and lists 2-wheeled mopeds among the vehicles eligible for it. The DVSA fee table (read 19/10/2026) shows £85 in working hours or £109 outside them for a 2-wheeled vehicle, and a lower line for a "low power moped", £55 or £79. Which line a particular 49cc bike falls under is for the test station to say.

For older bikes, gov.uk says that if a vehicle was first registered or manufactured more than 10 years ago you might not need approval, and DVLA may still inspect. The test station does the test and a garage does any changes; we handle the paperwork around it. Details are in our approval guide.

What if it is an older Monkey, Dax or Cub?

Honda says its Dax design first appeared in 1969, and the old 50cc bikes are the ones many people look for. Three different age rules apply to them. Over 10 years old, approval may not be needed, as above. Over 30 years old, the tariff has a collectors' heading, 9705, but only for a bike in original condition without substantial changes and of a model no longer in production, and its note says "motor vehicles" without naming motorcycles (HMRC's import VAT guidance does name them). Honda still sells bikes under these names, so whether an older bike counts is something we confirm for each one before promising a 5% VAT rate. Our classic motorcycle guide sets out the 30-year, 40-year and 1986 rules side by side.

What does DVLA want to see?

DVLA asks for the original foreign registration certificate "to show when the vehicle was manufactured", and you do not get it back, so photograph it before it goes. If you do not have it, gov.uk says DVLA might accept other proof of the manufacture date. After the import declaration and the NOVA come the V55/5, the £55 registration fee and the first vehicle tax. The V5C can take up to 6 weeks to arrive. gov.uk says you can be prosecuted for riding on a public road before the import steps are done, unless you are riding to a pre-booked MOT or approval test. Our DVLA guide goes through the form.

What we do for you

We make the customs import declaration, work out and pay the import VAT and duty, submit NOVA, the arrival notice to HMRC and prepare every DVLA form: you just sign and post. Before you buy, send us the make, model, year and the engine size and where the bike was built, and we will tell you which duty rate, which NOVA position and which approval route we expect.

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