Trademe is the place to look for bikes in New Zealand....https://touch.trademe.co.nz/

Hello Froston
I take it that you have a tourist working visa??

I,d want too increase my budget for buying a motorcycle or you,d have to look at a road bike that might need new tires too be bought with your first pay.
The bigger motorcycle dealerships ( workshops )will want too milk you of your last dollar should you have a problem that you can not solve yourself.
(As everywhere).
You,d still do most of your Actual traveling on sealed roads and need to just take it more easy on the gravel.Unless your job is next to off road tracks or gravel roads going everywhere.

There might still be some time left on the Rego or the WOF that still leave you legal and spend your first pay bringing it up to standard.
A WOF ( warrant of Fitness ) means it was deemed safe at time of inspection only.

New Zealand is full of people with old off road bikes like your XT600 but they hold there value. Even when they have not been licensed for years and without lights etc.
Its so common for people to take their old off bike out on a trailer when they just find time.

As well as the Trade Me website you can buy ($3.00) the local "Buy Sell or Swap" free advertisement paper at the Corner convenience store or petrol station. Though they lack any photos or details.
Then there is the problem of getting out to see them, that can be time consuming , cost money and difficult without already having transport.

The trade Me website search engine has a buy now option if you can,t wait around that can give you a realistic price range.

If you are working I,d try not too rush buying something. But the need too ride might be flowing in your veins too much.

Good Luck

i am mainly watching bikes on trademe. i will try to not rush but yes, i want to hit the road asap. i have the opportunity to stay at a friends place where i can maybe do some work on the bike. if wof is not harder to get than tüv in germany i think chances are good that i get the bike registred. i can fix broken lights or clean a carb but i dont wanna ad a full electric system, that would just take too much time

The bigger motorcycle dealershops will milk you, but they do not WANT to milk you. I worked in one, we never had a tourist walk through the door, and think, great, we'll have them for breakfast. We got them work done as cheap as we could. If you run into mechanical trouble on the road, don't go to a big stealership, ask around the biker community and help may come from better places.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AdventureRidinginNZ/ is a good start..

Don't trust the local buy sell ads in the tourist towns, as they will have vehicles being sold by unscrupulous traders who prey on backpackers or backpackers who have abused cars/bikes and try and sell before the wof runs out.

took your advice and got a registred ktm lc4, since it had the best price/quality ratio. totally worth it! already had loads of fun especially in the area between dunedin and cromwell (where i am staying at the moment)
previous owner did a few dodgy repairs that i am going to fix these days but other than that the bike is just great

Hey all...

I know this isn't quite what this post was made for, but it seems to be a very useful one lol!

Just wondering if any Kiwi's know whether it's possible to buy a bike from overseas? I used to live in NZ 8 years ago and am an NZ citizen now living in Aus (Born in Aus)... Looking to bring my boyfriend back and buy two bikes. I've found a DR650 that looks amazing on Trademe but it's auction closes on Dec 11th, while we don't arrive until 9th of January. I have friends who can pick the bike up for me, so that's not an issue... It's just the paper work sides of things I'm not sure of... Wondering if it could be done via email or if scan/copied signatures aren't allowed :helpsmilie:

Jaz

Hi Jaz

I only noticed this post by chance,

You'll get a far better response by starting a new thread in the Aus/NZ section..

Good luck with your quest

Fern

Hi Jaz. There's nothing stopping you buying the bike and as long as you've got somewhere to store it, just do the paperwork when you get here. There's nothing to getting it registered in your name. All you need is $9.50, a valid NZ address and a driver's licence that reads in English. The thing that says the bike is yours is the seller's receipt. The paperwork is only for where the registration bills/ speeding tickets/parking tickets go to. Get your friends to make sure there is a receipt saying you have paid for the bike in full, and that's the proof. Yes, it IS that simple.

If you're after another bike, I'm about to sell my F650GS. Let me know if you are interested or send me a PM.

Regards

Nigel in NZ (Nth Canterbury)