Hi Everyone!!!

Advice needed from the wise and experienced........if there's any here, lol!

I will be arriving in NZ Feb 14 and travelling to OZ in March. What I think I will do is buy a bike in each upon arrival, ride it one way and sell it again before I depart. Rental is too expensive for me.

I have looked through this thread and have found some advice and pointers, but what I'd really like is to hear from someone who has actually done this, in either country. How easy / difficult was it to find a suitable bike, register and insure, and to sell afterwards.

My plans are, arrive Auckland, ride south, depart CChurch. Arrive Sydney, ride north, depart Cairns.

Bike in mind, something between a DRZ or CRF 400, up to a Transalp 600/650.......or similar type. Just want something that will allow me to get off tarmac and do a few trail roads without too much difficulty. Will be travelling v light, a bag of clothes and some camping gear, and tokens to aid interaction with natives

Would really appreciate any sound advice from anyone who has experienced this, or if you know someone who has.

Happy trails

Grazie!!

I have family in NZ & have recently purchased a bike to use during my visits.
Check www.trademe.co.nz and www.KiwiBiker.co.nz
There's advice on kiwibiker specifically for overseas visitors

I know you say hiring is too expensive but NZ isn't a cheap country to visit. You may end up with a big loss on resale value simply because you have to leave. If buying, ensure the bike has sufficient wof & rego for your trip

PS - don't wild camp - there's plenty of DOC sites which cost practically nothing and are usually in stunning locations (esp on the south)

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Elaine

Striving to live the ordinary life in a non ordinary way

I'd look for a DR650 Suzuki - good common machines in both Oz & NZ. It should be no problem for a visitor to buy & register a bike, check out the NZTA website for details. Just use wherever you are staying as an address. Insurance is not compulsory but at least 3rd party is a good idea of course. If you can, spend longer in NZ, you could fill 3 months no problem.

Why? No doubt there are lots of good DOC camps but anyone travelling gravel roads & some 4x4 trails will also find nice spots to wild camp. Just leave no trace, take a trowel & bury your shit.

Cheers
Clint

Thank guys for the tips

Have been looking online for suggested bikes, but they don't seem too plentiful. And what is available seem to be fairly new machines and asking a good deal of money, which I can't really afford to tie up.
The search goes on!!


Thank again !

I'm flying out Saturday :-) :-) :-) have a few bikes lined up to look at and will be departing at the end of Jan. The bike will then be back on trade me, you can have first refusal if you want but the bike will be left in Christchurch area. I'll be posting stuff here keep an eye out

Nick

sent from my thingy, using whatchamacallit

Good for you mate!!
Have you located those bikes through trademe? We're you able to register on trademe as a non resident of NZ? I tried, but could not.
I will be arriving Auckland and departing Christchurch so I need to find something located in north island at he very least.


Hope you have a blast dude, and I will keep tabs here!

Hey there,
I recently emigrated from Ireland to Nz and brought a bike with me Gl1800 Goldwing.

Costs were:
Cost of buying bike(varies )

Crating. Box needs to be fully enclosed. Must be Mdf/plywood/hardboard or metal. (no natural woods or you run into legislation (ISPM 15) that requires a heat-treated stamp). iirc a plywood box for the tenere in 2010 cost me 4 sheets of 24mm plywood,nuts and bolts, and a metal shipping crate i got for a small fee from Yamaha in Dublin. @€200

Sea shipping @€150 per m3 plus port fees in Nz (about the same again-little less)
Shipping agent fees NZ: Tried to avoid these but failed. $200nzd iirc

Gl1800 took up 4m3, but was also packed to bursting with personal goods.
A 750 Super Tenere I sent to Usa in 2010 took up just under 3m3 iirc. (front wheel/screen removed etc)
Dr650 etc is similar. You will save about another m3 if you also drop the back wheel, but you have to build a frame/clamp the axles(replace with waterpipe-dont use the axles as a mount point) to hold the bike.

Customs/biosecurity fees: $40nzd for customs, $130 for biosecurity iirc(without extra fumigation etc-bike must be clean).
Both agencies were efficient and lovely to deal with in Christchurch. Took @3 days to get the bike after arrival.

I then had to Register the bike and get a Warrant of Fitness as I was staying. A temporary import doesn't need this. Also, you cannot sell a vehicle here within two years of import or you have to pay Gst(tax) at 10% on the imported value.

Were you to permanently import a bike and then sell it, it would cost circa $400 for the initial WoF and Registration.

Going by those costs, sending a bike over and back may also be an option if you already have one in Ireland depending on your overall plans.

I sent the bike with Brendan Daly in Dublin, on 01 2836077.
Additionally, Brendan moves a lot of Irish people to Aus/Nz. Most go with full/half full containers. It might be an option for you to piggy-back at much reduced shipping rates if those people agree to it. Up to you to look into. Brendan is very good to deal with.

Hope that's of some help.
Cheers,
James

Hi Nick,
I just came across your threat
What you are trying to do I have done several times in Europe and Asia.
Buying a bike in Sydney and selling it in Cairns may present a problem as the bike will have New South Wales state plates and you are selling in Queensland. Therefore the bike will have to be sold without plates and that will lower any price of a vehicle extensively. It is best to make a plan to buy and sell a bike in the same state and do a round trip.
I presently own two F650's. One of them I am going the use for a trip from Vladivostok to Europe in June. The other one I have put up for sale last week. The first one is now ready so I have transport again hence the sale of the other. If you are interested I can make some arrangements with you. You could fly to Brisbane and then go to Sydney and back via a another route. I have some interesting routes all the way to Cairns. If you are unable to sell the bike for a reasonable price in Cairns you could leave it with my older brother (74) who lives there. I could then fly to Cairns, which only cost about and ride the bike back to Brisbane and sell it for you. Also I can pick you up on arrival in Brisbane and put you up for the night. as I said just a suggestion. The bike is a 2007 F650 GS and come with BMW panniers. I also have a top box which I would be able to fit on it for you.
The bike is for sale at $6200 (see www.gumtree.com.au but to a fellow member I will do the same as I have received in the past. $5800 will do. Anyway just a thought.
regards Richard Wolters

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Richard Wolters
Brisbane, Australia

Hi Richard.....

I presume your reply was intended for me (thread starter) and not nick. If so thanks for the suggestion and offer. Unfortunately I can't easily change my flights without added cost and as my time is limited I prefer to travel one way, Sydney to cairns.
On the plus side the bike is pretty much right for what I need.
Could I throw a porposal at ya?!? Would you be interested in doing a 'buy back' deal? Basically we could agree a price for me to buy the bike, ride it for 3 weeks and sell it back to you at a pre agreed price somewhat lower than I originally paid. You would have the bike to sell again and some extra cash in your pocket for 3 weeks of non ownership. I will prob do @ 3 - 3,500km, which I don't think would devalue your original asking price of 6,300 too much.
It does mean that I would need to collect the bike in Sydney and leave it in cairns. We could include your travel costs in the arrangement if you were willing to do that.
Let me know what you think or if you have any different thoughts.
PM me if you want contact details to speak more directly.


I appreciate you taking the time to post a reply. I will not be arriving until March but would be great to have something sorted.


How far west do you intend to get in Europe? Any plan to make it to Ireland?


Rgds
Tom

buying a bike in sydney and sell in cairns is no problem. You just have to get a qld road worth cert. in cairns so who every buys it can change rego to Qld. any bike shop will do it. Sydney to cairns is a big ride about 2500 klm hell of a lot of country to see.. there's plenty of bike shop in sydney and also backpacker who are selling vans and a small amount of bikes. Anybody can register a vehicle in oz just give the address of the hotel you are staying in. Good luck just look out for the trucks there Bigger and and fast then you get in Euro. I drive one...

Thanks mate!!
Sounds like good advice.....encouraging!! appreciate it!!!

Hi There,
I have a transalp 650 in sydney,if interested i could let you rent it and then pick up in queensland I'm in europe in june so maybe we could work out a bike swap? send me a pm
Regards
Andrew

Nearly spot on but yes temporary import scheme does need the tourist to wof the bike, and you get a rego sticker, the rego cost is just the acc levy: the two together cost me $125

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