Buying a motorbike in Australia (Perth) for a 3 months trip
 

Hello travellers !

I am French, will be heading to Perth in about 2 weeks, and would like to stay 3 months in Australia, travelling up to Brisbane or Cairns.
So I plan to buy a motorbike in Perth.

What do I have to know about buying, registration, insurance, paperworks ?

- I have an international l driving license, is it accepted in every state of Australia (with my original french license) ?

- Do I need an adress to buy a vehicle (because I won't have one) ?

- can I pay cash (max 2500 AUD), or is there a limitation ?

- I've read that a motorbike needs to be registered regularely. Is this registration still valid after the sell, or do I need to make a new registration ?
I've also read that the registration provides a minimal insurance to the driver, is it the case ? So for basic insurance (reponsability, injuries) no need to take an insurance ?
Is the registration (and the insurance linked to it, if any) valid in all states ?

- what documents is the seller supposed to give me ?

- if I've forgotten paperworks items, please let me know :)

- by the way, is the weather acceptable for a trip starting in Perth by the end of January, or too hot ? Will another route be better for a trip between January and April ?

Thanks in advance for any help :thumbup1:

Hi Jil,The weather here in aus can get very hot in the summer ,up to 40c.
I have attached a link for the australian weather website showing the average temps in different parts of the country.

Australian Weather Calendar

Then if you click on the individual states shown on the top right of the page(where it shows NSW VIC QLD WA etc ) it will show the current forecasts for those states.
The north of australia in summer is the wet season.Hot,humid,wet and prone to cyclones so if starting in perth heading across the bottom of australia to south australia then heading north through victoria and nsw would be the best bet.
fuel stops when crossing the eyre hwy are around 200 klms apart so make sure the bike you buy can exceed that distance as strong headwinds will use more fuel,or carry extra fuel.
The most popular website for buying motorcycles here is gumtree.

Perth Region, WA | Motorcycles & Scooters | Gumtree Australia Free Local Classifieds

paying cash is usually the preferred method.

The cost of registration for a motorcycle in western australia is $355.10 for 12 months or $104.30 for 3 months.

As long as the bike is registered it is valid after the sale in the state the bike is registered in(if the bike is registered in WA and is bought in WA then the registration on it is valid).you will need to fill in a form with the seller at the time of purchase that says you are the new owner.
We have recently had personal insurance included in the registration for accidents but it may be a good idea to have your own travel insurance as well that covers you for riding motorcycles.

regarding your other questions i am sure someone more knowledgeable will be able to help.

Thank you very much Pete, it helps me a lot :clap:

Google "buying a vehicle in WA" - lots of advice from government websites and the full process that you need to follow.


Selling at the end of the trip may be a bit harder - its like selling a French vehicle in Germany - the new buyer will have a lot of paperwork to do to get the vehicle registered in Queensland so you will have to allow for that in the price - about $500.


Google "selling a motor vehicle in QLD"


Address - a youth hostel or hotel bill will do, plus passport and licence.


Weather - if you can delay the trip by two months you'll avoid the risk of the very high temperatures. If you must start in January carry lots of water with you at least 10 litres for a safety margin. Stick to well travelled roads as Outback roads may not have anyone on them at that time of year.


Have a great trip.

Hello

I've started to check gumtree, really good website, but I've found plenty of 250cc road bikes in my budget (around 2000 $), but very few trail bikes.

My question is, could a road bike be ok to travel around Australia ? I mean, a CBF250, for example, is cheap (even the recent models), light, reliable, with a big tank, so it has virtually everything I need except long shocks and offroad tires...
Does it worth it to invest more to get a trail bike like a TTR250 or XR250 ? Or during the summer, can I travel reasonnably everywhere in southern Australia with a road bike ?

The vast majority of Australian tourist sights can be reached on a road bike. If it is your first trip here .. you'll have enough to see and experience with the road bike to keep you happy.

The bike ... you will need to fit luggage ... most 250s get used for commuting not touring so they won't have panniers. Hopefully the bike will have a rear rack.

One thing about a trail bike ... if you fall off there will be less damage to the bike.

You really don't need an offroad bike to see Australia, we used BMW R65s and still rode the Alpine dirt roads and the Birdsville track - only change was to put Metzler universal tyres to give a bit better grip in the dirt/mud/snow. You might need to slow down a bit with a road bike on dirt roads, met a Dutch guy in the mid 1980s who was riding an R60 across Australia from Perth - he left the bitumen roads near Kalgoolie and got back off dirt roads when he got close to Toowoomba in QLD.


Doing a Perth to Cairns trip along the coast I'd be going for the comfort of a road bike setup for touring.

Try WA Transport for your inquiries to double-check what's been said. E.g. As far as I know the 3rd party insurance only covers 'personal injuries' not public or personal liability. In other words, it covers medical bills for injured people, not property damage and you still need to take out private 3rd party insurance to cover that.

Licensing


You need a transfer of ownership form that must be completed by both parties and submitted back to WA Transport within 30 days. Normally, a seller will have a registration reminder as "proof of purchase" to give to you, but you are advised to do your own homework to make sure the bike is not 'encombered' in any way (outstanding fines, stolen or under finance). You can do this over the phone or online:

REVS And PPSR Checks For Cars | Revs Check

You can check the approximate value of a bike here: Motorcycle Research - Compare Motorcycles - New and used motorcycle prices - RedBook.com.au

Also keep in mind you will loose money if you sell the bike outside WA. Because every state has its own registration system, the bike will have to undergo a roadworthy inspection and these extra costs are incurred by the buyer if this is outside of WA. In other words- a buyer will expect to pay $500 or more less just because of this.


As other guys have said, you should be able to go most places on a road bike, but that does not mean it will be as easy. One of your problems would be ground clearance. But unless you're set on doing things like Gibb river road, Great central road etc. it shouldn't bother you too much. But if you intend on spending more time off the beaten track (visit places like Cockle creek and Wolf creek and Cape York), then something with a 21" front wheel and some decent clearance would provide you with more enjoyment.

One other thing to verify is your license class (open or restricted). If you're after a 250, it shouldn't be much of an issue, but if you are still on a restricted license, you won't be able to legally ride certain larger machines that not on the L-approved list. This system only came into WA a few years ago. Before then there was a 250cc limit and all 'new' motorcyclists was 'condemned' to one year of 250cc riding before they could go on to something better/bigger. As a result of the new system, people can now buy bigger less powerful or restricted machines, such as KLR650 or 650GS. It also meant the 250cc market all but died and 250cc bikes are now much cheaper than before. I think that is why you see so many 250cc road bikes going for cheap, whilst the trail bikes kept their value.

Thank you everyone, it helps a lot :)

Every one pretty much has it but a couple of things.. When selling if you are in a rush (like a week or less) be prepared to take a major hit on the price of the bike.


give us the HU Perth Community a bell when you get here and well have a beer. bier

We can also help with address if need be,
and finally if you are not too mechanically minded let me know and i can help look over some bikes with you ..

So how did you go

Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk

I've been looking into buying a used bike in Perth in early 2018, so it would be good to know more about how your adventure went. I'll shoot you a PM....

Hi HU travellers !

A few years later, a quick feedback.
Buying a motorbike in Perth was easy.
I found in a few days a Honda SL230 for 2000$ cash. Not much paperworks.
The Australians found it quite funny to see a guy crossing their country with this small "garden" bike, but it worked flawlessly for 14.000 kms across amazing Australia (except a few flats) ! Same for my NC700X a few months before across whole Europe, Urkaine, Russia, and Morocco. Thank you Honda for building such good bikes :)

I sold my SL230 2 hours after my arrival to my destination (Adelaide). I'm not sure of the price, I think I sold it around 1300-1500$.
So, quite easy !

Now, a few pictures !

and a few others...

The small SL230 did it quite well. Of course the packaging was not optimal :innocent:, and with the small tank I had to take a side jerrycan, but frankly, even offroad, it was OK.
And I'm glad I choose an offroad bike, to be limited only to roads in Australia would have been a pity for me ;)

I got up to 45°C indeed :sweatdrop:
Being in summer was also the reason why I choose not to travel via the "Great Central Road", but via the southern Nullarbor.

Sorry Xander, some delay in my answer :innocent:
By the way, thank you for your nice proposal, too bad I didn't see it in time !

So great to see an update, and to hear it all worked out!

I still haven't made it back to Aus, and I'm still thinking about it! :)

Hi, I can see this is an old thread but I’m doing much the same, this October. Flying into Sydney from Canada. I’ve been looking at touring bikes such as Honda ST1100 which seem reasonably priced.
Has there been any significant changes to buying, registering and insuring a motorcycle in the last few years; especially for a newly arrived tourist?

Each Australian State has its own motor vehicle licensing authority, so the rules and procedures vary according to where you intend to buy.

In New South Wales the Roads and Maritime Services division of the Department of Transport manages registration. As you don't have a NSW driving licence, you will need to register for a customer number in order to register the bike in your name. More information can be found here:

https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boati...tration/basics

When you buy the bike you will need to pay stamp duty. This is done at the time when you transfer the vehicle into your name. The market value or the purchase price, whichever is higher, is used to calculate the stamp duty cost.

There is a minimum level of insurance that you must hold when you own a motor vehicle. In NSW this is known as compulsory third party (CTP) insurance or 'green slip'. A vehicle's existing CTP insurance automatically transfers to the new owner when the registration is transferred. You won't need to do anything with the CTP insurance until the bike's registration is due for renewal.

The bike will also need to pass an annual safety inspection, also known as a 'pink slip'. Your registration renewal notice will show when the next inspection is due.

THANK YOU for the follow up.. I am planning on a FULL around the country tour.. a year or more.. and plan on a light weight dual or dirt.. Possibly the BMW 310 gs.. with upgraded suspension, spoke rims, dirt tires, etc.. I agree on a "adenture style " bike that can handle both or dirt primarily..
cheers, Coco

No real changes that i am aware of.

The best thing is to have an address, or someone who will let you use their address. ;)

Send me a DM if you like.

that was good JIL to get feedback on your trip and how the bike "buy/sell" experience was for you.
This is of interest to a lot of people who propose coming here and buying a bike, I suspect that you were just fortunate with such a quick sale, esp with "out of state "registration.
Your choice of bike was good even if you'd have suffered a bit crossing the Nullabor - easy to sell.
I see that a couple of people have thought about buying Honda STs. Yes, great bike and comfortable touring and can be bought quite cheaply. Of course, there's a reason for this. I see ones on FB and Gtree sitting there for a long time before moving.

Question about insurance when someone from overseas buys a bike in Perth
 

Hi Jil

Thanks for the excellent photos and account of your journey.

My husband and I are experienced bikers from the UK (and used HUBB extensively in 2011 to research a trip when we shipped our bikes to Nairobi and spent 7 months riding across Africa together). This time, we're heading off to Perth from the UK on 5th March for a 3-6 month trip across to Brisbane (sticking more to tarmac this time as we're >10 years older and fancy a bit more of a 'vanilla' trip).

Rather than shipping our bikes over there we've also decided to buy 2 bikes in Perth. We'll store them with friends in Brisbane and then fly back hopefully in a year or so to pick up the rest of the journey across Northern Australia, back to Perth, where we'll sell the bikes (unless we want to do it all again)! [UPDATE - we might only have to buy one as we've been offered one to borrow and just lorry it back to Perth from Brisbane when we're done! Some people are just kindness through and through].

Your account was therefore really timely. I just had one question (at the moment) regarding insurance.

A friend (also an incredibly kind and helpful person) in Perth sent me this link about the compulsory third party insurance that is part of the Rego (registration document and license transfer) and I hope it might be useful for other bikers looking to do this too.

https://www.icwa.wa.gov.au/motor-inj...surance-policy


The key point being.....

"Your Motor Injury Insurance Policy is printed on the back of your vehicle registration (“rego”). Two insurance products make up the motor injury insurance policy: Compulsory Third Party (CTP) and Catastrophic Injuries Support (CIS).
A policy is paid for when a vehicle is registered with the Department of Transport. The CTP policy covers the driver or owner of a vehicle for injuries they cause to others in a motor vehicle crash anywhere in Australia. The CIS policy covers a person for a catastrophic injury caused in a motor vehicle crash.
The motor injury insurance policy does not cover the cost of damage caused to vehicles or property from a motor vehicle crash. If you have your own motor vehicle insurance, these costs may be covered.".

But my question is did you travel just with the compulsory 3rd party insurance that was part of the Rego? Or did you get any extra insurance to cover you for 3rd party vehicle damage in the event you caused an accident? Just wondering really since I contacted an Australian insurer (Shannons) and they said they couldn't insure us because we didn't have a "fixed, permanent postal residential and garaging address" :0(

Thanks for posting such helpful stuff! Hoping I can add to this in due course from our experiences too.
Maria