Should I take a bike when I move to Australia
 

Hi all,

Currently I live in London and I just signed a two year contract to work in Australia starting September 15. I sold my Dakar here and I am returning to the states for a month at the end of July before I head out to Sydney.

I can't believe the prices of motorcycles in Australia. The bikes I am looking at are the Husqvarna TE610 and the new KTM 690E. In the states I can get the KTM for about $8.5K US, the Husky for about $1K less.

In Australia the KTM is going for $15K Australian or so and the Huskys are going for $12K or so. Even with the exchange rate that seems crazy expensive.

I figure it would cost me roughly about $1K to have it shipped and then I'm sure there would be other expenses involved, I just don't know what exactly. I also know that I would have to get a carnet and there are a couple options involved there but it’s not exactly cheap.

It may not make sense to buy a new bike and then ship because I'm sure that the warranty would not transfer to different countries. I think BMW does so maybe the XChallenge should be considered around with the other two. XChallenges are going for $8K or so. But I know I can buy a used Husky for $4.5 to $6K and that would be hard to find in Australia.

So it seems like I could save more then a few thousand by shipping a bike there, but there will be a lot of headaches involved. Or I could just suck up the initial cost of the bike and sell it when I leave and hopefully only lose the normal amount for depreciation. It just seems that the initial cost seem inordinately high compared to elsewhere.

Any thoughts? Is there something that I am not considering? Also there is the option that I may stay in Australia longer then 2010.

_Kris

Yep, bikes are stupid expensive here when compared with elsewhere in the world. As for bringing your own, I,d look into it VERY thoroughly. Could get super messy. I'd recomend you post your questions regarding this on the Aus. forum on ADV Rider, as I've seen this discussed at length before. From memory, it would appear the cheapest/easiest option is to buy here.(but could be wrong!)
What sort of riding do you intend to be doing by the way?
Cheers, and best of luck... Boot.

I would give up the idea right now as one of the most important requirements is that you own and use the vehicle for a minimum of a year before they would even consider letting you import it. Then there are a heap of other requirements which end up adding more and more cost to the vehicle, so you could end up paying more than purchasing a bike in Australia.

Hope that helps.

Kenny

The only reason you could have for bringing your bike to OZ is that the bike is special to you. If you are just doing it to try and save money, forget it .. they have too many rules and fees that will make it more expensive to do that.

The exception to the above is if you are coming for 1 year or less as a tempory import - ie the bike will leave within one year. Then you have to arange a carnet (or pay 10% of the value- most of which you get back when it leaves).

As he said....have just done a bit of reseach into to doing the same thing from NZ.the shipping is about $1000...but its all the other bullshit that goes with it. adds up
far better to buy in Australia..

Have a read of Eligibility Criteria
which gives details of your eligibility. Depends on a host of things - ALL of which must be complied with. Personal imports are not available to persons who are not permanent residents or citizens of Australia - but an NZ citizen maybe able to get an import approval, as long as the bike comes from NZ.

Husqvarnas have a very low resale value in Australia so you would be better off picking up a second hand one, say a 2006 or 2007 model.

On a side note why not buy a DRZ400? You could buy a new one for 9k or a second hand one for 6k... and sell it when you leave.

I reckon that if you buy well second hand in Oz, it'll be just as cost effective as the resale prices are correspondingly high to the cost. Shipping can be very cheap £250 plus another £200 to clear it. On top of that, you'll need to have owned the bike for a year, get it pre-approved, pay some tax. If it's less than a year, you'll need a certificate of conformity. I know from somebody that took in their 650GS from the UK that it doesn't conform straight off. If you're overlanding or have an old bike that has sentimental value, take it. Otherwise, save yourself the hassle for £1-2000 and get a bike out there.

Thanks guys for all the replies. It looks like I had expected. I'm going to be better off getting a bike when I get to Australia.

My friend is taking his ducati but he plans on keeping the bike when he goes back to Canada.

The main thing that wigged me out was that prices seemed to be so high compared to what I'm used to. Too bad my salary isn't going to match. :frown:

_Kris

Look on the bright side. The fuel will be cheaper in Australia, even though prices have risen sharply.

And in most parts of the country the weather will be more motorycling-friendly.