USA on Australian bike
 

Hi all
Enquiring to see if anyone can point me in the right direction. I want to ride my Australian registered bike in the USA, can I do this ? What do I need to do to be able to ?

Hi Greg,
You can take an Aussie bike into the US, no carnet required for the US or anywhere else in North or South America but as always it should be legal in country of origin, rego up to date for you. You will need local insurance and I think Progressive will provide this, there is also an EPA certificate if shipping/flying directly into the US, I am not sure about how to get that but if you get your bike to Canada and come over the border it is not needed.
On that subject Air Canada seem to be doing some good deals on flying bikes to Canada but I am not sure if this can be done from Australia.

https://www.progressive.com/motorcycle/

:welcome: Greg
Under the same rules as Canadians and Mexicans can take their vehicles into the 'states' you can do the same with your bike. Some for most other countries on earth.

Mark - I don't think an EPA certificate is required, someone official may not know that :rolleyes2:... only a temporary import under the international rules (1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intern...949_convention and signatories http://www.adcidl.com/countries-conv...ffic-1949.html)

The vehicle does need to be legal in the country it normally resides in, and that needs to be maintained (the legality).

See the blue bar at the top of the page .. that has heaps of info in it that answers many of the questions you have .. and some you have not though of yet. For instance Paperwork | Horizons Unlimited .. read it all .. particularly the bit about NOT asking questions as you enter any country!

You'd need a set of beam benders if you don't want to upset the locals at night. Ebay UK has gazillions of them for Poms travelling to Europe.

Depends on the headlight light - some have no upsweep/downsweep to the side. Shine the headlight beam onto a vertical surface and see if it shines more on one side than the other. On some headlights you can see the beam shaping in the lens ... simply masking that off will disable the blinding upsweep.

We have just left the States after shipping our bikes from Sydney to San Francisco. It was easy to do but there are several things that you need to do.

1) get an EPA exemption from the following office. Done by Email and takes minimum of 3 weeks.
Information needed to obtain Nonresident Temporary Importation Approval Letter from EPA
Nonconforming motor vehicles may be temporarily imported into the U.S. by a nonresident for personal use by the owner (importer) for a period not to exceed one year. Only individual nonresidents may import a vehicle through a nonresident exemption. The conditions of this temporary exemption are:
 Vehicle may not be sold or otherwise transferred to another party in the U.S.;
 Exemption is voided if the vehicle is either used for commercial purposes, or used principally by any
person other than the owner (or spouse of the owner); and
 Vehicle must be exported after one year, or upon the nonresident departing the U.S., whichever comes
first.
To obtain a Nonresident Temporary Importation Approval Letter from EPA; please provide the following information in a letter that is signed by the requestor/importer:
1. Your full name, current foreign address, phone number, Fax number, and email address (if applicable)
2. Your U.S. address, phone number, Fax number, and email address (if applicable)
3. Vehicle year, make, model and Vehicle Identification Number
4. A statement explaining the reason for your visit to the United States. (work/school/vacation).
5. The date of the importation
6. Location of the vehicle and the Nonresident at the time of request.
7. The duration of the importation.
8. Proof of ownership (Registration or title documents from country of origin).
Please fax or email your application to:
EPA Imports Line
Imports Group
Light Duty Vehicle Center Compliance Division 2000 Traverwood Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48105 Phone: (734) 214-4100 Fax: (734) 214-4676 Email: Imports@epa.gov
Operated by: David Hurlin Ronald Schuyler Contractors, Jacobs

2) insurance we bought it online from Australia through Dairyland cycle insurance. They cover USA and Canada under the same policy

3) you do not need a carnet to travel and they are expensive, however they make the whole process of shipping your bike from Australia easy. As well my understanding is that if you bring your bike back to Australia without a valid carnet you will be charged an import tax even though you have an Australian registered vehicle.

4) we flew our bikes uncrated with Qantas, on the same plane we travelled on. It was an easy process and allows you to cut out freight agents at either end.

Hi Simon, great info .., do you have any of those costs for those charges - particularly the insurance and air freight ?

Are you planning to return the same way or go to South / Central America ?