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  #1  
Old 28 Feb 2011
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Help an Australian buy in europe/uk
Hi Guys,

I am Australian and will be coming over in May. I will initially be staying near Toulouse in the south of France and I will be looking to buy a motorcycle for touring as soon as possible.

I suppose I prefer chopper/cruiser style, but I am really after comfort, good value and minimum maintenance in a second hand bike. Style is very much a low priority.

I am looking for recommendations on sub 3000 euro bikes, preferably cheaper that would be suitable for long trips with a pillion and luggage.

The question is, buy in France, or Spain (or Andorra)?

The second hand market in the UK certainly looks better, but the pain of on-road costs and registration hurdles weigh on me. What would be the total on-road costs for a bike to take out of the UK?

Should I buy from a dealer or a private sale?

Thanks for your help!
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  #2  
Old 28 Feb 2011
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Melchior
I'm bad in english !!! I am living near Toulouse, if you are loocking for a second hand bike
try : Petites annonces gratuites d'occasion - leboncoin.fr "midi- Pyrénées" "moto"
it's the best place!!
Yves
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  #3  
Old 28 Feb 2011
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Some Triumphs can be good value for money and suitable for two-up touring especially if you buy with the dealer fitted optional luggage, the downside is the older carburated models are not very economical. Something like a BMW R850R would be good value and quite economical again available with luggage.
The benefit of buying from a dealer is the warranty you will get, but if you are taking the bike straight out of the country it is of little use. Road tax, reggo to you, in the UK is not that expensive, about £65 a year for a bike over 600cc and you would want to get something with a long MOT, that is roadworthiness test, which costs about £30, it is insurance that can be a pain, I am not sure what it would cost to insure as a foreigner but more than a UK licence holder, something over 12 years old is a lot cheaper.
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  #4  
Old 28 Feb 2011
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I'm picking up a bike and delivering it to Greece for an Ozzie in April - is riding bikes the new 'working in a bar' for you lot now the exchange rate is in your favour?? I can't even get away with calling the Ozzie Dollar the Kangarouble anymore, yet another joke dies at the hands of the recession.....
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  #5  
Old 1 Mar 2011
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yes! why work, when you can cruise around on a motorcycle instead?

thanks Yves, i had a look. mostly sports bikes? when i am ready to sell, do you think i can take it to a second-hand dealer in france and they will buy it from me? easier than using leboncoin if i don't want to hang around.

still don't know if it is worth flying to the uk to buy a bike. there certainly seems to be more available as well... though it is a time when many people will looking to buy i suppose. plus the language issue, i might be able to better ascertain if the bike has been looked after. my french isn't great...

what kind of bike are you delivering for the aussie in greece?

i am keen on dealer fitted luggage. which triumphs look good for my interests? the ones that come up in my searches are yamaha and hondas. does anyone have thoughts on which mid-range models would be best suited? while a bargain on older models is great, i am concerned about reliability - and i don't feel qualified to tell for sure.

would i be disappointed with a honda shadow?

thanks for the replies!

p.s. why do uk dealers think 30,000 miles is unbelievably low mileage???? is there an alternate measure of miles that i am not familiar with???
Last edited by melchior; 1 Mar 2011 at 01:14.
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  #6  
Old 1 Mar 2011
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Quote:
p.s. why do UK dealers think 30,000 miles is unbelievably low mileage???? is there an alternate measure of miles that i am not familiar with???
They don't, few will touch bikes that have done more than 10,000 miles.
I am not familiar with the Triumph range as it has changed over the years but most have had optional luggage, the older ones like the Trophy range are good tourers with a reputation for reliability. Oilhead BMW twins are a good bet, even older airheads can be reliable and a reasonable price, £2,000 will get you a very good R100RT with luggage.
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  #7  
Old 1 Mar 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by melchior View Post
p.s. why do uk dealers think 30,000 miles is unbelievably low mileage???? is there an alternate measure of miles that i am not familiar with???
I guess mileage is relative to the bike. 30,000 on a '95 Africa Twin is virtually delivery mileage, but the same on an RS125 means it's probably had two engine rebuilds already. I'm selling a k1100 LT at the mo' with 60,000 miles on - it's probably good for another 60k!
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  #8  
Old 1 Mar 2011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lidanae View Post
Melchior
I'm bad in english !!! I am living near Toulouse, if you are loocking for a second hand bike
try : Petites annonces gratuites d'occasion - leboncoin.fr "midi- Pyrénées" "moto"
it's the best place!!
Yves

Bonjour Yves, je suis sud-africain j'habite dans le 58. Votre Anglais n'est pas mauvais. C'est une bonne proposition bon coin.

I'll y'a aussi

Moto occasion, scooter d'occasion et quad - Annonces moto pour vente de moto


Melchoir, hi there,

Fellow southern hemispherian (South Africa) living in France. If you need any translation or help with buying or selling a bike in France, I could help you out. It's not a biggy for me to do that. I'm not a genie but I can give you information to help you.

Happy Shopping.

Ps: I have a tendancy for old or new transalps myself, only because I own one. You could easily find an old TA in France for not much, drive it as long as you want, stick it back on boncoin, or la-central, and have a buyer within a week.

You just need to get some international insurance sorted, fax the bike details to your insurer even if he's in Oz, and bob's your uncle.
Buying the bike in cash would be the best bet. Save's all the legal blah blah being a foreigner.

You'll need :
International drivers license
International or national identity card
Passport with visa.
Still not sure about the Address part..... that's the crunch.

Ta-all-the-way.

response to what you wrote

HONDA VT SHADOW 750 occasion - Vendeur Professionnel
Last edited by ta-all-the-way; 1 Mar 2011 at 15:17.
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  #9  
Old 1 Mar 2011
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I believe Belgium is the country with the lowest tax on vehicle prices from new in this part of EU.

Niklas
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  #10  
Old 2 Mar 2011
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Here is adealer shadow on ebay uk
Honda VT 750 Shadow on eBay (end time 27-Mar-11 16:30:21 BST)
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  #11  
Old 15 Mar 2011
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You can get BMW K100's quite cheap and a K75 even cheaper, good touring option, as for the carb Triumphs 45mpg isn't bad and that's what I get out of my Tiger, a pre 96 Trophy would be under £1500 and the Tridents a little cheaper, I've had my Tiger for 8 years and done just over 40,000 on it, 53,000 on the clock now and still going strong and I've been all over Europe on it.
It might be worth getting Insurance quotes in different countries before you choose where to buy the bike, here in the UK they tend not to like it if you're not a resident so you could always do it on line and just omit to tell them you're an Aussie my niece did a few years ago when I got her a Suzuki GT 125 to get about on.
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  #12  
Old 24 Mar 2011
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buying in France
As long as you can give a french address (and prove it or get a local to say you live with them) registration and insurance are not a problem.
I'm a Canadian with a '98 Yamaha TDM850 in Ardeche and a years basic ins is 185 euro much less than I pay at home.
IMO the TDM is a great choice for 2 up touring especially if your pillion is a full size adult not a 12 year old gymnast. I'll be selling mine after this year's trip in July but that sounds too late for you. Check the online list France moto they have several hundred pages of used bikes and you can sort by type or location.
Enjoy some quality biking in France.
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