Buying a Harley in the US to use for holidays.
 

Hi,
I am in Ireland and an Irish citizen. I have a plan to buy a Harley Ultra Limited most likely from a dealer in Pennsylvania.
I am hoping the dealer can sort the title into my name using the dealership address. (i haven't asked them yet).
With a US bike and my name on title i am hoping that it will simplify getting insurance.
I also plan to have a crack at applying for a motorcycle licence when i am in the US.
I am retired. I do have a US SS number. I would just walk into a DMV and explain my situation and see if they would issue me a licence, doing the test would not be a problem.
I plan to do bike rides 39 days in duration and leave the bike in storage between trips. I dont need the Harley in Ireland I have motorcycles.
Any advice would be appreciated.

I don't know whether the ownership issue is going to work in PA. It certainly doesn't next door in NJ and when I bought a GoldWing there five years ago the only way we could do it was for me to put up the money and a friend living in NJ put the bike in his name. As far as I'm aware each state is a law unto itself for vehicle registrations so you'd need to check whether foreign nationals can title vehicles in PA. Mostly though the east coast states are less helpful than those out west. I've heard of people getting the dealer to take on the ownership role (in NY state anyway) but when I tried to do in 2015 nobody was interested.

If you can somehow work through the bureaucracy having a bike there does make stuff simpler as well as a lot cheaper in the long run. What I paid for the GoldWing was roughly what it would have cost to rent a bike for our 2015 trip so the next one in 2017 only cost a couple of years insurance etc. For this spring's trip it'll need a bit of money spending on it (set of tyres, a battery and a few other bits) but it's still a lot cheaper than renting. And of course it still has some value.

Renting is dead money and very expensive for say 39 days especially when you ad the VIP insurance.
We rented a P.O.S Honda in Japan and the rental cost was probably what i could have bought it for here in Ireland.
If Buying the Harley doesn't work i will get a free RV relocation from Imoova and just rent a bike out west for a week.
BTW: the 39 days is the limit of my travel insurance per trip.

patzx12, you will want to follow up on the suggestion to think in terms of which state you make your purchase in. A quick Google search (something like "Pennsylvania register vehicle") will tell you it's going to be difficult--in fact probably impossible--to register a bike in that state unless you're a state resident. Proof of residency, you'll see, is again difficult if not impossible. And don't neglect the requirement for local insurance prior to registration.

There are states which are much easier, e.g., Arizona, Washington, Florida, Colorado. The topic is often discussed here, and easily researched using the search function. You'll also want to figure out the insurance angle, since that seems to be the source of a lot of frustration recently.

No one is arguing the issue of whether to rent or purchase in your case. But to "just walk into a DMV and explain" is probably not going to serve your needs. Why not learn the answers beforehand, since information is easily available?

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Many states a New Motorcycle Dealer must adhere to Registration rules and laws, and the owner needs a Residential Address to mail the Title to. Registration/Plates will be put on the motorcycle in many states, at purchase, some, you have to apply for them, some they send them to you.

Also, buying a new vehicle, vs a used vehicle, from a dealer, has different registration/title rules. In many states, A dealer can not give you the new vehicle title, (MSO) they must send it in to be titled as a new owner for warranty. But a used vehicle, they can possible give your the title after purchase, in this case, if a buyer is from out state.

Only off road bikes that are not going to get plates, can a dealer give the new owner the MSO (MFG state of Orgin).

It may be easier, to buy a used motorcycle, from a private seller, then you dont have to worry about dealers constraints of following the law for registration/plates and title.

The private seller, would sign over the title to the new owner, you, and then you can go to whatever state you want, and register the motorcycle. The issue will always be, you need an address to have the Registration, and also where will they mail the New Title in your name to?

You will need to go to the local DMV for Temporary Plates (TAGS) after the transaction with private seller.

Many states, you can get Temporary Plates (TAGS) that are usually valid for 15-30 days, depends on the state.

The other issue will be, you need a USA State Driver License to get Temp Plates, and possibly Proof of Insurance, depending on state.

All this focus on "getting title" seems a bit misplaced: as markharf points out, the real issue will probably be registering the bike (ie, getting a registration and license plate), because if you can't register the bike, you can't ride it.

In my "state" (well, OK, DC isn't a state, but...), you can get "title only" for a bike, which means that you own it but have not registered it so cannot ride it legally. To register a bike here, you need a series of documents proving DC residence--IIRC utility bill, drivers license, bank statement, apartment lease/house title, etc. Registering as a non-resident would involved jumping through many hoops, if not impossible altogether. Any hopes that the DMV would make an "exception" or whatever in your particular case are doomed to disappointment, because they don't care...

But again as markharf points out, every state is different so you need to shop around and find a state where something like this might be possible.

Or do what I've suggested elsewhere, which is to use the search function on these forums to locate the several other current threads addressing your needs. There are threads about which states make it easy and which make it hard, how to insure your purchase in order to get it on the road, and lots more.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

I was in motorcycle sales for a Ducati/Triumph/KTM/MV Agusta dealer in Illinois in 2014, and one of the constraints a dealer has, is a new vehicle, has a MCO Title, a MFG Title, and it MUST be sent to the DMV, by the dealer, even if buyer is paying cash. The reason was, to prevent buyers from buying a new motorcycle and exporting to other markets. The MCO Title had to first be registered, as that was a prelude to the warranty for bike, as well as the bike MCO meant it adhered to all safety/EPA laws, for the market it was shipped to....

We had guys wanting to buy Ducati and KTM to send to Poland and Russia, but it first had to be titled in the US. (and pay sales tax/register bike) After they got the title, they could do what ever they wanted with the vehicle...

If a buyer wanted to buy s a used bike at the dealer, then it was different story, and the dealer could issue a 30 days Temp Tag for it be rode out, and the new owner got the title. If the new owners residence was in the state, we had to charge the sales tax on the vehicle, if he was out of state, depending on the state, we could pay it for him, or, if there was not a linked DMV to Illinois, then they could take it and title, without paying the sales tax.

Food for thought on buying a new, vs a used. Private Seller is much easier and you can insure it, then register in in another state...

old topic but have to clear up some fallacies.


1. forget PA. no PA ID, no PA title or registration. period end of story. the PA Dept. of Transportation does not even accept a US passport as a valid form of ID for vehicle titling and registration!



2. You do NOT need a US drivers license to buy and register a vehicle in every state. Nor do you need one to insure a vehicle. FL allows foreigners to buy, title, register and insure (Progressive is one company). Apparently so do AZ and CA.

There's a sticky post (currently immediately above the OP's post!!) in this North America section that will provide very interesting reading to the OP.

https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...nals-can-58648

(As already linked by another poster)

What the OP wants to do will be very straight forward in Arizona (from personal experience) and Washington state (from conversations I've had). Other states are also possible. Others impossible.

In late 2018 I brought an AZ bike. It was parked in Argentina. I (UK passport and DL) was in Bulgaria and the seller (German who bought it in AZ and rode to Arg) was in Germany.

The papers you need are laid out on the AZ DMV website.

A friend in AZ kindly did the legwork and posting of documents.

I now have an AZ title, registration and number plate in my name using my friend's address. Usd30 or so for the paperwork and a lot (over Usd200 ) for Europe/USA/Europe mail couriers. This later number could have been a lot less, but I was in a hurry.

Information might be of use?

Great advise, thanks.
I am still on this, everything is on hold due to lockdown. USA is going to be a long way away.
We did have flights & RV booked last March but that could not happen.
We like to travel so feeling a bit cooped up having to stay here in Ireland.
It's all good Ireland is great and the weather has been kind.
As soon as travel restrictions are lifted we will blast down to the South of France on our R1200RT.
I hope thing go well for the USA, a great country with the friendliest people.

Pretty much the same with me. USA trip in April binned because of the virus. Morocco trip in Aug binned because of the virus. As of today, Sweden trip in early Sept binned because of the virus. The next one I'm hoping might actually be possible is 3rd week of Sept - down to the French HUBB meeting and then a southern loop over to the Alps via the Camargue afterwards. Again though, the virus is in the driving seat so I'll be going where it dictates.

PatZX12: just sent you a pm.