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Help Needed Buying A Bike In The U.s. Help Needed Buying A Bike In The U.s.
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  #1  
Old 24 Apr 2008
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Help Needed Buying A Bike In The U.s.
G'Day
well i am coming over to the states in june july waiting for dates. any way i am looking to buy a bike in the states and ride it all the way around the states and in to canada and alaska. I am looking at buying a Triumph bobber. ytes i know for comfort and range not a good choice but i am am also looking to ship this bike back home with me as i have always wanted a triumph bobber for as long as i can remember. I am a U.S. citizen and will be visiting family.
so my question is where is the best place to locate a bike i know ebay and stuff have them but will not buy a bike that i cannot look at first. also insurance and rego on the bike ow do i obtain it. any help would be great.
have a good one all stay up right
chris
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Old 24 Apr 2008
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Originally Posted by THRUXTON_BOZ View Post
G'Day
well i am coming over to the states in june july waiting for dates. any way i am looking to buy a bike in the states and ride it all the way around the states and in to canada and alaska. I am looking at buying a Triumph bobber. ytes i know for comfort and range not a good choice but i am am also looking to ship this bike back home with me as i have always wanted a triumph bobber for as long as i can remember. I am a U.S. citizen and will be visiting family.
so my question is where is the best place to locate a bike i know ebay and stuff have them but will not buy a bike that i cannot look at first. also insurance and rego on the bike ow do i obtain it. any help would be great.
have a good one all stay up right
chris

Try Buy or Sell New and Used Motorcycles - CycleTrader.com and search for a new bike. You will get a list of dealers for the make & model with sticker price. You may have to put in a zip/post code for the search. If you don't have one try: 10036 .

American bikes are half the price they are in the UK with current exchange rates - I hope it't the same for you too

PS - try not to buy a California bike if poss.
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Old 24 Apr 2008
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You didn't specify where your family is in the US.

I always think that the best place to look for the best deals in the US is in the greater metropolitan region of Los Angeles and because of the proximity, down to the greater metro San Diego region (and as far north as into Santa Barbara County). There seems to be the highest concentration of, well, everything, in this region, and motorycles, being part of everything are abundant here.

If you still cannot find what you want, or really want a good comparison, then search north into the greater metro areas of San Francisco, too (within a 2 hour commute of the city which will really give you access to hundreds of thousands of bikes California-wide, from the Mexican border to north of San Fran). You should have no problem registering the bike at your relatives' address being a US citizen, I would think.

(BTW-this is searching the various Craigslists.org cities, recycler.com , and cycletrader.com for the various regions of California, then expand nationwide)
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Old 25 Apr 2008
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Help Needed Buying A Bike In The U.s
I agree with Yuma; Craigslist is set up for only "local" sales and the prices seem better than Cycletrader. I've bought three bikes this way.

Re: Touring on a Triumph bobber. If it's a long time dream, then go for it. If not, you could buy a low cost cruiser/sport bike and use the search for the perfect Triumph bobber as your guide through North America.

However you go, enjoy. Rhtreo
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Old 25 Apr 2008
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A bobber will be fine. If you get a California bike, you'll be stuck with smog. But it's also a great state for bikes. Check out jaxed for cars and bikes nationwide. Man, it's a great site.

for sale : : combined classified and auction listings
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Old 26 Apr 2008
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go to the adventure rider forum and ask for help there. Tons of americans there compared to here and someone may oblige to help you out with buying and the paperwork.

I found an american guy there who bought my KLR 650 for me(!) three months in advance. He also changed the regristration for me and did some prepping on the bike.

We agreed that I paid him 500$ for it, which I think is very fair since he did a big job. It takes time to find a bike and especially to pick it up, since distances are great.

But if you are cheap and want to do it yourself, it is still easier for you to find someone to help you.

Even though california bikes have the evaporative crap on them, you can easily rip it out. I did and it took half an hour.

The market in cali is also alot bigger than many other states and the bikes are rustfree because of the nice climate.

I picked up my bike there in december and even though it was winter it was no problem to ride around in the day time.
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