Repatriating an American Bike that Has been Abroad for Years
 

Hi all! I am currently riding a bike that was originally sold in the US. The original owner drove it down to South America and the bike was sold several times before coming into my possession. Currently i am riding around on a two year old US license plate and paperwork that would never do me any good in the United States.

If i wish to return the bike to the US permanently, how would i go about doing it?

I was thinking about doing a bonded title, something which i dont know a lot about. I have no idea who the original owner was, but i think might be able to get the state that issued the plate to present me with a bonded title, and then use that title to register the motorcycle. The thing is, i will need to get all my paperwork in order BEFORE entering the USA, which i expect will be tricky.

Does anyone have any solutions, both in terms of making the motorcycle mine officially, as well as getting a state to issue me a registration without having to present myself at their DMV? Thanks!

Repatriate
 

Much depends on which state it came from as the rules vary drastically. Assuming the original title document is lost you can usually fill out a "statement of facts" and provide proof of trying to contact the previous seller etc. etc. to get a new title issued. But with many intervening other past owners, this sounds like a bureaucratic hornet's you wouldn't want to touch no matter how far away you are. Your best bet is to just sell it on to the next traveler and buy something else in the US with a legal title.

Of course, if you do have the original title, then it's just a matter of paying for registration and insurance, and back registration if the state demands it. If the state has safety or smog inspections, you'd be in a Catch-22 situation...

Check with your state DMV. When I brought over a German registered bike to the US (to DC), I just gave my DMV the German title with a translation and they took it and gave me a US title. It wasn't complicated at all. Each state's DMV will be different, so you need to look at their website. Actually, you should also call as well, because at least in DC DMV's website had seriously incorrect info on it for several years...

I was also able to get title and registration before the bike arrived, because DC DMV doesn't require inspections for motorcycles. If I had wanted to, I could have gotten "title only" for the bike, meaning that I own it, but it is not registered for riding (ie, no plate).

If you don't have any actual title, but only a POA, then it gets more complicated and I'm not sure how you should proceed!

Are riding the bike back to the USA? Right now almost all borders are closed. Dont forget there is no road from Colombia to Panama (Darien Gap) need to ship or sailboat charter...

Age of the bike is also something to consider.

If it's older than 25 years, than it's actually pretty simple to "import" it to the USA, since the various fees would be waived.

Assuming you can prove the bike was legally imported into the USA (before the rider left with it), getting it back in should also be simple enough (assuming you have a bill of sale to show it's yours).

Legally gaining owner ship in the USA will likely be harder (after you get it through customs), and vary some from state to state. The simplest thing would probably to have the bike declared abandoned and get a new title, but the process for this will vary from state to state.

One other thing to address is leaving the country you're in now with the bike. If you don't have proof of temporary or permanent import, getting it out might be an issue, depending on the country.

I would follow Thermal's advice first - don't make it hard on yourself... If the bike is a legitimate US bike, then there ought to be no problem bringing it back in physically - the only issue is proving it actually belongs to you now.

The problem there will be that typically a replacement title will only be issued to the current titled owner they have on file, who may or may not be willing (or even able, if they have moved for instance) to forward it on to you.

As I say, I would contact the DMV who issued the plate, explain the current position - and be honest about it - and see if they can't provide a replacement title and/or at least the details of the original US owner, and take it from there...

Good luck!

Jenny x