What are the rules and regulations for tourists who want to hire/ride a motorcycle in USA? Is the IDP sufficient? Is any other documentation required?

For instance my driving licence allows me to drive cars and motorcycles in India (no category - in India a motorcycle licence is good for 50cc mopeds to the Boss Hoss) - what would I have to do in order to ride in the USA as a tourist for, say, 2 months?

Any official site where I can get the relevant information?

TIA.

I would contact one of the numerous bike hire companies here in the US, as most specialize in out-of-country tourists. Use a search engine to find probably dozens. I know there are probably numerous ones listed on Horizons, too.

Idp is fine.
The only problem seems to be in getting insurance if it's your own bike.The min you will need is an address in the USA. to purchase it.

Depends on how long you are staying. I am just finalising insurance for mine through sunrise group, its foreign motorcycle cover, but only for 3 months. Dont need and address here. But it depends on what your looking for,

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http://www.celticadventurer.com

Thanks.

So I gather that unless one is on a non tourist visa, the IDP is good for riding or driving, and that insurance is necessary only if a bike is being purchased
(perhaps that can be arranged from here as well as there are many companies with an US based collaborator), for a stay of a longer duration .

I was confused about the IDP being good only for cars (for those on a tourist visa), anybody knowing about some official site clarifying the same?

Insurance is required in pretty much every US state. You don't need to insure your own bike, but you have to have proof of liability (is it called 3rd party in the UK?) which protects someone else if you cause an accident, if demanded by a cop if you were to be pulled over. I am not sure how strict some states might be for not having it (there are fines involved, but perhaps confiscation of the bike) so you would probably want to factor insurance into your trip.

If you are renting a bike, the rental company would probably make you purchase insurance.

Arnob:

The IDP (international driving permit) is really nothing more than a translation of the text of your driving licence into a variety of languages, English being one of them. If your present (national) driving licence is already printed in the English language, then the IDP really isn't much use to you - in fact, most North American rental agencies and police would probably not even know what it is. having said that, though, it's probably best to get an IDP "just in case" - they are usually not expensive.

As for renting, if you rent any motor vehicle (car, motorcycle, truck) from an established rental company (as opposed to renting it from a friend or acquaintence), you can pretty much take for granted that the vehicle will have liability insurance sufficient to cover the minimum required for all 50 states and Canada. The North American rental companies rarely, if ever, provide theft, collision damage, or other 'extended' insurance coverage as basic - you have to pay extra for this if you want it, and the daily charges for the extra insurance coverages can be very high - best to do your homework and find out exactly what they are ahead of time.

But, the basic gist is this: If you rent a vehicle in North America, it will come with the legally required basic, minimum liability insurance. That much you can take for granted - I think it is against the law to rent a vehicle that is not insured for liability.

Thanks again.

I think this has also been replied to in this thread:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...727#post140510

Agreed.

I hired a HD softail in the States (Virginia if it matters) for just a few hours, which is all the time I had available on a business trip - I just drove up to the hire base, showed them my UK licence, put down a big deposit on a credit card, put on my shades and shorts and rode off; it is that simple.
The States is a service society; it thrives on business and providing services to customers (you locals can differ on that if you get bad service but I am talking as a tourist).
This was one month before 9/11 so things may have changed?!

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Dave