i was thinking of taking my transalp to the usa this time next year probably traveling east to west and am hope someone could tell me what paperwork i would need.Im thinking of staying for about 2 to 3 months.Will my uk drivers licence be valid? do you need to tax a bike in the usa?

You need your standard rego, and NA insurance - see the links page for places to get it for NA - and your UK drivers licence - yes it's valid.

No tax. That's it.

Note - don't say a word about selling the bike or you'll be deep in it.

Also for future, tourists passing through any country AS A GENERAL RULE - don't have to pay the local road taxes, and their own drivers licence is always fine. You must always have proof of ownership of the vehicle, generally your standard reg docs are fine, and make very sure all the numbers are perfect.
So long as you have a credit card or two, look ok, and have a ticket out you'll have no problems. Note that it gets damn cold in the northwest by October. (I'm talking snow...)

have fun,



------------------
Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

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Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Grant is awfully correct about the Northwest
weather in October. Be prepared for wet.

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All truth passes through tree stages. First it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
-- Arthur Schopenhauer

Rob
In May and June this year, I rode my Pan from Vancouver across the US to Toronto. Please have a look at my website on the trip http://communities.msn.co.uk/USCoast...rcycleTrip2002
and get back to me if you have any further questions.
You MUST go. The States is a great place, and the people are superb. £5 to fill the Pan up with gas, £18 in Blighty!

Seems like most of your questions have been answered, I just want to echo the above - GO! The U.S. is absolutely out of this world as far as biking roads go, the people are great and to an Englishman ( or most Europeans ) petrol costs less than a Marsbar.
Watch the weather, as advised. The sterotype is true, the Americans do everything BIG. What we call awful, driving rain is but a few pigeons spitting from a tree to Americans and Canadians. If it's starting to rain and you see cars pulling off the road in droves, don't do the " stiff upper lip " Brit and keep riding ( as someone else did....) but get the hell out of there! A tornado is on the way....!!!!
Go for it!

Have fun!

Jan - Sept 2002 I drove on a KLR from Dallas to LA to Inuvik. Met some incredible Transalp people who helped me on my way even putting me up for a few nights.

There appears to be a strong online TransAlp community in the USA see http://www.thetransalp.com/index.html
There's a forum there somewhere that you can mention your impending trip. I'm confident you'll get more than one reply of welcome to the US.

I think the US Transalp community is strong as the bike was only imported there for a limited time. So they've got to rely on themselves in terms of support and information.

So long
Grant
http://www.yourmanontheroad.com (but this site going down in 2 weeks time!)

PS: I bought my bike in Texas and got insurance from Progressive (they have a website) for about $450 for the year with a pro rata refund. I had to give a US address but they took my Irish drivers license (didnt even ask for the International one - nor did the cops when I went thru a red light). So not sure if Progressive will do it for a UK reg, but I guess there's no harm in asking them - or asking for what they would otherwise recommend. You can query them by email too - response seems to take about 2-3 days or so. But they're on the ball. Good luck

[This message has been edited by Dulaman (edited 10 November 2002).]

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