Dear HUBB, please kill me

I have mined the previous discussions for all they're worth and come up with more questions than answers.

The original plan: I'm an American(and I live here) and want to buy a Royal Enfield Himalayan in India and put it through its paces all the way to Portugal and finally to sell in EU. My route is ideally India-Pakistan-Iran-Turkey-EU. Those with experience can already imagine a few problems with this plan.

First, if you're not an Indian national you can't register a new vehicle in India, you can only purchase one with intent for export. Second, you need a Carnet de Passage for India-Pak-Iran and you can't obtain a Carnet with an Indian registered vehicle. The solution to that is to buy and register in Nepal, but that presents a new bevy of problems, most is cost.

Right out of the gate, Nepalese dealers want 5.61 Lakh for a motorcycle that costs 1.8 maximum in India. There's a huge tax for foreign imports in Nepal and the dealers want more than 3x the bike's worth. That's just the beginning. To get a Carnet to cross these particular countries you need to have a cash deposit or(some type of)coverage of roughly 3x the worth of the motorcycle. Basically, we're talking Disneyland money and it's a total ripoff. Also, I have no intention of returning to Nepal for sale/Carnet deposit collection.

A few possible solutions. Please fact-check my assumptions:

1. I buy in India and register in another country, possibly my own, possibly in EU, possibly non-EU(like Pakistan or Albania). I have to register before I can obtain a Carnet, right? Registering in my state of Oklahoma would be difficult but not impossible, as there are very few emissions restrictions there. Selling the bike anywhere overseas would likely be impossible, crossing the Middle East, very... complicated. Registering in the EU would give me a good sale destination but right now the Himalayan does not conform with EU emissions standards and likely can't be registered there. A non-EU member state may be able to register me but I have no idea where to choose or how to go about it.
2. I wait until it's released in UK and is E4 compliant. This is supposed to be released "before the end" of 2017. I could register in England, put-put around for a few months, obtain a Carnet or not. No time or desire for round trip to India. Perhaps stay in EU. Not ideal.
3. Buy in Nepal, do not obtain Carnet. Beg at Wagah border for passage to China, take Karakoram Highway to western China and cross the northern Stans to the EU. I've heard of people winging it with no Carnet and passing through Carnet Country but I am American and Iran is already going to be a bit of a complication already.

I've been stuck at this crossroads for some time, please help. Keep in mind, I don't NEED a Himalayan, just wanted to try it before it comes to the US market. Most of these problems exist no matter what I buy. Cheers, fellas.

Seems perfectly possible you're going to remain stuck. I don't see you registering a Himalayan in Oklahoma (or elsewhere in the States), since the bike is not sold here. That's not about emissions; it's about a whole raft of safety, emissions and bureaucratic issues. It sounds like you've already determined that you can't sell it in Britain or the EU. And you'll have more immediate problems trying to enter China than an absence of carnet--particularly if you're subject to budgetary constraints.

You're also experiencing the fact that the carnet system is well-designed to do exactly what it's supposed to do, which is to extract a severe penalty should you not return the bike to where you bought it. Most of that huge deposit would be refunded to you, but only once you've returned the bike.

On a positive note, American tourists are more welcome in Iran than previously--at the moment, only with official guides AFAIK. Maybe things will relax by the time you're done contemplating. Give it a couple of years. As an alternative, maybe ship the Himalayan elsewhere--like East Africa. Have your adventure. There are workarounds for almost everything, including carnets, if you're determined. The key is not to get too attached to a specific outcome, like " finally to sell in EU."

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

There's a bit of a twist to that just to be completely clear:

The bike doesn't have to actually return "home" but DOES have to have the carnet "CLEARED" through all transited countries, in other words, proof it wasn't left behind or sold in any carnet country.

All you need to PROVE that is to make sure it's stamped IN somewhere at a LATER date. The EU or even better Switzerland would be perfect for that.

Also an EXIT stamp from each of those countries is good proof that you were there AND LEFT.

However, Mark is quite right, overall this is something that a LOT of people have tried to do for years - and I haven't heard of anyone succeeding with an Indian registered bike.

Also, bringing an Indian etc bike into the EU or North America and registering it - forget it, not worth it.

Sorry for the bad news!

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Grant Johnson
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Go with Grant's explanation, not mine. I was taking too many cognitive shortcuts.

Thanks for the clarity on the Carnet issue, Mark and Grant. There's more than one way to skin a cat. Registering a vehicle in a country that I'm not present in and isn't my home country would be a bureaucratic Bog of Sorrows. I'm going to have to make India's infamous disorganization work for me and find a loophole for registering a bike there. I wouldn't be the first.

On an Indian bike, no Carnet is technically possible. Air freight into Turkey would untangle that issue, though there's a huge sense of mourning in dropping Pakistan and Iran. There's talk of a permit that they'll issue at the Iranian border to non-Carnet bearing jerks- the contingency being you have to put down a deposit and exit through the same border station as you arrived. Might be perfect for my purposes, but I hope somebody can contradict that assertion for people wishing to pass through.

And as for China, yes the upfront expenses are rumored to be huge. You also pay for the "service" of being watched by a guide for your entire visit.

The borders in that part of the world are prohibitive. Most riders trying to accomplish this route are European and have the advantage of sorting it out in advance while at home. Harder to do unless you truly do have the time to kill in a foreign land while your paperwork is processed.

GulagDisco - did you ever go forward with the plan? Very interested in the outcome as I'm planning a similar trip in April 2019.

vic, derived from the information unveiled by the search feature of the HUBB, the challenge already starts in India.

A foreigner can't buy and register a bike in India - full stop.

Please someone prove me wrong.

Greetings,
Wauschi

P.S.: Only after sorting this out I would dig deeper into CDP or Visas...

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