Hi mollydog. Yep I tried Craig's list straight away but that site is a mess man. I kept ending up in SF Bay Area and however many ways I put DR 650 it kept throwing all other forms of "adventure bikes" at me.
I ended up on CycleTrader.com prices seem good and easy to search nationally. Then I open a tab of Kingstown's website and tally up dealers near ports that Kingstown list. Send six emails but no response as yet.
I know PC aren't a bike dealer but wondered if I could arrange transport there and they bolt on some essential kit. Big tank etc. I'm sure their labour cost would balance out shipping the parts separately at a later date. Also re the delivery. There is a port at Seattle relatively near to PC so I wondered again if they used a local bike pick up/drop off service that could run my bike to the port. Chargeable obviously!
Re Craig's list. If I'm missing something then send me a link but from here I keep getting sent to singles matching sites etc. it seems too big for its own good. Probably lack of familiarity on my part I guess??

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have fun with your helmet!

I have no problems with Craig's ... Cycle Trader is more trouble but once you know ins and outs of both, both doable.

With Craig's List search by City - Select: Motorcycles - Select: ALL (owner and dealer) - Select: Show Titles Only.

Use search term: DR650 ... do another search using DR 650

Go City by City. Searching "ALL" which will include dealers and private sales. If searching San Fran Bay are select ALL SF Bay Area. Same for Los Angeles area.

Getting your new title will be EASIER if you buy through a dealer.
They do it ALL for you. It's their job. Or ... don't change title, leave it as is ... just have it signed off by seller/dealer. Now you can register it in UK transferring from seller to you when registering in UK. (not sure about how imports work in UK)

You WILL need a local address to buy a bike if you want a new title with YOUR NAME on it ...you can use the DEALER's address in most cases. If private sale, ask seller to use HIS address. Should not be a problem. When paperwork arrives they can forward it to you via mail. (3 to 6 weeks)

If private sale you could do as mentioned above. Just take the bike ... and GO. (making sure seller has signed over title to you and done a bill of sale) Leave it in seller's name, sort it out once back in UK.

Don't get into buying for export, commercial or using MSO's or other machinations. A nightmare. Just do a straight buy like any punter off the street. Then just ship bike to UK. You might be able to "fiddle" the price you paid to lower import tax in UK. ???? not sure on this.

On a California title they ask you to list price paid. With a private sale you can put whatever price you like as long as YOU and the SELLER agree and the seller puts this SAME price on his "Release of liability form". They MUST MATCH or you'll run afoul of DMV. (this in California)
Dealers must put true price paid.

With dealer sale, paperwork will be filed with local DMV, processed, then sent out to you at whatever listed address. You will receive a new TITLE (aka Pink Slip), new, current registration and possibly a sticker for license plate.

As mentioned, if bike is going directly to UK, then none of this is required.

Private sale. If you decide to register the bike in YOUR NAME, you must appear at DMV (in some states) present old title, pay fees and tax and register your new bike. (Some states allow doing this all by mail).

Not sure about Oregon. The seller may be able to go to DMV and register bike in your name for you. Not sure on this, should be doable in most states.

I know it seems complicated ... but really it's NOT!

Good luck!

Two steps forward one step back. Just when I thought I was getting somewhere.
No reply from the half a dozen dealers I contacted, not a sausage! Maybe they thought a random email from someone in a foreign country was a scan or something? Perhaps rather than explain myself if I said "I want to buy a bike but I'm in England, how do I do it?" I may have gotten something back.
This is becoming a real ball breaker and I haven't even started trying to send money yet!!
Hey Mollydog, any dealers near you selling a 2013\14 DR that you could ask? It may be a bit more plausible coming from a local guy

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have fun with your helmet!

Firms sell stuff. Are you a buyer? State what you want to buy, not how to do it. As a guide you want to give them your desired Make/model price and then the intended use (tour back country roads) .. maybe some ideas on need accessories. Make them sell $$$ and they should respond

The problem might be the time frame... they don't want the bike sitting around, they want it sold and gone. So how soon are you going could be a factor. If it is say so .. could they have a bike for you to match between dates x and y?

Some firms ship free within the states. PC I don't know. Some Hubbers would be able to let you use their address for shipping the part/s.

Just a suggestion Alan, if you are serious about buying a bike, dont bother emailing - call a few dealers in the USA - a few quid on phone calls is money well spent, talking to a salesperson will give you lots of information on whether they are interested in selling you a bike and helping you, or a more interested in going for lunch- something that an email cannot.

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Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

Quite so.
You can call anywhere in the world for about 1 penny per minute (+ the VAT) using Skype (and there is plenty of competition to Skype itself).

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Dave

Errr yes I am a buyer and they are indeed dealers but I f we ignore the word "should" in this equation then I can tell you I explained I want a bike, have cash and am in the UK because we don't import them here any more. The response was zero.
I think gipper hit the nail on the head. I did actually call six dealers this morning and left voicemail where possible due to time diff. I will call again later tonight as the ex colonials are somewhat lagging behind us
Only joking.
Yes I agree talking is the best solution here and will also give me a chance to instinctively get a feel for them as dealers

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have fun with your helmet!

Okay story so far. Called six dealers and only one positive response so far. When I say positive I mean willing as opposed to problem fixing so a long way to go yet. 'Road track and trail' in,Wisconsin? for instance said "we can't do that sort of thing" and that was the end of that. Frustrating. Still optimistic
Another positive result from a dealer in Houston just now!

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have fun with your helmet!

It's just the way of businesses; they get comfortable with their market and their customer base and don't have to do very much at all to also be comfortable in their personal/corporate life style.

There will be someone out there who wants to expand (or does already export bikes) and who will deal with you however.

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Dave

I called a good few dealers in person and couple of helpful guys but the only one person that I could describe as genuinely helpful was a dealer in Houston.
So I have paid a holding deposit on a 2013 very low miler and will email the shipping company tomorrow for their requirements. Hoping to order some parts from ProCycle and get them delivered to the dealer so that they can be placed in with the bike

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have fun with your helmet!

I don't know if this helps but my UK DR 650 is in China looking at some big and snow covered mountains.

If you swung by with a truck full of KTM'S and BM'S I'd probably say thanks but no thanks. It is a great bike (though I'm not sure why)

Good luck!

We dont know how you are getting on the the purchase, no update for ages

I know its not a DR but I saw this on Autotrader UK, a KLR 650, you could spend a few grand on it and have a great bike, if I didn't have my XT I might be tempted myself

KAWASAKI KLR 652 cc 650

Wayne

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The Balkans
https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/poi_entity/8417

Hi all, I am planning to import a new DR650SE from Australia to UK soon and was hoping somebody who has done it recently may be able to update about passing the MSVA procedure, such as any issues with CO emissions for the carburetted DR650s? Many thanks in advance if you can help!

It's online nowadays.
https://www.gov.uk/government/public...pection-manual

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Dave

Thanks for the reply. I do have the MVSA document, what I really meant to ask in a better way was, does anyone have the actual figures for recent DR650SEs that have passed the MVSA? I am trying to find out in advance if they produce under the 4.5% CO carbon monoxide passing level mentioned in the MVSA doc? Or if close to it, can the carbys be tuned leaner in order to pass it? Thanks in advance.