As Mark said,
So many potential pitfalls….
Personally I'd have to REALLY want THAT bike to go through all the aggro - and there is a lot. This is a REALLY complicated path. My Canadian bike has been registered in the UK, and back, and that was relatively easy - but bringing a foreign bike into Canada is a hassle.

Recommendation - buy a bike in Europe, there's a guy in Ireland on the HUBB here (search the HUBB for motofeirme) as who can organize it all for you and store while you're not there. I think Stefan Knopf in Germany will also do the same.

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

Oh dear Grant,

I think you made a little mistake here, but you couldn´t know.

Of all the search results on the first page of results ALL of them except one are at least 6 to 12 years old. Even if there is some information in those results it´s probably old and outdated.

But that only one result which is not old (2022) is very negative about that ¨guy in Ireland¨ and unfortunally written by.................exactly, the original poster of this thread.

I do not see any other post on The HUBB written by the OP. Could you clarify, please? Thanks.

Mark

HI Mark,


Here is the search result i was talking about:

https://new.horizonsunlimited.com/ts...on/nightmare-3

Best regards,

Rögnvaldur

Thanks Rögnvaldur, that is VERY concerning, and I will be checking into it.

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

To answer a few of your questions.Buying an American or Canadian motorcycle here in Ireland is ok as long as your not pulled over by customs, ( not police)
They will ask for import documents in your own name along with other supporting documents.
In saying that, I have, and currently store motorcycles here, registered all over the world and nobody has been asked for any documentation.
It’s a grey area.
Also some states won’t let you transfer a title without the vehicle being physically in the country.


I have also heard of people packing a license plate in their suitcase along with a stick on VIN. Apparently it worked for them at border crossings. To each their own.


At the end of the day, it’s only a motorcycle.

__________________
https://www.facebook.com/motofeirme
http://motofeirme.com/

If I have hijacked the thread, please advise as to whether continue to post here or start a fresh thread. I feel it would be good to have all this information posted clearly in one place as many people here could probably benefit

Right now what is most important to clarify for is regards formalities for import and export through Europe and what happens when crossing into and out of Schengen countries. As far as I understand the bike when it entered Europe did not receive a tip as the owner advised customs he would not be staying but would be leaving the country immediately. Since then it has been in various European countries, and had green card insurance, but no actual importation status. Can anyone confirm whether this is standard procedure, or an anomaly, and what generally happens when someone crosses out of and back into Euro zone, are they generally waved through, asked to present documentation but not registered or receive any paperwork, or sometimes receive a tip depending on the country or the whim of the customs officer?

Wheatwacker mentioned that in Ireland, the only people to be concerned about are customs officers and that in that case one would need to present the importation papers. Should I assume then that upon leaving UK, for Ireland Tips are generally made for all incoming vehicle with foreign plates, or would this be the paper that may have been originally given on first arrival after shipping or perhaps upon re-entry to Europe from example Morocco or Turkey, or perhaps Finland, Switzerland, etc.

My plan at the moment is to create a power of attorney in Europe when I purchase the bike and hopefully be able to use that to cross borders trouble free for my first trip, then return to Canada and leave the moto parked for a few months. I would first try and register in WA or if not possible look for any other convenient state without residency or yearly inspection requirements, and Montana LLC as a last resort.

While I am doing this or prior to completing (and more relevant to the OP's question) I will also follow up with CBSA in Canada and see if their is a way if one wanted to legally import the moto into Canada to do that with just a bill of sale and a title, directly to Canada from Europe rather than through US first. Of course that means the bike would have to be physically shipped to Canada.

I think the issue will be not being able to complete with the required US customs clearance form which must be filled before importing US plated vehicles into canada. It is maybe possible that this is just a VIN clearance that could be done just by sending them the paperwork. I suspect though that they need the bike to physically be presented to complete the form.If that is the case basically the bike would need to be repatriated before being imported into canada. Anyway, I will follow up on all those and post the results here on in whatever relevant thread seems appropriate.

The other party in this equation (the seller) has also asked the same question on the Horizon's Facebook group recently...

First of all, are you currently in Canada, or in Europe (Germany) wanting to buy this bike and continue your trip around Europe?

Either way, the question is - does the Canadian Provence you wish to register the bike in (ie. your home address) require the bike to be inspected prior to first registration after import, or will they do it via post? If they would want to inspect the bike prior to first registration, then the only thing you can do is fly/ship it back to Canada to complete the import/ownership paperwork, then fly/ship it back to Europe and continue your trip on what is now your own Canadian registered bike - which I suspect is not financially viable.

Practically speaking, the paperwork/ownership transferal would be the same as if you were buying a bike physically located/registered in the US, and importing it into Canada - the question regarding how long you're subsequently allowed to keep it in Europe is a separate issue.

Jx