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  #1  
Old 16 Dec 2017
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Buying Motorbikes overseas and IDP licensing
Hey all. I currently live and am born in New Zealand I have a one way flight booked to vietnam where I will be renting an xr250 with my old man and doing two weeks riding. After that I will be travelling around vietnam and nepal. I am dead keen to buy a bike in either continents like USA, Europe or South america and ride across. There's a few roadblocks that I have at the moment.

1. I have a full NZ car license but have a restricted motorbike license which is one stage past learners but not quite full. In my country I can ride up to most 650cc single cylinders etc. However an IDP only applies to full licensed drivers.

2. Actually buying a motorbike and getting insured.

So because I can't get an IDP for my motorbike license. Is there any countries that will accept my NZ License? Or perhaps a country that allows a full car license driver to ride a bike up to 125cc? Basically I want to buy a bike somewhere and just have the freedom to explore but I want to be legal with insurance and all that jazz. Is this possible in the U.S? or Europe?

Any help would be much appreciated !
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Old 17 Dec 2017
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the US does not require an IDP. having said that, you may have some issues with the "limited" part of your NZ license. i suspect that most cops here wouldn't know what it meant. but, if they gave you a ticket for unlicensed operation, it would certainly put a damper on your trip. not that it would be the end of the world, but certainly not very adventurous.

in florida, you can purchase and register a bike as long as you have an address. i recently helped out a brit with this. he was also able to get full insurance for his new bike through an agency i partly own.

what size bike were you considering?
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Old 17 Dec 2017
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In some countries you might be able to obtain a full motorcycle licence ...

Some of these are skills based rather than waiting for some time period.

UK https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...le-licence.pdf
USA https://www.justlanded.com/english/U...cles-in-the-US
USA California https://www.dmv.org/ca-california/mo...le-license.php

Might make a good souvenir - licences around the world?
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Old 17 Dec 2017
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Originally Posted by teevee View Post
the US does not require an IDP. having said that, you may have some issues with the "limited" part of your NZ license. i suspect that most cops here wouldn't know what it meant. but, if they gave you a ticket for unlicensed operation, it would certainly put a damper on your trip. not that it would be the end of the world, but certainly not very adventurous.

in florida, you can purchase and register a bike as long as you have an address. i recently helped out a brit with this. he was also able to get full insurance for his new bike through an agency i partly own.

what size bike were you considering?
Thanks for the reply. That's the frustrating part. The restricted part means I can't ride between the times of 10:30pm to 5am and I am limited on the size of the engine (660cc). To be honest I would happily ride around on a Honda C90/CT90/CT110. I would almost prefer it as it would be far more affordable and it's actually set up ready to go in terms of luggage handling seat comfort etc.
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Old 18 Dec 2017
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Originally Posted by Instantcoffeenz View Post
Thanks for the reply. That's the frustrating part. The restricted part means I can't ride between the times of 10:30pm to 5am and I am limited on the size of the engine (660cc). To be honest I would happily ride around on a Honda C90/CT90/CT110. I would almost prefer it as it would be far more affordable and it's actually set up ready to go in terms of luggage handling seat comfort etc.
can't speak for other states, but florida does not require an MC license for under 100cc's
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Old 18 Dec 2017
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Originally Posted by teevee View Post
can't speak for other states, but florida does not require an MC license for under 100cc's
Are you sure? I looked on the DMV website and it suggests even in florida. Anything above 50cc requires a license. Florida Motorcycle License
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Old 21 Dec 2017
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Originally Posted by Instantcoffeenz View Post
Are you sure? I looked on the DMV website and it suggests even in florida. Anything above 50cc requires a license. Florida Motorcycle License
1st, u are right. i knew there was a cutoff and thought it was 100.

2nd, that site is not the govt site. this is: https://www.flhsmv.gov/
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