Need Eyes in Germany!
 

Hi there- :helpsmilie:
I am looking at buying a bike in Germany. I need someone possibly near Trondel by Cologne, near upper NE Germany by Warren Muritz, and possibly by Waldrach. I am looking at used DR's and Freewinds, so you would need to know something about them- more than they have 2 wheels for example.

:thumbup1: or :nono:

I know it is difficult, but perhaps some HU folks would assist me? I would offer some beer beer or other fine method of payment when I get there in April/May. If you visit USA, free stay and wrenching area at my house!

I am not sure where to put this, feel free to move to appropriate place...

PM me with names, location, email, or where your tin-can with the string is located....

wb

Trondel? Where is that, i am form Cologne never heared Trondel though. Anyhow some 40.000km away at the moment...


cheers

Unfortunately not close but ...
 

... I am living "about" between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart. If you need assistance, feel free to give me a holler.

Got a workshop, got a welder (MIG/MAG) and a shack to crash in right behind the workshop. Oh yeah, got a pretty good trailer too .... just saying ... :biggrin:

Merry Christmas and a happy new year, White Bear.

Where from Maps
 

I have been looking at mobile.de and saw 3 bikes that were in the 1200-1350 Euro range, with about 30-45Km on them. All bikes had a topcase and 2 had sidebags. I sent email to say interested, but no reply yet. My budget is to stay as low as possible. I need a bike similar to DR/KLR that is around 165 Kg, require a sound engine and transmission, electrics that are working and drive chain that will move the bike. Evidently I have to choose models different from USA, which is not a big deal. TransAlps are overpriced IMHO.

If the seat is not perfect, tank dented, rust on parts if the frame etc... does not matter so much. I only want 1 bike, but will look at many to help the search. The bikes above looked pretty good in a photo, not all that bad IMHO.

I was looking at these places so far:
*54320 Waldrach, Germany
West about 70 miles(112Km) of Weisbaden/Mainz, near Trier and Luxembourg border (Freewind)

*24321 Tröndel, Germany About 20 miles East of Keil, 50 miles(80Km) north of Lubeck (DR650SE)

*Warren (Muritz) Germany about 75 miles(120Km) east of Hamburg, about 85 miles(130Km) SE of Lubeck (Freewind)

I would register in my name with a German/Poland/France?? address. Insurance in my name also. I hope to avoid useless stuff like VAT(?), MOT, and TAX like in UK. By the way, what are MOT and VAT?

Of course, a plus would be if the bike had topcase/side bags already on it and so on. The trip is to go across Russia to Vladivostok.

PM or email suggestions...

Tiny chance that you get a mail response from anyone on mobile.de.
It´s common to receive English-language fraud mails like "I want the bike, I transfer funds by Western union", so you´re lucky if anyone takes your inquiry seriously.
VAT and MOT are easy to find on Google. Value Added Tax (20% in Germany) and MOT is afaik the UK vehicle roadworthyness test, usually referred to as TÜV in Germany, to be renewed every other year.
Cheers
Chris

Buy a bike and get an export plate for it. IIRC it is valid for three months and once you are out of Germany nobody will care about it.

Older cars and bikes are getting exported in shiploads from Germany so it can´t be that difficult.

You should get your facts and spelling right, before asking for help.
Weisbaden = Wiesbaden
Keil = Kiel
24321 is, as you write later, nowhere near Köln but in Northern Germany.

Hi,

Dont take it personaly if people dont reply to english emails but many people selling a bike there get a englishj email asking for the adress of the owner to send a check. After the bike is shiped and the rest money is transfered back the check will be called back as well and the owner not only lost his bike but some money too.

May be post the links of the bikes you are interesdet and someone might want to go there to check it out or so...

To register the bike in germany you will need a german adress...

Wat about this transalp for 750 Euro?
http://suchen.mobile.de/motorrad-ins...eatures=EXPORT

cu soon, Tobi

Copy-Paste
 

I understand that I don't know German. I just copy and paste what an ad says and try to find the place on a map. I did the best I could to tell folks where to look for what the ad said.

I email folks in Ukraine and Russia and never make light of their spellings or word order in replies- I just try to understand what they say. I have not the foggiest idea about German, Denmark (US spelling), Danmark (your spelling), or UK post codes, just as you may not know what is here in USA.
********

From ta-rider: "Wat about this transalp for 750 Euro?
http://suchen.mobile.de/motorrad-ins...eatures=EXPORT
cu soon, Tobi "

I sent a message to the dealer. The bike looks fine to me. The price seems OK, is it a fair deal? Are you anywhere near where it is located? PM or email me.
wb

What I believe you meant to say is "thanks."

I'm not the spelling police, its just a friendly advice. It is kind of important for yourself and the people you want to help you, to be clear if its in Northern or Southern Germnay, you need help.
Over and out.

Hi,

I went around africa on a transalp using 90/90-21 and 130/80-17 Mitas E-07 tires wich lasted for 25.000 km each and are very comon in Europa and Southafrica and i think those tires would be perfect for russia too (in fact im just planing to go there as well):

Riding the rough west coast through Africa - Transafrika part 3

The transalp is know to be one of the most long lasting bikes. A known problem can be the plug of the CDI wich can break of. Here you can buy digital CDIs to be save and sell the others on ebay:

Digitale CDI für Honda Transalp (gebraucht), 99,00 €

With a special (i used i self made) rack you can mount boxes no problem.

Apology
 

I thought I was respectful, but others do not think so. OK, then I will adapt to your/their way. I need to learn more anyway, so any lesson here is still good. Live and let live.

I just read a report of Siberia to Baltic - even as a RU veteran, he thought some roads were extremely bad - especially in Ukraine! I admit I have seen some of what is described as roads in Ukraine and Russia- that is why I need a lighter dual-sport: not some heavy touring bike. A road trip, however perceived, is still an adventure. I agree completely.

Anyway, the search goes on for a bike. I have found that COST in NZ and Japan to be in the $6-9000 USD range- NZ, and even more than that in Japan. For what a DRZ400 sells for used in Japan you could buy 2 new ones here. Crazy for some reason, I don't know why.

I still want a bike (now) mostly in EU somewhere. As an observation, it seems various governments make the simple things impossible and expensive. I do not exclude USA from this list.

Whatever, I sent messages saying I was not fake, member of HU, ADV, and so on. We (meaning me) will see what happens.

In the meantime, Happy Christmas, Father Frost, or whatever it is in your country. Cheers. bier
wb in ID,usa

In the USA we've got cheap gas and cheap vehicles. In Europe (and elsewhere) they've got effective mass transit within and between cities instead. They've also got various other good stuff, like cheap or free education, health care, and other social supports. They pay for it all through taxes, including taxes on vehicles.

That's why you get so much more bike for your money in Idaho: low taxes. If you're planning to purchase abroad, you might as well adjust your sights now, because I don't know anyplace in the world where bikes are as cheap as they are here.

If you're doing a lot of touring and want a nice bike, you'll end up doing what many of us do: ship your US-purchased bike to Europe (or wherever you please). Even paying a thousand or more for shipping each way you'll often come out ahead.

Mark

I second to markharf. Makes a lot of sense buying a good, cheap bike in an environment you know the rules, kit it out and break it in. Then fly it over the pond and travel at your heart´s content.

Gear seems to be cheaper in the States as well.

Well for the gear its true get it were its cheap and were you can test it etc then take it with you on the plain. There you have 20 kg and more you should not take anyway but shiping a bike in my eyes is a big waste of money.
For the same price then shiping a bike you can often bay two bikes at your destination. I would rather take a cheap bike into strange country so if anything goes wrong you can just leave it there...

Cheap bike in NOT gold
 

Shipping a bike is $2200 one way for me. "WHOOPIE" they give a $100 discount for 2-way trip. I think $4300 shipping for a cheap bike is totally stupid. I could leave here (USA) a week or 2 early for a trip and do "Trip-Maintenance" add-ons and still come out ahead. This bike has to travel about 10,000 Km, after that, anything goes, including the bike.

PM sent to ta-rider

Here's another "take it for whatever it's worth to you:"

I'm totally confused about what you're asking, what you're planning, how much time and money you've got, and lots more. From the broad array of responses, it sounds like others are too.

If you want a cheap bike to last you a couple of weeks or a month, maybe two (i.e., 6000 miles), by all means don't ship: borrow, beg, buy, or rent a bike in Europe.

If you're thinking about Australia, Japan, new bike prices, and all the other perhaps-extraneous detail in your posts above, do the obvious.

And: there are plenty of cheaper shipping options, depending on everything. Since I've got no idea what you're doing, or even whether you're actually doing it, it's hardly worth going into any detail now, is it?

Ignore at will, but in any case have fun out there, wherever "there" is.

Mark

Bike Options
 

OK, I want a bike in europe, the closer to Russia the better. However, it looks like more options are available in Germany with an Export Plate. The tentative trip time is May 2013. The desired destination is Vladivostok.

I want to buy a bike cheap as possible. If I know what it is and condition before I leave here I may be able to bring parts to the bike. Appearance like paint, maybe a tear in seat, is not so important. Running integrity is important, tires can be replaced. Sprockets/chain etc can be replaced. A lighter bike is better than a heavy bike IMO. I can bring bags and maybe a top-box for the bike.

I have been looking at an (arbitrary) list of:
Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha
1990-2002
Electric start
Under 40,000 Km
500 - 750 cc.
1400 Euro or less

Buying and trusting a bike sight-unseen is sort of a big deal, but I could live with it. Suggestions on where to buy, when to buy is better than other times? - like winter now?, does someone have room to store the bike until I get there, help with government registration stuff, and repair/fix/kit help would be great.

Models coming up are Kaw KL 650A, Yam TT 600, Honda XL 600 V Transalp, Honda Dominator, and Kaw KLX 650C. Are there others recommended? Spares recommended for these bikes or user comments?

The bike may end up in Russia or back to where it started. It may be sold for a low price or even given away. I think it can be shipped back to europe as "Salvage parts", "Auto parts", "Scrap parts" or some inventive name to get it on a train to the west.

The whole process sort of suffered over the holiday BS and so on. There you have it. Post here or PM with email addy and I will get back to you. ?c?

In buying a bike in EU/Germany-

What is "VAT not reclaimable"?

What is "VAT reclaimable"?

VAT is an extra tax to be paid every time goods are bought. In Germany its called MwSt.
In some countries and on some products, you can get a refund of the VAT if you are a foreigner and take the product out of the country. This normally takes place at special borders, as only there you can prove that the item actually left the country.

Normally you also have to get some special papers from the shop/seller, when you buy.

VAT = a European-wide tax (Value Added Tax) that, ultimately, is paid to the Government of the country in which business is conducted (it applies very widely to all forms of commerce including buying new goods, such as motorcycles; in the UK it does not generally apply to the sale of second-owned goods, but that is not a universal situation - it can apply in some "business" circumstances).

When goods are exported outside of any individual country of the EU then VAT can be reclaimed, but it is then due to be paid at the rates that apply in the country to which the goods are exported (assuming the exportation is within the EU).
If exported completely out of the EU, with supporting paperwork, then VAT can be reclaimed.

That's how I understand VAT. :innocent: