Hey all,

Currently in India - on an Indian registered bike (not in my name) - and looking to get to Europe - but having a lot of bureacratic problems with carnets and freighting options.

I'm now thinking that it might be easier to just buy another bike somewhere in or near the EU and using that to tour overland in Europe and through the Stans to Mongolia...

Not sure about how to go about registering a bike as a non-citizen (I'm Australian) and getting through borders etc...

Any suggestions about which country would be easiest to buy and register a new or used motorcycle - and how to go about it?

Any advice appreciated....

Thanks

I believe you would not be allowed to ride your Indian bike in the EU, because we have strict exhaust emissions regulations, as does the US and other places in the West.
Therefore, you would be better advised to buy an EU bike which would be 'Euro 6 compliant' when you arrive, though even the 'same' model would be more expensive, precisely because of the extra requirements of Euro 6.

See 'Itchy Boots' on Youtube, series 2 episode 1, (BIG NEWS!! (Good and bad...)) where Noraly was advised as such, and got a new bike.
Her old bike she named 'Basanti' and the new 'Dhanno'

Do your own research on this.

Itchy Boots aka Noraly had no problems riding her indian purchased and plated bike into and in Europe. She could however not register it in Europe due to the fact her bike was not Euro compliant one way or another. So with all respect I belive Rat West is wrong here. If for example the aussie TS bought a bike in Australia, lets say a Suzuki Dr650 in Australia, a bike that havent been allowed to register in Europe for many years - he would still have no problem riding it to Europe and in Europe.

__________________
In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

As a non-EU citizen you should have no problem using a non-EU bike here and you should not need to register it just have the Indian reggo up to date which I think is a one off payment at time of registration and European insurance which is easily available. You will need some sort of letter of authorisation from the owner though and it will be a lot easier if you can ride it over a border into the EU rather than try to get it past customs at a sea or airport.

From my research I understand that it is permitted to ride a non-compliant bike into and in Europe but the question is for how long?
I've come across varying periods of time. Does anyone have a definitive answer?

The other impediment is obtaining a Carnet in India and the costs involved with that.
I've seen Itchyboots report on that and it seems like a dodgy process.
Anybody had experience with that?https://youtu.be/rPgX0OPWGnQhttps://...be/rPgX0OPWGnQ

I would say, you will have no problems entering the EU (at any airport or overland) if the custom officer accepts a power of attorney (as the bike is not in your name, get the bike in your name if you can) ... you will not need a Carnet for the EU.

As said above, there is no real time limit for your bike being in the EU. But you wont be able to register it, but there is also no need to register it when you leave again to travel to Mongolia anyway. And if you leave overland (lets say to Belorussia) you should not have a problem.

BUT getting your bike out of India, will be a complete nightmare. I have done it once, it took me two weeks, one bribe if I remember correctly, and lots of problems and damage to the bike.

My suggestion is to sell your bike in India and buy a bike in the EU.


Dont know about the easiest country. Somebody here on the HUBB will be able to answer this question hopefully. In Germany you can get an export plate, but this only gives you a limited time in the EU before you have to leave, and I dont know how easy it is to enter lets say Belorussia with an export plate.

Good luck
mika

Hey all - thanks for the input and advice....

I've been in toch with Noraly a while back - and it's not a problem to get the carnet - but it turns out you don't get the deposit back with Indian providers. Add the cost of freighting and that makes what she did a very expensive option....

It makes more sense to sell the bike here and spend that money in the EU buying a replacement ride.

But from what I understand it's no problem to ride a bike registered outside of the EU - emissions restrictions etc don't come into play until you try to register it within the union. Getting it into the union should be straightforward too. My research never mentioned anything about time restrictions on how long you could ride a bike registered outside the union, but you'd always be limited to the visa limitations and what the CDP or TIP requires.

Hey all,

the maximum time for a foreigner to drive a foreign registered vehicle in the EU is 6 months.

This is from the finnish cumstoms website:
A traveller who resides outside the EU is allowed to bring a means of transport to the customs territory of the EU without paying customs duty or value added tax. A boat can remain under the temporary admission procedure for at most 18 months, and for example cars, snow mobiles and buggies for at most six months.

This is from the german customs website:
If you are normally resident outside the EU, you may import your non-EU registered vehicle under relief and use it in Germany. This is laid down in customs provisions and vehicle taxation legislation. The period during which the vehicle may be used is limited to six months.

This is from britisch government website:
Temporary imports
You can usually use a vehicle with foreign number plates without registering or taxing it in the UK if all of the following apply:

you’re visiting and do not plan to live here
the vehicle is registered and taxed in its home country
you only use the vehicle for up to 6 months in total - this can be a single visit, or several shorter visits over 12 months.

This is from the dutch customs website:
Do you not live in the Netherlands? And are you traveling into the Netherlands with a car, motorcycle, trailer or caravan with a valid registration number of the country where you live? Then you do not have to report to Customs. You can use this car, motorcycle, trailer or caravan in the Netherlands for 6 months without having to pay taxes.

I think all European countries have the same rule.