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Buying and registering a bike in the States Buying and registering a bike in the States
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Travellers' questions that don't fit anywhere else This is an opportunity to ask any question, and post any notice you wish that doesn't fit into one of the other sections.
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  #1  
Old 21 Feb 2010
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Buying and registering a bike in the States
Hi everyone,
We're going to be travelling to the States in Sept this year where we intend to buy a bike and ride it across the States to LA where we will send it home. It seems we may have problems to overcome in the registration process not being residents of the States and therefore not having a residential address. We'll obviously also have to arrange insurance as well I guess. Does anybody have any knowledge of the Registration process for foreigners in the States or possible insurance companies we could contact? We'd appreciate any assistance anyone can offer.
Many thanks,
Al & Jen.
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  #2  
Old 21 Feb 2010
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Flying Kiwis
I have a similar question, I am a Canadian living and working in Mexico. I know I can buy a bike and register it here in Mexico and also get insurance that covers Mexico,Canada and the USA. What problems would i have internationaly as a Canadian traveling on a Mexican registered Bike or registered anywhere else for that matter. Flying Kiwis I believe I have seen a post on this website, whereby some Bike Dealer would let you use their address to register and insurance should not be an issue as far as I know, BMWmotorad USA website has insurance advertising. Hope this helps or please correct me if I am wrong. Booysen
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  #3  
Old 21 Feb 2010
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Flying Kiwis
I forgot to mention, when you register a bike in the USA you would have to wait I believe 2 to 4 weeks for the registration to be posted back to said address.
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  #4  
Old 21 Feb 2010
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Originally Posted by Booysen View Post
I forgot to mention, when you register a bike in the USA you would have to wait I believe 2 to 4 weeks for the registration to be posted back to said address.
Thanks for the info Booysen. We will be buying a second hand bike with low miles so hopefully it'll be a simple matter of transferring ownership and we're good to go. I believe its possible in most states to get a temporary permit or, in New York, an "interstate transit permit" to enable you to transport the bike to register in another state or for exporting. We need to investigate this further.
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  #5  
Old 22 Feb 2010
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As long as you have a US address, it should be no real big deal, there is another thread on this so maybe check that one out as well.

What is the situation with bringing a bike back to NZ?

I know for a fact that it is very hard for a traveller to bring one back to OZ, it has to be owned for at least 12 months and quite a few other hurdles as well

Cheers
TS
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  #6  
Old 22 Feb 2010
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Originally Posted by TravellingStrom View Post
As long as you have a US address, it should be no real big deal, there is another thread on this so maybe check that one out as well.

What is the situation with bringing a bike back to NZ?

I know for a fact that it is very hard for a traveller to bring one back to OZ, it has to be owned for at least 12 months and quite a few other hurdles as well

Cheers
TS
I imported a couple of bikes from the U.S about 5 years ago, there were a few minor hurdles to over come but basically as long as you have the necessary paper work it's not a problem. We don't have to pay duty on them so it's financially not a bad option as long as you buy at the right price.

With regards to the U.S address issue, do you happen to know if a post office box would suffice or does it have to be a residential street address?

Many thanks
Al & Jen
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  #7  
Old 23 Feb 2010
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Location: Rockhampton, Australia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flying Kiwis View Post
I imported a couple of bikes from the U.S about 5 years ago, there were a few minor hurdles to over come but basically as long as you have the necessary paper work it's not a problem. We don't have to pay duty on them so it's financially not a bad option as long as you buy at the right price.

With regards to the U.S address issue, do you happen to know if a post office box would suffice or does it have to be a residential street address?

Many thanks
Al & Jen
It has to be a street address afaik, I just used a freinds, ask here and I am sure someone will help
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  #8  
Old 8 May 2011
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Did you have success
Hi,

I have the extact same problem you have with buying / registering / insuring a motorbike in the U.S. (I'm Australian). Have you had any success finding out how a tourist can buy / register / insure a motorcycle in the U.S?

Cheers

Cowboy
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  #9  
Old 9 May 2011
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Biking in the USA
Hi Cowboy,
We purchased a bike privately from a guy in Atlanta who proved to be extremely helpful re insurance, registration etc. He allowed us to leave the bike in his name and he added us to his insurance so we had it covered and then when we got to LA we just posted the plates back to him.

You can get a temporary transit permit in all but about 3 or 4 states, Atlanta being one of them. The permit gives you 30 days to transport the bike across country to either register in a different state or export it. Try the Fernet insurance, they seemed very helpful although not cheap.
'phyllis@fernet.com'

Where and when are you planing on traveling and what sort of bike are you looking for? If I can be of any further assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Allan
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