Legality of Sale of Motorcycle
 

I left my Honda Africa Twin in Switzerland and intend to return this summer to finish my trip. Rather than ship it back to the U.S., I am considering selling it in Europe. What are the legalities of selling a motorcycle in Europe that is titled in the U.S. (Kentucky)?

The biggest problem that you and a potential purchaser will face is that it is very unlikely that the purchaser will be able to register (plate) the motorcycle in a European country.

This is because there are differences between North American and European vehicle standards for emission controls and lighting, and while it might be possible (not economical, but possible) to bring the lighting into compliance by replacing all the North American lights with European spec lights, it will be flat-out impossible, at any price, to bring the vehicle into compliance with European emission specifications, simply because the manufacturer will not have registered the serial / model number of your North American moto as being compliant with European standards.

In other words... forget about it, it's pretty much impossible for the buyer to put European plates on it.

Michael

I’m not sure that is necessarily correct about the emissions. It depends on the age of the motorcycle and which standards are applied. If it is a new design then Euro 4 rules will apply, if it is an older Africa Twin then no emissions standards may apply. For the UK MoT test they don’t actually test emissions so if it gets registered then life is good afterwards. Lights will fail an MoT if set up incorrectly - or if they have been upgraded to HID.

Individual bikes can be assessed as per the follows link:

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-approval/...hicle-approval

Hope that helps.

Hi Jay:

The problem is more specific than whether or not the motorcycle actually meets emissions regulations. The problem is that the manufacturer of the motorcycle likely only puts an emission compliance label on the motorcycle to certify compliance within the continent (North America or Europe) that the motorcycle is exported to.

In the absence of a label on the vehicle stating that it complies with the applicable emissions requirements, one cannot register (plate) the vehicle.

To a great extent, this is 'restraint of trade' by the manufacturers - by doing this, they can prevent intercontinental shipment and 'grey marketing' of vehicles.

There are, of course, other hurdles to overcome besides emissions. You likely could not register a French or German specification motorcycle in the UK because the headlight would not comply with UK beam pattern requirements. Some European countries (notably Germany) are very picky about noise emission, and require that the exhaust system be labelled to indicate compliance with the standards applicable in that particular country.

Michael

It is possible in the U.K.

Ton's of American bikes are imported into the U.K every year.

You will have to pay the taxes on it and have it registered with an Age-related number plate.

It's not the easiest thing to do, but it IS possible !!

What year is the bike ??

+1 for Ted.

It helps if the vehicle has EU standards compliance paperwork. If not there's a more comprehensive inspection needed.

The 225/250cc Yamaha Serow is an example of a bike that's been imported second hand from Japan in quantities probably of hundreds.

Hello

Before you start the paperwork, check if you have not exceeded the time your bike was permitted within EU/Schengen.
Although no one checks this when leaving by landborder, some one might when they have to change the papers.

sushi

As Ted will know there is a whole industry importing used bikes from Japan - particularly pocket rocket 250s and 400s - these are generically called grey imports. The manufacturers have never registered the bikes as they tend to be for Japan only and so there is no emmissions test results to work with. The bikes are individually registered and even the insurance companies are relaxed about it. Spares are no issue either.

I have a BMW R80 that was originally registered in Saudi Arabia and has its clocks in kph but is road legal in the UK as it was imported and registered here as an individual registration. No issues at all.

I thought the restrictions on time permitted before re-registering locally applied to each country rather than the whole Schengen area (i.e. as long as you moved the bike to a new country before the 12 months was up, you could keep it in Europe more or less indefinitely). Can anyone comment on this?

How much are you selling it for?
I'm planning a trip to bike Europe in March.

It's possible to import to Ireland too, and a very straight-forward process.

Sorry, it's the WHOLE Schengen area, not each country. Note that's the LAW, not necessarily what can happen on the ground. In other words, as long as the vehicle doesn't come to the attention of anyone who might care, not a problem. But if it does, all bets are off. Best to be legal.


Buying a bike in the area and storing it there is a good way to go rather than bringing a bike in and having the Schengen hassle to deal with.

No thats not quite right, I am not fully up to date on Schengen country rules but certainly UK ones. If you are a resident of the county then you have 2 weeks to start registration process if not then up to 12 months as a visitor. Switzerland whilst it is an associated state, it is separate from the Schengen states so you could move it from Switzerland and it would "re-start" the clock, as would taking it into UK, or for that matter Norway or Iceland. Even so that only covers driving it on a road, if its not on the road then there is no need to register in any case, so moving it on a trailer would not cause you an issue from registration, however if stoped you would need proof of ownership and proof of when it entered the country and at that point somebody would want taxes paying.

Whatever country it would be registered in, will require slightly different procedures, however in basics it requires the new owner to pay any import taxes and vat outstanding, possession of the vehicle log book and an inspection once inspected and passed, you will also need in some countries their equivalent of a yearly test in the UK an MOT which is conducted on the frame number, you exchange the original logbook, pass certification and money along with proof of insurance and MOT (or equivelent), for a new logbook, road tax and registration. You cannot at least in the UK obtain a registration with insurance and MOT. WIth an US vehicle sometimes there are difficulties as the ID of the vehicle there I believe lies with the engine and the UK (and rest of Europe) with VIN/frame/chassis number however so long as all match then it is accepted, I say this as I have a US Harley privately imported.
You do sometimes have to make modifications to a vehicle to pass the SVA examination, as an example a US made Harley Dyna Glide imported by Harley with manufacturer agreed type approval is ok, the exact same bike with identical parts privately imported will fail the SVA test go figure, there are changes required to various bolts and position of ancillary items not difficult but a PIA none the less.
It is not difficult but can with the taxes required to be paid be more trouble and cost than the vehicle is worth.