Ship or buy ... Australians in USA
 

Spent three years in USA in the early 2000s

Eager to go back and spend some more time there (6 months) ... discovering new places and visiting old friends.

Toying with either freighting my bike from Queensland Australia to USA or buying a bike locally

Interested to hear from others about their experiences re either option

Geoff and Jill, Queensland :mchappy:

I have only ever shipped my bike over. It can be difficult to get insurance when you are not a citizen. From my experience you have to have a U.S license to get insurance and an address etc. There is also the issue of registering a bike if you are not a citizen.
I use a shipping company and basically ride on to a container and ride off 4-6 weeks later. All paper work is done for you. No customs to deal with and you do not have to try to sell your bike at the end. Cost is about $3000 round trip all included.
Good luck with what ever you decide.

There are many bikes to buy. I went there when the Aussie dollar was 62c, so I had no choice but to buy there. That said, I bought a Vstrom for $4600, rode it for 90,000km and sold it in BaAs for $4500.

It was CA registered and I did buy insurance. That was a few years ago now, it may be worth your while to check out the cost of buying first, and then compare to shipping there (and back) of your own bike, I think you will be surprised how cheap it is to buy a bike.

Cheers
TS

G'day Geoff & Jill,

I keep a couple of bikes overseas, simply because the thought of shipping, the cost, paperwork, crate, customs, time factor getting the bike to and from the ports ect. ect. is simply a non event and a no brainer for me.

Having mates in the US possibly with a shed to store a bike and your riding gear? Buying would be IMHO a far better option. You'd save thousands on shipping alone and .... You can always head back to do the bits you missed or didnt have time for.

Good luck with it ;-) Dave

I am from Australia and starting a trip in a few months, I plan to buy a bike when I get there and insure with Progressive (I think....).

:clap:I bought in the US in 2007, you need to choose a state that allows foreign ownership and a US address. I still have then KLR there stored now in Canada at a friends place. Last year I considered leaving the bike in Oregon and asked the Horizons community if there was some where I could store the bike. I got 5 offers within 24 hours.
IMHO I would not even consider shipping to North America.
Regards Ben.