Enquiry to buy a motorcyle in USA (NewYork)

[bjoernm]

My wife and I plan to travel from New York to Prudhoe Bay (Alaska) and then down the Pan American Highway to Ushuaia. After evaluating all the facts (buying the bikes in Australia, shipping to USA or buying new bikes in the USA) we came to the conclusion to buy new bikes in New York, but we have a couple of unknown facts. Any answer of these questions would be really appreciated and would make it so much easier for us to finalise our decision (one item less on the long to do list :-)

1. Can we as foreigners purchase and register a motorbike in the USA?

2. What -in addition to the motorbike purchase price - do we have to pay to get the bike registered and does anyone know how much would that be ( I read something about sales tax?)

3. If we have to pay the sales tax, can we get the tax back when we are leaving the USA?

4. Can I insure the bike in N.Y. and is the insurance valid in other states in the USA or in Canada?

5. If we can insure it, would anybody have an idea how much would it be for a new DR650 (rough estimate only).

6. Do we need something else when we travel from USA to Canada?

7. Is there anything else what we have to consider? .. and most likely forgotten..?

Cheers
Bjoern & Sigrid