Thanks Patrick, that's very helpful and I'll pass the information on to him. As for not bothering with insurance in southern US states.....cripes!

Ducati in England
 

I have a similar predicament. I have a Ducati Darmah stored in England, and last month, I originally intended a 3 week trip. I bought the motorcycle sight unseen (a mistake as it turned out), and had the bike registered in a friend's name since he was storing it. I got the insurance through Stefan Knopf, because you can buy as little as one month for $50, a pretty good deal.

Unfortunately I had mechanical problems with the bike, so I had to cut my trip early (see my blog at www.tigerboy.com). I had to take a bike to a specialized Ducati repair shop as it's more work than I can possibly do on my own without a proper workshop and they could not fix it sooner than a month. That is why I returned home.

My friend could no longer store the bike, because he had to give up his place of business due to the steep increase in rent. So, I found someone else local (southern England) willing to store my bike, at a cost of £5 a week. Sounded reasonable. I also decided it would be better to have the bike in my name, and as mollydog pointed out, this is easily done.

I've just contacted the DVLA to find out what is acceptable for insurance, in order to get the tax disc. I'm hoping the ADAC insurance provided by Stefan Knopf will be acceptable, because my future trips are likely to be under a month. The idea is that I'd buy 6 one-month or 2 three-month certificates for example, and present that as evidence of insurance. I'll update my post once I hear back from the DVLA. After my trip is over, I could return any unused insurance certificates for refund, and also get a pro-rated refund on the unused time on the tax disc. The minimum amount of time you can buy on the tax disc is 6 months.

If the ADAC insurance will not work, it sounds like Bennett's is the next choice. $350 a year for full coverage is very good, however I'd only get 3rd party liability. Of course if I went that route, it would be nice if they would give pro-rated refunds on cancellation before the policy expires.

I was at a BSA rally in Ohio in August and there were a number of Brits on tour with their Vintage BSAs. They had shipped their bikes over from the UK to attend the International BSA rally near Boston using a single container, and got a pretty nice group rate that way. They all had British number plates. I asked them how they dealt with insurance and they favorably mentioned 'Carol Nash'. This must be a company (or individual?) that handles overseas insurance for travelling Brits. I didn't ask how much they paid.

Personally I think it is extremely foolish to travel in ANY country without proper insurance. It's not so much if you get pulled over by the cops (some ask for evidence of insurance, and others don't), it's when you are involved in an at-fault accident. You would be in a heap of trouble if you did not have evidence of insurance, and the police got involved. Some countries like Mexico will detain you until the whole legal proceedings are sorted out, which can take months. I don't think it's worth taking the chance.

hey are the best deal I found in terms
of most bike for least amount of money.

About the insurance, just to help clairfy... Stefan Knopf provides Green Card insurance, which is a liability insurance required by EU countries. The type of insurance offerred by Bennets and Nash, unless I'm incorrect, is about insurance coverage for things like theft, accident, injury. They may also sell Green Card insurance, too, but I don't know. There is a significant difference, and in cost, between Green Card liability and comprehensive (theft, crash, etc) coverage. I have both insurances for my trip, and as far as I have experienced, it is only the liability insurance that is required for licencing.

Bennett's only insures UK residents.
 

I have some bad news. Apparently Bennett's must have changed since then, because when I called them they specifically asked me if I was a UK resident, and they don't insure non residents. They did refer me to two other companies that might be able to help, however:

Norwich Union
Direct Choice

I'm going to contact them soon, and I will report if I have any luck.

Good luck guys, hope you can all work something out. Please post here with any news!

Unfortunately I'm not in the UK on work contract and the questions all the companies seem to ask, are how long have I been living in the UK, and then if I'm a resident or not. So, I tell them that I'd be visiting 2-3 times a year and I'd like to have the bike taxed and insured while I'm over there and no one seems to offer insurance to non residents. I've been burning up the phone and the long distances charges to the UK are adding up (!)

When a company can't help me, they transfer me over to 'Call Connection' which I think is a call center representing UK insurers, so they do a search and come up with a list of companies that might be able to help. The fact that I don't have a UK license really limits the choices, however here are a few companies I have not yet tried:

Motorcycle Direct 0800 294-5065
Ramsis (sp?) 0800-144-4310
Harts ins. consultants 0800 781-4484

These look like toll free calls in the UK so I was wondering if someone in the UK could call these numbers and see if they will insure a non resident. I'd prefer to get a 6-month policy but would consider a full year if that is their minimum, as long as the cost isn't too outlandish (already, if they do write a policy, I'd probably be in their highest risk category, not having a UK license or previous UK insurance history).

Hopefully there's a solution to all of this, but right now, the prospects don't look too bright. I might have to simply sell the bike as I won't be able to ride it.

Yes and no. The State might require you have one of their driving licenses and be a resident, in which case the buck stops at them, leaving you nowhere else to go.

Or it could be a more favorable situation like in Japan, where, for motorbikes under 250cc, the insurance is attached directly to the machine, not the person who is operating it. I've found that it's pretty easy to buy a used motorbike and use a friend's or the bike dealer's address to register. I found this was actually the way to go, because it's very hard to rent motorbikes in Japan. But when I travelled Japan, I just ended up borrowing my friend's scooter and his insurance, attached to the vehicle, automatically covered me.

Not that simple in the UK, unfortunately.

[QUOTE=
Or it could be a more favorable situation like in Japan, where, for motorbikes under 250cc, the insurance is attached directly to the machine, not the person who is operating it. I've found that it's pretty easy to buy a used motorbike and use a friend's or the bike dealer's address to register. I found this was actually the way to go, because it's very hard to rent motorbikes in Japan. But when I travelled Japan, I just ended up borrowing my friend's scooter and his insurance, attached to the vehicle, automatically covered me.

Not that simple in the UK, unfortunately.[/QUOTE]

seems in france it is a similar thing for ALL vehicles.

This is all so very confusing to me. Would somebody please clarify!

1) I am an american with no residency outside of the US. I already have an international motorcycle license. I find a bike at MotoScout24: Motorradmarkt - Motorrad, Roller, Motorräder, Mofa, Moped und Quad-Bikes that I want to buy. I fly over with the Euros in cash and give it to the seller. The bike is used! (is there a restriction to hold old etc?) They give me what? (well call it "Title" for now)

2) I take "Title" WHERE EXACTLY to file for export plates for one year? This then is all I need for registration? What else do I need to give them?

3) I contact Stefan and purchase Green card insurance for 6 months. I want comprehensive as well so I call who? (well call it "Comp Insurance")

At that point am I done?

You all seem to be so very knowledgable but Im just getting bogged down by the 100 forums Im looking at and trying to plan this out.

THANKS!

Bike Insurance in UK
 

A few months ago I switched my ins to this broker:-

eBike Insurance - Bike and Classic Bike Insurance from eBike Insurance

Until you take out a policy there are no phone numbers etc etc.
Everything is done online; only when you take out a policy do you get contact details for claims etc.

I have dealt with them, by email, once or twice about my policy, changed the policy details online and have not had any problems. They are very competitive on costs as well.
In summary, anyone can get a quote from anywhere in the world, anytime.

ps I used to be insured via Bennetts but like most other brokers they got too greedy with charges for mid-term changes of policy etc etc.

European Trip with a US License
 

Judging by the comments that go back many years, things have either changed significantly over time or like many customer service interactions, vary greatly 'depending on who picks up the phone'. So my question is... I'm planning a 4 month trip around Europe this summer. My twin already has a bike In England that I can use, it's insured "FOR HIM", taxed and MOT'd. I've had a bike license in the US for 8 years, but do not have a UK bike license. His current company will not insure foreign license holders (even though I'm a UK Citizen (not a resident)). Am I better off transferring the ownership of the bike into my name (to make border crossing / Police interaction easier) and trying to get insurance (bearing in mind I'm not a UK resident, nor do I have a UK Motorcycle license)? Or should I just get 'added' to my twins policy? Question is, which is cheaper and am I really going to get that much hassle if the bike is in my twin brother's name.

Sadly we're not identical or I'd consider just taking his license and f'it.

Cheers All

Chris

Hey guys - I did it!
 

Hi,

A friend of mine - Canadian came over, we bought a BMW and we registered it on his name in Germany. It is not so easy - but possible! 1st you need somebody to help you if you don`t speak German....Most of the time the registration office doesn`t know how to do it! That is the main problem....

When would you like to come??? I live 45 min. from Frankfurt Airport, can pick you up and help you to find a bike, and help to register it(Hotel room everything) You should calculate 1 week!
(finding bike, paperwork etc....)

Really no problem for me, but you have to advice me when(I am working outside Germany).

You could do it in May for example and visit the very 1st HU Germany Meeting(I am the Organizer).

Let me know what you think - Jens

It depends which borders you are crossing. They will not ask for bike papers going from the UK in to Europe, and once in Europe you won't cross any 'borders' as you mean it unless you go outside the Schengen countries. Which is a hell of an area, so maybe you don't have a problem ? I went through lots of Eastern Europe before some of them were in Schengen, and before some of them were even in the EU - the only place they even asked for them was leaving Hungary heading for Romania (not in the EU at the time). Even there I don't think they were bothered about names - just checking you had the papers - which you will have. Relax....