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Buying bike as a non-resident? Buying bike as a non-resident?
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Trip Paperwork Covers all documentation, carnets, customs and country requirements, how to deal with insurance etc.
Photo by Alessio Corradini, on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, of two locals

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Alessio Corradini,
on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia,
of two locals



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  • 1 Post By mark manley
  • 1 Post By ferdi
  • 1 Post By ferdi
  • 1 Post By chris
  • 1 Post By teevee

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  #1  
Old 6 Sep 2017
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Smile Buying bike as a non-resident?
Hi,
Greetings,
These two questions may have been asked nth time on this forum but unfortunately I am not able to locate them.
Kindly lead me to links.

The questions are:

1. Which countries allow non-residents to buy a bike and ride? Is there list available somewhere. This can help us decide the start and end points of our journey. For example, will it be possible for us to buy a bike in USA and ride in all Americas if we have valid ViSAs?

2. Do these countries discriminate in allowing non-residents to buy and ride bikes on the basis of their nationality? I mean is it possible only if we are Canadian, American, European or Australian?

We (wife-husband duo) are looking forward to purchase two bikes and start our overland journey. We are Indian passport holders currently residing in Saudi Arabia.

Thanks in advance.
With kind regards,
Paraj
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  #2  
Old 6 Sep 2017
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Hi parajshukla and welcome,
There are a few countries which allow foreigners to register vehicles and those that do require you to have an address to register it at, Ireland for instance is one of them. The US is not so straight forward in that the policy not only varies state by state but county by county, there is information here about where in the US you can register but it is not all in one thread, take a look through trip paperwork and the North America section and you should find something useful.
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  #3  
Old 7 Sep 2017
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Hi Paraj,

1. for sure, you can buy (nearly) in every country of the world a vehicle.
I bought some in Africa, South America, whole Europe incl. Switzerland and other places of the world as a german passport holder. Registration may be a litte bit more difficult, depends on country.
2. never heard, that there is one country in the world that discriminate a special nationality (maybe except Saudi-Arabia).

Greetings from Europe
Ferdi
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  #4  
Old 7 Sep 2017
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Thank you Mark
Quote:
Originally Posted by mark manley View Post
Hi parajshukla and welcome,
There are a few countries which allow foreigners to register vehicles and those that do require you to have an address to register it at, Ireland for instance is one of them. The US is not so straight forward in that the policy not only varies state by state but county by county, there is information here about where in the US you can register but it is not all in one thread, take a look through trip paperwork and the North America section and you should find something useful.
Hi Mark,
Thanks for your reply and advice. I will work through the Trip Paperwork section. Meanwhile, I saw a thread by a user "wheatwhacker" who is offering paid service and help for getting the bike in Ireland. I am sure there are other similar threads for US / North America.
Thanks again and kind regards,
Paraj
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  #5  
Old 7 Sep 2017
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Thanks
Quote:
Originally Posted by ferdi View Post
Hi Paraj,

1. for sure, you can buy (nearly) in every country of the world a vehicle.
I bought some in Africa, South America, whole Europe incl. Switzerland and other places of the world as a german passport holder. Registration may be a litte bit more difficult, depends on country.
2. never heard, that there is one country in the world that discriminate a special nationality (maybe except Saudi-Arabia).

Greetings from Europe
Ferdi
Hi Ferdi,
Thanks for sharing your wide experience across continents. Heeding to your words, I guess it is preferable to look for a country / state / county / province, where getting a vehicle registered on own name is easier / possible. Also, without registration, getting an insurance would be difficult if not impossible.
Thanks again for your inputs and kind regards,
Paraj
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  #6  
Old 7 Sep 2017
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Location: Freiburg, Germany
Posts: 129
Hi Paraj,

without registration there you will get much more trouble then only a missing insurance.
But with a paper (or plastic) of registration of this specific vehicle (still valid or not) with an other name then yours in, you will get an insurance. An with the sale contract with you name in (some countries ask for a signature of a notary) everything is very easy and absolutly legal.

For example in "Europe" follow this link:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-morocco-91922

It would be nice to meet you in Europe or elsewhere.

Warm greetings
Ferdi
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  #8  
Old 8 Sep 2017
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Miami/Managua
Posts: 211
you can buy and register a bike in Florida if you have an address. you can use any address, so long as it's somewhere the paperwork will be forwarded to you. you can even use a commercial mail service address.
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  #9  
Old 8 Sep 2017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ferdi View Post
Hi Paraj,

without registration there you will get much more trouble then only a missing insurance.
But with a paper (or plastic) of registration of this specific vehicle (still valid or not) with an other name then yours in, you will get an insurance. An with the sale contract with you name in (some countries ask for a signature of a notary) everything is very easy and absolutly legal.

For example in "Europe" follow this link:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-morocco-91922

It would be nice to meet you in Europe or elsewhere.

Warm greetings
Ferdi
Thanks a lot Ferdi for your inputs. I thoroughly checked the thread on Morocco. So it is possible to purchase and register bike or for that matter any automobile as a non-resident in many of our on-list countries. And if we are lucky, it will not be a big hassle too. Thanks for your help. We look forward to meet you somewhere. I have created a facebook profile recently. Let us be in touch.
With best wishes and kind regards,
Paraj
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  #10  
Old 8 Sep 2017
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Thanks Chris
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Originally Posted by chris View Post
Thanks Chris for suggesting the US thread. It is very useful.
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  #11  
Old 8 Sep 2017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by teevee View Post
you can buy and register a bike in Florida if you have an address. you can use any address, so long as it's somewhere the paperwork will be forwarded to you. you can even use a commercial mail service address.
Thanks TEEVEE for your help. We even have one of my students studying in Florida. I will get in touch.
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