Yes, I had a similar situation. When I crossed the border in Turkey, I did not know that I already had expired insurance on the car. I was told at the customs office that they can safely issue insurance right at the border. However, I had to wait almost a whole day until they sorted out the documents because it's not so fast to do everything. The only thing I didn't like was that I had to spend a whole day processing all the documents. Well, it's good that they helped me, and then I already left for Turkey on my own business. Otherwise, I would have had to turn around and go back.

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https://www.moneyexpert.com/car-insurance/speed-awareness-courses/

To avoid possibly misleading readers who have not gone through the process of buying EU insurance for non-EU motorcycles, the statement above ("You can get insurance at any border") is a bit too optimistic.

Generally, you can get an EU insurance policy for a non-EU vehicle, or get a country-specific insurance policy for your vehicle (if your existing insurance doesn't cover the country you are entering) at most major road entry points into the EU (in the case of getting an EU insurance policy), or at most major road entry points into a specific country (if that country is not part of the EU-wide green card scheme).

But, check ahead of time to see what the hours of operation are.

It's reasonable to assume that you will be able to get (for example) insurance for the EU if you are entering Greece from Albania or Montenegro, or insurance for Albania or Montenegro if you are entering those countries from Greece. It's equally reasonable to assume that you can get EU insurance at a port in France, Spain, or Italy if you are arriving from North Africa, or at the Polish border if you are arriving from Ukraine.

But, you will never find an insurance office at a border between two EC countries, or at a northern European port when arriving from another continent, or at any airport if you are shipping your bike by air freight.

In summary: Unless you KNOW you can get insurance at a road border crossing, it's best to make your insurance arrangements ahead of time and have the proof of insurance in your pocket when you arrive at the border crossing. This is especially true in the case of a rider/driver needing EU-wide "green card" coverage.

In the case of EU 'Green Card' insurance, it doesn't have to take effect the day you buy the policy. You can buy a policy in the middle of winter, with an effective date 6 months later (when you actually plan to enter the EU).

Michael