I hope I can get some advice as to the feasibility of this proposal...

I've set my heart on a brand new XR650R (with big tank and bits) as a tour/rallye bike... unfortunately since Honda UK have stopped importing them, there is only a slim possibility of bringing one in from Europe... However a quick web search reveals they still seem to be widely available in the US, and the price is significantly less too...

So I'd like to know: is it possible as a 'tourist' to buy a bike in the US (I have friends who live in Las Vegas and the local dealer can get one), get it registered and insured in my name so I can use it over there for a few weeks on and off-road (I've always fancied touring Nevada / Utah / Arizona and I'm thinking his would be a great way to combine a trip and perchase in one...), then ship it back to the UK?

I know of a shipping company (operating out of LA) that a friend has used to take his Land Rover to the US and back recently, so I don't imagine that aspect is a particular problem, however can anyone advise on the following:

1. Can an 'alien' buy a vehicle and register it in the US?

2. What is the position in obtaining insurance (on the new vehicle) for the period while I am over there?

I have a suitable address over there I can use, but I would not be resident there of course. If I cannot register the bike myself, can my friend buy it (as a resident) and I still get insurance cover and use it?

3. I want to use the bike before I bring it back to the UK, so it will be 'secondhand' although I will still be the first owner (paperwork allowing) - what is the position with duty/vat etc when it gets back to the UK now it is a secondhand machine?

Obviously I am not out to fiddle the UK HMC&E dept, but I would of course like to avoid paying any unnecessary costs...

Any help would be most appriciated... or tell me it's a silly idea...

JennyMo

xxx

Things are quite easy going there. Why not ship it to Rotterdam

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Hi Patrick -

Many thanks for the info - looks like I'm over the first hurdle at least, inasmuch as at least I should be able to buy the thing when I get there!

I was wondering about road registering it... in the UK certain 'off road' bikes can be road registered (as 'enduro' machines) without all the homologation stuff usually required (mirrors, indicators, dual-beam headlight) - that was how my XR400 was done... I was hoping there was a similar system in the US where the machine can be registered (and thus insured) without going through a whole SVA (type approval) inspection?

As for importing back to the UK, as far as I know, as long as it is new at first registration and I have a certificate/registration/letter from manufacturer saying as much, I should have no problem re-registering it on the appropriate age-related registration once back in the UK - what I'm more concerned about is if I will get stung for duty and vat (tax) and by how much (what value they give the machine, as it is technically 'used' now) - hopefully someone from the UK who has done something similar can advise?

Many thanks so far!

JennyMo

xxx

ps. ah, I see what you're saying about keeping it as a US bike for a while when I get back (no problem, apart from insurance here perhaps) and coming through the channel tunnel/ferry as a 'tourist' - I'm kinda liking that idea... ahem. x

I believe UK taxes and duty are assessed on the vehicle value at the time of permanent importation - now used. ie. the older or longer it stays out, the less you pay.

If it's previous registration/type approval cannot be proved or is not acceptable to the UK authorities, it might be assigned a "Q" registration plate (or whatever the equivalent under the new numbering system). That will first involve a technical inspection.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

I am interested in the tunnel/ferry procedure. I regularly use UK bikes via tunnel and hardly ever get even looked at. They cannot see the registration (unless they use CCTV or sly mirrors). I am thinking of temporarily bringing in, for a few months, a foreign (non EU) registered bike 'owned' by my non-EU girlfriend, who lives here with me, and wonder how that would work if I am riding it - both on entry and while it is here.

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

This IS an interesting thread! Hi guys, i'm planning to do a bit of a N America tour next year and was contemplating buying a new DR out there (£2500, a steal) and shipping it back here.Looking on HM Revenue and Customs site it transpires, if i remember correctly, that a New OR Used motorcycle attracts 8% tax and then VAT. So that's, erm, 25.5% of the vehicle value you'd need to cough up? How was the bike dealer about selling you the bike - one was happy to on my enquiring but didn't reply about my subsequent enquiry re Registration, hmmm.

I think it will be difficult to get a certificate of conformity on a new US bike. How you get around that I am not sure. Certainly as mollydogs says, not a problem to buy/register in USA. At the moment I am negotiating an old Triumph from Texas.. but that is a whole different can of worms.

Customs in the UK go on the bill of sale (receipt) when calculating the bikes value. If its second hand you only need the signature of the previous owner against the value you paid and the relevant state ownership transfer documents.

It has been known for this to be an agreed figure which may or may not reflect reality. Some dealers in the US are happy to write out two bills of sale. Now this is of course totally illegal and is fraud.

BUT if you got a friend in the US to buy it, register it etc before you arrived then got them to sell it to you at an agreed value (remember you have to pay tax on a sale in some states) then you could ‘lower’ the price and have state documents to show its value. Around three months would be a reasonable time gap to allow for devalue.

I brought a Blazer car like this in the US but never actually shipped it back (it’s a long story).

I did know of someone who brought a bike back and got it on an age related plate by saying it was a ‘track bike’ used by a racing team for pre race inspection of the raceway.

Remember if you want it road legal here the VIN number makes MOT people very nervous. My US bike nearly got me arrested once because they called the police thinking it was a ‘ringer’.

PS If you know anyone who works in a shipping office you can get the bike ‘on deck’ for a fraction of a container shipment and its kinda cool riding it down the ramp yourself here in the UK. You still have to drain all fluids and wrap it well the salts a killer.

Good luck.