Customs
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.
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