Apologies if this should have gone somewhere else. Ive had a long look on various other threads but havnt got anywhere.
I have come across a bike in france that is US plated. I am travelling on NZ passport.
Does anyone know if theres a way i can buy this bike and travel without major dramas? I am thinking of going to spain, portugal, romania.
If there is anyone on here that lives in france and can offer advice that would be very much appreciated.
Cheers, Kiwi

There are 2 problems for you to do this in France.

1. The registration is in the USA, it would need to be formally recognised in France, which is a minefield of paperwork.

2. I presume you don't have a residential address in France? So registering it here is virtually impossible unless you can get an address via a friend

I would suggest (but don't know the laws) to get the change of ownership done in the USA by mail???

Or ask the owner if he can 'lend' his details to you so there's no technical change of ownership although you'll be paying for the bike, in France insurance covers anyone who drives a vehicle, so you could be covered there, but I'd read the small print carefully for such a trip!!!

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Thanks CREER, that is the way i am leaning. See if i can work something out with owner to stay on US plates. We shall see what happens.

It is easy....if you are buying that motorcycle haw a bill off sale notarize and as u are NZder to French authority it is not concerned as who is going to purchase US registered motorcycle and same if you are continue to travel across Europe that peace off paper is good to cross any border.
I am holder off US passport and I drove Italian,German,Serbian plate bike and newer head problem.

Safe ride

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Serbia to Japan 2014
Central and South America 2016

Just a heads up each country has a time limit on how long a foreign bike can be in the country before it has to be registered e.g. The U.K. is 6 mths it's easy to register in the UK you just need an address and it might need a mod to get an MOT. ONce you get insurance you can then ride in other EU countries, just check time limits.

I thought about this, in France for a French resident it is now 15 days.

However the owner I presume is a US resident & the OP a NZ resident ... hence the dilemma.

OP, I will try to ask our gendarmes at work this week for you & see what they know, they've been helping me with another registration issue!

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As stated there are strict time limits that a foreign vehicle can be in the Schengen zone and that assumes ownership hasn't changed.
Buying a foreign vehicle in a foreign country is rarely legal anyway and also for many states of the USA it isn't possible to gain legal ownership back home by remote control.
Get caught without minimum European liability insurance and you will be in big trouble so first check if you can get it.
Quite possible the bike isn't even still registered back in the states so the protection allowed by the Vienna Convention isn't available either.

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Tony
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No, no, no, that won't work.

A foreign registered vehicle is allowed into a country without payment of duty or taxes only if it is being used for bona fide tourism. The usually accepted evidence that tourism is taking place is the fact that the operator of the vehicle is the same person as the registered owner of the vehicle.

About 10 years ago, I lent my Canadian-plated motorcycle, which was in Germany at the time, to a good friend of mine (a German resident) so that he could use it for a weekend ride. He was stopped by police in a routine roadside check, and presented his German driver licence along with my Canadian ownership of the motorcycle and proof of proper insurance in Europe. The result of this was that he had to pay full import taxes on the motorcycle (close to €1,000), and the same amount again as a fine.

He and I went to the authorities two days later... we tried our best to explain that I was the person responsible for the moto, I was in the country as a tourist, and I had lent the moto to my friend for a single weekend's enjoyment. I even showed the officials the air waybill that proved I had flown the bike into Europe only 2 months earlier. That made no difference, the point was that the vehicle was allowed to enter the country tax and duty free, with a foreign licence plate on it, on the premise that the owner would be using it for tourism, but when the police stopped it in the roadside check, it was being operated by someone else other than the owner.

Be very careful riding a bike in a country other than the one it is plated in if you are not the person to whom the bike is registered!

Michael

Pan European
German citizen riding foreigner registered automobile on the German territory is NO.N0...as it is against low as it is in any other country but if you`r friend is let sey from Bangladesh he can ride all day long in Germany or any other country in Europe....so to be more clear ..you can not ride foreigner registered motorcycle in your own country except in emergency or if the owner is riding with you or sits next to you.
So from my experiences of riding different licence plates from different country's with papers stating that I purchased vehicle newer encounter problems.
On the end a person from NZ has no problem purchasing US motorbike in France obtaining papers + bill of sale, can continue to travel to the end of the world...

safe ride

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Serbia to Japan 2014
Central and South America 2016

The rules are usually fairly universal even if not universally enforced. Couple of times I have had work done on my vehicle that was in the country on a TVIP and both times the mechanic insisted I come with him on the test drive ONLY because he said he would be in big trouble if caught in it on his own.
The tip has room for an owner and one or two authorised drivers. One of those named people must be in the vehicle any time it is on the road - or else.
I think that is the do-no-harm position to take - as stated by Micheal

However, if there is a legal document - "poder" in south america, Power of attorney in western countries drawn up by the owner in favour of another person, then that is usually sufficient to satisfy authorities PROVIDED the poder is recognised and that isn't always the case in countries other than the one it was signed in. Never cut and dried.

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Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map

Hi there, for sure when registering non-EU plated vehicle in EU you need to pay custom duties (these are same in all EU, dont know if apply to motorcycle) and VAT tax (this depends on the specific country, around 20%). Without cleared customs you wont register (dont know if even possible with your NZ passport, i think you have to possess resident status ).

C do you only hold Kiwi passport or do you also have US passport, this makes a big difference?

BR
Dooby

Hey, thanks everyone for your replys. I knew this would possibly be a bit of a complicated one. I have only NZ passport. Things are never easy these days it seems.

Hi,

I live in France and have been dealing with legislation issues for bikers for nearly 10 years. First thing is a language interpretation issue. ''Registration'' in Europe means transfer of title to a new owner, it doesn't mean renewing it's road worthiness certificate and road tax status. Second thing is the bike itself. As it's on US plates I assume it's a US bike with a US frame number. You can't register it in France, because France does not recognise/allow North American frame numbers. ( if you're wondering about all the Harely's in Europe, they are built to Euroepan spec with European frame numbers). France regulations are a tough set of the EU directives. Thirdly you are a non EU citizen with a non EU licence and you can't register and insure any vehicle in Europe unless you have a recognised accommodation address. A recognised accom address normally means a second home or one where you have local bills sent to you with your name and address on them, like electricity or gas or land line telephone, and the minimum requirement is three months continuous accounts. Some EU countries ( inc U.K.) will accept an address where you can be contacted, but this require a written statement from a landlord/property owner, again with a minimum existing stay period.

If title can be transferred to you in the U.S. (and i'm thinking you are considering the KLR for sale on this website), and you can get the paperwork and arrange insurance in advance ( which is obligatory in Europe) then you will be O.K., but I suspect you won't be able to do any of that.

You also need to find out if the owner should have taken the bike with him/her when he/she left it in France. At the moment the bike is limbo and unuseable legally in Europe except by the registered owner. Letters of loan of the bike will not be valid, as insurers will only insure bikes to persons whose name is on the title, unless it's on hire from an authorised rental company.

All in all a nightmare, and my advice is to look at other solutions.

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All of you did not pay attention on the question that NZ traveler posted .....and just a word,,,
NZ traveler .....means that hi is not going to import motorcycle to France and da`s not need advice how to import ...question was ...is it Ok to purchase US registered bike so he can jump on and ride to some other destinations. Coincident is that bike is somewhere in France left by US citizen.

Safe ride

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Serbia to Japan 2014
Central and South America 2016