Hi All,

I am going to be touring Europe for a spell this Spring/Summer, and a mate that lives in England has offered to buy a bike for me, sell it when I am done, and I will pay him for the loss on resale. I have rented in the UK before and toured Europe, and this method will be cheaper than renting for this trip. If was going for longer I would perhaps ship my own bike over, but I am not going to be there long enough for it to pay, and this will hopefully be less expensive.

He has briefly checked into the insurance part of it, and has not yet been able to resolve how to have me (from Canada; Province of British Columbia) be insured on his bike. He is still checking though.

Would anyone be able to comment on possibilities? We are good mates, so if the bike could be purchased in my name, that would work too. As long as he could still ride it.

I understand I can (as I have) ride a UK registered rental bike, but how can I ride a privately owned and insured bike?

In summary, questions are;

1) Is it possible for him to buy the bike in my name and use his address?
2) Signature issues? Could he fax me anything to sign?
3) Is is possible for him to buy the bike in his name, and then when I am over in May, I buy it from him, using his address? Would we have to pay transfer taxes again?
4) Being from Canada, can I own a UK bike and just leave it there?

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks to anyone in advance for any suggestions.

Kind regards,

Zarks