Gidday fellow bikies,

I am planning to leave my bike in the USA or Mexico for more than 12 months before continuing travelling. Is this (legally) possible? Currently, I am travelling on a Carnet de Passage in Central America. However, as I am not going to use my bike for such a long period of time I would prefer not to buy a new one till I start riding it again. Any problems to be expected with that?

Cheers, d
Ambassador for UNICEF NZ www.2-mad.com

Hi,

Mexico is not possible. Like most Latin American countries they use their own system rather than deal with carnets. Amongst other things, this involves swiping your credit card which will be charged with a horrendous amount if the bike doesn't leave by the date it is supposed to.

The US also use their own system but when I went their customs used my carnet because the relevant officers found it interesting and exciting to do so. I was told this shoudn't have happened on leaving the country.

I don't know what you would need to do in the US but I know a couple of travellers who are keeping their bikes there for over a year at the moment. Contact Axel Shrodter on axel.schroedter@volkswagen.de who should be able to advise you.

Stephan

D:

I have no experience dealing with US Customs concerning motorcycles, but I have dealt with them on other matters, and found them to be remarkably accomodating people, considering that they are customs officers.

I think the key advantage you have is that you can make your proposal (to exceed the normal one year limit) to them ahead of time - and generally, if you make a request to them ahead of time, you will have more options available than you have when you start to run up against a deadline.

Because you intend to store your bike, rather than ride it, the customs folks will most likely appreciate that you are not trying to evade the intent of the law, which is to limit use of foreign vehicles to 12 months. It is possible that if you propose to US Customs to put the bike into a customs bonded warehouse during the storage time, they would work with you to try and see if there is a way to meet your needs.

In other words, contact them before you import, and see what possibilities they can offer. Just don't ask them when you drive up to the border about this, otherwise, they will be forced to cause you grief, because you will have indicated to them that you intend to stay longer than you should. They then won't be able to let you in until a solution is reached (and this might involve posting a bond).

Try their website: U.S. Customs Service