I am going to be moving from the U.S. to Italy relatively soon and am trying to figure out if it would be worth the effort and $ to import my DRZ400s (if allowed?).
Does anyone here have any insight into the regulations and process or be able to direct me to someone who may be able to help me get some answers?

I appreciate any help

J

Generally speaking, it is extraordinarily difficult to import a North American specification vehicle (any kind of vehicle) into Europe, and vice-versa.

The reason for this is that homologation and safety-related standards are different between the two regions. Lighting is a good example: specifications for headlight beam patterns and marker light / turn signal size & colours are different, which means you would probably have to replace at the very least the headlight, and possibly some of the front and rear turn signals.

Emissions compliance is another huge headache. Even though the engine might be absolutely identical in every way with the engine in a European model of the same motorcycle, the compliance plaque on the motorcycle (usually found on the triple tree) will only indicate compliance with the region in which the moto is sold (North America or Europe), which means it will be deemed non-compliant with emissions regulations in the other region.

It's not impossible to do an import, but the cost of making the motorcycle compliant with European regulations and/or the cost of proving that the motorcycle is compliant with European regulations usually makes the whole exercise cost-prohibitive. Add to that the shipping costs, and it makes more sense to just sell it in North America and buy a new bike once you get to Europe.

Michael

Thanks Pan. I suspected that to be the answer but wanted to be sure that door is really closed or not worth even pulling on the knob. It will be hard to give up that bike though.