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15 Apr 2013
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Buying bikes in the USA
Hey everyone,
We are 3 Australians looking to buy two bikes in the USA to ride them up to Canada and then down through Central and South America.
Just wondering if there is any requirements that I should be made aware of before hand regarding buying a bike as a foreigner???
Thanking you
 
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15 Apr 2013
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Location: Bellingham, WA, USA
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You might try the search function: any obvious search terms ("Buy in USA") will give you all the light reading you can stomach.
Good luck.
Mark
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16 Apr 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grug
Hey everyone,
We are 3 Australians looking to buy two bikes in the USA to ride them up to Canada and then down through Central and South America.
Just wondering if there is any requirements that I should be made aware of before hand regarding buying a bike as a foreigner???
Thanking you
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The only thing you really need is a local addy to register the bike at then game on.
We bought Maya in AZ and we are Kiwis, used a mates addy to register it in our name, we hold the orignal title which you WILL need for border crossings, you will have to buy at least third party insurance too before you register it in your name however they never asked us for some reason.
In some states if the bike is over five years old you will have to get an emissions test done, this I know at least for AZ and Cali but I can not say for others sorry.
Really easy procedure to go through and nowhere near as daunting as people make out.
Any more queries on specifics fire away, will see if I can help.
Cheers Andi
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16 Apr 2013
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Super Moderator
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What the previous post left out is that every state is different. There are 50 states, and in many of them you cannot register a bike after buying it--no way, no how. That's why you want to do a search...unless you'd rather just head for Arizona.
Mark
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16 Apr 2013
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When we were looking for a replacement bike the standard pretty much across the board (even with the state differences) was if it was a registrable bike or already a registered bike then no problem whatsoever if you have a local US address to register it through.
I can't confirm that as we bought out of Portland Maine and registered in AZ but I can confirm the states being Cali and AZ anyway, just check with with state you want to start from/buy a bike from and you won't have any issues.
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16 Apr 2013
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I think Markharf does raise a good point: the laws and processes in each of the states will vary, so narrow down exactly what point you are starting out from... I would guess that if Grug's group is flying in from Sydney the starting point will be Los Angeles, California, but maybe not.
As Markharf says, do a search for something like "foreign registration California" or some-such. That will narrow things down a lot, and then the O/P can ask more specific questions about the process.
__________________
Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250
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16 Apr 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Two Moto Kiwis
just check with with state you want to start from/buy a bike from and you won't have any issues.
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Yes that is why I said the above, need to be more specific as to the start line.
grug any ideas where you intend to start/buy?, this will help with what info we can give.
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17 Apr 2013
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Location: Desert, SoCal, U.S.A
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Two Moto Kiwis
In some states if the bike is over five years old you will have to get an emissions test done, this I know at least for AZ and Cali but I can not say for others sorry.
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It would make more sense logistically to enter via Oregon/Washington. Az. will definitely be the least onerous in terms of taxes, licensing fees etc. and I suspect that Oregon will be the least punitive of the 3 coastal states. But if we're assuming California registration:
Cali does not smog test motorcycles. If buying new the bike will already be Cali-approved and if buying used as long as the bike was previously registered in California there will be no issues. If the bike is purchased outside of Cali and then registered to a Cali address it must either have at least 7500 miles on the clock or it must be a Cali-approved model.
Unless things have changed recently AFIK Arizona's smog testing requirement only applies in specific counties. If the bike is registered to an address within those counties you will be subject to a smog test.
Last edited by lizrdbrth; 17 Apr 2013 at 18:40.
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18 Apr 2013
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Examples for 2 states. If your buying in california you can use the dealers address to register if buying new or used or if your buying private ask to use their address.
I remember in a previous thread that in Colorado you can buy, register and ride away same day as non-US resident.
Quite a few detailed threads on this. Use Google to search the HUBB forum on this topic
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18 Apr 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by craig.iedema
I imported (Canadian reg) and registered my bike in Arizona, Australian national.
This is a ridiculously easy process (compared to anything similar in Australia anyway). The steps below not related to purchasing a local bike can be skipped.
-Brought insurance online (used Progressive) and printed the temp insurance ID document.
-Filled in the EPA 3520-1 and DOT HS-7
-Went to the customs office at the Phoenix Airport, filled in another form, the engine capacity meant no duty was payable.
-Went the MVD, you can't use an agency as it must be inspected for the relevant EPA and DOT stickers, VIN and Engine numbers. As they wanted to see the VIN and Engine nos, good idea to know where they are - for me this meant pulling some stuff off the bike (fairing and sidestand).
-Then just went inside to get the rest of the paperwork and plate. Two years was $349. They weren't interested in the customs paperwork at all, so I think probably could have avoided that aswell.
- If the bike is over five years old you need an EPA test.
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I should point out that IMPORTATION of bikes from foreign countries to California could prove a very different thing than buying in-state.
Craig.iedema's bike may not have entered so easily. The California emissions requirements excede the Federal standards applicable in the other 49 states. A federal EPA cert may not suffice.
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25 Apr 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lizrdbrth
I should point out that IMPORTATION of bikes from foreign countries to California could prove a very different thing than buying in-state.
Craig.iedema's bike may not have entered so easily. The California emissions requirements excede the Federal standards applicable in the other 49 states. A federal EPA cert may not suffice.
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In general I agree with this, in this the EPA cert was okay for California also (50 state legal). All that said from what I understand California is last place you would go, more onerous emissions requirements, more expensive a DMV that is highly bureaucratic and only works part time.
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10 Jun 2013
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Australian planning US, Europe & beyond
Hi,
I have been planning to visit the US, where I plan to by a new bike in Oregon. From there I'd want to see as much of the US as I could, with a combination of camping and staying in B&B's etc. Maybe over a period of 5 to 6 months.
Then I plan to fly the bike to England and commence my touring Europe from there.
Upon leaving the US with a US purchased bike as a non US citizen/ tourist and entering the U.K. What will be the issue at the US end and the problem at the UK end? What's the best way to handle this, as I will be moving all over Europe.
Also I gather there are ways to handle the registration when it falls due.
If anyone knows how to handle these issues please let me know
Cheers Rodhttp://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/images/smilies/scooter.gif
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10 Jun 2013
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I dont know about bringing a US vehicle into Europe temporarily. It must be possible though it seems rarely done to me (due to expense?).
Permanently exporting the bike from the US is another way of doing it - surrender US title then re-reg in the UK. I imagine that will make your EU travels (particularly insurance and borders) more straightforward than running a US-plated bike with an Au passport.
A few weeks ago I was considering shipping a bike I bought in the US back to UK, as even with the freight and taxes it would have been worth the same as an identical bike from the UK (ie: bikes and bits are cheap in the US).
This is the quote I got from James Cargo
Based on you delivering your motorcycle into our agents Los Angeles depot from where we will load into a vehicle container and ship across to Chatham, Kent, clear through customs and unpack ready for you to collect, the price will be £895 (Transit time of approximately 4 weeks).
This price includes collection, freight, fuel surcharges, documentation, handling and export/import clearance. You will also need to pay any import duties, taxes and 2.5% use of deferment on arrival of the vehicles into the EU.
These are calculated as follows:
Duty and VAT: Duty – bike less than 250cc 8%
Duty – bike more than 250cc 6%
VAT 20% on value of the bike + freight amount
So that is 28.5 to 30.5% on bike and shipping.
In the end I still think it's least hassle to buy and sell in the US then fly over and do the same in the UK where registering a bike is very easy.
Fyi in the US I found your chosen regional urban centre of craigslist (like gumtree) was by far the best place to look. In the UK I'd say ebay.co.uk has the best bargains. As you may know there are bike selling forums on advrider (US), HU (international) and adventurebikerider.com (UK).
Ch
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10 Jun 2013
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Re Pruchase of a bike in the US and taking it to tour Europe
Hi, Thanks for that information.
The issue you found with your bike I was wishing to avoid, seeing that I don't plan to import permanently into the UK.
I plan to keep it registered in the US.
If I do that, then I'm hit with import duty etc. I was thinking the UK because at least they speak English and that lessens confusion, so it doesn't have to be the UK.
Maybe there is a country within Europe that would be a better choice to start my tour. But I can't see it being much different than taking any duty free into a country and out again.
I doubt that I'm the first person to plan on doing things this way, I'm sure it's being done often.
I don't think the Australian passport should be an issue as long as I can prove ownership and have the bike fully US registered and insured for use in the country I'm entering. 
The real problem I think is that at some point in time I will need to sell the bike, or import it into Australia, and then I will be hit with import duty. But it wont be duty on a new bike by then so it will be a lot less. At least I hope so. 
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7 May 2014
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Registering a bike in CA
I will be arriving in Los Angles in June from New Zealand looking for a KLR 650 under 10,000 miles hopefully. I plan to register it in my name in CA. From what I can see on the dmv.org site I need to have rented an apartment. This was not really on my agenda. From other posts I have read people are saying all that is needed is an address? Anyone with recent experience on this? Also I am looking for biker friendly place to stay for a few days while I set the bike up with a few extras. The plan is to head to South America Thanks for any info in advance
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