hey guys

sorry ive been a bit slow to reply - been out on dirt roads in the middle of "&$%& nowhere in NIcaragua - met a man that had never seen an onion and punched a pig in the face (he was sniffing my tent from the outside)

First off a massive thanks for everyones help - pretty sure there si something to be taken from everythignt at has been pu forward.

I am going to insure the bike online before I get into the States - that will at least solve that problem and yes I am definitely going to do this the legal way - not a chance i am going to risk having the bike impounded

A big point I need to clarify is that the POA was obtained in Chile in a Notary and is written in Spanish - IT IS NOT FROM COLORADO - but states that I am legally allowed to ride the bike in America.

Secondly the license plate´s expiry is only displayed using stickers that can easily be removed. As such I am thinking that I may attempt to ride the bike from the border to the very first DMV office - if I do happen to get stopped what are the chances that if I explain to the police I have just ridden 17,000 miles from Tierra Del Feugo and I am on my way to legalise the bike that they would then impound it.

What I dont understand is whether I will definitely be able to put the bike into my name when I get to the first DMV. A guy I met emailed me stating

"you as a UK citizen cannot register a bike in the US legally without a driving license, social secutiry number and a permenant address that you can prove"

But this surely cannot be completely true as the previous owner (an englishman) was able to register it in Colorado. I think I need to find someone in the state where I am going to register it whose address I can put down - Im thinking of entering through California.

Basically I still need to know that if I get to a DMV office in California will I be able to register the bike in my name simply by filling out the other part of the title document (that the previous owner signed off) and handing that in as if the transaction had just taken place (this assuming that I have managed to find an address to use).

I have already asked the previous owner if he could renew the registration but he claims he would have to buy insurance to do so and is thus justifiably unwilling (although maybe if i offered to pay for the insurance).

Also the POA I have mentions nothing about giving me the right to sell the bike and as such I do not think I would be able to with just this but I am going to look into the option of having a new POA sent out from the previous owner giving me the right to sell the bike.

I am looking to sell the bike in Vancouver and will probably only be in the US for about 2 weeks - I am running out of time and money.

Finally is there anything I need to do in advance (before I get to the states) to faciliatet this process and make the border crossing easier?

ANy help will be greatly apppreciated.