Hi Sam:

Concerning the issue of you arriving with just a one-way ticket, the reception you get will depend a lot on what you 'look' like, and also what passport you are carrying.

If you have, for example, an EC passport, then the Canadian immigration folks would have no concerns that you would overstay your welcome and claim refugee status, therefore, from strictly an immigration point of view, they could not care less that you don't have a return ticket. If you needed to get a visa to come to Canada, in that case, I think you may well be challenged about how you plan to leave, and need to be prepared to show not only that you have funds to pay for leaving, but that you have an intent (reason) to leave - e.g. a job back home, owning property, etc. At one end of the scale would be a married Caucasian born and raised in Western Europe, with a job, professional qualifications, property and family back home - no worries about that person remaining in Canada. At the other end of the scale would be a young person, single, from an impoverished or otherwise undesirable (war-torn, repressive, etc.) country who clearly has no obvious motivation to return to from whence they came, and substantial motivation to better their life by staying in Canada. So play immigration inspector and classify yourself.

The other matter - having sufficient funds to support yourself during your tour of Canada - is a judgment call of the immigration officer, however, he or she is unlikely to raise the question unless you look like you might be in financial distress. If you have some cash or travelers cheques with you, and/or some credit cards, you should not have a problem at all.

Respecting insurance, if you got insurance for USD 70 a month, consider yourself lucky. The best I have been able to find going in the other direction (Canadian motorcycle to Europe) is about USD 250 a month. That is for full coverage, fire, theft, collision, as well as liability.

Regarding Grant's comment about the amount of liability coverage you should get, in principle, Grant is correct, the Americans do award higher payouts in the case of an accident, etc., however, the American lawyers operate on commission and will only go after someone if they think they have some money to grab. So, if you are a 25 year old and have a net worth of whatever is in your pocket plus your motorcycle, don't worry too much, you could get the legal minimum and that would be good enough. The sharks won't go after you if there is no meat on the bones.

On the other hand, if you own your own home, mortgage paid, have a nice stock portfolio and are expecting to inherit the family business in a few years, then you have more to lose if someone comes after you, therefore, buy more liability coverage.

[This message has been edited by PanEuropean (edited 09 April 2002).]