Hi every one, My plan is to start a trip in Miami and probably finish it in Ecuador.
I am Ecuadorian and at the moment I live in the U.K, hold a U.K motorcycle permit. I want to buy a motorcycle in Miami (hopefully a KLR 650) and apart from just having a look on the Craiglist site, I have no idea about how to deal with my future purchase. The question is shall I wait until I get there to look for the bike? Is it still ok for someone like me to buy a motorcycle with only a friend's address over there? if someone has done this recently, how long will I have to wait till the paperwork is sorted out and I am free to go? If I wanted to get some help from a dealer for a second hand bike, does anyone know one that sells this type of motorcycles? I will appreciate any kind of updated information that you can provide regarding this matter.

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dude,
i'm uk passport holder, just bought a klr650 last month in fort myers, florida, and am now in southern mexico... so proof its possible.

to make it quick and easy:
1- make sure the title is in the name of the person you are buying from- if not this the only thing that will stop you from having the whole process sorted in only half an hour- and that person must be present with you when you go to the highways department office.

2- the title must be the original and color. Photocopies mean trouble, money and delays.

3- Your UK license is worthless here, if its not US then they will need your passport.

The guy who sold me the bike in Florida picked me up from the airport and drove me to the Title office and in half an hour I had shiny color title in my name and a new plate for the bike. And of course my bike.

As for the address, they just need one to send the renewal when its due, but certainly do not need proof you live there. Try asking whoever you buy the bike from.
AND you dont need proof of insurance to register the bike in your name, man in Florida you dont even have to ware a helmet.

Im writing this from Playa Zipolite, Southern Mexico, and i regestered the bike in Florida on 17 Feb. Only a month ago.

So dude, get to it and hope to bump into you headin' south maybe, as we head for Guatemala in a few days and south from there.

Give us a shout and let know how you get on

adios amigo

Thanks Dylan for your quick reply and very helpful information, It sounds good to know I won't have to wait too long until everything is sorted in Miami. Hope your trip is going great. I ll be travelling to Miami on 01 May, so unfortunatelly I ll be stuck in London for another 6 weeks but as soon as I get the bike over there I ll hit the road down to Ecuador. If you are around at the end of june let me know.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KncXg_VOkj0

I am about to buy a klr 650 from a dealer in Florida (I am still in the UK) but I am wondering if the process for me to obtain the title and the tags once I get there is going to be longer than buying from a private seller. Has anyone something to add in this respect? Thanks

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KncXg_VOkj0

I am spanish citizen and resident. I went to Miami and bought a BMW GS 1200 in the dealership, this evening I was riding it with provisional plaques. One month later or so, they sent by fedex the right ones to Arizona and one month later I was having a in San Francisco. All you need in Florida to buy and register a bike is a postal adress, and I got the dealership one.

I crossed the mexican border at Tecate and no one asked me, but when I wanted to go back to USA, they just checked my spanish passport.

Safe trip.

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www.miquelsilvestre.com

Thanks Miguel, It looks like I am worrying to much about the title as the clock is ticking before my trip, hopelly everything will be fine. I also found out that in some places they offer a fast title service for $ 7 dollars and you walk away with it on the spot.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KncXg_VOkj0

I am almost ready to go. I am in Florida and I bought my bike last sunday, I got the title signed by the previous owner and I rode the bike home (a friend's place) about 130 miles, of course this was possible only with previous owner agreement because he let me keep his plates until I get mine sorted. The folowing day (monday) I went to the tax office and they said they didn't have the fast title service but they helped giving me the address for the closest tax colletor's office where they had that service for an extra $ 7 dollars and I went there in the afternoon. It took altogether 2 hours for me to have the bike registered and the nice title in hand although it would have taken only half an hour as Dylan explained but the system for that service was down for about 1 hour so I had to hang around. Anyway I didn't mind, in the end I had all sorted. Registration, title and plates done. Now I just have to focus on the bike preparation and insurance and keep going as planned.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KncXg_VOkj0