What we know so far:

-This is an old rule which comes up every few years and scares people. It has never been applied to foreigners, and in years of travelling to Iran I cannot recall hearing any first-hand accounts of large motorcycles being refused (though that doesn't mean it hasn't happened).

-We have heard no first-hand, or direct second-hand reports (e.g. 'I met xx who was refused') of people being refused. Only rumours (e.g. ' xx told me that he/she heard that someone was refused')

-An Iranian citizen (on the FB Group 'Overland in Iran' has personally called the three border crossings with Turkey (Bazargan, Razi, Sero) who confirmed there is no such rule being applied.

-According to a poster here, who contacted the ADAC personally, an earlier rule about cars with engines over 2500cc being banned, has been reversed (or rather clarified as being an error, I suspect).

-This is not the EU. 'Rules' may exist, whilst not being enforced, one border may have a different interpretation of the 'rules' from another (I have personally experienced this with things such as diesel tax, transit documents, insurance requirements etc etc). A lot of Europeans have trouble accepting the fact that rules can be ignored by those that are there to uphold the law (e.g. border officials, traffic police).

-There seems to be a lot of BS regarding entering Iran with a vehicle (e.g. 'you need a carnet to enter Iran' which is wrong).

In summary, the balance of evidence suggests that there is no problem to enter Iran with any size of motorbike. And surely, this is meant to be adventure travel? If you cannot deal with uncertainty, there are great places like Europe or North America to travel in where you can plan every single day and have virtually no uncertainty with your plans.

I have no idea about the American-made motorcycle rule. I have seen plenty of American-made cars in Iran (permanently imported, though mostly before 1979). I have little interest whether Harleys are banned. If it were up to me, I would ban them from any built-up area for making such a f***ing irritating noise. It makes some sense though, with increasing US pressure and sanctions that all American-made vehicles may now be banned. Perhaps it was this change in the rules which dredged up the other other 'rules'.

So, no need to change travel plans, I feel. But the only way to be sure is to be patient and wait for reports from travellers in Iran. Remember that FB is blocked in Iran so it can take some time for people to make contact.

EO (planning to go to Iran later this year in a >2500 cc car)

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EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.

Today we crossed the boarder at Bajgiran from Turkmenistan with our BMW 1200 GS. Everything fine, everybody nice. Took us about 1 hour for the Iran part, no special checks. We had our CDP issued in may (ADAC Germany), same for our 30 day tourist visa (Vienna).

Lovely greetings from Mashhad!

Hi Euroasiaoverland! thank you for this recap that will surely cool down a lot of anxiety!

I'm still saving and planning for a RTW for 2020 or so and was actually planning to get a Carnet de Passage juste because I really want to go to Iran and maybe Australia... I read all over the internet that there is no way you can enter Iran without a Carnet, and the deposit you have to make for the carnet is even bigger if you want to travel to this specific country (if the carnet is issued in France, at least.) That's pretty much the only country that require a Carnet on the route I'm planning... So I'd be very interested to know more about that! Do you have any first hand experience on this subject ?

Thank you for the summary! I absolutly agree to let things calm down and wait for more information before cancelling your long awaited travel. Furthermore i do agree on the "its an adventure, you wont have absolute certainty"-thing.

But i am planning to enter Iran via Turkmenistan and not via Turkey. Because of rather big difficulties in obtaining a touris visa for this country, i went with the 5 days transit Visa. And sitting at the iranian/turkmenian border while possibly being refused to enter Iran because of this 250ccm regulation and having no time to go back to Kazakhstan makes me feel quite uncomfortable. Even if i manage to get back to Kazakhstan in time, i only got a single entry visa for russia (which i used on my way to kazakhstan). So how to get my bike back home^^? Of course this is only an "if" scenario, but i should atleast think about it beforehand (in my opinion)...

On a sidenote: Are you serious about the Carnet not being needed for entry in Iran? Evey homepage i have been reading on and of course the ADAC himself is stating that a carnet is mandatory?

Greetings!

Some more good reports:

An italian guy I know, on a Kawasaki KLR, just exited Iran to Pakistan: he left Italy july 25th, so he definitely entered after july 23rd.
I just chatted with him: he told me nobody told him anything about his bike being >250cc

Another group of italians on big bikes were in Doğubeyazıt on august 7th: I'm pretty sure they are in Iran now. If they had any problem, they would have wrote on FB for sure.

There's a long, arguing thread on the Facebook page 'Overland Sphere', but I can't find a way to direct-link to it, so you'll need to join the page if you have not already done so, and search. The question was titled (rather prophetically) 'Q. US vehicle in Iran?'.

No, I have not done this myself, but I know a guy who has done it, and was in Iran with him and his car, for which he did not have a carnet. You can also search this site yourself and find a few stories of people who have done it. There is / was eve a guy offering to guide you through the process as it's not easy. You end up paying anything from $300 to $600 I think.

It should be said that it's better to have a carnet, makes things at the border much easier and quicker, but it is not necessary.

P.S. If you're not planning to visit Pakistan, I suggest to go (you will need a carnet though), definitely my favourite country.

Good luck,

EO

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EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.

I am glad to report that at the two Iran - Turkmenistan border crossings which I have passed through, I have seen no skeletons from people who were damned to eternity in no-man's land. So you'll live!

But seriously, you'll never know this for sure. The law is there, somewhere, but nobody applies it. Things happen though, borders close due to civil unrest, epidemics, holidays, political spats. Don't leave the EU in a vehicle you're not prepared to lose.

As for the carnet, see my post above. The ADAC don't see the distinction between a rule (some useless concept written on a piece of paper somewhere) and the situation on the ground (i.e. reality).

Good luck

EO

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EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.

I trust ADAC on that issue, which leaves no doubt on the subject. It´s known that you may be able to buy alternative documentation at the border if you happen to meet the right people at the right time at the right border crossing who are willing to go the extra mile with a lot of paperwork, even if you arrive without a visa, but it may take days. Paying 300$ and more beats the cost for a CDP anyways.

Cheers
Chris

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Thank you Crisidsto. Perhaps it's a bit early, but I think we can put this matter to bed.

Let's say this rule is a rule, and nothing more. The Iranian authorities can't tell the ADAC 'Yes, we have this rule, but it's stupid so we don't apply it', but the reality is that they don't, so it's only a rule.

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EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.

Maybe you're right, but this needs to be backed up by someone who actually has tried to get a TIP at the border and was refused.

Don't get me wrong, I have, and always will (while I can) use a carnet. But for some people it costs more than $300 (try CARS in the UK), and plenty of people will not have the money for the deposit, particularly if we start to talk about expensive vehicles.

What annoys me is the thought that there are people out there who may avoid Iran because they cannot get a carnet for one reason or another, and miss out on visiting perhaps the most interesting country in the region because technically incorrect information is spread on these forums by people who are conditioned to follow rules.

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EurasiaOverland a memoir of one quarter of a million kilometres by road through all of the Former USSR, Western and Southern Asia.

I know nothing about carnet requirements for entry into Iran. I do know a fair amount about requirements in the Americas, namely that no place requires a carnet, ever. The ADAC site claims differently (see: https://www.adac.de/_mmm/pdf/Suedame...ext_326268.pdf, which claims inaccurately that both Colombia and Venezuela require a carnet), and this alone would make me doubt anything else they say.

Make your own choices about whose information to rely on, but best not to assume that an organization dedicated to selling you carnets will hew close to the actual facts.

Mark

I´ve never heard of anyone being told by an Iranian Customs Officer that the CDP offered to him was not required.
I´ve never heard of any Customs official doing work not required by the law.

I rest my case :-)

Ride safely!

Cheers
Chris

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Seems it is all just a storm in a glas of water .

Check this post of 2 big bikes entering and some comments of ADAC. Only USA bikes are banned. (to be expected).


https://www.facebook.com/groups/201937063640691/


Scroll down a bit to the post of Aaron.

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I asked Iran Embassy in Moscow to clarify ADAC's statement.

They responded that the Embassy had not received any information about new rules, and they looked to the Iran Customs web-site. There is such new regulation on the web-site, but it relates to import for sale in Iran only.

Cheers guys!

Btw, me and my wife are going to Iran in September, we're planning to reach Tehran 13-15th of September, visit Esfahan, Tabriz, eastern Turkey, and depart home somewhen near 25th of September. We're open to meet anybody on the route to have a chat, a dinner or join us for a while.

Thank you for your answer! Looks like a hassle, so if I have the chance to have a CDP I will, but as you said, the deposit for an expensive bike is a not easy to let go!