Buying a bike in Eastern Europe

[lowercase]

Alright, since most of the searches I've done have led me to answers about buying a bike in Western Europe, I suppose this warrants a new thread.

Mainly, which country would be best for me to buy a bike in Eastern Europe?

I've been travelling across Asia from Japan, and soon I'll be coming up into Europe from where I am now (the Middle East). I owned a bike for a year in South Korea, and I drove a rental in India, and I reckon I'm a fairly good rider and I would like to zip around Europe on a bike this summer. My original plan was to ride one from Nepal all the way to Portugal, but the carnet requirements for Pakistan and Iran were far too expensive.

My original plan was to buy a bike in Turkey, but I was advised against this in an email conversation with Paolo from the One More Mile rider's club. He reckons I will do better buying a bike in Greece, as they are too expensive in Turkey and you need residence to buy one.

So, can I buy a bike in Greece as a foreigner? If not, how about Cyprus, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, or Croatia? Heck, is Italy even possible?

Additionally, I have a Canadian car license and a Nepali Motorbike license. I seem to be having trouble getting an International Driver's Permit. But the guy from the Hearts and Tears Motorbike Club in Pokhara, Nepal, reckons that's not a border security problem, only a possible problem if I get pulled over by the police.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

[mikeccm]

Im English and based in romania. you can buy no problem and register but look at 800 -1000 euros for something desent and of course sellable when fiished.

[ursus-spelaeus]

Originally Posted by mikeccm

Im English and based in romania. you can buy no problem and register but look at 800 -1000 euros for something desent and of course sellable when fiished.

I'm also a foreigner (Canadian) based in Romania. Whenever I've bought vehicles in Romania, I had to show my residence permit to register the vehicle. You can buy a vehicle with just your passport but I don't think you can register it and get documents made with your name on them. I've done it a few times in two different counties (judet) and the procedure was always the same.

I think that this is something that changes from country to country. OP, you'd be best off finding out which countries in SE Europe don't require residency to register a vehicle.

When you cross a border in Europe with a vehicle, they WILL check the car's papers. (This may not occur when you cross a border within the Shengen area.) You need to show them the ownership and insurance papers. They'll also ask for your driver's licence(s) and passport. Again, maybe this doesn't occur always, everywhere, at all border crossings, but it definitely happens at some of them. You can also get stopped randomly as you're riding along. Transport police do that. Mainly they check to see if people have the correct paperwork to transport stuff, but if they see a non-local vehicle (especially old ones) they often wave those people over as well to make sure everything is in order.

Whether or not they accept your Nepali driver's licence is a matter of whether the country you're in has a specific agreement to accept Nepali licences, and for how long you can use it locally. The thing that may cause you a problem is that you aren't a citizen of Nepal. So, it might seem odd to the traffic police that you're Canadian, riding in Europe, on a Nepali licence, with a bike registered in Turkey (or wherever). It may be completely legal, but it's probably not a good idea to make the police ponder your situation too long, especially in Eastern Europe. You'd be best off if you can find a way to get an international licence (even if it's from Nepal).

[Donmanolo]

I'm Chilean but residing in Italy, and I can tell you that "heck it isn't damn possible" here, unless you have a residence permit. (takes months to get one), or can register in a friend's name.

Same goes for Slovenia and Croatia , although it's possible as a foreigner to get temporary registration for export for up to a month with insurance.

As for all the other countries on your list , I'm curious too...!

[Werner-900ie]

Buying should not be a problem if you pay cash. The problem will be to register the bike. You will need to buy insurance (this may turn out nearly as expensive as the bike itself, as you do not have a clean driving record there, they'll treat you as if you just got your license...) and even if you'd get the insurance thing sorted out, in most countries you'd need a legal residence to register a vehicle.
Good luck anyway.