Help buying a motorbike in Europe
 

Hi all,

I am coming to Europe from Australia in mid May 2014 and planning to spend 3 months riding to Mongolia.

I am trying to buy a bike before I arrive. Currently Martin (wheatwacker ) is helping me in Ireland.

Is there anyone out there in say England , France or Germany who does a similar thing. Basically looking for an xt 600/660, transalp. Dr650 etc.

I'm happy to put down money on the table for your help and storage if you are able.

I hope I got the right forum tho time!

PM/email me if you can help. More than happy to help if you ever come to Australia.

Cheers

Tom

Hi Tom,

I think that wheatwhacker is the best option if you want to buy in Europe, he's in Ireland and it's a bit far out, however the cool thing is that at the moment buying in Ireland is still one of the few loopholes allowing a non-EU citizen to legally register and insure a bike under their own name.

I think that anywhere else you would really have to declare permanent residency, and register yourself as a tax-payer ( it's apparently not so hard to do in Spain, next to impossible here in Italy without a job contract)

Otherwise you need to find someone in Europe you trust very much, and convince them to register the bike under their name. Of course they would have to trust you even more as this way they'd be liable for any Fines you get in the EU that don't get charged on the spot.

The other thing I've noticed is that prices for used bikes are pretty low up in Ireland, which makes up for the expense of getting down here afterwards.

Another option seems to be Germany, where there's a good market for used bikes, there's regular and strict testing which means that generally vehicles are kept in good nick, and most importantly, it's possible to register and insure a used vehicle with export plates, I think up to six months, without having a permanent address in Germany.

The other obvious advantage of Ireland , other than the beer, is the language barrier, or lack of it.

Good luck with it.

DM

A few thoughts come to mind
 

One obvious thing to do is to check the adverts within the HUBB for bike sales and cut a deal with a seller that you use their address to register the bike in the UK; as per the last post, registering here does need a UK address but it doesn't matter what nationality you are.
Also, as per the last post, sure there is risk involved but anyone advertising in here should be already aware of this and content with the issue.

For a while now, the bike dealer in the link below has been advertising a "sale and buy back" arrangement - I have seen this mentioned only in their adverts on ebay though. Nor do I know if they are inclined to handle the more complicated process of buying from overseas.
Used Bikes from Stafford Motorcycles
Note; I have no relationship at all with this dealership - it came to my notice because they are offering a service via their ebay adverts that used to be quite common in the UK but is not mentioned often nowadays.

For the insurance aspect, this is covered in a lot of detail within the trip paperwork forum; in there, plenty of people have found a solution to insurance which suits their needs - others will never be satisfied. :innocent:
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/trip-paperwork/

Thank you all for the replies.

This is my first attempt, between getting a bike and trying to work out visas for Russia and the Stans and getting a carnet for Iran...well i'm starting to wonder if 6 months is long enough to organise it!

Wheatwhacker has been sensational, cannot fault him and his advice. Hopefully the right bike will turn up in Ireland. Highly recommend his Facebook page, Motorfeirme.

One of the major considerations is the carnet for Iran, if I can get a German or French registered bike it will be about half the cost.

Way.of.life thanks, I'll drop you a PM

Cheers,

Tom.

Same for Belgium.
The CPD in Belgium or Germany is a LOT easier and more straightforward than in the UK, so if you can help it, you should see to buy a bike here (in BE or GER) instead of IRL or UK. And you don't have all the ferries etc to get to mainland EU and bikes in BE or GER 2hand are normally of better quality and cheaper than in the UK. There's a reason why BE sells a lot of 2hand vehicles to the UK... :innocent:

I could help you for the Belgian part if you want, we're leaving in june for indefinite amount of time on the bike and sold our place, so I still have my garage until beginning of June...

Hi, Thanks for the offer. I've got everything sorted!

Leboncoin.fr
 

Best source of cheap bike in France, Petites annonces gratuites d'occasion - leboncoin.fr

Search by area price etc.

Google translate OK for communication.

for germany look at

mobile.de - Germany's Biggest Vehicle Marketplace Online. Search, Buy and Sell Used and New Vehicles

good luck. Unfortunaly I'll be on travel in june. But if you need any translation, send a message.

angelika

help
 

Hi Daz,

i might be able to give you a hand to organise your trip. I've been in Russia and am from France. Not to hard to get a bike here. Don't know about foreigner really, but it shouldn't be that hard.

If you need, please, don't hesitate to send me a private message.
Cheers
Laurie

I can help out if you need in the UK.

I only have outside storage though.

Don't mind my address being used to register a bike here if you need.

Wheatwacker
 

I just returned from 5 weeks touring Europe and want to post that with out Martin Hurley at Wheatwacker, my trip would not have been possible. He has helped countless people fulfill a dream of buying their own bikes and touring on their own. It was really easy finding the right bike (in my case a Honda 600 cc Silverwing Motor scooter) , and having Martin handle the paper work. It was stored and ready to go when I arrived.
The hardest part of any journey is always the first step, and Martin made that first step doable.
My only experience was riding a small 80 cc scooter for years here in the states. So if I can get a bike, and spend a month touring Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, France, Andorra ,Spain, and then back to Ireland - anyone can do it.
It was an adventure to say the least. And one I will repeat. Thanks Martin for making it possible.