Want to buy bike in UK this July (US Resident). Advice?
 

Hi All,

I'm sure there's info on this somewhere, but I haven't been able to find anything less than 1-2 years old in forums.

I just started planning a UK-Israel trip for July. I'm hoping to buy a bike -- used DL1000 or similar -- in London (or anywhere around UK) then sell it in Israel a month later. Have a bunch of questions - any help appreciated...

Does anyone know an agent who handles buying/paperwork/registration/insurance in advance?

Is an export plate the way to go?

Will selling in Israel be a problem (seems like not)?

What are the best onlione classifieds to search for England?

What's the biggest Suzuki dealer (used) near London?

The trip seems very doable besides for the details of buying. I've called a few dealers but no avail...

Thanks much!
Noah (Oakland, California)

PS - I know the states well and happy to offer any advice if someone's coming over here.

I'm sure there's info on this somewhere, but I haven't been able to find anything less than 1-2 years old in forums.

I just started planning a UK-Israel trip for July. I'm hoping to buy a bike -- used DR1000 or similar -- in London (or anywhere around UK) then sell it in Israel a month later. Have a bunch of questions - any help appreciated...
I might be able to answer some

Does anyone know an agent who handles buying/paperwork/registration/insurance in advance?
I have never been asked for my Nationality when getting insurance.
As long as you have got a UK address you can use. I can't see it being a problem getting a bike registered and insured in the UK

Is an export plate the way to go?

Will selling in Israel be a problem (seems like not)?

What are the best onlione classifieds to search for England?
You could try
Motorcycles for sale - browse thousands of motorcycles for sale - MCN
or
Bike Trader UK - Buy & Sell New & Used Motorbikes, Motor Bike Loans Finance, Bike Insurance, News & Reviews at Bike Trader
If you need a post-code for the search...GU12 4RH will do.

What's the biggest Suzuki dealer (used) near London?
Sorry, don't know

The trip seems very doable besides for the details of buying. I've called a few dealers but no avail...
You weren't expecting someone to be helpful were you ?

Thanks much!
Noah (Oakland, California)

PS - I know the states well and happy to offer any advice if someone's coming over here.[/quote]

DR1000 or DL1000? I have a UK DL1000 you can buy, though I may well have sold it by July.

the suzuki website has a dealer locator. my experience is that London dealers are the least helpful in the UK. Prices are high, rents are high, so they are by far and way concerned with shifting bikes. It's likely you'll get a better service from a shop in another part of the UK.

it's almost a national pass-time to visit dealers and sit on bikes, and pretend you're just about to buy. so I guess you can forgive them for not rolling out the red carpet for someone on a different continent.

"suzuki motorcycle dealer uk" into yahoo turns up lots. I wouldn't worry about close-ness to London. Get the right bike, and London's only ever a max of 6 hours away.

Thank you both! This is a good start.

Yellow - Both those classifieds (and the post code) are great.

Dougie - Yep - I meant DL. If I can figure a way to do the insurance/registration easily beforehand, I don't mind buying it early. I'd prefer something a bit older so it's less pricey, but excellent mechanical shape. I don't mind some dings (prefer to not stand out too much when on the road).

Anymore tips (especially on an easy way to register/insure) appreciated...

Noah

I use confused.com for both car and bike insurance. It's just a price comparison site so get the reference number of the quote you want then ring the insurer to confirm exactly what you're getting.

Cheap UK Car insurance and home insurance quotes comparison from Confused.com.

Most of the insurers listed by Confused will give European cover with varying time limits (I think mine is 48 days per trip) but may not cover use outside the EU, i.e. once you've passed through Turkey, which is why you need to phone to see if they'll tailor a package to your needs.

I wouldn't bother with dealers. A lot of bikes are sold privately because sellers are being offered a p***take amount of money when trading in at a dealer. Therefore, a private seller is much more likely to take a reasonable offer and the advertised price minus 10% isn't being too cheeky, more if you think the bike was inaccurately described.

I can only really speak for sportsbikes but UK prices are very seasonal and you'll get a much better deal if you can buy early.

Hi Noah,

Sounds like a good trip!

Don't know much about the Israeli side of the trip but as Big Yellow the best places to check for used bikes are MCN ( motorcyclenews.com) and Bike Trader, but you could always check our ebay (ebay.co.uk) or Gumtree (gumtree.com).

the 4 websites above should havemore than enough for you.

London dealers are generally expensive, but they all advertise on either MCN or bike trader anyway so it'll save you the hassle, and as has already been said, the UK's really not that big (much smaller than California!) so don't really worry about where in the country a seller might be, in fact if it turns out to be in Scotland or elsewhere it'll be even better as you'd be in for a treat as the riding in Scotland is as good as you could ever wish and would be a great way to start your trip!

For insurance, try MCE insurance. I've used them for years and they always beat the competition all my other quotes:

Motorbike Insurance online quote for the best deal possible-MCE Insurance

Bare in mind that insurance in the UK is pretty expensive, and made more so for you by the weak dollar.

Hope that's some help.

Hi there sounds like a good trip. My advice on buying a bike in the UK is keep an eye on current prices Parker's

Good places to find bikes autotrader.co.uk (sometimes people on that one advertise a little high) loot.com and sometimes ebay.co.uk also there are a huge amount of ads in loca papers and forums so if you go to google.co.uk search for something like >>DL1000 classfieds<< click advanced and change time to the last month or something you might get lucky.

I personally always go for private sales rather than dealers but all my bikes have been less than £2000

Sure you want a DL1000? keeping your options open on which bike you want can leave you finding a gem of a bike.

If your lucky you might be able to spot a bargain before you come over, and if your very lucky you might find someone on one of these forums that would be prepared to check one out for you. I'm in Shrewsbury, Shropshire and would help you out if needs be, am some distance from London but if its in the Midlands I may be of help.

us resident buying bike in uk
 

Hi sounds good but might want to check if you need a uk motorcycle license in order to get insurance.I know the car license is valid when i travel there and rent a car but not sure on motorcycle one.

I found this company (through señor ColseyBoy) : eBike Insurance - Bike and Classic Bike Insurance from eBike Insurance

the offer UK insurance that covers you in Europe (365 days a year!).

You must take responsibility for your own decisions with ebike
 

I have used them for the past year.
So far, OK, but you have to be very clear about what you want to achieve on their webpages - it is all automatic, without even a contact phone number to speak with a human: you are on your own which is OK for 99% of the time.
For example, once you choose a method of payment nothing in the world can change that - nothing.

sounds like a great trip
 

hey Noahb

sounds like a great trip. Im an aussie living in the uk and i recently bought a suzuki dl1000 2006 from a local dealer. it was second hand so the price much lower than the latest model however it had hardly been used.

i think the previous posts about insurance are right in that best bet is to start with a comparison website like confused.com and then go for the best deal. Before i changed my licence over to a Uk one most insurance companies charged extra for not having a uk licence and also not living in teh country for more than 3 years.

MCE is good and ive found them to give the lowest quote so far. Their roadside assistance isnt that flash however its cheap.

anyway good luck

hey mblack et al...
thanks for all the tips. everything's helpful. i'm not too worried about the insurance anymore, as i figure the company's have an incentive to help you. more worried about registering the bike. i'm used to flying somewhere random, renting a bike and riding aimlessly. this trips a bit different. thanks again!
nb

I can help!
 

Noah,

I am a US resident and flew over in October, bought a bike and toured all of Europe. I did it on a 1996 BMW F650 and had to do everything that you are asking..buying, registration, insurance trip planning etc. I have just finished and getting the bike all serviced before I sell it. I know it is not the DL100 and a little older than maybe you wanted, but take my advice I just did this trip and I WOULD NOT HAVE DONE IT ON ANY OTHER BIKE OR BRAND!!!! If you don't believe me check the guiness book of world records and you will find the the most amount of miles covered by a couple titled "EPIC JOURNEYS" was done on a 1996 and 1997 BMW F650!

So, if you want to chat more about it please email me marcussdtaylor@aol.com and check out my trip route map at Called by God and Led by the spirit

I also have family in the UK so that will be helpful! Look forward to helping.

a couple of points:

if you buy private, you can take possession immediately on payment.

Sold as seen no guarantee.

A dealer usually takes a day or so to sort it. The dealer will want to see your insurance papers.

Trading standards mean a dealer gives at least a minimal guarantee.

In either case the paperwork goes to the DVLA and will take 1 to 4 weeks to return a title document called a V5 to your address.

But people do buy vehicles in the UK and export them, so you can get provisional papers. Which might or might not be a problems in crossing the borders.

For official information see Motoring : Directgov

New thought: ship bike to UK instead?
 

ok - having a new thought. i've been reading a lot of the forums and the whole process of buying / insuring in England seems a bit rough and complicated.

any opinions on whether buying a bike in the states and shipping it over is a better idea? money isn't my biggest concern. i'm ok with paying a little extra to ensure that when i arrive on June 30 in London, i have a bike and am ready to hit the road to the middle east. opinions? advice? experience?

i'm not thrilled about riding around with US plates, especially in the middle east, as we're not the most popular folks right now...

thanks! noah