How do I buy and ride a bike in the USA

[humillard]

Hi All

Can anyone help. I want to buy a bike in the USA ride it for a couple of weeks and then sell it or leave it with a friend to sell. I have friends and family along the west coast of the States. But for various reason they aren't the best people to ask.

So I want to know about insurance and any advice if anyone has done this before?

Many thanks
Heidi

[Martyn Tilley]

Hi Heidi, a lot depends on where in USA you buy the bike......... different states have different laws.

I can tell you about California.

In CA you need to take a 25 question written test to get a bike permit, this is EASY, you can retake it up to 3 times on the day and it costs $25.00 this permit allows you to ride ANY size motorcycle with these rules......NO passengers, NO riding after dark NO riding on Freeways ( Motorways) to get that privilege you must do the riding test which is easier than falling off a fully loaded DR650 in sand.

Insurance is easy but not cheap in USA good companies to try are Progressive and Geico.
Progressive cheaper and have a handy roadside assistance extra ya can add on too. I paid $12.77 a month foe a KZ1000P through Progressive ( basic minimum insurance needed by law, no add ons)

Best place to look for bikes is probably Craigslist but be prepared to look around.

Hope this helps

Martyn

PS BE AWARE THAT THE TAGS AND REGISTRATION MUST BE UP TO DATE!!!!!!!! otherwise you will be liable for ALL back fees! you can check out if fees are owed by visiting The DMV Made Simple - DMV.org they have a fee calculator where you put in purchase price, and VIN number and it calculates the fees. I got stung on an old Honda and had to pay $450 back fees.......so be carefull.OK?

[mudmaps]

Its quite easy - I did it this year.

1. Get a local address (ie your friend/family)
2. Buy your bike (Craigslist, eBay, dealer, from me ) checking it is backtax-free as per Martyn's post
3. Get an insurance policy- we used Progressive and they are great and cheap. (you can edit it online later when you don't need as much accident insurance for instance after you've returned home). Agents everywhere.
4. Transfer Rego or get Registration receipt from dealer/motor rego (Dealer did this for me)
5. Sign blank Transfer papers and leave with Friend/Family to complete in your absence when bike sold.

Plates are optional (esp. in CA where they are broke so MotorRego guys only work a few days a week and can take 2 months to post new plates and final paperwork). I crossed into Canada and back without plates or final paperwork. No drama. All registered bikes are in a huge Border Control database so they just punch in the VIN number and let you back into the country.

6. Use international drivers license for short stays.


We've since sold one bike via eBay and the other BMW F650 is up for sale although haven't posted much to date.

Enjoy!

[markharf]

Beware posts which say "It's easy." In point of fact, it is easy in some states and absolutely impossible in others to purchase, register and insure in your own name as a non-resident.

Do a search on this site. You'll find posts from other people who've done it, as well as posts from people who've chosen the wrong states and been unable. California seems to work well, as does Florida. There are other easy states, but I forget which they are.

If you're really going to ride for just a few weeks, and you're really determined to buy a bike, registering it in the name of the person who's going to sell it for you makes sense. Pick someone who's old enough and has a clean driving record and you'll save big bucks on the insurance. Have them register and insure the bike, adding you as a driver if necessary. Take a note authorizing you to ride the bike, signed by the owner (this is not really necessary, but it sure won't hurt if the question ever comes up).

Do your research and have a good trip.

Mark

[Road Hog]

Not sure where in the West Coast you plan on starting but Washington should be easy to buy, registrar and insure. If your drivers license has motorcycle endorsement you will not need to get license just international Drivers License. Let me know if you plan to start in Washington and need assistance.

RJT

[TravellingStrom]

Well, as I have recently TRIED to re-insure the bike that is under my name as a foreign resident, Progressive want to charge me $250 for ONE month, and this is just so I can get a duplicate title and transfer the bike to its new owner.

I have no idea where you all above get your $12.50 charge for minimum insurance, there is no minimum for a foreigner and Geico do not handle us either, I have tried.

I guess, if you have a local drivers licence, then that may work, but I never went down that path, I used my international one.

Needless to say, I am not paying that much for a month rego just to do some paperwork, that is still in limbo

Cheers
TravellingStrom

[markharf]

Richard, you need to figure out what's wrong with your insurance quote. As you know, I've got the identical bike and it's insured at Progressive for a couple of hundred dollars a year with a lot of extra coverage. If I wanted to go cheap, they'd insure me for seventy per year. I'm sure there are differences from one state to the next, etc. etc. etc., but there's no reason it should cost you $250 per month.

However, I've been wrong before. Yup. Sure have.

Nothing but rain, snow, rain and more rain around here these days. I'm beginning to wonder why I've got two bikes in the garage, both registered and insured and full of valuable gasoline.

enjoy,

Mark

[kneeslider]

contact bob's BMW in Jessup Maryland. Bob has an outstanding website, just Google Bob's BMW

[TravellingStrom]

Originally Posted by markharf

Richard, you need to figure out what's wrong with your insurance quote. As you know, I've got the identical bike and it's insured at Progressive for a couple of hundred dollars a year with a lot of extra coverage. If I wanted to go cheap, they'd insure me for seventy per year. I'm sure there are differences from one state to the next, etc. etc. etc., but there's no reason it should cost you $250 per month.

However, I've been wrong before. Yup. Sure have.

Nothing but rain, snow, rain and more rain around here these days. I'm beginning to wonder why I've got two bikes in the garage, both registered and insured and full of valuable gasoline.

enjoy,

Mark

Hi Mark and a Merry festive season and all that

Well I did mention the fact I am a foreigner, that is why it cost me that much, if I chose to go that way. I know it is cheap for you US immortals, but us OS chaps get to pay the difference I guess.

As for rain, we have a bit up here as well

Cheers
TS

[markharf]

You mean my insurance is cheap because they overcharge you fur-ners? Damn. Beer's on me! Don't bother calling ahead; just show up.

A happy, blue-sky holiday to you and yours.

Mark

[pecha72]

Originally Posted by humillard

Hi All

Can anyone help. I want to buy a bike in the USA ride it for a couple of weeks and then sell it or leave it with a friend to sell. I have friends and family along the west coast of the States. But for various reason they aren't the best people to ask.

So I want to know about insurance and any advice if anyone has done this before?

Many thanks
Heidi

For only a couple of weeks, I´d first look at renting, or a possible buy/sellback deal. You probably dont want to spend many days on arrival, and before departure, sorting out the things with the bike´s ownership transfer, insuring it, etc, even if all that *should* be pretty straightforward in the US.

[amateurrr]

Hi All,

Yep me too. I've been thinking about doing this. Although I prolly would like to buy a new bike, ride around the US and Canada for say 3-4 mths, then bring it back to Oz.

I'm a newbie here and never done any world riding (cept for a scooter in phuket) at all so its fair so say I may be barking up the wrong tree with that plan. So I'm open to all suggestions...

Licencing, insurance, rego not to mention the import red tape getting back into Oz, advise/experience would be greatly appreciated.....

Many thanks,
graham

[TravellingStrom]

I can advise on bike import at least.

Unless you have owned the bike for 12 months, it is a no go to import to Oz. Your best bet if you want to keep it, now that our dollar is so high, buy one here, ship it over and then bring it back.

You would not need any carnet for the US, but you would need a full bike licence(to be legal)

Cheers
TS

[Road Hog]

Went into Department of License today and checked on what it would take for a non citizen to register and license a motorcycle in Washington state. Only thing you need is picture ID (passport or drivers license), bill of sale and title from seller. You would not even need to have a local address but they said it would probable be best. To register and license you don't even need a drivers license but you will need to produce one if you are stopped by police, your license from home country is good enough as long as it would let you ride a motorcylce there. Washington for some reason unknown does not require motorcycles to be insured but other states do if you want to travel out of the state. Before you picked Washington as the place to buy you should check out Oregon as they do not have a sales tax, that would add 7.9% to cost of bike.
RJT

[Bush Pilot]

For help buying a bike in the USA I highly recommend perusing the advrider flea market
Advrider is by in large a very standup community of motorcycle riders.

In 2008-09 I bought three motorcycles that way with very satisfactory results. Met some tip top people in the process.
Feel free to PM me for specific tips on how to go about it.