Bike Registration in Japan
 

Can anyone tell me if it possible to ship a bike from Wakkanai to Sakhalin which is Japanese registered that will be in my girlfriends name (Japanese) as the owner and myself as the authorised user.

The plan is for me and a mate to buy a couple of Transalp 400's at the end of June in Japan. Travel the country and then ship to Russia and ride through to Europe. I have been told that as someone on a tourist visa I cant register the bike in my name as an owner. Unfortunately my girlfriend isnt coming to Russia and cant be there when we ship ourselves and the bikes.

I am making the assumption that if I can get through Japanese customs that I wont have a problem on the Russian side.

You can register it in your name.
You have to go to the city office and do alien registration procedures for yourself. This is not required for tourists, but it is possible.
Once you have the alien registration documents, you can purchase a motorcycle in your own name.
Did you read the posts about buying a bike in Japan?
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...0879#post97911

Japan Bike Registration
 

Excellent information and link which I hadnt come across before.
I was in Japan last week making inquiries which only confused me and in one email I have now got a simple step by step process to follow.

Do you know if it is absolutely necessary to get the International Licence Plate to be able to take the bike out of Japan?
I will be getting the bikes in Nagoya and riding to Hokaido and dont have time to wait around for plates to be issued.

I don't think they are required to take the bike out of Japan,
but officials in some countries may not like the fact that they cannot read the plate. While I am sure no official has ever read it, the Convention on Road Transport does say that license plates have to bear latin letters. I have heard of Japanese who drive abroad with Japanese plates just for the novelty, so I assume that it is possible.

Japan Bike Registration
 

Great, I feel a plan coming togther. Will continue this thread when I get to Japan and let you know how it all goes.:scooter:

You might want to broaden your choice of bike. The Transalp hasn't been sold in Japan for more than 10 years, and the supply of second hand Transalps is pretty thin. A quick search of a major used bike site finds only 10 available in the entire country. Many are probably not ready for an overland journey without major work.

There are currently two Transalps for sale around Nagoya which I had planned to procure by sending funds to a friend of a friend next week.
The choice of bike is a bit difficult as for the intial three weeks we will both be traveling two up and there arn't any suitable big singles.
Fortunately I have a Japanese / Australian mate who is a bike mechanic and he will be flying a week ahead and preparing the bikes at his mates garage (pure gold that one).

Any other suggestions on bikes greatly received.
I had been thinking of KLE400's but there arnt many of those either.
We really want large trail bikes and there doesnt seem much choice.

Why would you make this assumption? :confused1:

Russian customs can be a real pain, I highly advise that you get your ducks in a row. In particular, if you end up registering the bike in your GF's name and ride under a power of attorney, I highly recommend getting the power of attorney apostilled/legalized.

Not many big off road bikes available in Japan. Most are for export only. Even the once-popular 250cc off road bikes are becoming scarce due to little demand and stricter emissions regulations.
There are a few old KLE400s, Africa Twins, and Transalsps, but nothing new.
About the only thing available new is the DR-Z400S or imports (BWM/KTM).
This site shows what used bikes are available at shops across the country: [url=http://www.goobike.com]

I wouldn`t recommend a DRZ400 for travelling two up. Even one up it can get mighty uncomfortable.

May be better off looking at BMW 650`s, the older ones are cheap enough in Japan, and more choice than Transalp 400`s and KLE400`s.

As well as Goobike you could check out Yahoo auction Japan to get an idea of what is available and prices.