My motorcycle is now in the U.S. after a trip through latin america without insurance and without a registration (since more than two years).
It has german titles but no technical clearance 'Tuev' any more, which prevents it from a reregistration in Germany.
For my next trip in the U.S. and Canada an insurance is necessary. I found in old posts that I do not get this insurance without a registration.
Is it possible to import my bike, insure and registrate it, though I have only a tourist visa and I do not want to stay permanently in the U.S. ?
The customs fees should be low, for a 18 year old motorcycle.
The information, which I found on the customs and the texas government web pages give me no security, that I can handle this (in less than two weeks).

What happens further on, when I enter Canada, park my (I hope) U.S. registered bike and fly back to Europe ?
The import to the U.S. and the U.S. registration are not longer valid for Canada as I stay there !

Step 1: permanent import to the U.S.
see http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/in...al_vehicle.xml
"importation of personal vehicles for personal use by nonresidents" with the CF 7501 form
The criteria:
o Declarant's Personal Vehicle
o Imported for Personal Use
o By a Non-Resident
o Conform with EPA and DOT Standards
o Not Intended for Resale
seem to be correct in my case, if I can get the 'EPA 3520-1' and 'DOT HS-7' papers.
Has someone experiences with this ?

Step 2: registration in Texas
see http://www.dot.state.tx.us/vtr/vtrreginfo.htm?pg=faq
should be 'easy', if I get from the Department of Motor Vehicles a form, that basically exempts me from having a social security nr.
The number of the form was missing in the old post :-( , but they from the DMV will know it.
All other restrictions start with "I just moved to Texas" but continues more friendly with this requirements
o A completed Application for Texas Certificate of Title, Form 130-U.
o Original out-of-state title or current foreign document
(an English translation may be required).
o A completed Form VTR-68-A and proof of compliance with
U.S. Department of Transportation safety requirements
if you have a foreign ownership document.
o Vehicle Identification Certificate,
issued by an approved safety inspection station.
o Valid proof of liability insurance meeting Texas requirements.
o The vehicle’s current odometer reading,
if the vehicle is less than 10 model years old.
o Sales or use tax verification
if you have not previously registered the vehicle in another state.
Who has made this as a nonresident short ago (the old post was from 2002) ?

Step 3: Entering Canada with the bike
but with the intention of leaving Canada without.
Who has experiences in this ? I want to keep my bike, I do not want to sell it.
If this gets to difficult (dangerous when I will come back to Canada year(s) later), then I am looking for a safe place in the U.S. near Vancouver.

Has anybody some exact informations or perhaps better ideas ?
My trip starts already in June ...
Gerald

You MIGHT be able to get insurance without a CURRENT registration, but with a legal title - contact Motorcycle Express, ask for Gail Goodman, explain the problem, and see what she can do for you. Tell her I sent you.

OR register it elsewhere in Europe - OR do what is needed to get the Tuev. I know, that's a hassle - but it could be better than trying to register it in the US. see below

VERY difficult from all reports I've received. Registering any bike from out of country in the US is a major hassle. In theory and basically, if the bike does not have a US DOT and EPA sticker it can't be done - in practice it can, but varies from difficult to impossible. If the exact model of bike was never imported to the US, it's virtually impossible. There is an age exemption, but I BELIEVE it's 25 years.

US Reg is good in Canada until you become resident, or 6 months, whichever comes first. (Technically, and at last word: - in practice, unless you are resident no one will care - as long as you have valid insurance and valid out of country registration. oops - you don't - problem)

Leaving the bike in Canada is NOT a problem, for whatever period. It is not recorded or entered into any system in any way.

Hope that helps - but you do need some sort of valid registration. Remember of course that another country has little or no idea what your registration actually looks like, or knows of TUV.

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

OK this is UK not US but I had a crash a few years back and when I rebuilt the bike round a replacement frame the authorities here simply said restamp the frame.Now......if you happened across a knackered old bike with paperwork you could always buy some steel stamps...might help

Wow, You are fast with Your answers, faster than I am (re)connected to the internet !

As I want to keep to be legal, I will try the contact Gail Goodman of the Motorcycle Express insurance.
Meanwhile I got an answer of the insurance 'THE SUNRISE GROUP'
>>
[...] falls Sie auf einem Visa waiver nach USA einreisen koennen wir bis zu 3 Monate versichern.
Um eine Police auszustellen benoetigen wir, von allen Fahrern :: Kopie des Reisepasses, Visa, deutscher Fuehrerschein & Kopie Kfz-Brief oder Schein. [...]
<<
(www.sunriseworldwide.com)
They asked me for the 'Kfz-Brief' (means the german title) OR the 'Schein' (means the german registration document).
I can use the title, which is a valid document, but without having the registration. Therefore the question is, if this insurance would pay in the case of an accident ?
Without asking them exactly I might have only the policing paper but no insurance at all.

For my other idea of import/registrate:
> It would be easier to answer this question if I know what kind of bike it is

It is a Yamaha XT 600 2NF, which is the low powered version to the XT 600 2KF.
For the model year 1988 I have not found my XT version on the Yamaha web sites (http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/parts/home.aspx), only the model names XT 600 U and XT 600 UC.
This should be the same models, but they have different names. The parts lists have another sign and are equal to the german ones of my model.
Because of my connections to persons living in Texas I would try to import and registrate my XT in Texas.

> Also, how many digits are in the VIN number?

The vehicle ident number has this "2NF" followed by six digits (and a separated seventh digit, which is not marked on the frame).

Is this XT a motorcycle, which was sold in the states and which has the 'US DOT and EPA sticker' ?

Thank You until now, hoping for some more details, Gerald