oz bike in uk and europe?
 

hi,just wondering if anyone knows the cunning plan for australian bikes in uk.i arrived from the americas by plane using motorcycle express after my americas tour.the bike is registered in australia.i was told i have six months as a temporary vehicle import.so...
1.is that extendable in uk (read kid in a candy shop and soo many people to go and places to do etc)??
2.i am in between spain and france right now so does this count as being out of the uk??(they have different beer vouchers here so...?!?!?!)
3.is it possible just to renew the uk or the eu temporary import by doing a weak excuse tour of morocco?(oh ok if i really have too....)and will this satisfy the bureaucrats and tree molesters?

if any of you learned motorbike porn enthusiasts have any pearls of wisdom please feel free to deluge me wiv info.
many thanks.:confused1:

Technically, you are only allowed to have the vehicle in the UK for a maximum of six months during a twelve month period, so your trip to Morocco would not re-start the six month clock. The link below has further info:

Temporarily importing a vehicle : Directgov - Motoring

You are also supposed to fill in a C110 form and send this to HMRC recording the temporary importation of the vehicle.

In practice, if you cross a land border into the UK, you will never be required to physically complete the C110 form. The last time I shipped my non-UK registered vehicle back to the UK, this form was also not completed.

If you are stopped by the police, they are generally more concerned whether you have valid insurance (either UK or a green card).

Therefore, whilst the law only allows you six months, the enforcement of this rule is extremely limited.

so does that apply for all EU countries ....that is 6 months in each or is it separate rules for britain and then the rest of EU.
is it at all possible to extend the uk 6 month thing or will they insist on changing the rego to uk plates IYHO?
thanks ,al.

If you are planning a longer trip in Europe, a year or more you could register it in the UK. This requires you to have an address and get an MOT test, this is for roadworthiness, an Ozzy bike with left dipping headlight shouldn't be a problem nether will a KM speedo. I am not sure what it costs now but it was £25 a few years ago and it should make insuring it easier, whether this means it will become "unregistered" in Australia I don't know but if you don't tell them they won't know. It is worth looking into.
Once you are physically in the EU with your bike it is in and as Matt says you should be able to ride it around almost indefinitely as long as you get insurance.

NSW plates and unregistered in Switzerland
 

Since our arrival in Europe in 2009 we still haven't done the official and permanent import of our bike which is NSW registered. Basically Switzerland (not in the EU) gives one year, 12 months, from the time you decide to import the vehicle (and get a customs import number) until they start to hassle you.

But as I haven't got the customs import number I'm just riding around on my NSW plates. I have however bought a 3rd party GreenCard Insurance from MotoTouring in Milan so that if I get involved in an accident, heaven forbid, or pulled over by the cops that I have the min required cover.:scooter:

Neither has happened and I've been riding quite regularly but not commuting with the bike. The bike is now unregistered in NSW so it could be a little tricky to explain my way out of it if I get pinned down by the boys in blue.

thanks for the tip i will need to replace my green card in october for a longer stay in the EU. i dont really want to register my bike on a pommy plate as i will be taking it home eventually and its hard enough to deal with australian customs as it is without any deviations.i am sure if i did re register my bike i would be put on the government hit list for trying to destabalaize the whole ozzi economy.i been away a yr and still am trying to get my importation license to take my aus bike(bought ,registered,ins) back into oz.go figure!!
"everyone has the right to be stupid but some people just abuse the privelidge"

Re-importation into Oz
 

Hi Ajmac,

I'm interested in knowing how you get along with the re-importation into Oz as I will be looking to do the same down the track. Please post what happens.

Cheers!

Turbocharger...i like your work!
Would the swiss cops actually check for valid ergo if its outside Switzerland? I ask because I've just moved to Norway and am looking at buying a bike in the UK and riding it back here. Im hoping to leave it on UK plates for a year before paying the outrageous Norwegian import taxes. Im having trouble getting UK Third Party insurance to maintain the UK ergo. I can however get Green Card insurance for everywhere outside the UK(eg Alessie). If the UK rergo should get cancelled but i have GC insurance will any officials (cops/any EU customs) outside the UK ever check/care whether or not its actually registered in the UK??.....this is all assuming i NEVER ride the bike back to the UK intil its on Norwegian plates
Cheers

Within the schengen zone you will have different laws that apply. I know for a fact that a resident cannot drive a foreign registered vehicle in Switzerland or Germany. This might be the same for other countries. If you are caught then it would mean a heafty fine at the very least. The things that you will be checked if controlled or in an accident are :

• GreenCard Insurance,
• Bike Registration,
• Proof of Ownership (or permission to drive the vehicle by it's owner, ie it's not stolen) and
• Driver's Licence.

In Europe and in the Schengen zone there are bilateral agreements that exist between countries. I suspect that UK and Norway have such an agreement and this means that they would have certain level of access to vehicle registrations. I would strongly recommend you check our the relevant laws in Norway to make sure you know what you are up against. :cool4:

IMO trying to fudge registration in the Shengen zone is not a good idea. I would if I were you, bite the bullet and stay on the right side of the law, especially in Norway where they are likely to come down on you like a tonne of bricks if they find your paperwork to be out of order. :nono:

Good luck.

I'm also interested in this as I'm looking into taking my troopie back to Aus. I emailed the vehicle imports people at dept of infrastructure & transport and they told me 15 days to have import approval granted. Sounds optimistic, but that's what they're saying.