Curious. What if I wanted to ship my bike to Europe and keep it in a German garage for a little while while I go back home to the US and save my job in this wonderful economy? How long can I keep it there? Will i need a Carne? Do you have to cross borders every six months? Being that i am a poor little man, my lady and i will most likely be taking two week stints each year...if possible.
Or, is it possible to buy a motorrad in Deutschland and register the bike there? Would I have to do it under the name of a German citizen?

Contact Knopf tours. Welcome

They will store your US bike for you in Germany. They can transport it either way too. I don't know what the costs are but I know one guy from Seattle who's had his US plated GS in Europe for years.

do you know the guys name up in Seattle? that would be a great help. I have family in Germany that could store it for me easy. Thanks!!

We left our bike in Europe for three years without problems. We kept it properly licensed at home and took the annual sticker for the license plate with us when we returned each year to ride it. I am told that by EU law you are only allowed six months but I know that nobody keeps track of that. Maybe if you stayed in one small town for several years and one of the local police noticed your American license repeatedly he might do something, but then maybe not. We traveled all over and left the bike with friends in different country each time. We also left the EU several times. I don't know if that renews the six month time limit or not.

As a person you are allowed 90 days out of 180 in the Schengen Agreement area. That area is roughly the same as the EU but not identical. Again nobody is keeping track of it. We spent up to 7 months in it without problems.

No carnet is needed anywhere in Europe.

I don't know about buying and licensing a German bike, probably no problem as you would have a local address (your family) to register it at. Insurance is easy, just go into the nearest ADAC (auto club) office and buy it (22 Euros/mo.). That's what we did. We also had a German address to use for it.

Whether you buy or ship you will have a great time there. The riding is fantastic and the cagers are very aware of their two-wheel cousins. Enjoy.

__________________

Bob & Kathy
The adventures of Lemonade

Bobcat answered your first question. Nobody keeps track of foreign vehicles, so if you keep it licensed and insured at home, this should suffice.

Better even if you find a possibility to park the bike on private grounds. That would allow you to deregister it for the period of time it isn't in use, thus saving you a few bucks. Naturally you'd have to have the licensing and insurance done before starting off on a trip...


The answer to the second question is: No. At least in Germany. Here you'd need some permanent resident to register the bike for you. Exception to the rule: If you buy a bike here as a foreign citizen, you can obtain an export rego valid from 1/4 up to a year max - to enable you to export your vehicle. he rego office sells the necessary insurance and collects the tax for the time the rego is valid.

__________________
Only when we pause to wonder
do we go beyond the limits of our little lives.
(Rod McKuen)

I met the guy and his wife waiting for the ferry back to the UK. We had a good chat about bikes and life but I can't remember his name, sorry.

you all have been a wonderful help. thank you.
ich hoffe shoen dass wir alle in Europe auf Motorraden treffen konnen.
take it easy,
Sean

Hello,

I live in DC and am exploring options for European motorcycling vacations. I read this thread with interest as it seems that storing a US registered bike in Europe would be an excellent option, but I do have one concern. In DC, vehicles have to be inspected at least every two years in order to maintain registration. For this reason, I suppose this means that any bike stored in Europe would have to be shipped back to the states periodically, increasing the cost of this option. Am I missing something?

Thanks for any help,
J

jparke, I recently moved from DC and have a bike stored in Germany. I have encountered the issue you describe and have developed a couple of potential work-arounds. PM me for details.

Hi motoreiter,

It looks as though I need six more posts before I can send a private message. Would you mind trying to message me?

Thanks for your help,
J

Give me a tinkle if you are at or plan to pass Munich/Bavaria. Otherwise we might not auf Motorraden treffen konnen If I'm at home, that is...

Hans

__________________
Only when we pause to wonder
do we go beyond the limits of our little lives.
(Rod McKuen)

jparke, just sent you a PM, let me know if you got it.

Got it, and thank you! I'll send you a reply once I hit 8 posts.

Repeat that last one four more times and you are in. We'll forgive you this time for cluttering up the thread.

__________________

Bob & Kathy
The adventures of Lemonade

Hehe... I appreciate the encouragement BobKat! I'm almost there!

I got your PM too, MM. I'll write back soon.