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Buying a motorcycle in Europe?? Buying a motorcycle in Europe??
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Europe Topics specific to Western and Eastern Europe, from UK to the Russian border, and south-east to Turkey.
Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 2 Mar 2008
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Location: NYer living in Finland and traveling through Europe
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Not sure how relevant this is as this thread is quite old and the question has changed a bit...

I researched buying a bike in Europe and found it to be too bloody expensive. It was cheaper for me to buy my bike in NY, ship it over and if I so desire, ship it back for less than it would have cost here. My bike was used when purchased, but I was comparing it to comparable bikes in Europe.

The other benefit of doing it the way I did, was I bought the bike a few months before I left and had plenty of time to ride and tinker with it to get myself super comfortable with it.

my $0.02
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Old 3 Mar 2008
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Wile E could well be right, as bikes are cheaper in the US. I'm not sure about other countries, but I suspect you could ship it and then sell in the UK on the way back without losing much at all. People here are reasonably familiar with registering foreign bikes as we get a lot of US and Japanese greys. Otherwise, if the UK is on your route, I still think we have the easiest process for it - and for most of us, the easiest language to deal with.
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Old 20 Sep 2012
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Buying a bike in Europe
I live in CZ and here the proceedure is very strict and there is no way around it which I think is similar for most European countries.

1. You need a permanent home address or you register it in a friends name and address but then he will be held liable for any road offences and fines.
2. You need a residents permit for that country for registration purposes
3. You will have to go to the police station to re-register bike into your name and address. You will then be given a new number plate(providing all the below has been provided).
4. You will have to get bike insurance again you need a home address
5.You will have to get the bike road tested at an approved test centre (called a STK here)
6. All of the above has to be done at the same time to complete the whole process which will require a lot of form filling(not available in English) and waiting in long ques.
7. There are age restrictions regarding engine size and if restricted or not so find out first.
8. A valid driving licence for that country, USA might be a problem.
9. Might be easier just to rent a bike!!!!!

Good luck
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  #4  
Old 20 Sep 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RoadTrekker View Post
I live in CZ and here the proceedure is very strict and there is no way around it which I think is similar for most European countries.

1. You need a permanent home address or you register it in a friends name and address but then he will be held liable for any road offences and fines.
2. You need a residents permit for that country for registration purposes
3. You will have to go to the police station to re-register bike into your name and address. You will then be given a new number plate(providing all the below has been provided).
4. You will have to get bike insurance again you need a home address
5.You will have to get the bike road tested at an approved test centre (called a STK here)
6. All of the above has to be done at the same time to complete the whole process which will require a lot of form filling(not available in English) and waiting in long ques.
7. There are age restrictions regarding engine size and if restricted or not so find out first.
8. A valid driving licence for that country, USA might be a problem.
9. Might be easier just to rent a bike!!!!!

Good luck
The UK system is not too different, except for point 2 (but that could be equated to the need for a valid visa for some nationalities) and point 8 (visitors to the UK have managed to purchase vehicles in the UK on the basis of their home country riding/driving licence).
There is a load of information about the UK in particular (and particularly the insurance "catch 22" issue) in the forum "trip paperwork".
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  #5  
Old 29 Sep 2012
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German export plates
fellow german motorcyclists
I am set to take ownership of my 2013 BMW1200GSA.

my question is how long can you get export plates? the BMW dealership will only give me them for 3 months,i need 6 to 8 to do my africa trip.

My Norwegian friends say a year, but i can not find any info on lenngth of time. the Dealership is holding firm on that 3 months. Can I take it to an license bureau and get it extended to 8 months, before it has expired, like on day of purchase?


(I am buying it thru military sales, it is a US spec bike, I am a US citizen, working here but heading home),by the long way down.

Danke!
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