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16 Jul 2013
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New on the HUBB
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 2
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[moved] riding US bike in Europe
Not sure if you're still looking for info on this, but I shipped my bike from the US to Europe with Stefan Knopf of Knopf Tours. Great experience with the shipping. All the paperwork is easy, and you just need to buy "Green Card" insurance for the bike while you're riding it in Europe (you can get the insurance through Stefan). I did have to provide a copy of my passport as part of the paperwork, but I don't think there'd be any problem with a foreign passport. In fact a lot of people shipping bike with Stefan are Germans who come over to buy Harleys and then ship them back home.
I rode my bike around all summer with US plates and the green card insurance and had zero issues. The only thing is it's expensive, roughly $200/month for liability only, and I'm pretty sure you can't get full coverage. Not an issue for me, but if you're buying a new bike you might care...
Last edited by Chris Scott; 2 Mar 2014 at 00:09.
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1 Mar 2014
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HUBB regular
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Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Germany
Posts: 32
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Warming up the thread.
Regarding the EU citizen riding a bike that is registered outside the EU.
It is not allowed and dangerous.
A court case went through the media not too long ago.
A swiss national went on vacation for two weeks and loaned his car to his German friend in Munich. The guy now using the car was stopped by the police and in the end charged with tax fraud. He ended up paying more than €5000 in tax and fines.
So, as a UK citizen you have to import the bike with roughly 8% customs and 21% VAT.
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2 Mar 2014
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Veteran HUBBer
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Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Ireland & France
Posts: 142
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bell driver
Warming up the thread.
Regarding the EU citizen riding a bike that is registered outside the EU.
It is not allowed and dangerous.
A court case went through the media not too long ago.
A swiss national went on vacation for two weeks and loaned his car to his German friend in Munich. The guy now using the car was stopped by the police and in the end charged with tax fraud. He ended up paying more than €5000 in tax and fines.
So, as a UK citizen you have to import the bike with roughly 8% customs and 21% VAT.
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With respect, the OP is (apparently) a US national shipping a US-registered bike to Europe for an extended tour of Europe. Not sure what the circumstances were for the Swiss national lending his bike to a German national, but there is no reason why an American should worry about bringing a US-registered bike over for a tour of Europe. Sure, the insurance might be expensive, but we can completely empathise with the reassurance of having your own bike, having taken our own British/French registered bikes to the US in 2006 and 2009.
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2 Mar 2014
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Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Germany
Posts: 32
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Yep. He is Australian. Why did I think he is from the UK?
Oh well, forget everything after 'Good morning'.
Why was this thread separated from the rest?
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