Registering Aussie Bike in Canada??
 

Hello Everyone,

I need some advice:

Back in 2008 I rode a Australian Registered DL650 from Argentina up through to Canada.
This was the end of my trip and with my life taking a few different turns (finding girl, getting married, having a couple kids, moving countries etc..) the bike ended staying in Canada with family.

It has been seven years. The bike is not in pristine condition. I really need to do something about it.

A relative in Canada is interested in using it. However, what are his chances of getting it registered/insured in Canada? If it can be done, what is the process? Worth doing?

Anyone have any experience/ advice on this?

Thanks,
Bruce

If you haven't got info by now...
 

Your bike will require an "Out of province inspection", cost and regs varies in each province... They are a thorough inspection, everything's got to be up to par. Mine in Alberta was $250. Other than the oopi, all you need is a bill of sale for plates and insurance. An 08 bike is worth it I think, unless she was really abused... My bike is an 06, passed oopi without issue, though mine only has 11,000kms. Good luck, Happy Travels!

Bruce:

Everything depends on which country the motorcycle was originally built for.

If it was built for sale in the Australian domestic market, it will probably be impossible for you to (legally) import it to Canada. Let's disregard for the purpose of this conversation that the bike happens to be (illegally) in Canada at the moment...

See this Canadian government website for more detailed information: Importing vehicles purchased in countries OTHER than the United States.

The problem is that the bike will not be certified by the manufacturer to have met Canadian emission and safety standards. It doesn't matter whether it is identical in every respect to a Canadian-spec bike, the problem is that it won't have the necessary certification stickers on it.

Michael

You may be able to sell it off in parts... may! Problems come with things that have legal numbers on them .. engine and frame, you may have to scrap those bits with the numbers on them. What ever you do keep a record of what happens with it .. just incase someone comes looking for you regarding customs duties.

Or importing it to another country ... Mexico?

:funmeterno:

Safety requirements for your bike may be dependant on age of bike as well. Newer safety regs may be met, ie. daytime running lights,etc. I know this because i have an imported 1994 hilux, rhd. from Tokyo. Was never intended for Canadian market, but here she is meeting all specs. As far as your bike being here illegally, that is out of my league.

I believe that there is an exception to the normal rules that apply to vehicle imports (meaning that they must comply with safety and emission standards, etc.) for vehicles that are older than a certain age. 15 years old comes to mind, but don't trust me on that.

My poke in the ribs to the original poster (which was done with a smile on my face... it's kind of hard to show gentle ribbing of someone in a text-only environment) arose because his question was "How do I import the bike", but the reality is that he already imported the thing seven years ago!

Michael

PS: Mind you, coming from Australia, it's going to be a left hand drive motorcycle... not sure if they allow those things on the road. :)

Possibly 21? years for Australian imports.


Ar but that is when it is correct side up, as it has been mirrored to use the upside down earth in the northern hemisphere it is now a right hand drive motorcycle. :smartass:

It may need a new headlight .. the reflector does not like being mirrored (something about too many reflections) and may point the wrong way. And the speedo may need to be replaced to prehistoric units.

Sell it to a foreigner looking to travel the Americas. Even better if it's an aussie who can register it there before setting off to Canada. I believe if it is 15 years old, it can be legally imported to Canada

I've emigrated to Alberta from Canada and just received my permanent residency so I've had some dealings with Customs on this. If you sell it cross border you are effectively importing it. So there are duties and taxes.

In our case (bit off topic but may shed some light anyway) we were allowed items (including vehicles) as part of our migration on a work visa under the condition that all good brought in would leave with us when the visa was up. We registered the bikes easily with a standard "out of province" inspection. This is required if you register vehicles across different provinces anyway. It needs to be at a licensed mechanic though, but they just look to see if you have all the ADR stuff like indicators and mirrors and horn and all that rubbish. I had removed stuff for pillions in Australia so I could register them as a single seater in Qld and they didn't care about that stuff. So really the road legal stuff (including license plate lights!).

Now that we stay indefinitely the question from us was what to do with the goods that we brought in. Canada exempts taxes and duties in these cases. You can't sell the vehicle within your first year under your permanent status though or you will be required to pay the import taxes etc.

TMotten's post above is enlightening, but for the benefit of the original poster (Bruce), be aware that the various exemptions and courtesies that Canada Customs (and Transport Canada, who regulate vehicle safety standards) that Tmotten described only apply to what is known as 'Settler's Effects' - in other words, the personal possessions that immigrants to Canada bring with them.

In other words, the process described by Tmotten immediately above will not be available to a person who is not immigrating to Canada (either temporarily or permanently).

Michael

Correct. In a roundabout way I'm describing that you're importing vehicles if you transfer title over and they remain in Canada. With that you're under importation legislation with inevitable taxes and duties.

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Part it out
 

In my experience PanEuropean is right. Importing in the situation described will be complicated, with frustrating procedures and process time, if successful. I recommend to simply sell it for parts. You could advertise it on Kijiji: Free Classifieds in Canada. Find a job, buy a car, find a house or apartment, furniture, appliances and more! and other similar classified mentioning the reason and, of course, providing the (old) registration document to the buyer if you still have them. Depending where the bike is in Canada selling it could go pretty fast with the dual sport riding communities. Good luck!