What to do with motorcycle at the end of the trip
 

Hello people,

I'm about to end my Pan-American trip in Prudhoe Bay Alaska. Now the question is what to do with the bike. I've contacted most of the shipping companies that are on this forum but they either don't ship from Alaska or they ask over 5000 dollars which is more than the bike is worth. So my question for you people is, do you have any recommendations on what to do with my motorcycle? I bought the bike in Brazil and they told me there that I can only sell it in Brazil. I reckon there should be a way around it so if any of you know please leave a commend.

Maybe you know another shipping company that will be able to help me out for a better price?
Do you know a way to sell the bike?
Do you have any other recommendations of what to do with the bike?
And finally, if anything else fails, could I just bring it to a scrapyard without any trouble?

I look forward to hearing from you all!

You can bring it to a scrapyard, but you will then have two more pieces of bureaucracy:

1) Cancelling the Temporary Import Permit into the US, as you are not re-exporting it any more;

2) Cancelling the Brazilian registration, telling them the bike has been scrapped and should be deleted from the Brazilian vehicles registry.

The absolute best case scenario is to sell it under a power of attorney to someone who is going from Alaska to Brazil; hoping that the PoA will be enough to get across all the borders. Assume if you find someone like that, you are selling the bike for a dollar, and you are still on the hook until the bike leaves Alaska (as far as you returning to the US) or until it changes owners in Brazil (as far as you returning to Brazil).

Can I not import the bike in the USA and sell it then as an American bike?

Or what about driving back to Canada? What would my options there be?

You'll want to do a bit of research on permanently importing a vehicle to the US (or Canada). Put simply, it's difficult and often impossible.

Unless your exact make and model has already been approved for import--unlikely, since even when they're named the same they will have different parts, safety standards, pollution controls and more like that--you'd face a long, expensive, uphill battle getting the bike approved.

That's the short version, and there are exceptions. Start searching and you'll read all about it on this site and others.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Sorry, I cannot offer any solid advice, but I have questions that might assist you and others. Did you purchase your motorcycle in Brazil as a "tourist" or are you a citizen or permanent foreign resident of Brazil? If purchasing as a "tourist" in Brazil, were you able to legally exit Brazil with your legally purchased motorcycle? According to MERCOSUR regulations, "tourists" can legally purchase motorcycles and vehicles in MERCOSUR countries, but cannot legally exit the country of purchase with the legally purchased motorcycle or vehicle. at least, this is my understanding knowing that this regulation might or might not be enforced depending on border and/or country.

Please advise your status as "tourist" in Brazil at time of purchase, citizen or permanent foreign resident. Of course, Brazilians and permanent foreign residents of Brazil are permitted to exit Brazil with their legally purchased motorcycle or vehicle but cannot sell in another MERCOSUER country.

As far as I know, and this might or might not be true, you can sell in non MERCOSUR countries. Anyone who has legally sold a motorcycle or vehicle legally purchased in Brazil in Alaska, or any non Mercosur country...please report experience.

The MERCOSUR regulations are to protect the industries in one MERCOSUR country from people purchasing motorcycles/vehicles in a less expensive MERCOSUR country and selling in a more expensive MERCOSUR country. Please look up MERCOSUR to discover which countries are MERCOSUR countries.
FYI: in 1968, after my service as a U S Peace Corps volunteer, I purchased a new Honda CD 175 in Costa Rica, rode the PanAmericana to the United States and legally sold it in Florida.

I was a tourist in Brazil and was able to buy a motorcycle legally after I got a CPF (a personal identification number). Leaving the country with the motorcycle wasn't a problem at all but this was over six years ago. I don't know if things have changed in that time. Mind you though, buying a motorized vehicle in Brazil is still a pain in the ass because there's quite a few steps involved an it'll take a few weeks. Afterwards I was told that other countries in Latin America don't necessarily make it that difficult.
Hope this answers your question.

It's probably not adding much to what has already been said, but if the statement in your first post about only being able to sell the bike in Brazil is legally binding, then you really have no other choice but to get it back there somehow, or at least scrap the machine and tell the relevant authorities in Brazil and the USA that has been done - as AnTyx suggested above.

Keeping in mind how much time has past since you first purchased the bike, then the cheapest solution would be to just dump it in a lake, fly home, and and hope everything freezes over both literally and metaphorically... but then you run the very real risk of never being able to gain entry to both Brazil and the USA again - so going the 'legal disposal' route is probably the wisest option under these circumstances.

fwiw. while you might find a fellow traveller looking to start their journey in Alaska (via the various sub-forums on here) willing to take the bike back 'down south' - I suspect that if only from a paperwork point of view, that is probably not practical for either of you unfortunately.

O K thanks I now understand you were a tourist in Brazil when you legally purchased the moto. Who said you can only sell your Brazilian registered bike in Brazil? It is my understanding the MERCOSUR "sell" restriction forbids a Brazilian registered or other motos/vehicles registered in a MERCOSUR country to be sold in another MERCOSUR country.

Alaska is USA and USA is not a MERCOSUR country. Also check with Alaska Motor vehicles, they might have a suggestion like donating the bike to an NGO etc. and Alaska will issue a new title???
I am surprised you were able to leave Brazil, as a visiting tourist, on a motorcycle purchased legally in Brazil. Argentina, for example, permits tourists to legally purchase motos or vehicles, but does not permit the moto or vehicle registered to a tourist to exit Argentina.
I suppose the problem would be to legally transfer the Brazilian title to your buyer. Contact Brazilian motor vehicle department and anonymously ask advice, ask if you can transfer the Brazilian title to a buyer and if the buyer will receive a Brazilian title in his/her name? If so, the buyer can legally ride to Brazil and sell the bike or park it in Brazil. . Just an out of the box thought. I hope you can find a way.

moto do Brazil
 

Sounds like a dilemma. People that buy vehicles in Brazil are subjected to paying yearly tax on the vehicle { Property Tax}
If not payed you really have a problem

Every thing hinges on the Property Tax you won't escape this one if the bike is registered in your name
My advise is cancel the Insurance ,Registration and licence plate fee
even then you are not off the hook until taxes are paid