Motorycle market in Moscow and crossing border questions
 

Hey, new to horizons unlimited but it looks like the perfect place to ask some questions. So I am planning on buying a bike in Moscow but just having some trouble finding anything about the market over there. I have no preference on bike as long as its bigger than a 250cc, if there is any sources I can use to inquire before heading into Moscow in April then that would be great otherwise if anyone can tell me a good place to look when there. I would like to be on my way after buying it as soon as possible, is it pretty straight forward with the paper work?

I am pretty early in my planning when it comes to visas and permits for my trip but the plan is to head from Russia into Mongolia, then up back into Rus to get into Kazakhstan and maybe head into Kyrgyzstan and on to Turkmenistan. I would assume that crossing on a vehicle between all the stan countries is pretty easy but if anyone can tell me if there are any country crossings that will give me trouble that would be great.

Thanks guys this community looks great and cant wait to read up on more stuff on here

Are you living in Russia and registered there as a resident?

If not, as far as I know you cannot register a bike or car in your name.

And just to buy it without being able to register is pretty useless.....

I was under the impression that you could but apparently I didn't research it enough, looking into it now im still not sure as there is a lot of contradictory information but it seems as if it is a ton of hassle, I will have to look at another option

Welcome to HU! You'll find the answers to your travel questions here, but you might have to look a bit ;)

Why do you want to buy in Russia? Why not somewhere easier? Where do you want to sell it? Selling in the same country you bought it in eliminates the registration transfer hassles and is GENERALLY recommended. Think about the best buy/sell combination. Also small cheap bikes can be abandoned or sold more easily than big expensive bikes.

Best of luck and please be sure to let us all know what you did, what worked, and what didn't work in the end to help future travellers!

Hey thanks a lot.

Russia just looked like a good starting point for me, I am looking at the markets and how easy it is for buying in some other countries in the region, if anyone has any suggestions for something that is pretty straight forward that would be great. I am in no way against getting small cheap bikes to throw around, I have already done bits of Australia and all of Vietnam on small shitty bikes, however id still like to try to keep it at a 250 minimum for this trip.

Ill be sure to post again once ive sorted it out/ started my trip!

Wherever you buy something, you need to make sure that you can register it in your name.

Otherwise you have a very hard time at borders and cannot pass them ( except with letters like power of attorney , if the get accepted, there you need a special one too )

One of the advantages of these forums (as opposed to the ridiculously popular Facebook group) is that you can easily search through tens of thousands of past posts. It's not difficult to determine that purchasing a bike in Russia is fraught with all sorts of problems, and that other European countries are much easier--Estonia being one obvious choice if you hope to start your trip in Russia. I've heard, but haven't verified, that Georgia is also a possibility, as is Kyrgystan.

An hour or two of research will give you a good sense of the variables. Hope that's helpful.

Mark