Hi Steve,

I am an expat working (& riding) here in Saudi Arabia.
OK, I have not come across anybody who has done what you have in mind. Anyways I could explain the formalities here.

Firstly, as an expat you need to come here & get your Resident Permit (locally called Iqama). Only after you get the resident permit, can you apply for a local saudi driving license (car or bike). Probably as a British expat, they may accept to issue a driving license without a driving test based on your UK license, but the new saudi license has to be linked to your resident permit number. So probably riding into Saudi before getting the Resident Permit may not be technically possible.

Secondly, only if you have a valid saudi motorcycle driving license can you register your bike here.

Thirdly, if you come the first time by flight & join work and get your resident permit and license etc processed, then you are permitted to import the bike under your personal name from UK or any other country. You can definitely ship it by cargo. But if you ride and bring it in probably the authorities may insist for the deregistering papers from UK as it must already have a number plate from UK and that can not be re-registered here with a Saudi plate.

(Me after living here for a few years bought a BMW bike from Dubai and imported it here. Ofcourse I didn't ride it into Saudi but brought it by cargo (truck). With my passport copy, resident permit copy etc, I was able to clear customs and with my saudi driving license I registered it here.)

So thats how I see your way forward.

BTW, have you had a look at the prices here in Saudi for new/used bikes. The BMW/KTM dealer in Riyadh (Mr. Abdulrehman) can be contacted at +966-1-4804567 (Tristar Motorycles LLC)

Haroon