Buying a bike in South Africa
Hi,
I am a resident of the US considering buying a motorcycle in Cape Town and using it to tour around Southern/Eastern Africa. So far I’ve had difficulty tracking down a reliable guide for the initial purchase and registration of the bike as a foreigner traveling on a tourist visa. It seems like getting the TRN (Traffic Registration Number) is the hardest part, given that it not only requires that the applicant have proof of residency in South Africa (I’ve heard I need lease agreement, which I don’t see how I’ll be able to get a hold of) but also can take anywhere up to six weeks to process (which feels like a prohibitively long time to just hang around in Cape Town).
I’ve heard that in some cases travelers were able to get their TRNs in two weeks, which would be an acceptable timeframe, but unless this is a truly reliable time estimate, I’d feel stupid banking my entire trip on the timeliness/consistency of South African bureaucracy. This of course still leaves the question of how to obtain proof of residency.
Despite these obstacles, however, there seem to be a decent number of people who manage to make this kind of trip work. If any of you have done so successfully—or unsuccessfully—any assistance would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks
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