American riding a mexican bike into USA (CA)
 

Hey guys, I'd love some wisdom here.

I'm American. In Nov, I am flying to Mexico City, picking up my friend's KLR and riding it to the Mazatlan-La Paz ferry, up through Baja, and I want to cross the border in either Tijuana or Mexicali, then drop the bike at another friend's house in San Diego for some repairs. Then I will fly home from San Diego.

The motorcycle is owned by/registered to a Mexican citizen (mexico tags, mexico registration).

I have the bike registration. I know I will need a Carta Poder (power of attorney) while in Mexico, and I know I will need US insurance on the bike while it is in the US.

Any other thoughts on what else I might need to get the ferry to Baja? And to cross the border into the US?

For the US border, I've heard there could be EPA forms (for temporary import). Does anyone know if that is correct? If yes, is a bond or deposit required? Can I fill it out onsite or must it be done in advance?

If anyone has any recent experience with this kind of situation, I would be most grateful to hear from you.

I crossed into the US from Mexico on my UK registered bike a few years ago at Tecate and was just asked for the registration document which I believe they checked against a stolen vehicle list, apart from that all I had was US insurance which they did not check.
I believe they EPA form is for vehicles that are shipped or flown in.