Good point, but still NO, because the bike would be illegal on the road in France and the rest of Europe if the paperwork ( ownership) is not in the riders name. Similarly the rider could not get insurance on a bike he does not have registered in his /her name . It's very simple, the European regulation on vehicles in circulation states quite clearly ''that all vehicles must comply with the road worthiness regulations of the country of registration''. So the bike needs to be legal in the country of registration ( USA) with respective insurance covering European use, and all the title papers in the riders name. Importing it into France would have been a nice idea, but it's not possible. If the bike is to go somewhere, it will need to be transported out of France first. It is not advisable to try and ride it anywhere without the right papers and insurance cover, as the consequences can be severe. France ( and the rest of the EU) is very strict, and vehicles found to be non compliant are usually immobilised immediately, storage costs charged, and the rider is likely to get some serious fines. Under serious circumstances ( ie following an accident) in France it is possible to have a licence taken away irrespective of where the licence is issued.

Very well explained in detail by Pongo.

People just don't understand the stand Michael is usually pointing out that EU regulation and how it is dealt in countries inside the union is very different than the way the things are done in US or Canada.

One more issue can be had if the above situation Pongo mentioned (accident), and that is if the bike is found to be non insured vehicle because of the not being road worthy (playing stupid with MOT scheme, last rego papers etc), but having a third party liability policy, you can be jailed for possible dangerous actions towards people and their valuables (policy is not going to be valid).

Same thing applies when people are riding a bike they do not own like Michael have tried and he was burned (his friend was burned and paid a huge fine), with a notary paper that gives the rider ability to ride someone else bike.

BR
Dooby