I have a co-worker who is considering shipping his bike from a former home in Trinidad to the new home in Houston. Registration & licensing aside (a deal killer in my opinion), does anyone have comments or reccomendations on companies to ship a bike INTO the US?
At the moment this is just at the stage of gathering info and deciding what is economical.
Thanks!
Talmadge Wright
'12 R1200 GSA
Just go to your customs site and I'm pretty sure they'll have all the info you need to know about importing a vehicle. I know up here that's the best place to look for answers.
The big things are going to be the pollution stuff & kilometer speedometer.
1971 R50/5 SWB with R75/6 drivetrain
2008 HD Heritage Anniv Softail
Could be a huge PITA in my opinion, unless he has a big emotionial/financial attachment to the bike I wonder why bother?
Plenty of nice ones here in N.A., unless selling is a problem in Trinidad, I would sell it there.
Good Luck
09 Hyosung Aquila GV250-08 BMW K1200GT Silver
80/81 Honda CM/CB 400/450 "Frankensteined Bobber"
79 Honda CX500 Custom Black -78 Honda GL 1000
77 Honda CB 125 Sport-77 Suzuki TC 185 "10 speed"
HUGE deal unless the bike (or car) is 25 years old or older. You will be OK if the bike was originally licensed in the US. If the above are not met, I would not touch it with a ten foot pole. I KNOW what I am talking about. I move back and forth a lot. I just brought vehicles (three) back from a stint in France last August.
Cheers
Andres
Agree, HUGE deal. I lived overseas for most of my military career and watched guys wrestle with trying to get non-U.S. model bikes and cars into the States. It is not worth the aggravation, red tape, requirements and cost.
MSF RiderCoach, Schwantz School, MSTA, AMA, IBA, BMWMOA, Ducatista, HRCA, Factory Demo Rider
2012 R1200GS Rallye Edition, 2004 Ducati 749 Dark, 1990 Honda CB1000F Hurricane
Helmetless riders=Darwinism in action.
Andres has it exactly right. And besides dealing with the Feds, every state has their own requirements. California, for example, has a variety of restrictions (even for vehicles coming from another state), and if your vehicle doesn't meet them, you have to remove it or destroy it.
But if the vehicle is older than 25 years, it's trivial and there's no Federal duty. It's like night and day.
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