Not everyone is able to have 10-14 days off to ride to trail bike heaven so choose (chose) to fly and meet the van driving mates over there. Used to work well.
Taking someone else’s bikes in your van to Europe
- Thread starter Berin
- Start date
Not everyone is able to have 10-14 days off to ride to trail bike heaven so choose (chose) to fly and meet the van driving mates over there. Used to work well.
Clearly you have no idea of how others enjoy their bike riding. Berin has raised a perfectly valid subject that it would be nice to civilly discuss.
We're not all as hard core as you.
Not hard core at all, but it seems nowadays every one has some little problem to blow out of all proportion.
In May we had to got to southern Germany to collect a ram, as we had the truck we dropped off some personal stuff at Ausburg, including an old Norton commando 750. Now not knowing if we needed any specific paperwork didn't stop us doing the favour as the guy has now moved there. We just did it and suffered the consequences of isolation on return. It may have been right or wrong I just don't know. BUT. sometimes you just have to get on with things.
Incidentally, when we got back, we found out it was the wrong ram. It was a teleing-ram, not a jibbing-ram.
You should have sought advice on here before setting off.
dubster
Registered user
There's an analogy here somewhere... but let's leave it.
Fantastic some real world experience, exactly what Berin was asking for and if you can do it with livestock you can do it with anything......... oh you mean hydraulic ram don't you
also, not many people want to ride enduro bikes 400 miles on main roads and motorways. But I'm sure SteveR1 has a solution for this too.
I still think https://www.greaterbirminghamchambers.com/international/documentation/ata-carnets/#2"]it's not sorted out [/URL]-
"When and why do I need it?
If your goods are going outside of the UK and into one of the 40+ countries that accepts ATA Carnets and you are going for one of the following reasons:
You are exhibiting at an International Trade Fair/Exhibition
You are taking Commercial Samples with you to business meetings to try and generate business
Your goods are going out for Professional Equipment purposes to perform their function or to undergo testing
If this applies to you, you should be using an ATA Carnet. The ATA Carnet simplifies the customs procedure into a single document and makes the importation process much quicker and easier to handle."
I think it still comes back to, are road registered vehicles goods?
That is the sixty four million dollar question.
As I read it, your position is made harder, as you have several bikes, belonging to other people in the van. Those people don’t seem to be travelling with you, though you may have their V5’s, insurance certificates etc. You are therefore at the mercy of any customs officials you may or may not come across and, in a way at least, are responsible to the owners of the bikes to deliver / return the vehicles. If the customs bods think your intention is to flog the bikes, then they might turn you back. If they are convinced - or can be convinced - that you won’t, they’ll wave you through. If they don’t stop you at all, you’ll never know.
Do the customs bods search vans? They certainly carry out some apparently random checks on vehicles into and leaving France on the Chunnel, as I have regularly sat in the queues watching them do it. This was prior to 01 January 2021; I can only assume they do the same now.
It’s up to you as to how you think the cards will fall.
Plenty companies used to transport your bike to Spain or Italy or wherever, have a look and see if they still offer the service. If they do, an innocent enquiry as to how it works, if they don't, it's for a reason.
I guess it’s fairly safe to assume that the professional transport companies will know the ropes. It’s also fairly safe to assume that they will know how to successfully not fall foul of the regulations. I guess because they are able to produce the correct documents on demand or are somehow registered with the local authorities.
The OP is not a professional haulier, so what suits them, may well not suit him. He’s hit the nail on the head: “Are road registered vehicles goods?”….. to which might be added, do the customs authorities know or even care? The solicitor (one that comes highly regarded on these pages) seems sufficiently in doubt, so will be going down the carnet route himself; or at least, that is what he’s told the world he’ll be doing. On the other side of the same coin, a punter on UKGSer (hands on experience, always much valued on these pages) didn’t bother, delivering an old Norton to Germany as he was passing by. Two very different solutions to the same single problem.
If the OP only had himself to worry about, I guess his decision might well be easier *. But, he’s stuck with the other bods’ bikes, too. No doubt they’ll be very understanding (in a bikermate sort of way) when he calls them to say: “Sorry mate, fecked-up. Got turned back” if the worse happens. The bod who ferried the Norton, will maybe limit himself to: “Gutted, for ya”.
* I, with my bike, towed behind my motorhome, would chance it, too.
The OP is not a professional haulier, so what suits them, may well not suit him. He’s hit the nail on the head: “Are road registered vehicles goods?”….. to which might be added, do the customs authorities know or even care? The solicitor (one that comes highly regarded on these pages) seems sufficiently in doubt, so will be going down the carnet route himself; or at least, that is what he’s told the world he’ll be doing. On the other side of the same coin, a punter on UKGSer (hands on experience, always much valued on these pages) didn’t bother, delivering an old Norton to Germany as he was passing by. Two very different solutions to the same single problem.
If the OP only had himself to worry about, I guess his decision might well be easier *. But, he’s stuck with the other bods’ bikes, too. No doubt they’ll be very understanding (in a bikermate sort of way) when he calls them to say: “Sorry mate, fecked-up. Got turned back” if the worse happens. The bod who ferried the Norton, will maybe limit himself to: “Gutted, for ya”.
* I, with my bike, towed behind my motorhome, would chance it, too.
I've never bought a ram, but I did once go home with a buck goat after a very libatious Sunday lunch.
Surprising how hard it is to catch a goat that doesn't want to be caught.
This is all true. Customs bods do search vans, we got searched leaving Andorra with 2 bikes in the back in late 2019, but we had all the paperwork so it was ok.
We’ve also been searched most times coming back into the UK but they were never bothered by the bikes, probably just checking for illegal immigrants so they could get them straight off to the 5* hotel.
Anyway, it’s got over a year to get sorted, as even if this were to all get resolved we still have the Covid travel fiasco, and with a group of 8 with some flying, some in vans, the chance of someone being stuck in a Spanish quarantine gulag, or worse, a Holiday Inn at Heathrow for £200 a night wasn’t something the group wanted to gamble on so we’ve delayed till September next year.
If all Covid stuff goes away and we can travel then we’ll put another, earlier trip in.
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Not coming up on my tablet, no.
There’s an article in this months ride mag on this subject. It seems even the professional carriers have been caught out with this one. Open your wallets folk. It’s going to be expensive
Brexit. The gift that just keeps giving.
Brexit. The gift that just keeps giving.
I’d like to think they might have resolved / clarified the position by then. But you never know. The wheels of negotiations can grind tediously slowly…. As tediously as six off-road bikes, grinding down the payage.
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