Irl to USA for trip .. how hard can it be ??

[Cortina]

Ok , so what's wrong with this ? (written by someone who can be v.v. flexible with time / dates)
Find cheap return flight to East Coast (pref out of Dublin and avoid paying some UK govt long haul tax !)
Buy a bike - Ebay / Craigslist / ?? (cheap - budget say approx $3000 ... likes of a mid 1980's Goldwing ... that type of thing) Sort paperwork (be legal)
Ride around for a month or so .. visit people ..stay here and there.... etc etc
Sell bike (same method as purchase ... or to some other punter who wants to follow you out and do the same thing ... sort of)
Fly home

Avoid the big rental bills ... avoid the shipping cost ... and have a bit of an adventure doing it all !!!

eh ????

May time ... after Rally of lakes ? ............. hmm .................

 

[Daithi]

With the exception of the reference to the GoldWing that sounds brilliant, if I thought for one second that I'd get away with it I'd be gone !!!

 

[Damien]

Different states have different registration requirements, so where you buy the bike and what address you use will be a factor.

Ask on ADV Rider, you will get better advice there.

Sounds like a great trip.

 

[Ravenbyrne]

With the exception of the reference to the GoldWing that sounds brilliant, if I thought for one second that I'd get away with it I'd be gone !!!

David I hate to burst your bubble but I don't think you can put TKC's on a Goldwing

 

[Geno]

If you had enough takers you could all throw in a few dollars to get a decent bike , would be interesting trip . What does it take to be legal in Stated when buying over there or Canada . All ways fancied the Rockies .

 

[Paul Rochdale]

I've taken my bike to the US twice, once by sea, the other time by air, and ridden from Coast-to-Coast and Coast-to-Coast-and back, 17000 miles in three months.

How long do you plan to go for? 90 days or more, you'll need a visa. Flights? The US immigration will want to know how much money you have and when you are flying back. It really worries them that you might become a burden to them. Insurance? That will be expensive but not impossible to get. Bike registration? You'll need a permament address of some sort, a friend's address or perhaps your first hotel. British drivers license is fine. Buy a bike - fine, and sell it? What if you can't find a buyer and your return flight is tomorrow?

Just some points to ponder over.

 

[Cortina]

I've taken my bike to the US twice, once by sea, the other time by air, and ridden from Coast-to-Coast and Coast-to-Coast-and back, 17000 miles in three months.

How long do you plan to go for? 90 days or more, you'll need a visa. Flights? The US immigration will want to know how much money you have and when you are flying back. It really worries them that you might become a burden to them. Insurance? That will be expensive but not impossible to get. Bike registration? You'll need a permament address of some sort, a friend's address or perhaps your first hotel. British drivers license is fine. Buy a bike - fine, and sell it? What if you can't find a buyer and your return flight is tomorrow?

Just some points to ponder over.

As per my post (cough) .. about a month. Have addresses as necessary , can leave bike with someone to sell for me as / if necessary.
Insurance should be available for sub $300 (year) ? ... friend there paid sub $100 for "state minimum coverage" . Hotel ?? ... wasn't really on my list of things to do ! Paperwork / rules ??... different in different states , some don't even insist on motorcycles having insurance ... ye gods ! Most have (wait for it) Sales tax on used motorcycles !!

Keep the comments / queries coming ... can't have too many

 

[Hairnet600]

bilco aidan the passportless one are yer men for this.........

 

[Cortina]

With the exception of the reference to the GoldWing that sounds brilliant, if I thought for one second that I'd get away with it I'd be gone !!!

I rode to Athens (and back) on a K1 wing back in the late 1970's (I was very young) ... you might be surprised at how nice they are on a journey like that , but there again I only did about 100,000 miles on them ........ Prefer not to show you the snaps !!

 

[DrFarkoff]

Ah Gwan Gwan Gwan Courtney Get them out!

I rode to Athens (and back) on a K1 wing back in the late 1970's (I was very young) ... you might be surprised at how nice they are on a journey like that , but there again I only did about 100,000 miles on them ........ Prefer not to show you the snaps !!

 

[Earache]

Ok , so what's wrong with this ? (written by someone who can be v.v. flexible with time / dates)
Find cheap return flight to East Coast (pref out of Dublin and avoid paying some UK govt long haul tax !)
Buy a bike - Ebay / Craigslist / ?? (cheap - budget say approx $3000 ... likes of a mid 1980's Goldwing ... that type of thing) Sort paperwork (be legal)
Ride around for a month or so .. visit people ..stay here and there.... etc etc
Sell bike (same method as purchase ... or to some other punter who wants to follow you out and do the same thing ... sort of)
Fly home

Avoid the big rental bills ... avoid the shipping cost ... and have a bit of an adventure doing it all !!!

eh ????

May time ... after Rally of lakes ? ............. hmm .................

Great idea - search for bikes on http://claz.org/ - searches all craigslists and other places.

Buying used from a dealer would get you a 30 day temporary license tag (only 10 days in some States) . That would sort out the registration for 30 days. But you'd still need a US address for insurance - which as you said, is easy enough to do.
You will have to obtain a level of insurance to travel from State to State. Might not need it in some States, but you'll need it to travel into others. But I'm sure you're aware of that and would get it regardless.
If I can be of any help, let me know.

 

[Sgt Bilco]

I'll keep an eye on this as it's getting more difficult to do this sort of thing and good luck with it.

An old wing is a perfect bike to do some serious mileage stateside on.

 

[Paul Rochdale]

For countrywide insurance cover, contact Fernet Insurance Brokers, 4407 Vineland Road, Suite D-6, Orlando FL 32811
email [email protected]

Once you get your insurance sorted out, your visa if you are visiting for 90 days or more, a modern UK plastic drivers license, you're just about ready to go. I have no knowledge of getting a bike registered out there. Don't forget that registration numberplates (Tags) are allocated to the rider and not the bike so you need to look into getting that done.

I stayed either with friends or budget motels, and Motel 6 are reasonable and pretty inexpensive. 'Mom & Pop' (non-chain) motels are even cheaper and can often be good too. Petrol (gas) is ONE THIRD the price it is here. Various states have different methods of dispensing petrol. NJ for instance have laws which suck the petrol vapour back into the dispenser so have weird spring concertina devices over the dispensing spout.

 

[Earache]

.... Don't forget that registration numberplates (Tags) are allocated to the rider and not the bike so you need to look into getting that done.....

I think you might be wrong there - the bike is tagged- not the rider.

 

[Cortina]

I think you might be wrong there - the bike is tagged- not the rider.

That would be my information too ... kinda backed up by the possibility of the dealer giving the bike 10 or 30 or ? days of temporary tags ... upon sale (Post from American guy ... who should know !!! ??)

 

[Paul Rochdale]

But when a bike is sold, surely the plate is removed for the owner to put on his next bike. I have a collection of US motorcycle license plates and have found it difficult to add to it as plates are either kept by the previous owners or surrendered to the licensing authority. I've even visited scrap yards to find scrapped bikes minus their plates.

 

[Earache]

But when a bike is sold, surely the plate is removed for the owner to put on his next bike. ....

Varies by State - but in general, no. Once the bike is sold the plate becomes invalid and is taken off and destroyed or thrown away...or nailed to the garage wall.

They are taken off so no crime is committed using the bike and the cops come looking for the original owner, toll fines, speed/red light cameras, etc.

I think this is where you stated that it's issued to the rider;partially true. But it's the owner and that bike. Anyone can ride it with the permission of the owner and the reg is good. But once sold, the reg is no longer used so it doesn't go with the bike. Hope that makes sense. I think this is how you understood it to be.

But 50 States are gonna have 50 different sets of rules on this. Most are as I've described but I'm sure there are exceptions. When buying a bike as the original poster described, it'd be worth checking into which State has the most favorable licensing rules.

In my State of Indiana, you'll pay a sales tax on the bike (6%) when you buy it, then a tag fee ($75-ish), local taxes and an annual tax based on the value of the bike. So, each year you'll pay around $250-$400. In the neighboring State of Ohio, a year's tag will cost ya about $35 and no more. So if ya have a choice - pick Ohio.

Insurance is based upon where you live. So don't use a US address in New York City or LA as you'll pay quite a bit. Smaller city with an affluent suburb address is your best bet for lower rates.

 

[Paul Rochdale]

Yes, your tax systems seems strange to us. When I reached Tucson AZ and wanted new tyres for the Pan after only 7,000 miles - US roads are bloody abrasive - the tyre depot ordered them from a state hundreds of miles away where the tax was much cheaper.

BTW I see you're in Indianapolis. I stopped there for a while and just missed morning practise for the Indy 500. I did however visit the museum which was exceptional. So you're a Hoosier?

 

[Earache]

Yes, your tax systems seems strange to us. When I reached Tucson AZ and wanted new tyres for the Pan after only 7,000 miles - US roads are bloody abrasive - the tyre depot ordered them from a state hundreds of miles away where the tax was much cheaper.

BTW I see you're in Indianapolis. I stopped there for a while and just missed morning practise for the Indy 500. I did however visit the museum which was exceptional. So you're a Hoosier?

There is NO tax on items ordered from another State and shipped to you. Usually the shipping is about as much as the local tax, so it's a bit of a wash.

I'm not really a Hoosier - moved here for a job years ago. I've lived in worse places though

 

[Eagle i]

USA Trip

Ok , so what's wrong with this ? (written by someone who can be v.v. flexible with time / dates)
Find cheap return flight to East Coast (pref out of Dublin and avoid paying some UK govt long haul tax !)
Buy a bike - Ebay / Craigslist / ?? (cheap - budget say approx $3000 ... likes of a mid 1980's Goldwing ... that type of thing) Sort paperwork (be legal)
Ride around for a month or so .. visit people ..stay here and there.... etc etc
Sell bike (same method as purchase ... or to some other punter who wants to follow you out and do the same thing ... sort of)
Fly home

Avoid the big rental bills ... avoid the shipping cost ... and have a bit of an adventure doing it all !!!

eh ????

May time ... after Rally of lakes ? ............. hmm .................

Hi Cortina,
My experience may be of help.Last Summer I bought an 1150RT in NY and was unable to register it there due local restrictions. Got my friend in VA to put the bike on his policy and me as named driver and i did a trip down to Naples in Florida. I tried to register the bike in a few states along the way but got similar response to NY.
I was offered the use of an addresss in California so decided to continue my trip along the southern states to El Paso and then to Moab, Las Vegas, Death Valley to San Francisco.
I went to the DMV there and the process took about two hours.Just a visual check of the bike ,pay a few dollars and then they hand you the plates!.

I realise this was a slightly long way of achieving a result but you live and learn and in the end I got a very nice bike that is now legal in my own name and ready for the next trip!.

Hope this helps, PM me if you need more info