buying a bike from another country

Hello all vfr lovers. Has anyone ever tried to buy a bike from another country? i live in CALI but i see someone has a 2009 for sale but it is in Canada. I love the color and why it was not offered in the US beats me. I figure DMV fees will be a bear but anything else to look out for? If this does not work then i am looking at an all black 2007 but i like the way they painted the 09. Thanks all. I am new at all of this so bear with me. Need a bike for the on going drive to work that has gotten worse.

 

Dude you will have to paid atleast couple of grand more in Canada
Hey if you really love the bike and have the $$$$$ why not.
You can repaint or replace the fairing.............There are many pretty bike with reasonable price in Ca :crazy:

 

Best thing to do first, Is find out what is needed to Import the bike in to the US.
It may end up being more of a pain then the bike is worth?
In any case goodluck!

 

Just make sure the bike have a 50 State sticker or CA emmission comply sticker otherwise will have to go to inspection. I bought bike from out of state before and it is a pain if your bike does not have the Ca emmision control.

 

Not sure about your state, but here in Indiana it's no different than buying an out of state vehicle. The same exact process is used. When I bought a bike in Canada it went smooth as silk.

 

Since you stated that you live in Kalifornia, be forewarned. Kalifornia requires out-of-state vehicles, including motorcycles,

to have over 7,500 miles on the odometer. The old days of hooking up an electric drill to the speedometer cable to "adjust"

the mileage is over (I think). You asked why the US doesn't get that color, it's because Honda's marketing manager in

Torrance doesn't have a clue!

Carry On ~

 

Thankfully most new hondas in Canada are California CARB compliant (unless modded), My 07 came with the CARB flyers and the sticker(which is no longer valid :biggrin: ) on the frame. Canada to US and vice versa requires ownership papers and a receipt, expect to pay taxes to get it into the US and then again to register it in Cali. If the bike does not have the sticker, no worries, the VIN is registered as CARB compliant, but you may need to pay for a new sticker. Its a pain in the a$$ but if you want that bike, then you have to go through it. AND CALL YOUR DMV! they update processes all the time and can best guide you on how to make their life (and ultimately yours) easier.

 

Don't even try to figure out the color thing. I asked Honda about that even before they moved to Torrance.. Not a clue..

The California Vehicle Code is online. Google "State of California" and go from there.. Some Canadian dealers have the info you need from selling SV 650s with fairing when another clueless manager in the chain didn't think the faired models would be a hit in the US..Short of that hit your local DMV when it isn't stacked or find a satellite office and ask what to do.

The dudes here are from anywhere bikes are sold and every place and it's bureaucrats has a different way of doing things to promote job security. Just like asking the same exact question of two IRS reps. Expect two and possibly three answers.

 

Billy, You get the same treatment from TaxCanada reps as well, that I fear is universal. I did have a thought, why not just buy the fairings in the color you wanted, several places in Asia sell Honda fairing kits cheap, 700$ or less, then you just need a paint match on the tank.

 

The situation on the SVs was that the unfaired models were being sold in the states and the faired models were being sold in BC. The BC dealers figrured out a way to sell the faired models to folks who wanted them. OEM fairings could be purchased stateside but they were very pricy.The Canadian model came faired and were a few bucks more but not anywhere near buying fairing from a Suzuki Dealership. I gave up trying to figure out what some of the Japanese "things" are. Can we say inscrutable?

Not great reports on those aftermarket fairing kits with all the fancy graphics.. The latest ploy is dropping the price to $350.00 USD with a $150.00 shipping fee when they have been in the area of $500.00 for months..

The fairing on my mach 1 91 is just fine. It has a special coating which is partly why it's so bloody fast!