Shipping bike to UK from USA and riding in UK

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MexicoMike

MexicoMike

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As I have mentioned previously, I am wanting a bike in the UK when we come back to the UK in May, '19. I am considering buying it in the US/shipping it to the UK because it is approx 1500 USD less to buy/ship than to buy the bike in the UK.

We stay in the UK from mid-May through Oct, less than 6 months. As a US tourist, 6 months is the max I can stay in the UK. I was considering just leaving the moto in the UK and riding it each time we return for the 5-6 month period.

This seems workable but perhaps I am missing something obvious that would make buying it in the UK a better way?
 
Are you looking at a Norton or something different? If different then a second hand (newish) bike will allow you to avoid the new bike price drop and sell at the end of your trip without a significant financial loss. Might be cheaper overall than storing for 6 months - unless storage costs are not an issue?
Either way, have a look at https://www.motorcyclenews.com/bikes-for-sale/search-results/?_qs=Uk4oQWdlLDAuMCwxLjAp and then compare financial outlay.
John
 
I’m pretty sure that if it’s a long term arrangement you’ll still have to register it in the U.K., and tax, mot, and insure it.

Registering something from abroad can be a bit of a faff these days it seems, but so long as everything is in order, it’s very doable.
 
The bike I am considering is the new Kawasaki Z900RS or the 900RS Cafe. A friend here in Bath has offered space to keep the bike(s) at no charge. My first thought is that by leaving it here and just riding it when we came over, it would be no different than bringing it over each time for the 6 month period. But since the bike would actually BE in the UK full time (even though not ridden), legally I guess it would have to be registered/imported. In that case, the price of shipping/importing would be higher than purchasing in the UK.

I'd prefer buying it in the US/keeping it in the UK because, at some point, when we no longer spend time in the UK, I could still take the bike back to the US/ride it there. OTOH, by the time we no longer want to spend time in the UK, I suspect we won't be riding motos any more anyway! ;)
 
I would suggest that the potential risk of being illegal in the U.K. namely the risk of invalid insurance, FAR outweighs the cost saving of buying in the U.K...

Anyway, if you factor in shipping it back one day, you’re gonna be virtually cost neutral I imagine !
 
And by the way...

Why is one not considering the purchase of a Norton...?!?
 
MexicoMike said:
The bike I am considering is the new Kawasaki Z900RS or the 900RS Cafe. A friend here in Bath has offered space to keep the bike(s) at no charge. My first thought is that by leaving it here and just riding it when we came over, it would be no different than bringing it over each time for the 6 month period. But since the bike would actually BE in the UK full time (even though not ridden), legally I guess it would have to be registered/imported. In that case, the price of shipping/importing would be higher than purchasing in the UK
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If you have a fixed base then the cheapest way to buy would be through a PCP arrangement - you may need to ask your friend to help as you need reference to UK bank acc to pay and U.K. credit score.
Just another possibility.
 
We have a UK bank account/and own our house in the UK. So I suppose a PCP - like a lease in the US, from what I understand - might be a workable idea. I had not thought of that and, frankly didn't know if that process was applicable to motorcycles. I had intended to just pay cash for the bike but, actually, a PCP for 6 months at a time might actually make good sense if it's available. Obviously, I would never "own" the bike so, in that regard, I guess it's just throwing money away in that I would never be able to recover anything by selling it.

I have plenty of time to do more research since it will be next May that I would want to get the bike.

Why no Norton? Frankly, I'd rather have something new that I don't have to worry about. With my new Kawasaki I could just put any oil listed in the owners manual into the crankcase without having to read through endless pages of oil threads! ;)

The other reason is that on the IOM, Nortons were all over the place - every time we'd see one, either my wife or I would say, "OH NO, not ANOTHER NORTON!" :)
 
Mike,
The pcp works slightly differently to a lease, you pay partly for the bike and partly for the lease making a small monthly payment - your kwak would be £99 per month with a £2500 up front deposit and after 3 years there is a balloon payment or trade for new pcp deal with minimum guaranteed future (MGF) value - you would have to pay over the 12 months though.

No I don’t work for kwak or the finance co. :D
Just check the websites for their finance deals
Course cash is always cheapest - unless you buy a Norton then it’s cash, cash and more cash....
John
 
MexicoMike said:
As I have mentioned previously, I am wanting a bike in the UK when we come back to the UK in May, '19. I am considering buying it in the US/shipping it to the UK because it is approx 1500 USD less to buy/ship than to buy the bike in the UK.

We stay in the UK from mid-May through Oct, less than 6 months. As a US tourist, 6 months is the max I can stay in the UK. I was considering just leaving the moto in the UK and riding it each time we return for the 5-6 month period.

This seems workable but perhaps I am missing something obvious that would make buying it in the UK a better way?
Click to expand...


if you think to make a “jump” from England to Italy, we will ride together to visit around “Rome/Neaples”.
One of my bikes will be ready for you.
Ciao.
Piero
 
Thank, Piero! We haven't been in Italy since '04 or thereabouts visiting family there. My wife is an Italian citizen - her family is from the Venezia-Trieste area. We haven't ridden motos in Italy but it would be great fun! Hope next year to be able to do that! :) She would have preferred to live in Italy rather than the UK but she took some pity on me because of my language limitations. I'm good in American english and adequate in English english! ;)

OK, seriously, I can get by in (poor) Spanish if forced to do so and , as a teen was reasonably conversant in German, living there from age 14-18. But I haven't used German since then.
 
MexicoMike said:
Why no Norton? Frankly, I'd rather have something new that I don't have to worry about. With my new Kawasaki I could just put any oil listed in the owners manual into the crankcase without having to read through endless pages of oil threads! ;)

The other reason is that on the IOM, Nortons were all over the place - every time we'd see one, either my wife or I would say, "OH NO, not ANOTHER NORTON!" :)
Click to expand...

I meant a NEW Norton...!
 
Oh...

Maybe but can't say I'm a fan at all of the current Nortons. I was CASUALLY interested but to me, a Ducati is cheaper with more than double the power and handling to go with it. I am NOT saying that I am capable of managing that power/handling but it makes a new Norton seem way overpriced. I have to admit I did take a quick look at Ebay UK for current Nortons and there were some current Nortons at a BIN price that was no higher than the prices of some nice original Commandos. i wouldn't say "never" to a current Norton but they certainly seem to have a large share of issues. But maybe they are just trying to replicate the originals! :)
 
FWIW - I decided to do a little more research on the "new" Nortons. There are currently several on Ebay UK in the 11k £ range. The ones I looked at all have under 1000 miles. Frankly, that alone scares me - who sells a bike with such low mileage? I managed to put 20k+ miles on the worst bike I ever owned before selling it. Of course, NOW that Kawasaki Mach III is a "classic!" Go figure... ;)

To be fair it wasn't a bad bike as far as things going wrong or needing repairs. Heck, it was totally reliable but handling was a bit...ummm...challenging! :)
 
Yes, the 961s do seem to have their fair share of ‘niggles’. Later ones are better however. But I was being mildly tongue in cheek as it sounds like you need a proper modern day equivalent of the UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle).

Kinda ironically, modern day Triumphs are, in many ways, the modern equivalent of the UJM, have you considered a modern Thaiumph?
 
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Agree with FE, the equivalent is the street twin, it has just been updated and “upspecced” and the reviews are very good. PLUS save you about £2000 over the kwaker - if more sporty is your choice then the street cup?
 
Fast Eddie said:
Yes, the 961s do seem to have their fair share of ‘niggles’. Later ones are better however. But I was being mildly tongue in cheek as it sounds like you need a proper modern day equivalent of the UJM (Universal Japanese Motorcycle).

Kinda ironically, modern day Triumphs are, in many ways, the modern equivalent of the UJM, have you considered a modern Thaiumph?
Click to expand...


Yes, I have seriously considered the Street Twin or Street Cup and, in the end, I suspect it will come down to a choice between the two Triumphs or the two Kwakers. T o be honest , despite me saying I don't need the power that I used to think I needed, the 100+HP of the Kwaker vs the 50-some of the twin does influence me more than it probably should. I don't REALLY believe I NEED 100+ HP but hey, it's hard to totally abandon years and years of "more power is better" :)
 
Have you seen how cheap used 1200 Thruxtons can be had for?

Winter is coming too, that’s the time to buy...
 
MexicoMike said:
Thank, Piero! We haven't been in Italy since '04 or thereabouts visiting family there. My wife is an Italian citizen - her family is from the Venezia-Trieste area. We haven't ridden motos in Italy but it would be great fun! Hope next year to be able to do that! :) She would have preferred to live in Italy rather than the UK but she took some pity on me because of my language limitations. I'm good in American english and adequate in English english! ;)

OK, seriously, I can get by in (poor) Spanish if forced to do so and , as a teen was reasonably conversant in German, living there from age 14-18. But I haven't used German since then.
Click to expand...


I will wayt for you in Italy next year.
Bikes are ready to ride in any moment, our weather never go down 15 degree in the winter, now is 22.
Ciao
Piero
 
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