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Topic: US to UK for school; bring motorcycle with me?  (Read 907 times)

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US to UK for school; bring motorcycle with me?
« on: June 03, 2016, 04:58:32 AM »
Hi all,

I'm a U.S. student who will be moving to Leeds for the PhD in September 2016 (on a Tier-4 visa, then).  My program will run through September 2019 - though I'm hoping to find a job in the UK or Europe after I finish.

I'm not planning to bring much with me - just a few suitcases with clothes, books, and miscellaneous items, and maybe I'll look into shipping my desktop computer and monitor (though that will likely be too costly).  I'm also hoping to bring my two cats to the UK with me a few months after I make the initial move.

What I mean to ask about now is shipping and importing a motorcycle.  I have a 2013 Honda CBR250R (with ABS, if that's relevant) that I purchased new in July 2013.  I'd like to bring it to the UK with me, if that's feasible.  I expect it might cost about $500-700 to ship it out of the New York City area, but I have no idea whether I will be liable for VAT/duties/other tax, inspection fees, paperwork fees, etc.  I think my model bike is sold in the UK, so perhaps it won't cost much to import it, besides shipping?

Does anyone have any experience with this?  (I've spent a good bit of time on the UK gov't websites, but can't really find information that will help determine whether and how much I'll have to pay for VAT/duty, other fees, etc.)

Thanks very much!


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Re: US to UK for school; bring motorcycle with me?
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2016, 12:47:56 PM »
Have you looked at this?

https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/overview

There are a lot of hoops to jump through when importing a vehicle from outside the EU.  It will likely be quite expensive to have the bike modified to EU/UK standards.  Have you researched if it would be more cost effective to buy a similar bike here?

If you do decide to bring your bike, I would recommend looking into a full service transport company that will handle everything.  You'll also need to look into the legal requirements for riding a motorcycle here as there are very strict requirements on bike size and license type.


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Re: US to UK for school; bring motorcycle with me?
« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2016, 08:28:01 PM »
Thanks for the reply, KF.  I have looked through that site, but it's hard to get an idea of just what requirements I'm facing, and what costs are involved.

What sort of modifications would my bike need to be made street legal in the UK?  It's stock, and the CBR250R w/ ABS is sold in the UK.

I have this fantasy where I'm able to ship the bike across the Atlantic for about $500, pay less than $100 in gov't paperwork fees, and then collect it.


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Re: US to UK for school; bring motorcycle with me?
« Reply #3 on: June 03, 2016, 08:48:04 PM »
I don't know about costs for a bike but passenger vehicles are £3-£4K to meet EU regulations.  I would certainly think that will be much less for a motorcycle.

A bigger issue is I think it'll take a long time to get a license to drive it once it's here.

I'll try to do some digging.

Okay, looks like you can pick up the same model year here for about £2500.  I'd just buy here...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/bikes/honda/cbr250/postcode/rg415nw/radius/1500/maximum-age/up_to_3_years_old/searchcontext/default/page/1/sort/default
« Last Edit: June 03, 2016, 08:58:44 PM by KFdancer »


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Re: US to UK for school; bring motorcycle with me?
« Reply #4 on: June 07, 2016, 03:08:51 PM »
I'll back up that advice, although I know little about motorcycles.  Used cars are super cheap here and I can only imagine bikes are cheap as well. 

You will be so busy with all the other moving details that trying to move the bike will not be anywhere near worth it.  Especially if the same model is here, what's the point? 

Wait till you get here and buy a cool Triumph or Norton. 

There are plenty of great places to ride here, plenty of clubs and organised rides.


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Re: US to UK for school; bring motorcycle with me?
« Reply #5 on: August 10, 2016, 02:38:13 AM »
Your quite a bit off on your estimated shipping costs.  Your probably looking at closer to $1500 by the time you get it in a uk port.  You are far better off buying one here.  Get yourself an older cbr400 or vfr400 for about the cost of what it would be to ship yours over.  Then you can take that rare gem back with you to the states legally when you return.


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