Importing a bike

As i was browsing around for bikes (as you do when you are bored) i came across a lot of cheap german bikes.

Now, how much hassle would it be to import a bike to the UK?
I don't mind the paperwork and what have you, if you can get a nice bike for a good price.

Anyone ever done this?

[squirrel_hunter]

Not done this myself but my mate brought his VFR back with him 10 years ago. He didn't find it to much hastle but had some problems (due to the bike being written off in Germany) and ended up on a Q plate.

I think its just a straight forward form to fill in to get an age related plate and then a MOT. If you check out BAT motorcycles they should have some info on the process or one of the other importers.

I know that Rictus imported his SV and made a fair saving, so maybe PM him for any advice? ( Rictus01 )


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[squirrel_hunter]

Alternativly (cause I just went to the BAT site and can't find the info anymore )...

http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/group...ds_506867.hcsp

Excelent! thanks everyone for the help.
Will send Rictus a PM and ask him.
Cheers!

[Kylie]

I imported a car when I moved back to UK, I imagine its much the same for a bike. If its second hand then you need the original registration documents that prove when it was first registered and you also need a type approval document which proves it was made according to EU standards.

The registration document you should get from the buyer (though the Irish document I had didn't have what the UK wanted and I had to get a letter from the Irish registration folks, German documents probably better in that respect).

The type approval document is a bit trickier, and you will need this if you want to avoid getting a Q plate. I went back to the dealer that originally sold the car, they had to contact Volkswagen Ireland head office who printed it off and posted it to me. I suppose you'd have to call Suzuki in germany and see if they can provide a type approval document, or maybe Suzuki UK can, all the data will just be in a big computer somewhere.

After I had them the type approval it wasn't too much trouble, get an MOT done, arrange insurance (insure it on the foreign plate first, UK insurers do that) then send off all the paperwork to the DVLA and you'll get a UK number.

Then again I could be talking pish, importing bikes might be totally different to cars.