Any Members Living In Dubai?

Wasn’t @Bullitt out that way a while ago?

 

Just make sure its fitted with aircon

 

Although not there now, I did live and work for a while in Abu Dhabi (cue the Flintsones gag).

Whilst I never considered taking my bike over there (too much hassle) I did consider buying one out there. There was a Ducati Dealer in Abu Dhabi back then in the Al Nahyan area. Decided against it in the end as the Emiratis in their spec’d up 4x4,s are simply maniacs on the roads plus the roads are predominantly straight as a die leaving little in the way twistiness and nowhere to enjoy the bike.

The big thing out there with young Emiratis is turbocharged Hyabusas and ZZR 14,s with extended swing arms for straight line drag stuff.

 

I too was in Abu Dhabi, 2013 until late 2020. There's a fair bit of difference in the two places to live, but the ownership of a motorcycle will be very similar.

What are you planning to ride?

If you are going to be riding daily in Duabi, think very very carefully before committing to it!! The traffic (I have to say, I never found the locals in their Land Cruisers or Patrols the issue), is very very hectic and unpredictable at peak hours. Very early morning and late evenings are much quieter on any day (and much cooler in the summer months), with Fridays being best. There is a lot of MX riding in the UAE, adventure, enduro and some track day fun to be had too. There are plenty facebook groups for your preferred flavour of riding.

If you're importing your bike, it's a relatively straight forward process. Your bike can be shipped with your household goods, if you're shipping any. Or, a direct import is just as easy. You'd have to look in to the UK export requirements, but in the UAE you'll be given a VCC by your shipper. Worth considering the shipping costs too. Having just come from the UAE, rates at the moment are very high and you can expect around 15-20k aed (£3-4k) inc insurance for a one-way 20' container..

I'd advise against trying to clear customs yourself - it is very complicated and will result in a lot of stress. Pay the import agent to do it for you (oh, and that's a general tip for life in the Middle East, pay for things to get done and don't sweat the small stuff). Your imported bike will require an inspection at the Road and Transport Authority (RTA) - I think the one in AL Barsha area opposite Mall of the Emirates. The check will involve a mileage and chassis number check, with a glance at general condition and that's about it.

Be very wary of buying used bikes (or cars) in the UAE, unless it's from a dealer with a full service or known history. All bikes and cars tend to be neglected out there and the heat/dust/sand/humidity eats them as they stand!

Insurance isn't a biggy, unless it's a new bike. Both on my bikes were over 5 years old and could not be covered by a comprehensive policy - they cost 600aed (about £120) each for 3rd Party only. New(ish) I'd expect 2.5% of their value, same as cars.

Let me know a few more specific's of what you're planning on riding and I'll see if I can help you further.

 

No worries at all.

The bike market in the UAE is nowhere near the size of the UK and along with that, service parts, accessories and proper knowledge is very hard to find - but not impossible.

Glad to hear you say track days mostly. I found group ride outs on the roads too reckless (read fast) and competitive, especially on sportsbikes. There are some great roads though, especially over to Kalba toward Fujeria and on to Oman, but road surfaces can be poor and covered in a good bit of loose rubble in the cooler months - it rains a lot in the winter over the mountains. And, should you come off the medical support is terrible - sad to say many people have died lying on hospital beds in corridors in Kalba...

The prices of bikes are there, there about's with the UK. Dubizzle.com is a well used website for buying/selling anything, maybe even a wife or two. Here's a link:

https://dubai.dubizzle.com/motors/m...basic_search_widget=0&is_search=1&ot=desc&o=3

I'd advise going to speak with a guy called Martin Krepela - he's the manager at Wheels of Arabia. They've had the MV Agusta franchise for a while now and they've just taken on Ducati. I'll say this now, Ducati have had a chequered past in the UAE so I would tread with care, but Martin is a good bloke. If you're not bothered about service stamps in a book, search out Tim Richards. The bloke is a genius with Ducati's (service, mods, suspension, dyno) and sadly was let go when WoA took over. Can't really say much about Yamaha or BMW, but there are plenty bike manufacturer's at track days, so I guess there is some representation for those brands.

Insurance is very straight forward. I used RSA for many years for both our cars and my bikes. Prices don't vary that much and the policies are different in their structure from the UK. Plus, RSA is British company, so they "should" respect your no claims once you return.

Another thing to think about is transport for the bike to track days. Some guys ride to/from, but feck knows how they manage in the heat/humidity. IIRC - to buy a van, you require a "commercial" company visa, or something like that. Great if you can arrange it, but if not, a trailer is your only option. Master Trailer and Trailer Tek are decent companies to deal with - expect to pay for it though, just don't expect proper engineering that we'd be used to.. If you go that route, trailers must be registered, have working/functioning lights and a registration plate. Avoid used trailers unless they are clearly looked after.. Also, make sure the car (it'll be an SUV) you buy has the ability to have a trailer hitch installed - 50mm hicth balls/receivers are most common out there.

Theft... was never an issue in Abu Dhabi, but it is becoming a problem in Dubai.

For what it's worth, I had a great time doing the track days in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The people involved are very helpful and generally a friendly bunch. Search out Alan Boyter, he's another Ducati nut and runs the track days at Yas Marina, coaching at the Dubai Autodrome.

Oh, and when it comes to paying or being paid for things in the UAE (especially cars/motorbikes), NEVER EVER ACCEPT A CHEQUE, EVER!! To many folk scamming. Also, if you can, avoid paying by cheque too..

Food for thought ;-)

 

Interesting Bullet, there is a slim chance you might have bumped into Ricardo at Yas Marina as I know he was regularly doing track days. He runs a 749 from memory and I think it’s yellow.

 

The bike rings a bell, think I may have met him. Not 100% sure though.

 

Hi again,

You'll find very few proper mechanics out there (Tim is one of them) so no matter what you buy, servicing it will be at a very basic level with a stamp in the book. I'd say if you really want a Ducati, buy one - you'd only regret it otherwise! ;-)

As for transfer of ownership, I'm not aware of the process in Dubai - sorry.

In Abu Dhabi though, the transfer process is web based (Abu Dhabi Police Website) with the seller doing in the admin and the buyer paying the fees. Once it's done (takes 10 minutes over a coffee), you'll be advised that a "Mulkiya" (registration card) will be sent out to you, take about 10 days IIRC. If buying used and it's more than 3 years old, you can have an inspection done on the vehicle at the time of purchase - that way the registration and insurance expire around the same time, but it's not essential and the buyer would be expected to pay (this is something I would do if buying a used car that'd older, as in 7-8yrs). Also, you'll need an active insurance policy registered with the police department to change ownership too. You actually get 13 months insurance so that you have a month to arrange inspection. Strange system, but it works for them! I'd imagine the process in Dubai is similar.

Something else to consider, the time of year you buy the bike. Avoid June - Sept. It's bloody hot and it's just a pain in the hoop to be registering a bike when it's 45C outside..!

 

You can also save a few bob by not bothering with tyre warmers.

 

Dubai resident here since 2010, lots of good info. above which I'll add to:

Importation is actually straight forward if you know the steps, it's the first time that hurts as noone tells you what they are. Shipping used to be cheap but, as Bullit points out, shipping to any destination is very costly at the moment. A 20' from UK to UAE used to be about $1500. Duty, fees and VAT [a recently introduced tax which is applied to everything not just the Value Add] adds 12% of goods value, and clearing will cost you about AED2k.

However as you're relocating then the 'value' of the bike is nil as you are both the sender and receiver of the goods. You'd still pay 5% vat on the cost of shipping. Hence I'd consider bringing a bike if I were you, especially if your employer is covering relocation costs as you could very easily turn a profit from that. Otherwise I am pretty sure there'd be enough interested parties here to bring over a few bikes and split the shipping cost. I may even be interested myself as my life won't be complete without a yellow 748R.

Re. insurance on the local market, you won't get fully comp on any imported bike or one over 5 years old. You can get theft cover if you push the broker for it. My 2012 M1100 Evo is covered FC but the excess matches the max. 'at fault' claim limit, so it's effectively 3rd party & theft. I'm renewing this month and won't bother with the theft element. It's only really an issue with MX bikes and quads as they can't be registered so are easy to sell on or export. I've never heard of a road bike being stolen, or any car for that matter. Not saying it doesn't happen but its incredibly rare.

The local market doesn't recognise classics of any description and applies a very basic depreciation on vehicle value. For example my mate's Caterham has a stated valued on his policy of 25 quid! For anything over 5 years of high value, you can still get FC cover but its complicated. My imported 2005 Lotus Elise is covered by a company based in the UK and consists of local 3rd party cover and a top up policy that pays out in the event of any loss. For this privilege I pay about 4% of the car's value, which is in line with the 3-5% rule of thumb. This can also apply to bikes. TD insurance is available but is even more complex and way more costly than the potential repairs unless you're turning up on something truly special.

Road riding isn't an issue imo. I commute on my monster and my mrs rides around the city and isn't phazed by it. Driving standards are crap but you get used to it and once you do its like a real life arcade game. The roads are wide and well sighted and a bike is by FAR the quickest [and most fun] way around imo. You don't have to schlep all the way to the mountains to find fun roads either, but the routes are repetitive. The further you get from the city, the better the awareness and courtesy from other road users, but I'd say sudden loss of traction is more of a worry than other drivers, the tarmac is very hard and any dust or moisture results in the desert equivalent of black ice.

Trackdays are cheap and plentiful. I know Alan well and bought my Monster from Kyle who used to manage the Ducati dealership and now runs track days and the local superbike race series under the Furiosa Racing banner. The number of bikes may be smaller here but then the community is tighter knit, so anything track oriented should be known to the group and if you put the feelers out then you can something decent with few or no stories. The smaller group of potential buyers means you can also find proper bargains. My mate recently bought a very very tidy 916 for £4k and an rvf400 for £2k. Another mate bought a race ready zx6r for £5k and I recently sold a '14 S1000RR HP4 with 4k [km] on the clock for a shade under £11k. Most sales don't go anywhere near Dubizzle [too much hassle, you get inundated by mongs], there are a couple of FB groups but anything interesting is word of mouth/whatsapp chat. I would say that if you're not doing your own TD prep then pay either Tim or a chap called Mihai Popescu to do it for you and noone else. These guys won't let you take the bike out if its not right [Mihai is ex MotoGP], this is a very rare outlook around these parts. Kyle also rents out 899 Panigales for TD's which are AED1750 if memory serves including tuition, fuel and tyres but no insurance.

Your ability to work on a bike and own a trailer will be wholly driven by where you live. Covered garaging is rare. Main drawback for a trailer is other road users, I have honestly lost count of the number of near misses I've had whilst towing due to other's sense of entitlement and lack of courtesy. Trust me, 4 wheel drifting a fully laden SUV with your race car on the back is no fun! I think Furiosa offer storage at the circuit, and storage/TD support is something I'm hoping to offer as 2021 progresses.

If you do come out here then feel free to PM me. I only started riding in 2019 but have been involved with most forms of motorsport since I arrived here and know everyone name checked above as well as others. The motoring/biking community really is great and super helpful. I met most of my good mates, my business partner and even my mrs through events at the racetrack.

 

I'd just like to correct this if I may. Tim is indeed a fantastic mechanic and a top bloke all round. He's the only Ducati master tech in the GCC which is an accreditation given by the factory not the local dealer, so he can stamp service books to maintain warranty, whereas if you take your bike to the dealer they have no trained/accredited staff at all.

 

Some really interesting stuff in here

 

I wasn't aware that the Master Tech accreditation gave the technician (in this case Tim), the approval to stamp books. That really is great news for him.

 

Well wouldn't ya know it. Having thought I was done with the UAE and in a state of semi retirement, I find myself back over here. In Dubai this time ironically.

Staying in Deira. Anyone fancy a beer?

 

Oh I do fancy a beer, but it's snowing where I am now.. too damn cold, and wet, and windy....!

 

Hi Ricardo, just tagging you on this thread if you are about - hope you are ok.

@RVizela