I currently live in Denver and may be returning to Hampshire next year. Is it worth bringing my 2011 Monster 796 ABS with me, or better sell here and buy again in UK? My company may pay shipping but what other costs are there and other than swapping headlight what other work is required to make it legal in UK?
I would have thought that from a cost pov that it'd be cheaper for you to bring the bike here. More often than not what costs a $1 in the US costs a £1 here, so by selling your bike there for lets say $10k then buying one here of equivalent age/model/miles/condition will cost you £10k (effectively $16.5k - therefore a no brainer IMO). Not sure what else you'd need to do mechanically other than the lights to make it legal though but I'm sure someone will be along soon that can advise. :smile:
A lot of bikes now have a flat beam headlight (doesn't kick up to the left or the right) so no longer are they LHD or RHD. Just line it up at garage door and see if the main beam is flat at the top and doesn't kick up to the right or left in our case. For older bikes its just a £3.50 shade that needs to be changed or can be modified. I have seen a few US import bike for sale recently and not sure you will get back the same as a UK supplied bike when you come to sell, which sometines seems silly if they are exactly the same spec and they all came from Italy in the beginning. But I guess its the question on if they are the same spec that causes this.
I doubt it. I think its UK dealers controlling the price of "UK spec" machines and their resale values. My R1 was a US import and the only thing that was different was the slight difference to the colour scheme from a European spec, and it was restricted to 100bhp. But once it was de-restricted by the dealer it was exactly the same as a UK spec.
this also may be a concern below, kev Import duty and VAT is solely your responsibility. The shipper will get charged by Customs when the bike lands, they will then charge you (plus a 'brokerage fee' for doing so). Reckon on adding about 30% of the bike's value for that little lot. Any privately imported vehicle brought into the UK must go through an SVA test to get registered - the age of the bike is irrelevant. And yes, the SVA test costs about £1,000.
But its his bike , he's neither selling it or buying it from overseas. All tax's have been paid in the country of origin so surely nothing else to pay from a tax point of view. It will need registering of course.
I dont think he will have to pay import duty either . If that were the case they would have you for your rolex watch or your $2k camera.
Pretty sure you can ride it here for 12 months on the us title, then look for a frame and V5 perhaps, not a biggie to swap the frame. Tell the Duties the bike is here temporarily, a big european tour is planned etc? You may be lucky.
Shouldnt need SVA, the bike is available in europe all the type approval is in place. A letter from Ducati confirming year of manufacture and its compliance to euro crap will be a big help, you MAY need E marked silencers on for any inspection though. I normally register older bikes, so this doesnt apply to anything Ive done.
If you have lived outside of the EU for more than 1 year and owned the vehicle for 6 months or more there is no VAT or DUTY on any vehicle imported into the UK for your pesonal use. The internet is a great thing.
So what about if your moving home from the US? Do you pay duty on all your furnishings/worldly good? I somehow would doubt it.
Been there, done that! And not too much of a problem. I lived in the US for four years and bought a monster shortly after arrival. The bike quickly became a keeper so brought it back to the UK on my return in the container with personal effects. I did confirm that the model had type approval in the UK before deciding to ship the bike back. Have a look on the DVLA website for the booklet INF106 -"how to import your vehicle into Great Britain", and the relevant customs forms are all on line. Filled everything out and provided supporting paperwork - invoice, title, insurance history (make sure you have copies!). The shippers had done all this before so were able to answer any questions. The bike arrived safely in the UK and then received the originl documents along with the import certificate from Customs and Excise. As the bike was from outside the EU it needed an MSVA inspection (see VOSA website). The hardest part of the process was getting through to an inspector at VOSA on the phone for a chat. Once I managed to get through the inspector was very helpful and advised what needed usually needed doing to a bike from the US, normally Harley's, not Ducati's. Main point raised for US bikes were headlamp lens dip direction and need for a sidelight. US bikes normally wired for headlamp on all the time hence no sidelight. Headlamp on all the time is no problem in the MSVA but bikes must have an independent side light as well. I asked why and was told this was so bike was visible if headlamp bulb failed....fortunately the bike had an old school round glass headlight with a sidelight As well so all that was required was a replacement lens from BMW supplier Motobins. Might be a bit more expensive with the modern plastic lenses and headlights. Not having a van I insured the bike using the frame no and took it for an MOT which it passed. Then booked the MSVA (around £85) and rode it to the appointment. No number plate required provided you go directly there and back. Make sure you don't get lost on the way back like I did. The MSVA was pretty thorough, checked the tyres for E3 approval, correct rating, size of mirrors and headlamp, distance of indicators from centerline, etc, etc, emissions, brakes, fuel filler cap, but the inspector was a really helpful bloke and had some good stories about some of the vehicles he had seen. Anyway, the bike failed as the radius on the lip of the front mudguard was too sharp, even though the mudguard was original and the same as every other monster in the UK! The inspector directed me to the local Halfords for some Carlos fandango plastic chrome bling strip which I fitted to the front lip of the mudguard, back to the test station and MSVA issued. The plastic strip fell off just outside the inspection hall IIRC... There is also a document detailing all of the MSVA inspection requirements on the website which is worth reading and checking the bike before the test, as not all inspectors may be as helpfull as the one that checked my bike. I think a retest is additional cost. Then went to the local DVLA and registered the bike (£55 reg fee plus road tax), and a few days later received a letter from the DVLA containing a tax disc and letter which allowed a plate to be made. Had a no plate made and informed insurance company of reg no and that was that. Rode around with the tax disc in my pocket as I didn't know where to mount it. The V5 followed a couple of weeks later and this showed the bike as previously registered overseas and also had a note that import tax would be due if sold within one year of the date of importation to the UK. Realised imported bikes have a lower value than a genuine UK ones but as I wasn't planning on selling it in the UK so that was not an issue. Also you can never have enough motorcycles.
Thanks for all the comments, great pointers on where to look further. I will have been in US for nearly 3 years by time I come back and had bike for nearly 2. Won't be coming back until next June so not sure you can wait that long for your cartridge Bradders.
