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united states info

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 11:25 am
by faceache
Can any one from the states give me some advice? I recently got a compo payout from a car pulling out on me and ive always wanted to go for a ride in America when funds permitted.What id really like to do is perhaps buy a bike ,use it and possibly take her back to the UK. How easy is it for a non resident to buy a bike ? Do you have to have a US address for insurance purposes? Also ive been looking at real estate prices in Michigan and these houses seem to be so cheap there has to be a catch,whats wrong with Michigan? Any advice before i dip my toe in the grown up world of investment would be greatly appreciated.

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:00 pm
by GT Pete
Most of the jobs in Michigan were for the auto industry. A lot of those jobs have dried up. Michigan has some of the highest unemployment in the country. I would imagine real estate value is dropping pretty fast out there.

Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 3:38 pm
by cafe*racer
This part of the US, once known as the Steel Belt, is now referred to as the Rust Belt for reasons previously cited. If that bit of manufacturing history is of interest you can take a look at Michael Moore's doc 'Roger and Me.' There are many other investment worthy areas in the US right now including out here on the West Coast.

Every state has different rules regarding vehicle insurance, license and registration, taxes, etc. You can do alot of research on the net through the various state government websites. Here is the California site to get you started: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/ & Michigan: http://www.dmv-department-of-motor-vehi ... hicles.htm

I think you might have more problems getting it into the UK than getting it out of the US.

Good Luck, Jordan

Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2009 3:30 pm
by lomax
I did it twice - in 1994 bought a CBR 600 F, used it for a vacation trip and shipped it from San Francisco to Germany and the second bike a Ducati M900 I used as a temporary resident in Iowa and shipped it from Chicago to Germany.

In first case the motorcycle dealer gave me a tip where to insure the bike and as address I could use the dealers address. It worked fine. When you do not have the American drivers licence it might be twice the price for insurance, but it is (was) still reasonable.

Best regards

Joe

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2009 1:27 pm
by dewjantim
If you want a Honda, Kawasaki, or Suzuki contact Rick Keeland at [email protected] . He does out of country bike sales from time to time and will help you out. He also has several used bikes on sale, usually one or two European models. His shop is located in Ashland, Ky. If you decide to fly in and buy contact me at [email protected] and I will pick you up at the airport and take you to Rick's shop. There are many beautiful roads in this area. If you want to stay a few days and explore we will find a place for you to stay (for cheap) and maybe even feed you a time or two. Just tell Rick that Dewey Greear told you about his shop. He is a true bike lover and rider, even better he has some of the best deals in the USA. Good luck........Dewey.