I may move to the UK, can I bring my CB?

[GrabOn_imp]

Hey all, job may have me move to the UK later this year and I have zero clue what to expect when/if I ship my CB from the US. One concern are my some of my mods and whether they'll create issues importing or registering my bike. Specifically, my header and the rear fender delete. Thoughts?

[Houtman_imp]

It might be difficult to take your bike as they ride on the left side of the road....

[pekingduck]

A couple things to think about:
-Do you know for certain that a US Spec bike can even be imported into the UK, stock or otherwise.
-Will it need to be road registered and titled there?
-If your job isn't paying for it, it may be $1000-2000 shipping plus the paperwork hassle.

[Houtman_imp]

To be serious , if you only go for a short time (less than two years or so) it might be cheaper to buy a bike in the UK , plenty of second hand bikes available over there.

[Cormanus]

GrabOn, I assume you've done some web searching? If not, here's a start, https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk

This site is for a US business. I suspect they may want to make it sound easier than it is. https://shippio.com/shipping-guides/moto...m-the-usa/

[GrabOn_imp]

A couple things to think about:
-Do you know for certain that a US Spec bike can even be imported into the UK, stock or otherwise.
-Will it need to be road registered and titled there?
-If your job isn't paying for it, it may be $1000-2000 shipping plus the paperwork hassle.

Good points Peking. I'll look into these!

To be serious , if you only go for a short time (less than two years or so) it might be cheaper to buy a bike in the UK , plenty of second hand bikes available over there.

That's good to know.

GrabOn, I assume you've done some web searching? If not, here's a start, https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk

This site is for a US business. I suspect they may want to make it sound easier than it is. https://shippio.com/shipping-guides/moto...m-the-usa/

Thanks Cormanus, I'll take a look-

[Richard_imp]

You'll need a right hand drive vehicle, for sure, and our speedometers measure furlongs rather than miles.

I tend to agree that the costs of importing the bike would outweigh the benefits. I think you could buy a used CB1100 (or other bike) in the UK, keep it a couple of years, and then sell it again for less than you would spend on import fees and hassles. There will also likely be type-approval issues.

I'm also sure the insurance premiums for a UK bike would be significantly less than those of an imported bike. One of the first questions asked is "Is the bike an import?", which means they are looking to load the premium or refuse to insure it.

[SCCBrider_imp]

To bad you are not Military, or going over as a Government employ. I had mine shipped by the Gov't. It was covered by the Status of Forces Agreement.

[jtopiso_imp]

Hey all, job may have me move to the UK later this year and I have zero clue what to expect when/if I ship my CB from the US. One concern are my some of my mods and whether they'll create issues importing or registering my bike. Specifically, my header and the rear fender delete. Thoughts?

If the vehicle has an EU homologation is not too difficult: a few forms, you go through M.O.T, and it's basically done.

You will need an homologation certificate by Honda. Some makes give this for free, some don't... and are not cheap.

The problem might be reversing this when you go back to the Us.

I went through this once, taking a car from Spain to the UK: I had to change headlights, swap positions of rear fog light and reverse light, got all the paperwork, and when I was about to do it I noticed that reversing all this to get the car back to Spain registration was going to be almost imposible (all paperwork in Spain is much more painfull than in the UK), so I sold my car in Spain, bought an English one to use it during my stay in the UK, and sold it when I left.

I short: unless you are talking about a very special and unique vehicle, it's not worth the hasle.

[andyoz_imp]

as mentioned before i wouldn't bother, hassle with paper work, insurance will cost ya as it's a import ect ect , there's loads of second hand bikes over here an if your only over here for a set time i'd have your cb put into storage for when you get back...the only thing i would recommend is prob a ride out lesson to get use to our roads ect esp roundabouts lol.