Moving to NZ from US and bringing my bike

[idada]

I'm coming over around October with my M50 and was reading up on the site to find answers to my questions. I still had a couple of questions and hoped that the experts here could help.
>Do I need to make any changes to the bike to make it legal in NZ?
>Anyone have some tips on companies they've used with success to ship household goods and bike together?
>Exactly what do the inspectors look for when deciding how clean the bike is before charging a fee to clean it? I've read alot about how picky they are and would like to avoid that fee if I can.
>What "hidden" costs could I have missed once I have the bike in NZ?
Thanks for your help and I look forward to riding the roads of NZ very soon.

[racefactory]

You probably know this but just incase- to get it on the road you'll need to go through compliance/registration. It will cost about 400 in total including plates and some road tax. You'll need a brake certificate (about 50 bucks) and the rest of the bike will need to be road worthy. You guys don't have periodic safety tests (Wof/warrant of fitness over here) there right?

Best of luck with the move and welcome! Sounds like a good decision.

[Drew]

You will possibly need a new headlight, we use the left hand side of the road.

For compliance here, all lights and brake hoses must be marked 'DOT'. And aftermarket exhausts need to have DB levels and shit on them. A lot of non standard exhausts do not comply with our regulations.

Once it's complied though you can chuck your loud pipe back on and get a Warrant of fitness (we gotta do this every six months) no worries.

[White trash]

With regards to cleaning it, just make sure there's no mud and shit around the place. Have your shipping co. fumigate the bike for you before shipping and they'll provide a certificate that will satisfy NZ MAF that there's no critters living on it.

[Scouse]

Dont bother bringing a M50 over bring a Harley instead it should end up being more financialy rewarding for you

[MotoGirl]

We recently imported two bikes into Australia so I can tell you what we did. It basically consisted of emptying a can of degreaser on each bike and getting all the road grime off it. We went as far as removing our side fairings and scrubbing behind them, doing the wheels, under mudgards, chain, around the frame, etc. We also had to pick any bugs out of the radiator (thankfully the 600 had a new radiator). Our bikes sailed through the Australian AQIS inspection and didn't need to be fumigated.

I'm not sure whether you will pay duty or GST to import a bike into NZ but you should investigate this.

[D3ALN]

We recently imported two bikes into Australia so I can tell you what we did. It basically consisted of emptying a can of degreaser on each bike and getting all the road grime off it. We went as far as removing our side fairings and scrubbing behind them, doing the wheels, under mudgards, chain, around the frame, etc. We also had to pick any bugs out of the radiator (thankfully the 600 had a new radiator). Our bikes sailed through the Australian AQIS inspection and didn't need to be fumigated.

I'm not sure whether you will pay duty or GST to import a bike into NZ but you should investigate this.
As long as you can prove you have owned the bike for more then a year you dont have to pay the import tax.

[BMWST?]

our speedo's are in kilometres,not sure if that will be a problem(yours will be miles)

[D3ALN]

our speedo's are in kilometres,not sure if that will be a problem(yours will be miles)

No Problem There 30miles in 50kph and 60miles in 100kph
My datsun 1200 coupe is in miles

[idada]

You will possibly need a new headlight, we use the left hand side of the road.

For compliance here, all lights and brake hoses must be marked 'DOT'. And aftermarket exhausts need to have DB levels and shit on them. A lot of non standard exhausts do not comply with our regulations.

Once it's complied though you can chuck your loud pipe back on and get a Warrant of fitness (we gotta do this every six months) no worries.

I'll check the lights and hoses. Everything on the bike is original so I'm pretty sure it'll be fine. My speedo has miles and Km so I don't think that will be a problem, either. What the difference on the headlight Left vs Right? Is that something I can do ahead of time? Thanks for the great info!

[idada]

Dont bother bringing a M50 over bring a Harley instead it should end up being more financialy rewarding for you

It wasn't much of a choice: Paid for M50 that has nearly 40,000 miles on it = no selling value :VERSUS: Harley for tens of thousands of dollars. I'd love to choose the Harley, but all the cash is going in to getting to NZ and another bike was low priority.

[YellowDog]

I have imported a couple of bikes into NZ. Anything not stock, will be queried at the compiance check.

The cleaning bit needs to be thorough, including under the fairings and mudguards. It ain't cheap letting the NZ MAFF inspectors get it done for you.

My present bike came from LA. The lights have Synchonous beams, which means they are OK for left and right side drive countries. Hopefully your bike might be the same. The lens switch kit would otherwise have cost heaps of cash. If you check this out for your bike before coming, you may be able to buy a cheap lens switch kit in the US from someone who has done the same as you, importing from a 'drive on the left' country going to the USA.

Good luck.

[idada]

I have imported a couple of bikes into NZ. Anything not stock, will be queried at the compiance check.

The cleaning bit needs to be thorough, including under the fairings and mudguards. It ain't cheap letting the NZ MAFF inspectors get it done for you.

My present bike came from LA. The lights have Synchonous beams, which means they are OK for left and right side drive countries. Hopefully your bike might be the same. The lens switch kit would otherwise have cost heaps of cash. If you check this out for your bike before coming, you may be able to buy a cheap lens switch kit in the US from someone who has done the same as you, importing from a 'drive on the left' country going to the USA.

Good luck.

Great tip! I'll check into the lights. Is there a shipping company you've found that you'd recommend? I'm shipping household stuff too so it may be a bit different. thanks again.

[yod]

.
What "hidden" costs could I have missed once I have the bike in NZ?

our epic fuel prices....although they'll be pretty hard to miss once you're here :facepalm:

[idada]

our epic fuel prices....although they'll be pretty hard to miss once you're here :facepalm:

Yeah! That was the whole reason I began looking at a bike to begin with a few years ago. Commuting 90 miles round trip in Washington DC traffic was killing me in gas for a car. From what I've seen, the weather in NZ should allow me to ride year 'round more comfortably. (even though mine has only sat when it snowed or we had icy roads). Fuel prices are pretty severe everywhere:blink:

[longwayfromhome]

I brought an eight year old US-spec BMW back a few years ago. The only item that required changing was the headlight (dipped the wrong way). I had ridden it in CA for nearly 2 years before moving and only gave it a regular wash as its so dry in CA.

The full story is here and has some useful detail for you. Happy to oblige with any other support for a fellow East Coaster (Philly).
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/89108-My-experience-importing-a-used-bike-from-the-USA?highlight=longwayfromhome

[idada]

I brought an eight year old US-spec BMW back a few years ago. The only item that required changing was the headlight (dipped the wrong way). I had ridden it in CA for nearly 2 years before moving and only gave it a regular wash as its so dry in CA.

The full story is here and has some useful detail for you. Happy to oblige with any other support for a fellow East Coaster (Philly).
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/89108-My-experience-importing-a-used-bike-from-the-USA?highlight=longwayfromhome

It was your thread that lead me to this site and the great info I've found. I've been going back to it over and over to get more info from the posters there. THANKS. I've asked around over here about the headlight and from what I can tell mine "shouldn't" need a new light. Everyone says mine dips straight down, but that's info from guys in the States that had no clue what I was talking about. If it's anything, I think that part will only be a headlight lamp and nothing more so I'm not too worried about that.
My biggest concern now has become getting a fairly close estimate on shipping WITH a bike. Most companies only give us rough guesses which I think I'm stuck with until we get closer to the time.

[RDJ]

Foytt's Shipping in LA (contact: fellow Kiwi Pete Tate) have done a great job shipping bike bits and a bike trailer to NZ for me. Disclaimer: no affiliation with them, just that they did a good job at a reasonable price.

http://www.foytt.com/

[awayatc]

not if you drive a green humvee.......

[longwayfromhome]

Most moving (shipping) is on volume. If you are bringing a container, some moving companies will actually pack the container at your place. In this case you can pack the bike in the container OK, must drain the gas. The problem is less-than-container amounts, in which case they repack and this is where you have a problem, as you can't supervise that and don't know how they will treat the bike. Good luck... have one last ride down the Blue Ridge Parkway for me!

[idada]

I've been checking into the headlight dipping question: Apparently a 2007 M50 should dip straight down and "shouldn't" be an issue.

[YellowDog]

I've been checking into the headlight dipping question: Apparently a 2007 M50 should dip straight down and "shouldn't" be an issue.

I shipped my new bike from LA to NZ. I had already budgeted for a new head lamp reflector only to find that Triumph had started using 'Synchronous Beams' which are UP/DOWN rarther than LEFT/RIGHT and hence OK for both sides of the road.

I paid $495USD with www.kiwishipping.co.nz

Good luck!

[idada]

I paid $495USD with www.kiwishipping.co.nz

I've talked to them, but their price jumped quite a bit when factoring in shipping it to them from the East to West Coast.

Plus, I'm trying to figure out a way to ship EVERYTHING I have with the bike. That's where the price really jumps. (Me + Wife + 5 little ones= Way more than normal!!):chase:

[YellowDog]

I paid $495USD with www.kiwishipping.co.nz

I've talked to them, but their price jumped quite a bit when factoring in shipping it to them from the East to West Coast.

Plus, I'm trying to figure out a way to ship EVERYTHING I have with the bike. That's where the price really jumps. (Me + Wife + 5 little ones= Way more than normal!!):chase:

The guys that organise Worldwide shipping here are: www.nzvanlines.co.nz .

I suspect that with the NZ$ hitting >80c, your end may be cheaper.

Good luck.

[idada]

The guys that organise Worldwide shipping here are: www.nzvanlines.co.nz .

I suspect that with the NZ$ hitting >80c, your end may be cheaper.

Good luck.

I had emailed nzvanlines and they just had a local rep call me last week to start working on a quote. So far (without knowing prices, yet) they've been the most professional of the dozen or so companies I've checked into.
This is the tough time. Even though Summer is only starting here I'm anxious to get to New Zealand in time for Summer there and take in all the sights and sounds ASAP!:sunny: