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[springsure88]

My wife and I are planning to spend 6 to 8 weeks riding a CVO through the states from August next year. We are Australians. The very rough plan at the moment is to fly into the east coast, probably NYC but possibly Washington, and buy a 2014 or younger CVO Limited and then ride up through the Catskills to Niagara Falls, down to Chicago, Route 66, then up to San Francisco and into Canada.  We would also buy a trailer to ensure we are comfortable. My question - what is the process of selling a bike in a different state to the state you purchased it in, what insurance companies should we consider and what are the best forums to find good second hand CVO's? It looks like Harley dealers have a good range of suitable bikes but they may charge a premium over private sales. How do you determine if a vehicle had money owing on it?
I attach a photo of an Ultra Classic and trailer we rode around Australia in 2005.
Thanks for any assistance.

[SDCVO]

What a great trip you have planned!!

[springsure88]

👍

[Dan_Lockwood]

If as an example you purchased a bike in NY state and decided to do you trip and go up into Canada near the end, you could then come back down into the US and sell it in any state without any issues.  As long as the title that you applied for when you purchased is now in your hands.  This could be an issue unless you know someone along the way about two weeks out in your trip to have it mailed to.  Then just stop by for a few beers, say hi and pick up the title.

We have some states to finish up as well and plan on doing that after I retire at the end of this year.  So next year, 2020, will be very fun!

Good luck with your trip and enjoy.

[pudgeyxj]

I'm just outside Vancouver BC, let me know when you cross into Canadia. I'd love to ride with ya 

Paul

[SIKBIRD]

Wow! Lots of things to consider here...I will try to tackle as many as possible.  First, if you are paying cash for the bike then your only issue is going to be getting the title back before your trip ends (some states take a month or more to issue a title) then they are going to title the bike to your home address (Australia) which means the title will be sent there.  If you plan to finance the purchase it’s likely that you’re going to have a tough time finding someone in the US willing to take the risk of you leaving the country with their collateral.  Plus, the title will be sent to the company that financed the bike. Insurance is likely going to be an issue as well since most insurance companies might not be willing to take a chance on you since you won’t have an address in the US (they’re a finicky bunch).  You will also need a tag and registration (also an issue since you don’t have a US address to mail the tag to).  So if you are able to overcome all these obstacles then there is the issue of re-selling the bike...it could take a while to sell unless you’re willing to take a significant loss.  Please understand I’m not trying to discourage you because it sounds like an awesome trip...I am simply pointing out some of the issues you face.  All that said, it would be much easier to rent a bike for your trip but you’ve probably already looked into that and discovered that there aren’t many (if any) CVO’s to rent.  Probably best to contact a US H-D dealer to get all your questions answered.  Good luck and please keep us up to date with your trip!

[mark]

Would a long term HD rental work better?  You could probably negioate a better daily rate than what's advertised. Selling a bike in the US isn't a big deal, but since you don't have a residence in the US, I could see issues with the DMV and insurance companies.  It might be a bigger headache than you want to deal with on your trip.  For instance, you'll get a temporary tag, but where would the DMV send your permanent tag?  If you finance, that's going to be trouble too.

[springsure88]

Thanks for all the replies. In Australia the title passes on the sale in the form of registration papers so the process of having the title sent out after purchase is very different. It might be easier to buy from a dealer in that case and possibly ride the bike back to that dealer at the end of the trip to sell.
Renting is almost certainly simpler but it will be less expensive to buy and sell given that it would be an 8 week hire. I also just like the idea of riding my own bike.
We would be paying cash and not financing.

[barrhill]

you could buy in Canada you get title/registration and plate the same day .
then ship it back to Australia as its an international model rear tail light for a premium

[fastfreddy]

RGlideKid has what your looking for... maybe  I use GEICO for insurance, hope that helps  https://www.cvoharley.com/smf/index.php?topic=118345.msg1489088#msg1489088

[springsure88]

The idea of buying in Canada perhaps in Montreal or Quebec then riding through the states then selling in Vancouver or Calgary at the end might work.
RGlideKid has the perfect rig but we aren’t ready to buy until next summer.

[ultrarider123]

RGlideKid has the perfect rig but we aren’t ready to buy until next summer.

Fred beat me to the suggestion. I know you aren't ready until next summer but Harry states he isn't in any hurry to sell. Why not contact him and see?  That rig of his is sweet and you would be getting a bike that you would know it's history instead of one from a dealer. Plus, Harry has the title of both in hand, no waiting 

[springsure88]

Thanks Haird.

[chaos901]

Just curious...….how would you license that bike?

[gmeikle]

I have a good mate here in Perth Western Australia who buys bikes in the US as a business , and has Australian Compliance facilities here in WA

He buys and rides around on bikes two or three times a year so it can/must be doable.

Get him to ship the CVO you buy back to Australia and comply the bike for you here , then a Nullarbor trip back East.

Save any "disposal" grief in the US and you will likely end up with a bike here in Australia at better than locally bought price ?

http://wcacompliance.com.au/