Importing a bike to the US, good idea or not?

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AgaBoogaBoo

AgaBoogaBoo

Lifer
Feb 16, 2003
26,108
5
81
In India there are tons of bikes available for under $500 US new. My dad gave the idea since it would be nice to drive in the city when you don't need a full car.

It would be a 90-120cc bike(6-9HP), 3 or 4 speed. I know we can bring it to the US so shipping isn't a problem.

What else would I need to worry about? I'm going to get some insurance quotes, which I'm expecting to be high. Other than that, what else do I need to do to import this?

Emmission wise it should be fine, especially considering I live in Indiana where we don't have emmission tests. This wouldn't ever be used on the highway so I dought it would ever go above 50mph.
 
3chordcharlie

3chordcharlie

Diamond Member
Mar 30, 2004
9,859
1
81
You should be worried about being allowed to license it in the US.

It's difficult if the model you buy is not normally approved for use in the United States - same problem in Canada if you wanted to bring a vehicle here that isn't certified to meet CSA or whatever.

The problem is normally worse if the vehicle cna't be classed as antique (which I'm assuming is the case here - why import a 20+ yo bike if you want it to work reliably!)
 
The Stigenator

The Stigenator

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,216
3
81
i wish i could do that.. i would love to get my hands on some of the indian bikes for puttering around.

actually i wouldnt mind the Enfield Bullet... its 49state legal, its not CA legal.

I think the biggest issue is - how do you make it DOT legal.. most of the indian bikes with 125cc+ will be CA road legal as for power, as long its above 12hp it will be CA road legal... but not emmission legal.
 
AgaBoogaBoo

AgaBoogaBoo

Lifer
Feb 16, 2003
26,108
5
81
Where can I find out more about importing an indian bike to the US? I have no clue except some things I've read on google searches that haven't really answered my questions, but I'm still looking.

My dad and I can do all the maintenence and probably most repairs if any are needed, he used to do all the tuning to his car and bike when he lived in India.

Is there some company that can guide me? I wouldn't mind spending some money if the company will handle customs, getting it legalized, etc. to remove some pain and headache off of my side since this doesn't seem to be a very easy thing to do. I'm not worried about taking this on highways, it'll be for city driving only and Indiana has next to no emmission testing. (They do for 3 counties, I don't live in those)

Any guidance on importing a small bike would be nice. At this point I'm not worrying about insurance.

Incase anyone is wondering, bikes in India are priced much lower because of the market they sell to. The "nicer" bikes are around probably $1k US and the almost "best" bikes are around $2k US. Anything better and you have to import a bike for the most part
 
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