Gents just wanted to echo the many compliments Choppa has been getting.
I bought my first Harley about a year ago (local purchase but an imported Vrod). My second a month ago (local purchase on a locally supplied Road King). Hoping to keep both but we'll see. All my enthusiasm must have rubbed off on the old man as i managed to convince him to part ways with his 180,000 1996 Heritage Softail. We set about researching importing Harley's and Choppa's excellent insights on this forum lead me to a chat with him. Long story short we sourced our own 2007 Low Rider with aprox 9000 miles in fantastic nic for just over $10k Aus. After all expenses and now safely tucked away in the old fella's garage total (and i mean every cent) outlay was about $16k. Compare that to Aust prices. Dad's as happy as a dog with two dicks and despite him being a cranky old hard to please pain in the arse a lot of the time, he has nothing but praise for Choppa. Thanks for a job well done mate.
And by the way, i think his low rider is about third up from the bottom of the warehouse in LA pic. The pearl white one.

 Gday Spara

We sourced it through a dealer.  Basically i surfed the net through the usual channels (ebay and big name bike shops over there). Just browsed their stock until we saw something that appealed (from what looked like a reputable dealer).  I then rang the dealer and spoke to them.  You get a gut feel about things when chatting.  i would have proceeded on that basis (they sent through a few more pics) but Dad wanted to have a mate of his who was about four hours away inspect it.  His mate was good enough to make the trip and he gave it the all clear so we bought it. Choppa took over from there.

 

thought i would just share my experiences to help anyone who may be considering  ......

i am currently knee deep in the process.  i have spent the last few weeks looking at every US internet listed used, late model, low mileage road king that is in my budget - and a few that are not            i have put in a shit load of enquiries and also quite a few offers.  many that i have looked at have gone nowhere as a lot are just to freaking worried about being scammed.  this is understandable.   what shits you is that they only think about it from their side of the fence.

however some have progressed really well and it looks as though i will do a deal on something over the next few days.  i would suggest phoning any that you are keen on.  especially private sellers.

further to this,  i certainly have not done this unassisted.  i have had a little bit of contact with chopaweeza.       i can only imagine what wayne is muttering under his breath right now     seriously,  this guy is a fucking legend.  he has been so helpful to me.  i would not have been able to get to this point by myself let alone start thinking about pulling the trigger on something.  his experience on what to ask for,  things to consider,  on the ground knowledge  eg. dealerships, road freighters  etc   and most importantly,  smelling something that is off,  well i couldnt put a value on all that.  thankfully he has which makes that bit even easier too.   honestly if anyone is seriously entertaining the idea,  speak to this man.  you will not be disappointed.

 

....... and i scored a pretty fresh motor for ze little pig too.  good times.  

 

 

 

 

Gday All,

My 2009 Dyna Super Custom should be with Waynes sitting pretty in the warehouse by now, after ordering my forward controls as well they should arrive at the warehouse soon as well.

Gotta admit waiting for shipment and RAWS will be trying

 

Phantom

 

For anyone looking to buy and import....this was my story:

I started just by looking on ebay to get a rough idea of prices and looking for something that 'grabbed' me. I very nearly bought a turbo'd nightrod....with all the goodies (guy wanted 15K....which was fine....but I was really only looking to spend about 12-13).
It sold in a heartbeat anyway.
Next...I had a deal going with a guy that looked like it was a winner. It was a for a 2003 vrod which was basically two bikes. It came with a set of 'blue' airbox and guards and a single seat as well as a imited edition HD flamed orange set and custom pillion seatbackrest setup. The guy had spent 60K on the bike (custom wheels...EVERYTHING chromed). I have a mate in the LAPD who ran a background check on it and the owner and all was legit. The guy wanted 11K for it...and as I was dealing with him...he sold it to a local guy for $11250. Oh well! He then put me in touch with the guy who owns Ghostrider Customs (who was interested in selling his own bike).
It looked good....but not really my taste. He had also customized it so much, it'd be a headache to import.
Next came a 2009 Nightrod from 'Florida Motorsports'....advertized on ebay.
The bike had something like 1000 miles on it and was a good deal....but the guy I was dealing with was as shifty as a shithouse rat....and dishonest.
Ended up telling him what I though of his bullshit and shifty antics....and told him to stick the bike!
After making numerous other offers on bikes....and dealing with guys that really had no idea....I finally came across the 09 Muscle I have on its way.
It has 5000 miles on it and the guy had it on Ebay starting at 11K (ending in a day).
I got in touch with the guy and asked him..."if it doesn't sell at auction...will you sell it to me for 11K? He said "yes...if it doesn't sell on Ebay...you can have it for that price".
I wanted to buy the bike.....but needed to get intouch with Wayne and make sure it was 'doable' (importation).
Wayne told me everything I needed to ask the guy.
Anyway....the auction ended and I got an email from the guy "the bike didn't sell....if you want it...it's yours for 11K".
DONE DEAL!!!
Got all the paperwork sorted thanks to Wayne (said it's the cleanest set of papers he's ever seen), the owner did everything I asked of him (washed the bike, ran the fuel low, disconnected the battery, taped up the terminals, cable-tied the key to the front brake cable and even handled coordinating the pickup of the bike by a guy in LA Wayne put me in touch with).
I Google 'street viewed' the owners address and I could pinpoint the exact location the ebay pic was taken infront of his unit.
I was lucky....the guy moved from Las Vegas (Nevada) to LA (California). Due to CA's emissions laws...he couldn't register the bike in CA or even sell the bike to a resident of CA.
Nobody in the US would go interstate for a bike when they are everywhere over there.....so I found a winner!

No prob's Wayne. I'll be waiting for you to say "come and get this bloody thing outta here". Lol!

Any RAWS workshop can "pass" a CVO

They just charge you more , " BECAUSE THEY CAN "

As if any CVO is "harder" to do , bullshit really

Do an internet search for Motorcycle/Harley RAWS workshop

They're in most states and more are coming on line mate

Well Boys and Girls, I swallowed the dust and purchased my dream CVO from a big retired NY cop who turned out to be one of the nicest fanatics I have yet met.
SHIT the baby is better than new and the ride across from Orlando to L.A. was awesome and Americans are truly lovely helpful people.....Choppa's Wayne was with me every step of the way, any queries were immediately answered and solved.....Wayne you are a legend mate....anybody looking to save a few bucks on their dream, Choppa's are the DREAM MASTER.....I called into New Orleans just in time for the Madi Gras with the usual jiggling tits and mens arses (for the girls I assume)....anyway I was stayin away from that end....stayed at Haughtons beach just out of LA....(more tits and Ladies arses this time) with frothing mouth and bloodshot eyes I then dropped my baby to Waynes Depot and am now waiting VERY impatiently for May to come....I now have an '08 Heritage with all the bling for sale for anyone who doesn't want the (horrible) experiences I just put myself through......Thanks WAYNE could NOT have been easier, even your advice re the standard pipes.......j

I wonder what Harley Davidson Australia feels about this importation racket?

I wonder what Harley Davidson Australia feels about this importation racket?

Well Harley Davidson Australia have certainly tried to stop you "grey importing " parts..

It's their whingeing that has had HD stop US dealers freighting parts " out of the continental US "

Some Aussie dealer chains are selling imported 2nd hand US bikes and others want nothing to do with them.

All of the WA dealers and the NSW Frasers chain a case in point

Harley finance in America are drowning in repo' bikes, wouldn't be surprised if there was official connivance to get some of the "overstock" here !

There were over 700 bikes at a recent US "Dealer Auction"..many of them Elvis' original "HOUNDOGS" apparently... 

Australia has a free trade agreement with the US and HD know they cant stop dealers exporting if it got challenged.

We have been getting skimmed here in Oz for years and the recent article in Heavy Duty stating our bikes are higher speced whilst true doesnt mean t hey should  cost twice as much.  An alarm and flasher wheers doesnt rate 100% markup. There only a handful of dealers that have ensured we are owned

Thanks to Guys like Chopaweeza we get the chance to own anything we want at a price that will see you well in front for years.

Here in Vic you just need to look in the showrooms and check out the VINS to see what grey imports are sold for.

They just dont like the power being in our hands and having the ability  to do something about it, enough rant time for a brew

 

 

Phantom

 I bought a 2007 Harley Nightrain into Australia last october 2011 and found the process real easy, if you use an importer.

I used Geezers Classic Garage up there at  Ashmore, and Ian & Greg are happy to answer any Questions.They also have a Californian based Company with Depot, which is where the bike needs to be sent to from anywhere in the States.

They made it easy as you are given a account and you  pay fees as the bike passes certain checkpoints and on its journey to you.

I bought my bike from Dixie Cycles Harley dealer  in Florida and they Know Geezers so the paper work was easy, as i didnt need to explain all the logistic details and they took care of shipping it to California, LA and i just paid them on top of Bike sales price.

I paid $500 AUS for shipping the bike to LA  from Florida and Approx $6000 AUS for Geezers to import and that is with compliance and ready for RWC and rego which Geezers can take care of  too.

So with Shipping,Geezers fee and the cost of the bike i now have a $26000 bike for $18000.

The thing ithats needed to make it through compliance you need to look at bikes that are as they came from the H/D Factory.

On that note i brought my bike in, with a vance and hines exhaust system, and was lucky enough to borrow my mates original factory exhaust to send up to Brisbane, which is where the bikes get compliance passed, and they swapped them over to pass the compliance Sound test.

The other point is you should by a bike from a H/D dealer that way you know the Bike is real and you cant get taken for a ride...

 

look at Geezers site and all the information is there and if you contact them they will send you all the step by step information on importing a bike in from the States.

Dream Machines of Texas is another good harley Dealer

 

Did a buy in LA via the internet last year, low mls Deluxe 09 flew over ride it for 4 weeks sight seeing and got it home via Sydney through Wayne at Chopaweeza long drawn out process but worth the wait.Off again in July buyers market over there! Made some good contacts while there.And learn some good lessons about the process of import.If you have time and patience do it.

Might be a question for the importers here, but I'd appreciate anyones input.
If i wanted to bring in a bike to chop/build in what state does it have to be to be considered parts (i.e not an import bike)? No wheels, no fluid enough?
Cheers, Josh

Was at Ringwood Peter Stevens today. They are selling repossessed us bikes (VIN = 1HDxxxxx) with low km's. They are selling them with 3 months/ 5000 km's warranties (not extendable). If these imports are so awesome, why won't they offer 1 or 2 year warranty extensions on these bikes? Hmmmmmm sounds a bit dodgy to me.

A 2011 Nightster 94 km's for $15k... May as well buy a local custom and get a warranty.

Opinions?

Chopaweeza,
Sounds like Repos are out of control in the US!
I guess my concern is that I had to actually extract from the sales rep why a Nighster with 2012 compliance was available from Peter Stevens, but not available on the HD website. I saw a post her about the 1HD and 5HD VINs and soon worked it out. I'm sure the bike is perfect, but when I asked about warranty, he would not touch it wit a 40 foot pole - only the statutory warranty was available.

With a service like yours, there are no tricks. Customer wants import, he finds it, gets compliance and everyone is happy.

I thought that when a dealer sells a used vehicle in Aust, if not Victoria, the tag that hangs on the bike with the statutory information must declare who the previous owner was. When the tags states "Available on request" it makes me think that there is something to hide.

I guess that this is all to be expected with an International economy.

 Hi,

down in PS Geelong about 8 out of 10 used bikes are 1hd dave

are people bringing over brand new bikes? like with the minimum km's on them?

a FXDWG brand new here in Aus is 24.5k would you land a new FXDWG, registered and road certified for a reasonable difference?

thanks

My 09 FXDC is coming in with Chopaweeza's in his next shipment.

Considering its already got SE heavy breather and the associated ECM mod with V&H I'll still be $1000's in front.

Even worth GST, and raws conversion and shipping of course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What kinda discount do YOU get Choppa ?...hahaha...

After all you are quote.." also a Chopaweeza customer "...

Seriously , keep us informed how it all goes.

Lots of imports here in WA now, seems like a "flood" almost

I have worked on 2 '07's and one '08 in the last week ! 2 of them were really really clean bikes, beautiful actually !

AND ONE OF THEM STILL HAD THE TWIN FILAMENT FRONT INDICATORS FUNCTIONAL !! Glowing orange all the time !!

Personally I thought/think that's cool but how did it pass compliancing AND state rego ?? ( complied in the East , state rego in a "regional" area here !!)

Just done this. Bike was an 1987 FLHTC, mostly stock exept for engine mods, Thunderheader exhaust, and a later (2005) front end.
After getting it here, fited a stock exhaust system from the US, took it for a RWC, (no problems there), and then I was told it needed a VASS certificate (I believe in Victoria only).
The VASS is like an engineers report, and looks at meeting any ADR's that would have applied to an Aus imported bike of that year. Again, no problem, and bike is booked for a rego appointment at Vicroads.
This would have been a whole lot harder if the bike had been modified in any way.