Plenty here have sung Waynes' praises. This is my first post on the site and I can't say enough about Waynes' help. I owned a Low Rider back in the seventies and stopped riding bikes many years ago. I wanted to get a Harley  for my retirement and wouldn't have got the bike I wanted without Waynes' help. Wayne answered all my stupid questions, guided me in the right direction, steared me away from bikes that were overpriced, organised the deal at a good price and always gives the impression he love what he does. My bike is in LA waiting to be shipped and I can't wait to ride the dream. Thanks mate.

Good onya Chopa,get a pik of you on my bike.thats why i wanted you to handle the lot,you definetly know what your doing.once again i thank you! CARNT FUKIN WAIT....lol....

Well im at raws now. Arranging rwc tonight for its arrival. Then fit the apes and forward controls.
Im chomping at the bit now.

good luck with your shovel jackal. ugly duckling pfftttt she's bloody beauty mate.


alright the wait is starting to kill me. starting to get niggly at everyone and thing. hanging for a ride. at least the sun has fucked off for today.

Lucky bastard!!!!!!!........

Had to laugh reading this page... im not the only getttin excited about the arrival!

By end of Wednesday next week I should have it in my garage... I already wrote down a "to do" list with the bits and bobs ill be doing off the bat (like oil changes etc).

5 Sleeps to go, 5 sleeps to go...

PS: The wife tells me that now she has an extra child to look after " align="absMiddle" src="/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/_default/emoticons/tongue.gif" />

PSS: Thanks Killerchef!

Nice Jackal,you'll have to put up some piks when you get her..Mine's months away yet but alot closer than this time last year....carnt wait!!

Maybe I went a bit overboard....but I'm sure some people have saved more than me....and I would bet money...the guys who run import businesses and RAWS workshops here save atleast that (not having to pay someone to screw a plastic mudguard to the back of the bike).
I paid 11K for my bike and around another 6K to have it in my hands registered and riding. What's a 2009 VRSCF with 5300miles worth here?
If I'd bought it when the dollar was $1.10+....I'd have saved even more.
Point is....You either pay ALOT more for the bike here and pay for the warranty you may never use...OR you save ALOT of money upfront and keep that as reserve for IF you need any work/repairs done on the bike which would normally be covered by warranty.

Hi Chopa,is that my beast at the front of the photo?Arrrrr one step closer!!!To everyone else i saved plenty to out way a warrenty & like Chopa said the bikes are usualy out of warrenty anyway.Save thousands or want a warrenty,i know what made my mind up....

Is it okay if you bring my bike back as carry on luggage? No one else has asked so I figure its okay by everyone else.

it's a 2006 cvo fatboy,Chopa did the shopping for me & will do everything else as well 26k to my door!ready to reg.

Well Chopa work is now paid off

 

Now with Vic R.W.C. and going for plates and rego tomorrow.

Cost all up including reg just under $15K so with the VH big shot pipes, Se high flo and commander its a great buy.



Phantom

One happy imported bike owner.
with Chopweeza it has been a completely painless exercise and a big thanks to Andy ot Foytts for the loan of his rear standard pipe bracked to get me though the vic road nazis an extra mile he didnt need to go.

Tommorra Phantom?????

Shit mate...My Street Glide is being rego'd in Carlton at 10:15 tommorrow following my RWC from Chris at Harley City today (top bloke)....never thought she'd come though, but Chopa sorted it....
yours looks awesome.....lucky boys we are....ha ha.....lets just let the tyre kickers winge whiile we ride the good rides, ha ha...good luck cobber , might just see ya at Carlton...j

I got my Fatty's RWC done yesterday at JC Autos, Vermont (very good, quick service) and had it registered at VicRoads in the afternoon. My scrutineer was a really old gent, friendly, but it was painful to watch him s---l---o---w---l---y checking through all the compliancing papers very laboriously - anyway, all done & dusted - the months of eager waiting has been worthwhile! I am getting a few comments on my shiny "new" Harley - thanks be to the Yank who kept the paint & lotsa Chrome glittering over the last 6 years!

this time next week i will be sitting in my garage looking. and smiling.

Sounds like a full on trip you had Chopa.Hope you have a good trip back & look forward to any update you have.

fully understand Chopa.no hurry i'm sure you need a big rest after that trip!!

just posting as to close a chapter on my importing experience.   the bike has been in possession for just under a week now.  i am stoked with her.  actually stoked with the whole experience personally.

as i have said before chopaweeza supplied brillant service.  chopa helped me with so many queries that i had.  once the right bike was found and subsequently purchased the importation part itself really was a breeze with the bonus of using chopa coming to the fore here imo.  whilst i started all of this in the last week of Feb there really was only roughly 3-4 weeks of down time (bike standing still waiting for ship, truck, VIN plate, etc)  that could have been shaved off the wait time.  well worth the wait.   chopa thanks again for all of your help and great service.

 

 

Do not use Geezers ! I import alot of things from the US and these guys put the bad taste in my mouth. 8 months I have been waiting for my Harley and I still dont have it ! All the excuses under the sun about being audited an it became my problem. Even the seperate parts that were sent back to my got squashed and damaged !
Not happy at all. Worst experience ever.

G'day All
I have just gone through the whole BUYING OVER THE NET/PHONE experience and if I didn't have access to Wayne at Chopaweezer at best I reckon I would have either given up or at worst ended up with a scam or bad deal....

Juls and I are off to the US for a riding road trip for our 50th birthdays in August and after test riding a few bikes Juls decided that the VROD would be a good choice for her - problem is - no one (or very few) dealers want to rent them to you - and if they do - the cost (including insurance & tax etc) is astronomical around $150-$200/day- then multiply that by 2x bikes over 3 weeks and all of a sudden buying a bike and either re-selling it in the US or bringing it back suddenly becomes viable!

Due to needing to ride the bikes around for a few weeks the simplest thing was to use a dealer as they can issue temporary Rego (they call it a 15 or 30 or 60 Day Tag) - using a dealer also means you get a lot more peace of mind as far as knowing the bike is free and clear of Finance/risk of repo etc. and there is a good chance they have done a service/safety check on it before they put it on the floor.

Bought one bike in Dallas from a Ducati Dealer and one bike in Vegas from a Harley Dealer - the experience could not have been more different !!

Dallas guy (Kiwi, ex AMA suprerbike Champ and all round good guy) bent over backwards to help us - the Wankers in Vegas did everything they could to make the deal fall through (probably coz we got the bike at a really good price)

As mentioned above - without Wayne's ongoing support, experience and knowledge we would have crapped ourselves a million times

Key for anyone going into this is P A T I E N C E and RESEARCH - you gotta know what a good deal looks like, what the right questions are to ask and when to walk away from what looks like a really sweet (or even too good to be true) deal... there will always be another one.

Not having the best memory at my age ...I created a spreadsheet that helped me keep track of all the various deals that were available all over the US and then compare them against what the BIKE SALES .com trade in price was over here for the same year/model - that way I could add in Wayne's estimate of import/compliance costs - factor in a current exchange rate (i used $0.95 as there are always fees etc that the banks charge which means even if the news says "Oz dollar hits record high !" you just know that the fekkers at the bank will take their percentage ....

Once I could focus in a range of particular models over a range of years I could quickly do a "sort" that would show me a comparison of what other people were selling for and instantly see if it was a worthwhile deal or the exact amount I needed to pitch and win with a Low Ball offer.

The other little tip I found (after a LONG while of searching individual craigs list and ebay sites) was "Searchtempest" what a bloody brilliant little tool this is !!! just type in a key word eg "muscle" or VRSCDX or even "rod" and it searches EVERY Craigslist in the US and Ebay as well!! Farkin Great!!! the whole thing can be sorted by location/price whatever.

Another point to factor in - shipping - there are some HORROR stories of people using cheap shippers and either losing their bike completely (yes stolen - never to be seen or heard of again) or just treated like shit and strapped to the outside of a moving van and then dropped (yes literally) off the back.

Apart from those nasties there is also the TIME and COST Factor that needs to be added to the purchase price of the bike to ensure it is a viable deal. (eg Wayne can organise Vegas to LA for about $300 but buy a bike in the East (E.g. NY or Florida) and you are looking at $7-800+ and there is the TIME it takes to get across to LA - anywhere up to 2-3 weeks depending on your shippers schedule.

We reckon it has been as much of an adventure/experience (late nights on the phone to the US etc) as the trip will be - depending on how much Juls ends up liking her bike we may bring one or both back to Aus and sell her Triumph - we may look at selling one or both in the US or if anyone on this forum is interested in a Black 2009 or Sedona Orange 2011 VRSCDX Night Rod Special without having to do the whole 3 month+ late night, eyeball reddening, searchfest then PM me and we can work something out = but no promises we just might fall in love with them both but after 21 days on the road it could go either way....

Cheers

Coxy