Hello, Just wandering if anyone with the knowledge of all the tricks on how to import a harley in from america to australia, can contact me with some ideas" And the things to look out for , not to run into high costs !   Please!!!

As I read ages ago when I was thinking upon similar lines unless you know someone in the business, or are importing an old bike (pre 84?) the costs aren't viable...

and the good old warranty question......

M

hogbag, your info is very helpful. Are you saying then that the only Oz importer, Frasers, has it's bikes fitted to Oz Compliance by a dealer in the USA and not by HD itself???

That sounds hard to believe considering we are talking about 400 or 500 bikes per year.

The variations are generally indicators and possibly headlamp low-beams etc.....

I always assumed that the bikes are shipped from HD to the requirements of the importer.

cheers

kiteman

 

I think you may find that Harley Davidson Australia are now the importer and that Frasers and the other distributors get the bikes as they come in. There is a warehouse in Melbourne that the bikes were getting complianced in at one stage as this is the port of entry.

M

If Harley dropped there price by 10grand how would you feel about the resale value of your current bike ?

 

 

Thanks guys on answering some of my questions" they were all interesting, really appreciate it !!

 I have just imported a 1987 FXR , it arrived in Freo on Tuesday . I have a mate who works in Dotars in Canberra and the cutoff is 01/01/89. Any bike built before that date is OK to import and register with no drama.

 Anything later has to come into the country disassembled , and incomplete . I.E. you can strip the bike and put half the bits in a box and half the bits in another box , but the boxes must not travel together. Stupid it may sound , but remember these rules are made by government dickheads so what do you expect ?

 If you bring in a 1988 or later bike you cant register it as a Harley , you would need to use an aftermarket frame and register it as a custom build which means complying with current rego laws. I was going to go this way but it is too much of a headfuck.  

 Thats true what you say I use to import cars for resale and the only models you could bring in where ones that where not sold new in Australia so you could bring in a diesel surf because only petrol 4 runners where sold here.

 BUT...... if you wanna bring in an early its a piece of piss

 It will cost you $50 for a permit to import , theres no duty on the bike , but you have to pay GST on the bike and the freight. Theres plenty of places in the States that specialise in exporting bikes - the place I bought mine from crated the bike up with all the bits I bought for $200. All they do is sell damaged and repo bikes, so I bought all my other bits and had them sent to their shop. 

Dead right there hogman,

They have progressively lowered import tariffs and removed protection of Australian industry over the years to make it a more "level playing field" for free trade throughout the world. Great idea. So why the f**k can't we take a 4 week holiday in the US, ride a new Harley around and bring it home for around the same retail price as the US price (minus the US tax when exported) but plus Aussie GST plus the freight cost. Why are they protecting the sole importer? Surely that's a monopoly which mean anti-competition?!? Who loses out of this??? Only the importer who is currently doing very well thank you very much!!! Only a very small number of people would do it so it's no big deal.
I hate bureaucracy.
I imported a car from Japan a few months ago. I paid 10% Import Duty and 10% GST etc etc. No probs. I was quite happy to pay all the fees as I still ended up with a car at a fair value on the Aussie market. Not cheap enough to do it several times over to make a profit but cheap enough to make it worth buying the car I really wanted which is not available here any more.

Ah, there's a catch! With the cars brought in under SEV (Special Enthusiasts Vehicle) register you can only import models of years that were NOT sold that year in Australia.

So, this means that I can import a 2001 or 2002 RX7 as Mazda did NOT sell them in OZ in those years. They DID however sell them in say 1996 and 1997 so I am NOT allowed to import the same car from that year.

Crap isn't it!?!

To be honest, I think the only answer for us Harley nuts is to take an extended holiday for a year in USA, buy a new bike there and import it under Personal Import which is quite legal. You need to check out the DOTARS sites for the actual duties and taxes payable but I reckon it would still be fair value.

Anyone have up to date numbers on this?? Compliance should be fairly cheap.... indicators, speedo, headlight etc.... no big deal. Even your dealer will help you with this in some cases.

   

 

 

 

As an expat seppo mate once said in regard to free trade agreements between USA and Australia. "Did you think we would actually let you into the club"????
And a lifes lesson learned. If the front door is bolted, try the side door, if that fails try the back door.
Y'know what i mean? Theres always an open door, ya just gotta "See" it. Within the frame work of the law.

I hear what ya saying Flan.
So if the importer stops bringing in SE/CVO's.. We should be able to?

There are several web-based import agents for cars etc so there should be one or two for bikes I would guess. You really need the expertise of these guys to help you jump through the hoops.

I paid a grand to my agent (in Melb) to get my car in and it was worth every cent in my opinion.  The Government regulations are just so hard to get your head around but probably quite simple once you understand the system.

Don't give up.... just look a little further. Let's face it..... a year in the US (or UK or wherever...) could be quite a bit of fun!!!

By the way. Price of a Rocker C in Australia $34,650. Price of the same bike in Dewata HD, Bali..... $46,000 ..... and it was already sold!

hmmmmmmmmm.....