Crossing the border with a trackbike... ?? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Crossing the border with a trackbike... ??

Bond Chick

Bond Chick

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Hi guys, I thought I'd post this in the track section because it's specific to track bikes.

For those of you who own track bikes and have crossed the border with them, do the border guards ask for proof of ownership, or other form of documentation (please elaborate)? How often? Which side asks more often?

I'm shopping around for a track bike and I have had to turn away from a few good bikes because of lack of ownership papers, as I am concerned this can bite me if I try to bring the bike to a track day in the US. Am I being overly cautious?

Any tips or suggestions are a big help.

Thanks, BC
 
If you dont have an ownership to a track bike that your bringing with you to the states, there is a way.

Go to Canada Customs ( near the airport) and bring the bike, they will give you a form to fill out and they will want to see the bike.
That form is good for as long as you own the bike i believe, or for one year ..

Someone will chime in and tell you the exact name of the form no doubt. We go over every year with the track bikes, and they inspect them and within 5 minutes were on our way with no issues.
 
The form is Y38. You will need to bring your bill of sale and the bike to the customs office for them to match up the VIN. If there is no VIN, as on purpose built race bikes, they use make, model and color. The key is to TELL them that you want a Y38. If you ask them what form you will need they'll look at you and scratch their head. The Y38 states the country of origin and is used primarily by Canada customs to determine that the bike originated in Canada and thus is allowed back in. We've also had the US customs use it to determine ownership of the bike as sometimes these bikes don't have a title.
 
Thanks. One of the bikes I am looking at is in Canada and has a clean title from the US. Sounds like I still qualify for a Y38 without having an official ownership papers from MTO. Would a bill of sale as a paper of agreement between buyer and seller do? Or does it matter as I could have just as likely owned the track bike for four years and have no bill of sale?

Sounds like I can do it even without official paperwork, I just wanted to check before dropping $4K+ on a bike I can't ever track ride in the US with my friends.

Thanks for the responses, if anyone else has info feel free to chime in.
 
Bond Chick said:
Thanks. One of the bikes I am looking at is in Canada and has a clean title from the US. Sounds like I still qualify for a Y38 without having an official ownership papers from MTO. Would a bill of sale as a paper of agreement between buyer and seller do? Or does it matter as I could have just as likely owned the track bike for four years and have no bill of sale?

Sounds like I can do it even without official paperwork, I just wanted to check before dropping $4K+ on a bike I can't ever track ride in the US with my friends.

Thanks for the responses, if anyone else has info feel free to chime in.
Click to expand...

With your bill of sale, and the bike being present at the customs office you should have no problems getting a Y38 ( thanks Yun)
Again, once you have that form you can use it continously to cross over the border with it.
 
Hey guys, I just called the border services agency (I never expected to get through), and you were both right on the money. They don't need a bill of sale or the Ontario ownership, they just need to see the bike in person to grant a Y38. The Y38 proves that the bike originated in Canada and you won't have to pay taxes coming across the border in either direction. It also establishes proof of posession. There is no expiry for the Y38.

Nothing says that I can't show up with a bike that's not mine, but that's besides the point...

If anyone plans to do get their own Y38, bring the bill of sale or Ontario ownership and any other documentation you have as a precaution.


Edit: This means you don't need to have a bike with a registered Ontario title to take your track bike to US for a visit. Hurrah!


Edit: For those of you with MTO ownership papers (the green folding form) for your bike, I doubt you need a Y38 since your ownership paper establishes posession.
 
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Bondchick hold off on any US track days until there's an insurance plan available. I started another thread asking the been about available coverage as most plans have added an exclusion on "contests of speed".
 
That link only is applicable in regards to taxes. The form is to identify that it already has legally been imported in to canada and that it will not be subjected to taxes upon it's return. You still need to provide ownership of the bike. By ether bill of sale or ownership. If you didn't have to do this there there would be no way of stopping theives from crossing international borders with goods. Again you will need title documents to cross the border with a VIN'd bike.
 
Is this y38 document still applicable? I want to do a TD in the states but my bike has no title and a blank frame.
 
Yes. A y38 form should be filled out on anything of value that you are taking out of the country. For instance if you were bringing a laptop with you it would be a good idea to get that on the form as well. As mentioned the point in the form is just to say you brought it into the states with you, so they don't think you bought it in the states and are trying to sneak it back without paying taxes on it.

Hope you have medical insurance if you're going to do a TD in the states
 
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