Buying a bike elsewhere in Canada, how to register? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Buying a bike elsewhere in Canada, how to register?

Motorcycle Mike

Well-known member
Next season or later I want to do a trip up to Yukon/Alaska, etc...

I have briefly looked into shipping or flying my bike out and meeting it there, but then started to consider... what if I buy a bike there and ride it around and then home?

I've seen KLRs for okay prices listed in Whitehorse, and they also have a bike dealership that I could buy something new if I wanted to.

The problem though, is how would I register it?

Obviously I am not a resident of Yukon or B.C., and I am sure they have some sort of residency requirements for getting plates.

Insurance would be easy to solve... just call my company when I get a VIN.

Would temporary plates from the territory or province work at least until I got to Kenora or Thunder Bay where I could properly transfer it over?
 
If it's like Ontario you can't even get temporary plates until you have it certified and in your name....but that might be your only option - certify, licence, and plate it out there, drive it home, and then get Ontario plates when you're back - the ownership and plate transfer process between provinces is pretty straightforward.

I don't believe provinces care where you live so far as vehicle registration...could be wrong though, I'd call and double check on that.
 
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If it's like Ontario you can't even get temporary plates until you have it certified and in your name....but that might be your only option - certify, licence, and plate it out there, drive it home, and then get Ontario plates when you're back - the ownership and plate transfer process between provinces is pretty straightforward.

I don't believe provinces care where you live so far as vehicle registration...could be wrong though, I'd call and double check on that.

All I could find on the ICBC site is the following:
For travelling in a B.C.-insured vehicle, B.C. Basic and Optional Autoplan coverage applies only in Canada and the U.S. If you're not a resident of B.C. and/or planning on taking the car outside of B.C. permanently, you may not be able to register it and insure it here. The cost of insurance depends on your claims history, use of the vehicle and where it will be located.

In addition, the answer to the question "Can I buy and insure a car while visiting B.C.?"
Yes, you can. Once you've found a vehicle you like, you'll have to transfer its ownership into your name and insure it at one of 900 Autoplan brokers around B.C. For details, see Buy a vehicle.
Please keep in mind, you'll need to let the broker know your address in B.C., as well as where you'll be using the car. If you plan to mainly use the vehicle outside B.C., then you may not be able to register and insure it here.
For more information, please speak to an Autoplan broker.


So the tricky part is that I would be using it in B.C. at first, but eventually would be taking it out permanently. Having to pay tax twice would defeat the purpose -- the tax would likely come close to what shipping would cost me.

The Yukon website offers very little information... I see that it costs $15 to register a bike there, and a Temporary Operating Permit is available for $10, but it doesn't say squat about residency requirements, if any, the length of time for the temp permit, or anything. I might have to call them directly:
http://www.hpw.gov.yk.ca/mv/mvvehreg.html
 
I'd also be concerned if you are even eligible for a temp permit without the bike being in your name and certified. Like I mentioned, here in Ontario you can't.

Have you considered a service like uship.com? You might be able to find someone headed that way anyways with just enough empty space that would fit a bike. Just shipping would certainly be a lot less hassle.
 
I'd also be concerned if you are even eligible for a temp permit without the bike being in your name and certified. Like I mentioned, here in Ontario you can't.

Is that just for bikes or something, because it is not the case for cars. I've had temp permits in Ontario with the ownership in the seller's name:

http://www.ontario.ca/page/temporary-licence-plate-sticker

To get a temporary licence plate sticker visit a ServiceOntario centre and bring:

  • the vehicle permit indicating that the vehicle’s status is "fit"
    • if the vehicle permit is not yet registered in your name, the back of the permit must be completed and signed by the owner
  • proof of insurance that includes the name of your insurance company and the policy number for the vehicle
  • if the vehicle is being registered in your name and you wish to attach your own plates bring the existing licence plates (if available) along with the plate portion of the vehicle permit
  • if you are registering a vehicle for the first time, you must pay the fees for vehicle registration and the purchase of licence plates including all applicable taxes
 
Hmm...ok, you're right - I never thought you were eligible for temp plates on a vehicle that's in someone else's name, but apparently so. One might wonder HOW that works now however, particularly since the temp plate is no longer a stick-on type plate like it used to be, but just a "T" sticker that is supposed to be stuck on the plate. If you just bought the vehicle the old owner keeps the plates...so what do you stick this tiny little "T" sticker to now? Before there used to be a piece of paper that constituted the temp plate that you stuck in the back window, but no more...now just this little sticker:

temporary_licencesticker_0.png


Unfortunately every province has different rules though, so again, even what applies here might not in another province...so I'd look for specific details on whatever province you're looking to buy in, ultimately.
 
Unfortunately every province has different rules though, so again, even what applies here might not in another province...so I'd look for specific details on whatever province you're looking to buy in, ultimately.

Yep, I'll call Yukon one of these days to see what they say, just wondering if anyone here had experience doing such a thing.
 
Yep, I'll call Yukon one of these days to see what they say

If your experience with that is anything like my calls with the MTO here in Ontario, you may want to call several different times and speak to several different people...and see if you get consistent answers. That's always been a challenge here with certain topics for me - it took me physically visiting a local MTO office and speaking to a regional supervisor to finally get a straight answer on something a few years ago after receiving about 3 different answers from 5 different people on the phone.

Good luck.
 
I think you'll do way better flying a bike you know out and riding it back home. There are just too many gotcha's in your proposal not to mention way more choice of vehicle in Ontario if you are buying another bike.
$650 to fly your fully farkled and loaded with luggage machine to Vancouver and then head north is just too cheap to consider any other route IMNSHO.

Generally everything in the Yukon is more expensive ....and the towns are very high income ( highest in Canada ) so don't expect bargains.
 
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Yeah, I'll likely end going with one of my own bikes, but I just wanted to investigate the options.

A few years back I got a crate for free from cycle world west and had fastfrate truck a bike to Vancouver for only $250. Now this was back in 2009, so prices might have gone up, but I'll check into that option too.

Since I have two bikes, I'm not really put out having the bike on a truck for four days as long as it's there when I get there.

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk
 
best i know of is $500 to bc uncrated.. might do that this year since i have two bikes.
Not sure where the drop off is tho as that needs to be factored in.
 

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