Shipping from Italy

S

SEBBARU

Member
Forum Sponsor
I know how stupid/risky it is to buy a vehicle from another continent sight-unseen, but I'm weighing a lot of options.

Suppose I find an offer I can't refuse for a 1996 Aprilia RS250 in Italy.
What would be the best company or service to use for intercontinenal shipping of such a bike?

Please keep in mind that the bike in question is 15+ years old and is therefore admissible to be licensed in Canada.

I'm mostly concerned about crating and transportation from seller to buyer.
 
SEBBARU said:
Suppose I find an offer I can't refuse for a 1996 Aprilia RS250 in Italy.
Please keep in mind that the bike in question is 15+ years old and is therefore admissible to be licensed in Canada.
Click to expand...
Investigate other aspects of the importation. You'll probably have problems with insurance if the motorcycle in question doesn't sport a 17 character VIN. A bike this old from Europe may not have a conformant VIN. You'll probably successfully get the bike registered but most insurance companies won't cover a bike whose VIN doesn't conform. I'm struggling with that problem right now with my BMW K100 (imported from Germany). Surprisingly, it's been road worthy and insured in Ontario for more than 6 years but this year is truly a bugger for some strange reason -- maybe changing insurance rules.

Factor in the duties and taxes you'll pay once it hits Canadian shores. Depending on where it lands, you'll have to factor in additional transportation costs into the budget. These will include transport from the port of landing to your residence and transport to the mechanic's who will perform the safety.

Also check for proper ownership papers, road worthiness certificates, current insurance, etc. You'll have to get all the paperwork translated into English for registration, which can ONLY be done by MTO approved and licensed translators at significant cost.

So, after all this, you have to ask yourself is this deal really a "deal"? If so, then go for it.
 
topendz said:
Rob do you remember what company you dealt with to import your K100RT?
Click to expand...
I used Majortrans, an international moving company, because the motorcycle was brought over with my household goods when I moved back from Europe where I had been living for a number of years. I imported it tax and duty free because I had proof that I owned the motorcycle. I got it registered through MTO but the process was complex, necessitating three failed visits to Service Ontario before I got all the paperwork exactly right.
 
You may want to check RIV.CA first and see if the bike is even importable (which it's not). If you can't import it from the states then there is an even better chance that you wont be able to import it from a different country. They will hold that item at the shipping yard until you decide to either ship it back or deal with it otherwise. You may want to talk to a few guys who actually own an RS250 in Canada before even thinking of bringing one in and see how they got theirs. I've only seen two and one of guys from what I recall parks his downtown on front with the rest of the bikers as well he's been out to the Thursday night meets at leslie and lakeshore.
 
markopas said:
You may want to check RIV.CA first and see if the bike is even importable (which it's not). If you can't import it from the states then there is an even better chance that you wont be able to import it from a different country. They will hold that item at the shipping yard until you decide to either ship it back or deal with it otherwise. You may want to talk to a few guys who actually own an RS250 in Canada before even thinking of bringing one in and see how they got theirs. I've only seen two and one of guys from what I recall parks his downtown on front with the rest of the bikers as well he's been out to the Thursday night meets at leslie and lakeshore.
Click to expand...

Any vehicle over 15 years old can be imported into Canada.
 
topendz said:
Any vehicle over 15 years old can be imported into Canada.
Click to expand...
That is a correct statement. RIV determines the eligibility of a vehicle to be allowed import into Canada. Once in Canada, MTO determines the eligibility of the vehicle to be used on the roads based on its accompanying paperwork. For road use, there must be valid insurance issued for the vehicle and insurance companies determine the eligibility of a vehicle for insurance. It's a bit of a catch-22 the first time for newly imported vehicles as both MTO and the insurance company have to validate each of their registration aspects.

Since different government offices have control over different aspects of the importation and registration process, you could end up with the worst case scenario being that you able to import the bike but not able to register it for road use. This could happen because the MTO can't process the paperwork and/or because the insurance companies refuse to insure the bike.
 
Last edited:
I dont have an answer, but I am curious why you would want to go to such lengths for a bike that age and small size displacement? I looked at some pictures of it, it looks like a run of the mill sport bike, nothing really classic looking to me. Is there something unique about this bike?
 
wonderings said:
I dont have an answer, but I am curious why you would want to go to such lengths for a bike that age and small size displacement? I looked at some pictures of it, it looks like a run of the mill sport bike, nothing really classic looking to me. Is there something unique about this bike?
Click to expand...
It's two stroke, and makes a Ninja 250 look absolutely silly ;)

-Jamie M.
 
Sebbaru, you sent me a message on my you tube channel , re:my RS250 vid, i replied, did you receive it?
 
"Some guy in Canada wants to buy my bike, sight unseen with paypal. Seems legit." - Italian Guy
 
robmack said:
That is a correct statement. RIV determines the eligibility of a vehicle to be allowed import into Canada. Once in Canada, MTO determines the eligibility of the vehicle to be used on the roads based on its accompanying paperwork. For road use, there must be valid insurance issued for the vehicle and insurance companies determine the eligibility of a vehicle for insurance. It's a bit of a catch-22 the first time for newly imported vehicles as both MTO and the insurance company have to validate each of their registration aspects.

Since different government offices have control over different aspects of the importation and registration process, you could end up with the worst case scenario being that you able to import the bike but not able to register it for road use. This could happen because the MTO can't process the paperwork and/or because the insurance companies refuse to insure the bike.
Click to expand...

Point taken. I'm currently looking for a Laverda Jota or 3c
 
wonderings said:
I dont have an answer, but I am curious why you would want to go to such lengths for a bike that age and small size displacement? I looked at some pictures of it, it looks like a run of the mill sport bike, nothing really classic looking to me. Is there something unique about this bike?
Click to expand...

2stroker said:
Makes some 600's look silly too.
Click to expand...

One of my favorites - "run what you brung" race (gets really good around 7 and a half minute mark) :

[video=youtube;sVVoHKlbN1Q]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVVoHKlbN1Q[/video]

part two :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQGAOhY8PWo
 
gammaguy21 said:
One of my favorites - "run what you brung" race (gets really good around 7 and a half minute mark) :
Click to expand...
Wow, I watched the entire video. Absolutely amazing! That 250 really spanks the 750 in braking :)

-Jamie M.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom