Where can i get legit grey market bikes? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Where can i get legit grey market bikes?

bobjohnson

Well-known member
So, im gonna be coming into some cash soon and im seriously considering one of the 250cc grey market sport bikes, particularily the CBR250. I always thought those were neat and the couple times i did get to ride one, it was a blast. Problem is i have no idea where to get one. Nothing on craigslist or kijiji really, and i remember that shop that imported them had really bad reviews on the quality of bikes (beat to hell, overpriced, etc). If anyone has any recommendations, thatd be great. Im probably looking to pick one up in the next month or so. I dont mind having to do a little bit of work on it, but im looking for something i can pretty much just pay cash for and ride. All my current bikes are in some stage of "project", i dont really need any more projects :p
 
u can try dealerships like readyhonda/suzuki of brampton or newmarket/gp bikes/northern motorsports or look on autotrader. good luck with the search!
 
They are a tough find. Nuak seem to be the only local importer. Some of his bikes are sketchey. Make sure you know what you are looking at. I'm a big fan of jap bikes myself. I Have a vfr400 and a cbr400 project. People ask way too much for them, but there is a small market for them.
 
spend some of that cash at rosey toes to fix up your project bikes, that old dude you hate no longer works there lol.
 
lol, nah, i like to work on my projects myself when i can, its more fun that way (Currently my 450 is in peices, sucked a choke screw through the intake right after i got it running perfect last season, sucks). Though i'll be heading up to rosey toes probably next weekend, cus i need some new tires and tubes for my little 125. Teds the only dude in toronto who doesnt look at me like im retarded when i come in asking about imperial size tires like 1.75"x17 :p

As for the import bikes, i guess if nothing pops up on craigslist or kijiji i'll check out Nuaks. Im just worried about getting a bike that seems fine, but then i get it home and a week later it turns out its got a ******** of problems and im off the road for more than half the summer again :/ But looking at his site, hes got an MC17 for cheaper than anywhere else ive seen so i probably will at least drop by there and check out the bikes.
 
As thisischris said above Nuak: http://nuakjdm.ca/default.aspx is a local JDM importer. Be warned that there have been some negative reviews from his customers here in the past relating to bikes not being in as good condition as they appear. I would recommend bringing a mechanic with you to inspect the bikes, and be prepared to dive in mechanically in the worst case.
 
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Import your own, just make sure it is over 15 years old.

http://www.bikepoint.com.au/all-bik...259+4294967064&TabID=2207444&keywords=&Nne=15

Asking $3700 Australian $$$ for this one
gc5168416353078439957.jpg
 
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^ looks like I know where to get my next bike now! those prices are great
 
By the time you are here in TO, it will be 5700 CAD ..... the shipping, handling etc. will kill any deal. It's terribly ineffective to ship one bike from overseas. It starts making sense from 3 up, container obviously being the bang for the buck.

Anyways, in GTA Nuak is your only choice really. He was in Japan weeks before the disaster hit. A person I know finally reached him as he was looking for a bike himself. Whether his spring container will arrive or not in time is hard to tell as many things have been effected by the disaster as you can imagine.

I personally have bought two bikes from him in the last 3 years, both time in fall and both time the price was right. Everytime I buy a bike from him (or any other importer for that matter) I assume it can be a lemon. I carefully go over it and base my negotiations on what I see. One unknown is always the internals of the engine, but that is part of "rolling the dice". It's given that you will have to take carbs apart, replace chain, sprockets, tires, rebuild brakes and replace fork seals. In most cases, the tank will have to be coated with a liner due to years of rusting. Both bikes I have bought from him were in very good condition, except for wear/tear parts I have listed.

I cannot speak for the others who have had a bad experience with him and posted here. But by reading, everytime it sounds to me that their expectations were not realistic. Secondly, most of the people were really not into wrenching or they bought the bikes as their first bike .... not good on both counts, you don't buy 250cc or 400cc I-4 20 year old bike if you fall into one of the two categories.

Don't bother with his website, he doesn't keep it updated at all. Head over to his kijiji "store". Once he gets new bikes for sale, you can check it here
http://toronto.kijiji.ca/f-nuak-Classifieds-W0QQKeywordZnuakQQisSearchFormZtrue


Good luck.
 
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Well what I was getting at is that you can probably get a better bike from Australia and not have a language barrier and have local dude there check it out first. At the end of the day, it may cost a bit more, but you might also be left with less headaches. I guess it is a gamble either way, but you also have a bit more choice this way too.
 
Hey bobjohnson,
I have to do so much work on mine, pretty much what mxs said... i need to get new fork seals, brake rotors, pads, even brake discs! i have to grease all the bearings which i'll probably just replace anyway and of course, chain and sprockets... i have spoken to upul (nuak) and he is waiting for the next shipment of bikes, however... it'll take about 2 months until it comes. Like everyone here states... his kind of bikes you'll have to work on it, if you're willing to put the time and effort which you are... go for it! I'm not too sure how the condition of that bike is but hopefully it's better than mine. I know when i purchased it off the guy that bought it from nuak, nuak told him he replaced the seal after it started leaking a few weeks in... when i took a part of the forks to check myself, he didn't replace it whatsoever... sooooo he's pretty sketchy.. just make sure you know what you're looking for. thats all

lol, nah, i like to work on my projects myself when i can, its more fun that way (Currently my 450 is in peices, sucked a choke screw through the intake right after i got it running perfect last season, sucks). Though i'll be heading up to rosey toes probably next weekend, cus i need some new tires and tubes for my little 125. Teds the only dude in toronto who doesnt look at me like im retarded when i come in asking about imperial size tires like 1.75"x17 :p

As for the import bikes, i guess if nothing pops up on craigslist or kijiji i'll check out Nuaks. Im just worried about getting a bike that seems fine, but then i get it home and a week later it turns out its got a ******** of problems and im off the road for more than half the summer again :/ But looking at his site, hes got an MC17 for cheaper than anywhere else ive seen so i probably will at least drop by there and check out the bikes.
 
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Well what I was getting at is that you can probably get a better bike from Australia and not have a language barrier and have local dude there check it out first. At the end of the day, it may cost a bit more, but you might also be left with less headaches. I guess it is a gamble either way, but you also have a bit more choice this way too.

There's no language barrier (this is not an ESL exam LOL) ... I guess you have never spoken to Nuak, have you?

I don't know why people assume that Nuak's interest is to bring junk bikes over and screw someone around (he wouldn't have lasted in business as long as as he has). His bikes are already going through at least two layers of selecting. His guy in Japan and himself when he goes there to ultimately pick the final list. How is this better than to rely on someone who you never have nor you will ever see in your life in person? If you were buying it from someone you personally know, maybe, but still the cost of shipping it would make it the most expensive 250cc on the continent ...

Anyways, I don't want to discourage you or anyone else, just trying to tell as I see it.
 
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Hey bobjohnson,
I actually just bought a honda cbr 250r (mc 17) last week. I have to do so much work on mine, pretty much what mxs said... i need to get new fork seals, brake rotors, pads, even brake discs! i have to grease all the bearings which i'll probably just replace anyway and of course, chain and sprockets... i have spoken to upul

Make sure that you really do need new rotors (measure the thickness). You don't have to go get new ones, just buy used with enough life left in them. The key is to find out which other Honda bike uses the same spec rotor. I bet some older 600s do and you are of to ebay, kijiji whatever. These things are really not that difficult, nor expensive to fix. But you have to be willing to do that and make it fun. If you bought it for 3500 and thought you are getting ready to go bike wihtout any necessary wrenching that's where the sour grapes come ...
 
lol my friend is actually helping me check the necessary components for my bike, but even from the looks of it myself I need everything brand new. My rotor is completely destroyed and not salvageable. Nobody sells rotors for an MC17 on ebay but only the 19s... however, they use different brakes. It'd be hard to find rotors that had the right bolt pattern, right thickness and right outside diameter to work on my bike, it'll all be a bit different. The only rotors they sell on ebay is for the mc22. My bike being the mc17 is super rare because they only made it for I believe two years, same with the 19 but they made the 22 for like 11 years which is a lot easier to find spare parts for. My god brother actually has a mc22 and wow, it's so much easier to find parts for him.. i simply couldn't wait for the next shipment so i got this and hope to ride soon. Either way I already ordered new fork seals, brake pads and rotors. It'll be coming in next monday/tuesday and I can't wait. Oh, and If anyone does think buying a jdm bike for 3500 and readily ride-able... they're kidding themselves. 3500 is a bit much anyway... Depending on the bike of course but for mine... its a project bike and I love it.



Make sure that you really do need new rotors (measure the thickness). You don't have to go get new ones, just buy used with enough life left in them. The key is to find out which other Honda bike uses the same spec rotor. I bet some older 600s do and you are of to ebay, kijiji whatever. These things are really not that difficult, nor expensive to fix. But you have to be willing to do that and make it fun. If you bought it for 3500 and thought you are getting ready to go bike wihtout any necessary wrenching that's where the sour grapes come ...
 
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Not sure if rotors from any other honda would fit and trying to find detailed specs of measurements outside diameters, and actual width of the surface area where the pad touches would all have to be identical. The rotors definitely aren't slavageable the cross drill holes wore deep grooves into the pads which then wore deep grooves into the rotor as you can see in the pic, the bike wasn't maintained pretty much at all but with a little TLC we're going to get it back into as good condition as possible.

Toronto-20110412-00123.jpg


They also only made the MC17 for 2 years, where as the MC22 were made for something like 11 so it'd be a lot harder to find used parts. Even still used OEM rotors dont sell for super cheap, they imported these bikes to australia but by the time you ship rotors over you're probably well over 200 bucks for used parts.

Luckily EBC makes rotors that fit this bike for a somewhat reasonable price, and she paid a lot less then 3500 dollars, actually the seller took over a grand hit off what he paid for it from nuak, but i think we got it for a very fair price given the condition. Seller only put 3k kilometers on it in two summers!! but didn't know enough about bikes to understand how atrocious the equipment he was riding on really was. I actually didn't catch how bad the rotors were when we looked at the bike which is my bad, but after we had started taking the bike apart slushee mentioned to the seller that the brakes were toast and if he had realized that, to which he replied that the brakes were fine. Tomorrow we're going to take the pads off and do a bit more disassembly, we'll grab a pic of the pads, i've never seen wear like this on brake pads before.
 
bikes from Japan are very likely to be oxidized unless they were stored indoors which most werent given land prices.
the auction houses have different grades based on the condition, I would suggest grade 4 or better.(graded to a highest level of 6-showroom condition)$$$$$
bikes graded lower usually have pitted aluminium, need seals all over, faded, high kms, rusty tanks etc. Rarely do they show you a pic of inside of tank, and all the seals out there are ****.
don't forget Japan has the highest amount of tampered clocks, so look for other indicators of age..badly worn rearsets etc. another reason to find a trustworthy enthusiast to help you there to see the bike and make a judgement based on what you want. $$
you need to find someone over there to look carefully at the bike and send you specific pictures and a video of startup and running etc. $$
bike must be at least 15 years old to be allowed entry to canada
400cc and lower dont have any year printed on the title or deregistration documents so you will have to prove its age in a manner satisfactory to your customs agent, some require more info than others for some reason...
all de-registration and shipping documents have to be translated to english
you will probably want to have the bike crated for a safe shipment, must be special treated wood and stampped to CFIA specs or you will receive a nasty fee for fumigating when the crate arrives. Very expensive in Japan. $$$$
bike will possibly need a soil test if requested by CFIA. $$
then you will decide if you want to broker it yourself or hire someone..$$
most bikes in Japan have an 11 digit vin which some proovinces dont allow, you could get a 17 digit vin assigned by some provinces. chech with Japan $$$
freight from Japan, transport to and from packer to port. $$
ocean freight. $$$
from port in canada to you, in bond if you decide to broker it yourself. $$
all adds up to alot of money and time if you want a "nice" bike.

dont buy a piece of crap, parts and headache will not be worth it..

my 2 cents
 
By the time you are here in TO, it will be 5700 CAD ..... the shipping, handling etc. will kill any deal. It's terribly ineffective to ship one bike from overseas. It starts making sense from 3 up, container obviously being the bang for the buck.

Anyways, in GTA Nuak is your only choice really. He was in Japan weeks before the disaster hit. A person I know finally reached him as he was looking for a bike himself. Whether his spring container will arrive or not in time is hard to tell as many things have been effected by the disaster as you can imagine.

I personally have bought two bikes from him in the last 3 years, both time in fall and both time the price was right. Everytime I buy a bike from him (or any other importer for that matter) I assume it can be a lemon. I carefully go over it and base my negotiations on what I see. One unknown is always the internals of the engine, but that is part of "rolling the dice". It's given that you will have to take carbs apart, replace chain, sprockets, tires, rebuild brakes and replace fork seals. In most cases, the tank will have to be coated with a liner due to years of rusting. Both bikes I have bought from him were in very good condition, except for wear/tear parts I have listed.

I cannot speak for the others who have had a bad experience with him and posted here. But by reading, everytime it sounds to me that their expectations were not realistic. Secondly, most of the people were really not into wrenching or they bought the bikes as their first bike .... not good on both counts, you don't buy 250cc or 400cc I-4 20 year old bike if you fall into one of the two categories.

Don't bother with his website, he doesn't keep it updated at all. Head over to his kijiji "store". Once he gets new bikes for sale, you can check it here
http://toronto.kijiji.ca/f-nuak-Classifieds-W0QQKeywordZnuakQQisSearchFormZtrue


Good luck.

See, i think most of the problem comes from him selling bikes certified that need all that work done. Im a realist, and i obviously dont mind working on my own bikes, im just saying if you are gonna sell a bike certified and then it needs a new chain, sprockets, fork seals, etc, thats pretty sketch. He'd probably have a lot better rep if he fixed the bikes up before selling them as actually certified, especially cus hes over in japan to get the bikes anyway so its not like he cant buy parts he needs while hes there. The better JDM car importers (like torontojdm) do that with their cars, they dont sell certified cars that actually need hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of work. The ones with ****** reputations, like tiger japanese, do the same as nuak though.

As for importing my own bike, i was considering it because my buddy knows a guy who brings crates over from europe, so all in you can get one of the smaller CC bikes for around 3500 straight to your door. The problem is then you have to deal with customs and getting it registered here and all that stuff. Plus it usually takes about 6 months to get the crates here, and you have to buy it sight unseen. So thats not really a great option, i want to be able to see the bike in person and poke at it and ride it before i drop 3-5k dollars on it.

It will probably be 2 or 3 months before im ready to buy another bike, so i guess i have a lot of stuff to look into. Im probably gonna go with the CBR250, MC22, just because it seems like its more common and parts are cheaper. So if anyones got one they want to sell or know a friend whos got one, point them my way lol. Otherwise ill keep looking over kijiji and craigslist, and probably check out Nuaks shop when i have the cash in hand.
 
My god brother actually has one and is selling it. He's got a buyer but i'll let him know you're interested as well, pm me your info and i'll pass it on :)

See, i think most of the problem comes from him selling bikes certified that need all that work done. Im a realist, and i obviously dont mind working on my own bikes, im just saying if you are gonna sell a bike certified and then it needs a new chain, sprockets, fork seals, etc, thats pretty sketch. He'd probably have a lot better rep if he fixed the bikes up before selling them as actually certified, especially cus hes over in japan to get the bikes anyway so its not like he cant buy parts he needs while hes there. The better JDM car importers (like torontojdm) do that with their cars, they dont sell certified cars that actually need hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of work. The ones with ****** reputations, like tiger japanese, do the same as nuak though.

As for importing my own bike, i was considering it because my buddy knows a guy who brings crates over from europe, so all in you can get one of the smaller CC bikes for around 3500 straight to your door. The problem is then you have to deal with customs and getting it registered here and all that stuff. Plus it usually takes about 6 months to get the crates here, and you have to buy it sight unseen. So thats not really a great option, i want to be able to see the bike in person and poke at it and ride it before i drop 3-5k dollars on it.

It will probably be 2 or 3 months before im ready to buy another bike, so i guess i have a lot of stuff to look into. Im probably gonna go with the CBR250, MC22, just because it seems like its more common and parts are cheaper. So if anyones got one they want to sell or know a friend whos got one, point them my way lol. Otherwise ill keep looking over kijiji and craigslist, and probably check out Nuaks shop when i have the cash in hand.
 
ummmm...aren't they being sold here in canada now?...go to honda's website and i've seen a sign outside milton powerhouse honda saying the cbr250's are coming soon...
 
ummmm...aren't they being sold here in canada now?...go to honda's website and i've seen a sign outside milton powerhouse honda saying the cbr250's are coming soon...

Totally different bike, single cylinder vs. screaming inline 4
 

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