Phoenix

Insurance is good here. We're insured with western qbe and I pay $140 fully comp for my Ducati.
My son who is 21 and has a 600 Ducati just paid an awful lot $760 fully comp but converted it's not too bad, he has 3 years no claims on a big bike.
The problem with younger riders here is as they like you to be over 26 for a big bike.
I suspect thats something to do with averages and the 250 rules here.

graz79

It is free to view on Ten but at silly times due to the time zones. Other option is MotoGp.com or rigging your internet connection through a UK proxy to use the BBC iplayer

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I have bitten the bullet and not bought another bike. Desperatley wanted another one over here but could not justify the cost over public transport. (based in Adelaide)

What I did find when looking around.

Kit is a lot more. You will be better off buying new in UK and shipping it with you. The exception to this rule is the "last year" shops selling the old helmet designs and leathers, they tend to be a different shop but you can get some real bargains if you are lucky.

The perforated leathers are few and far between, more common in the shops are the perforated goretex (and having shredded a pair of goretex jeans at 20mph there is no way I would be wearing something resembling kitchen towel). Most of the jackets sold are remoable lining though.

There seems to be a gap in the bikes, Second hand dealers are either nearly new (6 months) or 10 years old. not sure where the other ones are. Having said that the nearly new ones are going for a bargain to make it worthwhile compared to the brand new ones.

Seen a lot of custom paint jobs and bikes with newer fairings to cover damage.

Insurance ranges (as always) but I was looking at $400 for Fully Comp on an R6 with no no claims at 26. Phone and speak to the insurance companies because some will take UK no claims and some will not, QBE will take "experience" without proof of no claims (not sure how that works).

One last thing. When getting your license changed make sure they add the bike category to it, (They missed mine first time around till I complained).

going to go back to wistfully looking at the new bikes

bigpaul

Is your UK no claims bike insurance valid down under?

londonmike

Interesting. I'm planning on selling my old Vespa, but I saw an immaculate vespa Sprint the other day and was very tempted to buy it and take it out.
Any idea what old Manual Scoots cost over in Oz (Melb.) compared to what I'd expect to pay over here ? If I don't ship, I'll definitely end up buying over there...

graz79

Depends on the insurer, when i phoned them some said yes, some said no...and sometimes i spoke to two people and got two answers from the same company

Cheapest site I found was
http://ebikeinsurance.com.au/

www.insuremyride.com.au also gave good quotes

trevamather

i converted to supermotos 5 years ago and would be reluctant to move back to sports bikes..they can't get near the motos on the twisties!! Then again with the big mileages over there i think i'll be looking for a 950 or 990 adventure for the range and maybe a 525 pure off roader for the sunday morning adrenaline rush!! By the time i sell my two motos plus an injury claim from a tosser in a white van pulling out on me last year breaking my foot knee and wrist(ouch!!) i should have £15k + so gotta start looking at deals once we get there before the OH starts shopping!!

GaryVFR8s_Wife

The only thing you'll need to keep in mind if buying, Is you need to have owned the vehicle for a minimum of 12 months to be able to ship to Australia, otherwise you can get bombarded with all sorts of duty and the like if it does get import approval.

furkew

They generally take it into account. Make sure you get a written declaration from your old company stating your no claims or last 5 years history.

Even with a few minor claims over the last 5 years, I was still able to get group 2 insurance over here, which did definitely help.

I found Swann insurance one of the best for bikes down under. They specialize in bikes.

furkew

Why dont you do the same as I did. Bought one before I arrived, and picked it up 2 days after arrival

The wife might be good at spending, but she aint that quick

Pommy Dan

As a (modern) Vespa rider myself....

this is a link to the only VIC based manual scoot i could find (PX200)
http://www.scootersales.com.au/UsedS...3/Default.aspx
$5.5k

There is quite an active scooter scene in Oz. Check out http://www.scootercommunity.com.au/forums/

trevamather

She'd bloody kill me

adriang

Think that the old Italian scooter scene is pretty active in the main cities. Melbourne has a few clubs and are pretty active from a national level. There are scoots that come up, and there are more than get imported either personally during migration, or get imported, especially from Asia.

eBay gives an idea on what they go for, but once they are 'in country', good ones don't tend to come up for sale very often and then there is the issue of the distance to view and then to transport it home.

I think I'd advise that if you can get something good in the UK, then I'd get it and bring it in. Spares are generally easy to pick up, there are a few shops in Australia that sells stuff.

rex_mason

I was thinking of a GSXR1000 K6 for the weekend fun and a scooter (or similar) to get me to work......................but I heard that the Sydney feds are a bit harsh on bikes filtering in traffic.

What's the deal?:curse:

Is it viable to commute from Northern Beaches to north Sydney on a bike? Will I survive? I am used to the M4 mayhem in the UK so I know how to ride defensively but we don't tend to get used for target practise over here.

(should be landing 11th May so getting excited now)

GaryVFR8s_Wife

I previously commuted in the Sydney area (from the North Shore area to the Homebush area) In all honesty you're taking your life into your own hands on Sydney roads anyway. I would be incredibly careful if you're looking to lane split. It's not technically legal, and for some reason it makes the car drivers rather angry. I actually had a friend of mine tell me if he saw me lane splitting while he was stuck in traffic he would do his best to knock me off. Unfortunately that's very much the Sydney mentality towards bike riders in general. They're the sorts of people that would tell you they didn't see you if you had a neon flashing sign above your head and a siren going.
Then again, saying that, in all the time i road in/around Sydney suburbs, i didn't actually get knocked off, it is a matter of taking the matter into your own hands, and don't assume the person's going to turn left just because they've got their indicator, you may be right, but it's not good being right when you've got broken bones.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your move.

CnG-OZ Bound

I always read with great interest this Thread. But in all honesty, What is "Lane Splitting ?" Sorry for my ignorance. Good to hear all.
Chris (R1 Rider)