I was wondering if anyone had any advice on bringing or buying a bike abroad.
Im currently staying in the south of Spain and want to get a motorbike. I'll be here for at least another seven months to a year and seven months. I wondered if it's correct that you don't need to register a british motorcycle as long as it leaves the country every six months. That may seem a lot of hassle but Morroco is only a couple of hours away and wouldn't be that much a hardship to go to every six months. Any advice would be greatly appreciated cheers.....

Hi James and welcome to the forum.

If you're here, why not just buy one on Spanish plates and avoid all the hassle?

It's not only about taking a foreign plated motorbike/car out of the country every 6 months, it's about having it ITV'd, legally insured, etc., so it's a bit more complicated.

As she says, it's not as if there are differences between motorbikes in the UK and here, there isn't RHD and LHD to consider. I would buy one here, it will save the hassle, and, as you are going to be here for that length of time, then you are considered a Spanish resident, and any UK bike MUST be transferred to Spanish plates anyway, going out of the country every so often will NOT suffice.

Bikes are waaay cheaper in the UK than in Spain, even taking into account having to pay to change the registrations over. Spanish bikes are also power limited unlike the UK ones, so if you are going for a large capacity bike (over 600cc) than import would be the way to go. I suppose the power limit wouldn't be of concern if yo were going for a cruiser type like a Harley though

There's no 100bhp limitation here.....that's only in France. The bikes you buy here in terms of power output are the same as the UK.

Well that was kind of my thinking as i have looked at 2nd hand bikes here and they seem a lot more expensive for what your getting. I don´t know if that is the same for eequipmentlike helmet´s and leathers etc. I have also noticed ala lotf the second hand bikes I have looked at are from the UK with UK plates, does that mean there still registered in the UK. I presume you get spanish plates when you register in spain.

Hello there Extreme. I was wanting to ask you a bit about having a british bike abroad as i have seen from some of your threads you have one and know a bit about it. I have recently passed my test on the direct access coarse so i can ride any size of bike now. I wanted to get a 600cc and thought about buying one in Spain but their so expensive over here so i wanted to get a second hand one from home as not minted. The other problem with getting one over here is that the insurance fully comp is really pricey. The other problem is that over here you are restricted to less than a 600cc for 2 years so I probably wouldn´t get insurance as advised at one of the garages. I wouldn´t mind taking it back out the country as i would probably go back home for the summer hols so it probably wouldn´t be in the country over six months. Is there any advice you could give me I would be most appreciative.
James..

P.s sorry XTreme

If extreme isn't around, ask MnM

Hello again James,

My advice would be to try and find a 2nd hand bike here in Spain. They are a bit more expensive than the UK, but not as much as you would think. As for having a new licence, if you passed your test in the UK and have a full A licence, then you are not CC restricted and can buy and insure any bike.

My husband passed his test in the UK in April and we returned to Spain and bought an 1100 Yamaha Dragstar in May and have it insured fully comp as it's brand spanking new. Granted that as a new A licence holder, your insurance will be more expensive than usual, but I think that is the same in the UK. Bike insurance prices are usually lower after 2years of obtaining the full A as you would be more experienced and hopefully have not made any claims.

If, again, you are adamant about buying in the UK and bringing it here, I know you can insure it through Gibraltar Insurance brokers, but I don't know how or if it will be legal and how you would go about doing it.

Keep in mind that to change plates (matriculate & homologate) a bike over 500cc here is about €1,000 to €1,500.

Hope I've helped in some small way.

Just seen this now.....can't really advise on the licence aspect of things with all this DAS and Class A stuff. I passed my test in 1971 and in those days you just rode round the block twice while the examiner stood in a shop doorway reading the paper. Then when he'd finished the sport section he pulled you over, asked you a stupid question like "What's that?".....you answered "A bike?".....and he gave you a pass certificate and told you to piss off!

As for secondhand bike prices, there's a huge difference between here and the UK. Same with insurance......and most of the policies here are worthless TP only.

My advice? Buy something like a 600 Bandit over there.....great first bike after passing your test.
Insure it with E-Bike.....prices are good and you get 365 days Euro Cover. Get a full MOT and Tax before you leave and you're sorted.
When you go back to Britain, renew the MOT even if it's not due......so you know you're covered for any extended stays. And you can now renew your tax online.
Don't buy a second hand bike here.....the prices are a joke, and even though you won't find any rust, you'll find that most of them have the legacy of still having the same oil as when it first left the dealers from new.

You forgot to tell him its illegal for a Spanish resident to drive a foreign plated vehicle.
Guardia can ask for proof of vehicle entry into Spain and give you a smack and take your bike away if it is on UK plates.
Also the insurance is dubious if the bike is illegal in Spain.
Thats all that springs to mind at the mo. ;-))

Did he say he was a resident jdr? All I can see is the phrase "currently staying".
Obviously if he was a resident I'd tell him it was illegal for him to drive any vehicle that he may own (despite it being legal in every other EU country) if it didn't have Spanish plates.
I've heard they're taking this one stage further and making it illegal for Brit men to have sex with Brit women. Apparently it would only be legal for us to roger young senoritas instead.
So it looks as if regular trips to Carrefour Cartagena will be in order for me....I'd love to take the bike of course, but it got crushed by The Man!

LOL, but if he is here for more than 3 months then he has to apply for residencia certificate.
Change plates and no UK ins would cover a Spanish resident.

I've also heard from a very reputable source that from 1st Jan it will be compulsory for all of us to grow moustaches (even the women) like all the middle aged Spaniards have.
However if you leave the country for any period of time you will be allowed to shave it off temporarily for the duration of your stay abroad.
But....if you re-grow it outside of Spain it would then be deemed a UK moustache which would be illegal except in it's country of origin. So you'll then have to re-register it (after payment of all taxes) as a Spanish moustache.
If you're caught in Spain with an illegal moustache you'll feel the full weight of the law coming down on you. They have the authority to impound the aforementioned moustache immediately......and rightly so IMO.

However, there's still no definitive ruling on the compulsory wife beating bill though.....it could go either way.
But just to ensure we do stay on the right side of the law, it may be advisable to give them a swift bitchslapping every other weekend just to ensure total compliance with any minor bylaws in your area.
Obviously if you're importing a battered wife into Spain you'll have to register her here (after paying all taxes) and get her status changed to a Spanish battered wife.
If you're caught in Spain beating your wife, or anybody else's wife for that matter, without the approved documentation.....then you're a danger and a menace to everybody.