Shipping Scooter To Us

[cottonadam]

Hi I just bought a Honda Wave scooter here in Krabi. I was just wondering if you guys know the best and cheapest way to ship it back to the United States??

Thank you for the help

Adam

[BKKdreaming]

better check with USA customs, I do not think you can import it

In fact I would almost bet on it

sorry

Edited December 31, 2004 by BKKdreaming

[xbusman]

Adam, got some bad news for ya. Its cheaper to drive it off the dock. There is a big shredder at Long Beach and unless its EPA and DOT certified they will drop it in there after about 180 days of sitting on the dock costing you money.

What you could do, and I have seen it done. Is take it apart in about a zillion pieces, ship four or five of the bigger boxes back by Fedex and list the contents as motorcycle parts. That should only run about $1000. Dont ship the engine in this manner, it will get confiscated and scrapped. The engine you can break down into a bunch of parts and put them in three or four suitcases. You have a better chance of getting a non EPA certified engine past airport customs than port customs. Not a good chance but at least some chance.

If all your fedex boxes make it, and knowing fedex I bet they do, you can reassemble your treasure at home in your spare time. Under no circumstance should you ever venture on to a public road with your crotch rocket. The fines for driving a unregistered and uncertified vehicle on public roads will make you wish you had never learned to drive. Also, if its a California road, you will probably be prosecuted and your toy will be confiscated.

They do make lovely wall art and great deep well pumps.

Good luck!

[ajahnlau]

Hi I just bought a Honda Wave scooter here in Krabi.  I was just wondering if you guys know the best and cheapest way to ship it back to the United States??

Thank you for the help

Adam

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Cheapest way to ship it would be by sea container. It's not worth it to do on a bike that only costs $1,000.00. Sell it for whatever you can get, which will likely mean a loss of maybe $200.00 and buy bike in US.

[Sojourner]

I agree with the previous posts regarding the EPA & DOT rules for highway vehicles making it impossible to bring in gray market vehicles but... I have noticed a lot of Vespas being sold in California and a number of people riding them...with tags. The Honda motorcycle dealer in Santa Barbara told me he's bringing them in from Europe. Any ideas how they can do this?

[Ajarn]

I agree with the previous posts regarding the EPA & DOT rules for highway vehicles making it impossible to bring in gray market vehicles but... I have noticed a lot of Vespas being sold in California and a number of people riding them...with tags.  The Honda motorcycle dealer in Santa Barbara told me he's bringing them in from Europe.  Any ideas how they can do this?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Vespas have been around in the States for a long time, so I'd assume they were certified long ago...

More info: http://www.vespausa.com/

[xbusman]

Vespa has US DOT and EPA certificates and were grandfathered in probably back in the 60s. As long as they certify emmissions every year and comply with DOT and FMVSS regs they can issue US titles which makes them completely legal to import.

You too can get these registrations by simply complying with the US DOT and EPA certifications. There are companies on both coasts that will attempt to do this. Normal fees for a single vehicle start at about $60,000 for the paperwork, and in the case of a car, modification fees start at about $40,000. They offer no guarantees of eventual success but will keep trying for three or four years (or until you run out of money). Antique cars are not too much trouble as there are some grandfather clauses that ease the way a bit. I think you could eventually get a motorcycle certified by one of these firms rather cheaply, probably under $50,000.

The main problem for cars are the glass and brakes (leaving emissions out of the equation). Glass has to be made to DOT cert standards so every car has to have all the windows replaced, the cost of a one off certified windshield for say a Diablo is simply wonderfully staggering. Could feed a Thai family for a decade. Motorcycles dont have the same raft of regs as cars, no glass and the brakes could probably be modified easily. Then there are emissions. Everything has to have physical testing at certified testing centers and all documentation has to be signed by PEs (Professional Engineers) so it would not surprise me if given enough money and time it could be done. An interesting problem is that the vehicles are impounded at customs until you get the certs, I am not sure how they get them to the testing centers and back while kept in impound. I would guess they have their own transport service.

I think the easier and sure route is to offer to Honda to pay for the general certification process for that specific model. I found Suzuki open to this when I was working on importing a Japanese only model to the US. They can take similar models that have been certified and certify the similarity based on commonality of parts, such as brake components. Then they only have to certify the physical characteristics of what remains untested. As a certified test center filled with PEs familiar with the bike, its really not much trouble for them to do. Suzuki thought it shouldnt cost more than around $250,000 US. I would bet successful certification would be pretty much guaranteed.

Had the same situation back in the 90s with a well off individual of rather strong German roots who only ever drove a Mercedes Benz. He wanted a Benz SUV and at that time there was no such thing. So he paid Daimler to design and build 6 (there was a reason for that number that I dont remember) they used commonality of components from the Mercedes line, got certified and he easily and legally imported them into the US when done. I dont think they ran over $1 million each which seemed to me to be a great deal. Rumor was that they were so cheap because Mercedes amortized some of the costs as they were considering manufacturing SUVs anyway. Sure enough they hit the market a few years later.

So it can be done and I have been around long enough to see crazier things than this. If you really love your motorcycle enough, and have way too much money, go for it, it is possible.

Having said all this so emphatically and being very well versed with what is required, a quick search on Ebay will turn up a few motorcycles that were Japanese only models with US registration. Now, you have to import and have a US title to get registration so it was done somehow. You wont find cars in this category unless they are antique or have been through the $100,000 cert process but there are motorcycles. I have tried calling the people selling these units and have never found out who did it or how. I get the "I dunno, bought it from a ad in a newspaper" or some such. If I ever actually find someone who got this done I would post it here. I have an hypothesis that they are brought back by State Dept employees. There are certain exemptions and free freight they are allowed and I know one employee who filled his container with motorcycles that he swore he could get titled as part of his exemption.

So there you have it. Join the State Dept, few years in Iraq and you can get your Honda Wave back with no trouble or expense.

Best of luck, let me know how much the engine weighs and if the airline charges you extra.

[xbusman]

Now I remember why they built six, a number of them had to be destroyed during testing. There are impact tests that have to be certified so that took out at least two maybe three. Thankfully motorcycles don't have to do the crash tests so you can still get a single one approved.