The best ever 4-stroke vertical twin?
in [Motorcycles]
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From: don (Calgary) on 24 Jul 2010 11:08 On Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:38:14 +0100, totallydeadmailbox(a)yahoo.co.uk (The Older Gentleman) wrote: > >I've often thought of combining a trip to the US with the purchase of a >really nice used Yank musclecar and/or one of the few Harleys I'd like >to own, and bringing it/them back as a personal import. If you opt for >used vehicles, it's way cheaper than buying them here, and I have >friends who've done it. Are you talking about vehicles that are not available over there, or is it cheaper to buy them in the US and ship them across the pond? What does it cost to ship a car across the ocean? I would have thought shipping would be quite expensive. What kind of gymnastics do you have to go through to get a US car registered in the UK? Inspections, modifications, emissions, etc? I would have thought if the savings were significant and there is a demand say for US muscle cars, some entrepreneur would be importing these cars into the UK market.
From: The Older Gentleman on 24 Jul 2010 11:49 don (Calgary) <hd.flhr(a)telus.net> wrote: > On Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:38:14 +0100, totallydeadmailbox(a)yahoo.co.uk > (The Older Gentleman) wrote: > > > > >I've often thought of combining a trip to the US with the purchase of a > >really nice used Yank musclecar and/or one of the few Harleys I'd like > >to own, and bringing it/them back as a personal import. If you opt for > >used vehicles, it's way cheaper than buying them here, and I have > >friends who've done it. > > Are you talking about vehicles that are not available over there, or > is it cheaper to buy them in the US and ship them across the pond? Both, really. But mainly it's US models that aren't sold here, which is most of them, as US builders don't deem it worth their while to build to UK spec because the sales would be too small to justify it (theyre right). Popular imports are Camaros, 'Vettes, Mustangs, any muscle car, plus big US pick-ups like the Ford F150. US people carriers aren't wanted at all. Nor the sport/utes. > > What does it cost to ship a car across the ocean? I would have thought > shipping would be quite expensive. Not really. There are several ways of doing it. Air freight (expensive). Sea freight in a crate (not so expensive: best done through a vehicle shipper). Or drive it onto one of those giant car ferries that transport new cars across the Atlantic and drive it off at the other end (very simple). That last one costs about �1000, from memory. Freigh costs vary widely according to the volume of international trade and (crucially) the oil price. Currently about US$100/tonne on the US-UK route, so $2200 for a standard container, into which one can probably squeeze two cars. > > What kind of gymnastics do you have to go through to get a US car > registered in the UK? Inspections, modifications, emissions, etc? Surprisingy easy, as the law is much more lenient with SVA (Single Vehicle Approval). Chief sticking points are having headlights that dip the 'correct' way (can be expensive) and the need to have separate indicators rather than those US style rear ones that wink the tail lights instead. Oh, and you must have a red rear fog light - easily retro fitted if the original car hasn't got one. Things like emissions and seat belts are pretty much the same as the US. Few problems there. Speedos have to have kilometre markings as well as miles. There's 10% duty from the US, which is added to the entire cost of the car plus shipping and any other costs (this is standard international procedure, by the way), and then there is 17.5% VAT on top of that. There is a VAT exemption for old vehicles - cba to Google, but I think it's things over 20 years old. Registration is pretty simple. Take all the paperwork, plus insurance and MOT test certificate to your local licensing office, hand it over, take tax disc. > > I would have thought if the savings were significant and there is a > demand say for US muscle cars, some entrepreneur would be importing > these cars into the UK market. They are indeed. A lot depends on the $/� exchange rate. Currently it's about �1 = $1.50. When the pound was worth 2 bucks, the savings were much greater. Also, buying from an importer means you have to pay his/her mark-up, but quite a few people reckon it's worth it to avoid the hassle. There used to be a massive trade in importing old Jap classics from the US, by the containerload. But the US has cottoned onto the fact that old GT750s and Kawasaki triples, found with negligible miles in barns in Iowa, are worth a lot of money and the trade has shrunk. The importers here have also discovered that there's more money in parts than complete bikes, so they bring over semi-dismantled or crash damaged ones, which restorers seize for parts. As one who's broken a few old 1970s Jap classics, I can vouch for the fact that a bike worth (say) �2000 in one piece is worth *at least* 50% more as spares. There's a sizeable trade in importing used cars from Japan because (a) they're very cheap to buy there and (b) the steering wheel is on the same side, which is a big issue for many people. The Mazda MX5 (aka the Miata in the US) is a popular grey import from Japan: they call it the Eunos there. Also Jap musclecars such as various Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Evo models which, for various reasons, aren't officially imported here. Generally, the grey Jap imports need little more than a convertor so the speedo shows miles per hour: quite simple. -- BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Triumph Street Triple Honda CB400F Suzuki TS250 Suzuki GN250 chateaudotmurrayatidnetdotcom Nothing damages a machine more than an ignoramus with a manual, a can-do attitude and a set of cheap tools
From: tomorrow on 24 Jul 2010 12:33 On Jul 24, 10:38 am, totallydeadmail...(a)yahoo.co.uk (The Older Gentleman) wrote: > OTOH, I gather BMW bikes cost a lot more in the US than they do here, > because of market forces. Do you really think so? The new BMW S1000RR Superbike has a base price of $13,800 in the U.S., which equates to ~ £8,940 at the current exchange rate,; while in the U.K. it is £11,500 (~ £9,500 exclusive of VAT and OTR charges). So while the old rule of thumb of £1 of UK msrp for each $1 of US msrp (which I have also found to be roughly useful, too) certainly seems to be out the door on this particular example, the bike is still demonstrably cheaper in the U.S. than in the U.K. I didn't look up prices of other BMW models, but I doubt that the numbers are so far off that they actually cost more, and certainly not "a lot more," in the U.S. than in the U.K.
From: The Older Gentleman on 24 Jul 2010 12:41 tomorrow(a)erols.com <tomorrowaterolsdotcom(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > On Jul 24, 10:38 am, totallydeadmail...(a)yahoo.co.uk (The Older > Gentleman) wrote: > > > OTOH, I gather BMW bikes cost a lot more in the US than they do here, > > because of market forces. > > Do you really think so? > > The new BMW S1000RR Superbike has a base price of $13,800 in the U.S., > which equates to ~ �8,940 at the current exchange rate,; while in the > U.K. it is �11,500 (~ �9,500 exclusive of VAT and OTR charges). > > So while the old rule of thumb of �1 of UK msrp for each $1 of US msrp > (which I have also found to be roughly useful, too) certainly seems to > be out the door on this particular example, the bike is still > demonstrably cheaper in the U.S. than in the U.K. > > I didn't look up prices of other BMW models, but I doubt that the > numbers are so far off that they actually cost more, and certainly not > "a lot more," in the U.S. than in the U.K. Oh, OK. A while back there was a similar discussion and Mark Olson - I think - was reckoning that Beemers were priced high in the US. -- BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Triumph Street Triple Honda CB400F Suzuki TS250 Suzuki GN250 chateaudotmurrayatidnetdotcom Nothing damages a machine more than an ignoramus with a manual, a can-do attitude and a set of cheap tools
From: BryanUT on 24 Jul 2010 14:19
On Jul 24, 10:33 am, "tomor...(a)erols.com" <tomorrowaterolsdot...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > On Jul 24, 10:38 am, totallydeadmail...(a)yahoo.co.uk (The Older > > Gentleman) wrote: > > OTOH, I gather BMW bikes cost a lot more in the US than they do here, > > because of market forces. > > Do you really think so? > > The new BMW S1000RR Superbike has a base price of $13,800 in the U.S., > which equates to ~ £8,940 at the current exchange rate,; while in the > U.K. it is £11,500 (~ £9,500 exclusive of VAT and OTR charges). > > So while the old rule of thumb of £1 of UK msrp for each $1 of US msrp > (which I have also found to be roughly useful, too) certainly seems to > be out the door on this particular example, the bike is still > demonstrably cheaper in the U.S. than in the U.K. > > I didn't look up prices of other BMW models, but I doubt that the > numbers are so far off that they actually cost more, and certainly not > "a lot more," in the U.S. than in the U.K. The S1000RR is a bargain, if you are looking for a litre sport bike. The VMax has an MSRP of over $19k according to the Yamaha USA website, that makes the BMW about $6k cheaper. And hell, the Bonneville is one of the cheapest full size bikes you can get in the States. The Japanese certainly have lost the price advantage they once had. Hell a Duc Monster 646 is $9k and Suzuki SV650 is $7.5k, not a bad difference considering the Duc is a boutique bike without near the volume of the SV650. Although this is still a bargain at $4.3k: http://suzukicycles.com/Product%20Lines/Cycles/Products/GS500F/2009/GS500F.aspx |