I got this email this morning. Anyone know if this can happen. It would be best to respond directly to this guy.
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Hamatschek [mailto:hatscheks-v7sport@web.de]
Sent: Friday, March 07, 2008 12:35 PM
To: president@sidecar.com
Subject: sidecar to USA
Hello,
I need your help. I have a Kawasaki ZZ-R 1100 EML GT2001 sidecar year
of
build 1995/96. In June I will leave Germany to go to USA, Detroit . Is
it
possible to take this sidecar to USA and get there a licence to drive
it
there or is it very difficult to get a licence. Is it better to sale
this
sidecar in Germany to buy a other one in USA? Where can I get pre owned
sidecars in USA?
Thanks for your help
Best regards
Mark Hamatschek
hatscheks-v7sport@web.de
Check out theManufacturer's decals on the bike or any accompanying information to see if the bike has USDOT and EPA approval at the date of manufacture.
Without this you will have a "Gray market bike" (one that was sold in another country that did not meet USDOT requirements). These bikes can be imported but one will have a hard time Titling them or getting them licensed for use on the US highways. You'll be stuck with an off-road only bike. The sidecar itself will be usable here if equipped with your particular State of use requirements as per lighting, etc. No state to my knowledge has a title or license required for the sidecar. They are considered an accessory.
Since this is no doubt a dedicated sidecar combo you'll be better off selling it in Germany if it is not a USDOT compliant bike.
You will find that sidecar operators licenses are much easier to attain in the US than in Germany.
Lonnie
Northwest Sidecars
Could it be brought in piece by piece except for maybe the motocycle itself?
Maybe a stupoid idea but it just came ot mind.
It's best to contact U.S. Customs. For many years it was possible to bring a "once in a lifetime", vehicle as special interest. You would only have to bring it up to specs if you ever wanted to sell it. There were other restrictions, but they were similar to the customized vehicle laws we have.
Trouble is, what was legal last week may not be today. Call Customs.
As little I have seen I would stick with the german aprooved EML-rig, if you are happy with it.
Its much better designed and rigid then all I saw in US.
And prices are higher in US. But with transport and all costums trouble you can invest easilly 4-6000$ plus a lot of time. But it should be less trouble then with german Zoll, TÜV and Zulassungsstelle the otherr way round.
If You still have family and think about frequently to come back to Germany perhaps the easiest is to keep it in the barn with a lot of oil and plastik wrap. A friend of my father lives in Spain and the same day he arrives in Germany he puts a new stamp on his old Mercedes and is on the road again in 2 hours.
I myself blame myself to have sold my bike and not to have kept it at my family.
Alles Gute von Sven Peter Pan aus Costa Rica,
The guy who allways sticks the nose in other guy's stuff.
I got a picture from Mark. Great looking rig. I hope he gets it over here, will make a bunch of the HP guys really happy.
Yup, specially the front axle is a brand new looking at.
Had to watch twice where the fork would have been left.
Sven
