Shipping to New Zealand

[Larry Biskit]

Hi all

My time in UK is up, 10 + years here and an operation and recuperation is taking me back to NZ. I am going to take my AT with me as I love it, The missus is jealous but Im taking her too so.... The bike ( AT ) will suit NZ roads perfectly...

Anyway, has anyone had any experience with shipping to NZ or Australia, Ive found what seems to be a good option and know customs fees and dock charges, taxes and such like will add up, but it still mean's my AT shipped will cost less than a 95 transalp to buy there. They dont have many AT's as far as I know and Ive got a few critical spare parts.

Any thoughts or ideas will be very much appreciated. I'll report back after to let you all know how it goes ( Shipping etc ) and how the AT riding is once Im better. Just in case anyone wants to ride NZ one day.

Cheers guys.

[Maverick]

Hey mate sorry to see you go but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do

All the kiwi's I have know who left the UK shores opted to sell their AT's instead of shipping so can't really help there. Have you tried for some info on the horizonsunlimited website?

Personally would of rather aquired a XR650 on the islands unless you of course take the missus as pillion alot.

Good luck with the op and take it easy dude!

[Larry Biskit]

Nice one mav...

To ship the bike will cost about £800 to 900 with all extra costs etc ( i hope ) Have checked many shippers now and this seems the best deal.

An XR 650 will set me back more than selling the AT and the shipping costs even with the favourable exchange rate from GBP to NZ$. Bikes arent cheap over there, like here, still you could get a bargain.

I used to do lots of motorcross so would go smaller for a strop in the dirt and well... its an AT and in great nick (apart from the tacho) and dont seem to be able to part with it The missus, when she stops screaming on the back, says she enjoys herself so yeah hope to use it a lot , camping etc... Could sell it for plenty I reckon, if I had to, someone is bound to get excited by owning something no-one around has. Blah blah.

Still open to suggestions tho and I like the XR's just not as much as an AT. Winding roads roads cover NZ. Yehaa

Cheers dudes

[twinadventurer]

Howzit Larry,

I thought I'd share my experience of shipping my bike from UK to Sydney as it seems you are after similar info.

I imported my AT into Australia about 12 months ago. It was under the Personal Imports Scheme.
I am not sure what the NZ regulations are, but I assume similar to Australia:

- Must have owned the "vehicle" for minimum 12 months overseas;
- Must be Aus resident/citizen;
- Must apply for import permit prior to shipping;
- Must not have imported a "vehicle" within 12 months previously.

For more on Aus specific regulations, have a look here:
http://www.dotars.gov.au/transport/s...importing.aspx

I put a small book of paperwork together to get my import permit, so be prepared for quite a bit of homework. It's like immigration for a bike

Once you have your import permit, it's pretty straight forward.

- Find a shipping agent,
- Prepare the bike (empty of petrol, spray some WD40 on parts that may rust at sea, take breakable parts off - screen, etc)
- Pack it in a box and deliver it to the agent with necessary paperwork,
- Once it's packed, weighed and delivered to the dock you'll get a Bill of Lading. This is the "receipt" for your bike.

Once you arrive in NZ you can find out who the agent there is, you should know this before you leave the UK.

You don't say whether you'll pack and do the customs yourself. It is quite
easy to do most of the work yourself on both ends.

Crating/delivery:
I did this myself:

I found an agent (http://www.daviesturner.com/logistic...n_freight.html) They were the most reasonable in price and I had used them to import the AT back from Australia at the end of my trip. I think it worked out to about GBP500 all up. Their offices are based in Dartford, Kent.
I flew to the UK so had prearranged with a bike shop that had used bike crates that they throw out. I hired a van, drove it down to the dock with the AT in the back. Built a crate up to fit the AT (around 2.5 - 3 cubic metres). Removed the front wheel, screen and handlebars to fit into the crate. Used some ratchet straps, rope and elasticated bungees to secure her in there. Then used the spare space to pack other things (golf clubs, bike panniers, tools, etc.)

Paperwork side:
The UK end is not as complicated as this side due to quarantine, customs, etc. The export of the bike is usually done by the agent there, as it's simply a declaration that you're exporting a vehicle.

On the other side, you'll have to pay a GST component (Aus 10% of value), customs fee and quarantine fee. In Aus, motorbikes are import duty free (only applies to cars, etc.)
This is a bit of running around but just because the location of offices was not close. You usually have to pay for all of this before you can collect your bike.

If you plan to pack/unpack the bike yourself, you'll need to think about materials used. Wooden crates should have a certificate of treatment, as quarantine are very strict and this delays the process. Sometimes they steamclean and fumigate anyway, and charge an arm and a leg to do so! A treatment certificate worth GBP10 might save you A$200. Last time it was A$75 for a steamclean!

Useful tips:
- Get your import permit sorted - without this it's not happening;
- Find a good agent - I recommend Davies Turner in Dartford;
- Get a certificate for the wood to show it's been treated before it leaves the UK. If the agent does it maybe it's built into their fee - check with them;
- Get a "bogus" valuation for your bike. This will cut down on customs duty as it's calculated on the value of the bike. I didn't have one, but said A$4000 for a 2000 AT. So the GST component was A$400, could easily have been A$1000 though! Perhaps your Insurance co. will issue something like this?
- Horizons Unlimited Shipping info. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tri...h+by+Continent

Once the bike has arrived:

I actually found the shipping part the easy part of the process. Once it's arrived, the registration seemed to be the difficult part!

I had to get a certified auto engineer, registered with the state authority, to go through my bike with a fine tooth comb to "approve" that the AT meets Aus Design Rules (ADR). Unfortunately, the closest guy who did bikes was 300km away, and it was in the middle of winter! I had to ride 600km in a day to get this certificate.

Then the cost of getting it registered was double to that of a local bike, hopefully only for the first time registration though.

I had a brief look at the NZ govt. vehicle import info (http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/factsheets/44.html) and it seems they are as strict as Aus.

But to put your mind at ease, it is worth every cent to import your AT! As there is not really a bike down this way to compare to the suitability of the AT.

PS Make sure you bring some spares with you, postage of heavy items costs a packet!
Things I have bought since arriving:
- clutch plates
- throttle and clutch cables
- fuel pump (2nd time)
- brake discs
- thermostat
- Regulator/rectifier
- Head bearings and seals
- Chain and sprockets

As they say, make hay while the sun shines (while you can ship it "free")

Good luck and I look forward to hearing how you get on!

[Maverick]

Twinadventurer thanks for all the usefull info not just for Larry but people on here and who might need this in the future. Mods can we include this into tips/help/wiki section?

Myself and Lootch are looking into shipping two bikes to Namibia next year so would hopefully be able to share our expierences once succesfull

[Larry Biskit]

Thnaks Twinadventurer

Nicely detailed dude, thats great. My father has shipped 2 campervans (Yep he's retired and cruisin ) to NZ in recent years and has been telling me similar things as youve written.

I have this operation on my shoulder and they are grinding back bones and have A/C joint probs so cant work or move much for 3 months.

So the shippers Ive looked up take delivery of the bike, crate it for you, get it out of Southampton and through customs in NZ. That helps my shoulder but increases my costs somewhat. We have a serious Govt Dept in NZ called MAF ( Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) who take care of all imports to keep out nasty bugs and animals that we dont have ( yet ) due to our isolation. They do the steam clean like your entry to Australia, only tho if the bike is dirty anywhere, tyres mudguards etc...

MAF are hardcore, reportedly the most strict in the world. So they are able to charge what they like to inspect the crate, fumigate the wood if they think its a dodgy crate, burn it or ship it back to blighty if they see fit. I dont think that'll happen tho, usually people see common sense over there and try to help, make life easier rather than more difficult.

I like the idea of putting other items in the crate, with the bike, cutting the cost of moving your personal items, and man its amazing how much you can accumulate in 10 years. But me taking the crip route and getting the shippers to crate it means they dont want anything else in the crate except the bike and whats attached to it. Like a topbox full of spares, which is what I'll do. I have to list whats in it for the shippers.

The documentation for NZ seems to be a little easier, the age of the bike means I dont need a letter of compliance and only a document of permanent export from the DVLA here.

The shipping company Im using will do all the documentation to get to NZ and through customs and dock fees, not including Taxes and duties and the dreaded MAF.

In NZ the tax you pay is GST @12.5%. That is calculated on the value of the bike, added to the cost of shipping, minus depreciation which varies depending on the amount of time youve owned the bike when it arrives in NZ. So an example, Bike price £2000 + shipping £500 - depreciation ( mine is 27 % owned 6-9 months ) and that £ 675 off so £1825. Then 12.5 % on that and the total taxes would be £228.12 to pay NZ customs. A bogus receipt of sale for less than you paid, will save you money.

All my customs fees for NZ will be paid here to the shipper £165 ( not so happy about this but it makes for less hassles at the other end) So I will meet MAF and then go through the inspection with them, or they will do it and charge me once finished. Then the Certifier will give it the fine tooth comb checkover so that it can get a Warrant of Fitness ( NZ Mot ) and then registered to ride on the road. Im not sure where that'll happen, maybe in Auckland, but if not Im gonna ride it home 5 hours and get it checked there ( luckily I live where there is a port for shipping also so they have certifiers there). First time registration is the same as local vehicles in NZ, the Aussies must charge double co's of their beer costs.

So that the plan, but we all know how best laid plans are. My total costs for shipping right through to riding legally on the road should be about £1000... we will see. Time to get some spare brake pads and maybe clutch too. David Silver's spares or any other cheap parts places fellas? Obvoiously Im broke, or will be so, HELP!

Cheers all.

[Ross]

Larry
I've just shipped my @ to Auckland with the last 6 months. All straightforward. What do ya want to Kow/
Ross

[Larry Biskit]

Ta Ross

Got plenty of questions for you, mostly about costs at that end and any other info about certifying the bike you might think useful.
Did you have hassles with MAF or Customs? Did you take it from UK if so who with, cost etc... What did it cost to register and all that. How did it go through the WOF?

Sorry for all the q's, mines going from London in 6 weeks or so. Still looking around for good deals, the company I mentioned before still seems the best for hassle and cost. Other companies want around £900+ just for shipping. At that rate, selling the @ (would be painful as separation from a siamese twin) here in the uk would come into the picture.

Do you know if there are parts for the beasts over there??

Cheers mate

[Jenna]

no idea on what they cost but 'Delivered on time' will sending a lot of freight out to both Oz and NZ for the WRC rallies next month, they may be happy to include a bike in the containers at a reasinable cost!

http://www.deliveredontime.com/

jen

[Ross]

Larry

Packaging:
I've shipped both a BMW R100RS and an @ to Auckland. The bikes travelled about one year apart. Now, the BMW shipping went so smoothly that I used the same process for my Black (the fastest colour) Africa Twin. I was worried about the BMW as I thought it's old and brittle fairing and upper bodywork would be more prone to damage than the @. Pidcock BMW packaged my R100RS in the left over box of a new RT. So the whole bike was in a crate. Arrived without a scratch!

For the @, the dealer did not have a box big enough (reminds you just how much presence an @ has on the road!) . So they did the next best thing and tied it down to a pallet. Then draped clear plastic over the whole package and stapled the plastic to the pallet. This is important in keeping of any salt spray that might find its way in to the container. The pallet helps them load it too. Less manhandling by humans means less risk to me.

Process:
1. Wrote to DVLC in Swansea requesting a Certificate for Export. You send them 1. Completed Vehicle Registration Document 2. Copy of the invoice of sale where you purchased the bike from. 3. Copy of the Vehicle registration certificate 4. Intended date of export. They send you the Cert back after a 3-4 weeks and you can legally then get the bike out of the UK. I then called Terry Curtis at Planetwide Limited , 4 The Capricorn Centre, Cranes Farm Road, Basildon, Essex - SS14 3JJ . email "Terry Curtis" <terry@planetwide-ltd.co.uk> . Tel: (0) 1268 530 600. He arranged for both bikes to be picked up, held in secure storage, and finally loaded onto a ship. Never met the guy, did the whole thing by email. I owe him a beer or three. Ship takes about 6-8 weeks. @ gets to put its feet up and enjoy the cruise. Leave one key with the bike but DO NOT leave any ownership papers in the bike. In case it's nicked you can then prove that YOU are the rightful owner.

Oceanbridge Shipping Ltd send you an email when it arrives in NZ.
Ministry of Ag and Fish have to clear the bike. Custom's then have to value it so that they can charge you GST. Ocean bridge handle all of this and send you a single bill.
email: "Kirsten Hartley" <kirstenh@oceanbridge.co.nz>

Valuation:
I had Bruce Saunders, Sales Manager at a Honda Main Dealer, Motorcycle Power and sports provided a written eval which I could pass onto customs. Dealer can do this with out seeing the bile. Phone: (09) 300 7500. Fax: (09) 300 7272. 234 Khyber Pass Rd, Newmarket, Auckland. I looked on a couple of NZ bike sales websites and found two @ going fora round 9-10,000 NZD so that gave me a ballpark figure of how much I'd have to pay for customs.

The Bill
Freight USD300
BAF USD45
Pick-up from Scotland GDP150
PSC Devanning NZD135.
Forestry NZD13
Bio Security Fee NZD6
Delivery order NZD25
Dest Terminal Security fee NZD5
Customs Clearance NZD85
Insurance NZD300
Customs disbursement fee NZD20
Customs GST NZD1,305
Customs ITF NZD20
GST on all of the above means the grand total was NZD3,500.
Plus NZD300 to register it for the first time.

A bargain! If you leave the @ behind YOU WILL REGRET IT.

I have a house in Raglan. It is where a section of the World Rally Championship finishes. An @ hasn't learnt to live until its slid round a dozen gravel corners in a row, feet up, power on, back stepped out, stones and cow **** coming up off the road and going right over the farm fence on the road side. This is what @s dream of.

Cheers
Ross