Hey, sup? Well, recently I discovered that I’ll live for a longer time here than I expected (which I’m pretty happy for in fact, not complaining at all lol). I was thinking about getting a bike here in Japan for the past couple of months, but now knowing about my extended period here I thought about something: asking my sis to send my bike from Brazil to Fukuoka (where I live now).
Here’s the deal: I have a passion about riding a bike that I can’t measure. In Brazil, I couldn’t live without doing it daily. It’s easier, cheaper, more exciting and faster to get anywhere. Well, it happens that I have a bike in Brazil which I have a huge history with it. It’s a golden 400cc Honda that it’s unique, like mine nowadays you can find only 100 in the whole country and I doubt that 10 are looking so new and well-kept like mine. To shorten it, it’s something that have been a part of my life for a while and I couldn’t sell it for any price. Already had other bikes, but that one… well, it’s THE special one. Lol
But since I left Brazil, that bike isn’t almost being used. And since I was going to buy one here anyways, I though that it would be smart to check if there’s there possibility to send it to here (like you can do in Europe, as example) and use it here, and if the price is worth it (I wouldn’t mind to pay a bit more than the price of a new one here due the that feeling imbued within me). So, in the end, I would like to know if:
1) can someone send a bike to Japan and register it here legally.
2) if that’s possible, do you guys know any company that does that? And an estimate of the costs? Is it a long process or is it easy?
Sorry if the questions was super long, but I thought the context was important. And thanks in advance for any help, guys!
3 comments
this might not answer your question at all, but my dad was able to ship his harley in a shipping container from america to japan, then picked it up at the port. idk about brazil to japan tho, i’m sure theres a shipping company that specializes in that sort of thing.
~~I think… you can register your bike at the police station.Usually the police don’t like individuals to that so bicycle shops get the stickers in bulk and do the registration for you. The bicycle also shops don’t like to hand out their stickers to people who have not purchased a bicycle at their shop.~~
~~If you have import documents that show the bicycle was sent from overseas then that should be OK.~~
~~It’s best to talk to your friendly policeman about this and what you need before you get the bike sent.~~
I don’t know…
It’s possible – but it’s not really practical.
Getting your motorcycle shipped isn’t the main expense. The problem is getting it registered here. You’ll need to obtain brake certificates from the manufacturer, and then have the bike put through the inspection process. This is typically 200-300,000 yen, plus the cost of any modifications that need to be done to make it conform to local regulations – even for an exported Japanese bike like a Honda, there’s usually work that needs to be done.
When you factor in the cost of shipping the bike, it’s generally not worth it.
Now that used bike prices have dropped back to normal, it’s a better idea to buy a decent used bike for your time here, and sell it before you go back, and have your bike in Brazil properly stored for long term (completely drain the gas and run out any gas remaining in the system, remove battery, fill the engine up with fresh oil, put the bike on paddock stands if you have them, and storing indoors with a cover). When you return to the bike, change the oil, fill the tank, add a fresh battery, and install fresh tires if they weren’t on paddock stands.