[Joopa]

Hello

We are moving from Finland to NZ, hopefully around Feb-March 2006.

I own a Triumph Speed Triple motorbike, which seems to be impossible to sell before next summer. I quess that 5 cm of snow outside right now may have something to do with my problems in selling the bike ;)
So now I'm planning to disassemble whole bike, put it in the box and ship it with rest of our stuff to NZ and hope that I manage to reassembe it when it arrives NZ.

Now with my questions:
How long I can drive with Finnish license plate before I have to get NZ plates and does motorbikes have same kind of MOT test as cars have?

-Joopa-

[Smiler]

Hello Joopa


Welcome to the forum:clap

Basically the bike has to go for compliance testing/NZVT stuff before it goes on the road, supposed to be straight from the port on a trailer but if it is in a box you would have to re assemble it. :laugh

It then has to have the warrant of fitness and regn plates on . $300+ for the 1st lot of compliance tests plus any repairs and the $200 roughly for plates etc.That is what I was quoted each for ours today. +$100 for the trailer etc.

Check that yours will meet the NZ compliance before you even think about shipping it.

If you like I'll let you know when ours pass and the total, but remind me.

Good luck

Deborah

[G&K]

Hi Smiler

My Bike is due to be delivered tomorrow sometime ... Do i have to do the same ? i.e register it before i can ride it - or can i ride it to register with nzvt ?

Feel like i've spent all i want to spend this month... grrrr !

[Smiler]

If it is coming from the shippers on a trailer get them to take it straight there. You can ride it there but I would worry myself sick and legally it is not supposed to be on the road. Another garage today told me it would be fine they thought. ;)

You have to book it in at the VTNZ that does compliance testing and they don't all do it. The one up by the basin reserve on Tory Street does and so does the one in Upper or Lower hutt check it out here. http://www.vtnz.co.nz/

The wait on Tory Street is about a week, the car takes about a day and a half, not sure how long they keep the bike for as I started to lose the will to live.

You will need the registration document, the bill of lading or waybill and a letter written by your great grandpa x 3 to say it is your bike. And a wallet full of dosh.

Let me know how you get on. Ours are still being held at gunpoint. :laugh :laugh

D

[Smiler]

sorry I mean the V5 thingy from the UK and the original bill of lading (supposedly) this is supplied by your shippers.
I would just take everything you have that possibly connects you to the bike and let them pick at it.
D x

[G&K]

Cheers... It was supposed to be dropped off today - but was told they couldn't unload it from the truck as there was a delivery of furniture in Kelburn that they couldn't make - so my bike was first on, last off...

Might try and do it on Thorndon Quay as is near work and we got the "truck" done there...

Thanks for the heads up !

And best wishes for everthing else...

[Smiler]

Oh I rang thorndon and they told me they didn't do the testing there, I had to go to Tory Street. Double check. D x

[G&K]

Again - thanks !

Bike arrived O.K (!) - No mountain bikes though...

Battery needed a good charge, but otherwise fine it seems

Booked in at Tory street 9am Monday - Woohoo !

[nessie]

I (Fordy) have just done this so hopefully this will help:

Land Transport New Zealand publish their stuff online, info available here (http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/importing/). Its a bit of a forest of information though, and if you do email them with a specific question you may get a reply in a week from a cyborg geek referring you to their website :roll Specific sheet for importing EU vehicle here (http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/publications/infosheets/infosheet-2-13-europe.html#app2).

Basically the main steps are:

Step 1 - MAF quarantine inspection and border check, Customs clearance.

What this means - Customs were supplied (via my shippers) with a copy of my receipt of ownership that proved I had owned the bike for more than a year, therefore no GST to pay. I also had to sign a form at Customs that if I sold the bike within 2 years of being here then I'd owe them the GST based on the bike's value. For MAF, I had given the bike a good clean, even had the fairings off and cleaned the gunk off the inside, sprayed all the bare metal in WD40 and treated the wheels to a douche of Jayes fluid. The MAF girl said my bike was 'Perfect', well I knew that :p

Step 2 - Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) issued/decoded as soon as practicable by entry certifier

What this means - Prior to leaving the UK I had contacted the Vehicle Inspectorate New Zealand (http://www.vinz.co.nz/) office in Chch and got dialogue going so there were no surprises. He had a copy of my V5 registration document which had the VIN number on it, and they deal with EU vehicles all the while so wasn't really an issue.

Step 3 - Certification process

Entry certifier (i.e VINZ):

1. verifies that the vehicle met the required standards when manufactured
2. carries out vehicle inspection to verify it is still in good condition
3. decides whether the vehicle needs any repairs and/or specialist certification for compliance with legal safety requirements
4. certifies the vehicle for compliance with the safety and emissions requirements
5. verifies legal entitlement to the vehicle
6. issues form MR 2A and warrant of fitness.

What this means - as noted above, starting dialogue with VINZ early helps heaps. I had also sent a photo of the EC whole approval plate, which along with a scan of the V5 allowed VINZ to talk to LTSA, and confirm that these proved compliance. Great, otherwise to get Suzuki UK or Suzuki NZ to send me a certificate stating this would cost c $300. Before going to see VINZ I needed a brake declaration done, so VINZ faxed a form to a local bike shop who wrote down the make of my pads, the thickness of my disks and a few other bits. The rest of 2 - 6 is fairly straightforward if you have a roadworthy vehicle.

Step 4 Registration and licensing, then the vehicle can be driven legally on New Zealand roads.

What this means - Pay your c $300 for the the bits and away you go.

I dropped my bike off about 10am and walked into Chch for a browse and kill time. Before I'd finished my lunch just 2 hours later it was done, and they weren't particularly quiet either. I'd definately recommend emailing VINZ before you ship your bike, I'm sure it saved me a lot of time and $ :nice1

[Joopa]

Thank you Fordy, excellent reply, that information will be most usefull.

I finally got invitiation to NZIS interview, it's on 14th of December, so if we are lucky we could get PR before Christmas :D

[Smiler]

Thanks Fordy, some good info. We had got as far as step two and knew our bikes/car were perfect when they left the house......

Step three for the car happens on Thursday, bikes are still in the back end of nowhere, rental car bill is mounting. :(

Deborah

[jonSE]

Bikes should be relatively quick to inspect for compliance compared to cars. Cars have to have all the seatbelt anchorage points inspected which can be a lot of dismantling and reassembling to be done just for the inspector to look, chalk his initials on and reassemble. The rest is pretty much the same only two wheels instead of four.