Quote:
Originally Posted by jkv357
Spotted this CBR250RR at Road America this weekend -
Neat bike. Wish they were available here.
He says it's a blast to ride.
His family also brought these 2 -
NSR250 and Mach III |
4 cylinder 250s are definitely a blast to ride.
Very nice. My family has its share of grey import bikes
. They really aren't that hard to import, and they don't cost all that much either. My CBR 250R cost $3000 CAN, which was around $2500 US at the time, and my VFR 400R cost only $2000 CAN. With you being in Wisconsin, you are much closer to the action than I am down in Georgia. Its pretty much just verify they are 25+ years old or on the import exemption list, buy it, and bring it to the border. I don't think we were charged an import fee for any of the bikes. We were usually through within an hour, and for latest bike we imported, the lady doing the paperwork didn't even bother to walk outside and look at it!
So cold weather and/or dark outside increases your chances of the import people not looking at it. The peace bridge in New York has been pretty easy on imports, but the crossing in Detroit is not so easy apparently. I don't remember which crossings we used. Once the bike is in, you get a police officer to finish up some import paperwork and verify the bike isn't stolen, then it is pretty much good to go. Insurance is a little iffy, since the insurance companies have a hard time trying to enter the shorter Japanese VIN.
I am still looking for a 250RR, not so much lately since I got the VFR 400 and the CBR runs so good. I do know that in 15 years, I will be importing a bunch of bikes, starting with the varadero 125.