• We specialise in finding rare and exotic motorcycles.
• We source bikes specific to a customer’s needs.
• We specialise in Ducati but carry a large selection of unique bikes.
• We organise on-site inspections of bikes in other countries.
• We have offices &/or agents  in the UK, Germany, Japan, USA, Middle East
• We ship bikes around the world (See InFoMo – Importing 101).
• We comply imported bikes for Australian registration (see InFoMo Importing 102).
• We design and build our own range of reproduction motorcycles.
• We modify/ customise bikes to any specification.
• We’re one of the only genuine builders of Cafe racer’s, Bobber’s, and Tracker’s.
• We perform concourse restoration services on any bike.
• We design and fabricate prototype components.
• We have been in business for over 30 years.

InfoMo 101 – The pros and cons of importing 

We receive many inquiries asking for a cost to import a bike from somewhere in the world.  Sounds like a simple enough question I guess, but it’s a bit like asking “how long’s a piece of string?”   Many people get importing a bike confused with shipping a bike; getting a price for shipping is simple, and it’s usually the figure you find banded about by ’experts’ in various forums who are ever-so-eager to tell someone they’re being, or have been, ripped off in paying two or three thousand to ship their bike.

International shipping is a cartel; ship owners are guaranteed their freight charges by the ancillary industry i.e., Freight Forwarding and Customs Brokerage.   Shipping lines do nothing but steam their vessels from port to port; they do not organise cargo, deal with port authorities &/or governments, nor do they care about your freight; their ships are insured but not the cargo.  In the country of departure, a Forwarder will deal with everything up until the cargo is on board, at which time the administrative responsibility is handed to a Forwarder in destination country.  Whilst shipping relies entirely upon the ancillary industry to organise cargo, they do not pay for that service.   They, the Forwarders, Brokers, Bonded Warehouses etc., all feed off of the shipping lines and therefore their pricing is unregulated; they can charge whatever they wish.  This flexibility in charging is deliberately designed into the shipping process as a safe guard against any increase or exchange rate fluctuation, as unlike the actual shipping lines that are guaranteed their charges at a fixed USD rate, the feeder industry work in their local currencies.  The feeder industry is very profitable and so long as they have your cargo they hold all the cards in respect to pricing and what final price you pay to receive your bike.

Shipping is the CHEAPEST component of importing a bike, and it’s the only figure you’ll receive when you ask for a quote from almost any shipping company or specialist bike mover.  What you’ll receive is a price and a list of all the things they’ll do for you, and at the bottom there’s usually words to the effect, “This is a full and total price”, and then somewhere else there’ll be a discreet disclaimer about excluding ‘arrival fees’ or ‘origin costs’.  We know because we learnt the hard way!

Many years ago we looked at importing a single bike from the UK.  In doing our due diligence we sourced several quotes which ranged from £1,150 (British Pounds) down to £750, which at the time was around $2,300 to $1,600 AUD.  All quotes offered the same level of service so we took the lower and considered the bike would arrive home owing us in the region of $6k (6,000) below market value here, so feeling very chuffed with ourselves we ‘did the business’ and parted with our hard-earned cash.  We’re funny creatures we humans, we like to envisage events as we would rather see them, while at the same time blocking that which might take the shine off our perfect scenario.  Safe to say that our $1,500 soon started to creep a few bucks here and there as we had to pay others to take care of the unavoidable ‘incidentals’ involved in exporting, and by the time we finally rolled our clever purchase out of Bond, it had cost us close on $5,000!!

Unlike us Aussie’s, who’ll give a bloke in need a hand, people in other parts of the world aren’t as benevolent, and whilst they might infer they’ll help with exporting should you buy their bike, what that can mean is they’ll push it out onto the footpath when your carrier arrives; my carrier I hear you ask??   This is the situation we found ourselves in, and it’s the same for the many that arrive in our in-box week-in and week-out.  You’ve bought a bike, you’re on the opposite side of the globe, you’ve got a quote from some shipping company that tells you getting the bike to them is not their responsibility, despite you first telling them where you’re buying it from, and they also inform you that as it’s a motorcycle it’s considered ‘Dangerous Goods’, and has to be prepared for shipping in accordance with’ international standards’.  They’ll also tell you that the bike has to be crated and that you need to be sure the timber is approved by Australian Quarantine, otherwise it may not be unloaded.  It’s around this time you discover departments like Customs (Aust. Customs & Boarder Control),  AQIS (Aust. Quarantine) and DOTARS (Federal Dept. of Transport), who control and regulate what vehicles can and can’t be imported, and there are lots & lots of bikes that can’t be imported, and many more that can provided they undergo particular processes, all of which are costly and some cost prohibited (we’ll cover this and more in InfoMo – Importing 102), but for now here’s a check list of the obstacles you’ll need to address should you want to buy o/s.

1. Freight Forwarder – The field of business that handles international shipping.  Freight Forwarders (FF) have, and are, agents for other FF’s all over the world, and they work together to ship goods from port to port.
2. Inland transport – Collection of the bike from the seller and transporting it to a place that can prepare the bike for Dangerous Goods export.
3. Crating – The cheapest shipping quotes are based upon LCL (in a container with other property) and therefore the bike will have to be crated.  Australia has the world’s toughest quarantine laws and crates must be constructed from ISPM 15 (a timber standard for international trade) and a certificate of compliance must be provided to AQIS by the consignee.
4. Export Documentation – Not all Freight Forwarders include preparation of export doc’s in their quotes; they will do it of course, but will charge around $200.  You usually find out about this when the shipment is ready to load, and if the container is delayed due to you, you will be forced to pay demurrage, which can vary between $80 and $200 per day until such time as your papers are prepared and filed with the Customs Department of the country of departure.
5. Import Approval – Every vehicle, including trailer and electric scooters, entering Australia requires an approval which is issued by DOTARS.  As the importer you have to apply to DOTARS and provide all necessary information of ownership, full details of the bike, including BOS (Bill Of Sale) and a recent photograph.  There are strict guidelines and you must not ship your bike until you have been granted approval.  There are very serious fines for not following these guidelines and most result in the bike having to be exported back out of the Australian waters, or destroyed, at your cost.
6. Arrival Papers – All arriving shipments have to be entered into various federal department logs.  In 2011 it became mandatory to perform the entry process separately for each individual owner of  cargo in a container.  You also have to file papers with customs who will issue tax (GST) and duty.  Duty is payable upon the category of vehicle, and GST is paid upon the total of the purchase price + shipping cost + arrival fees.
7. Bond – All shipments into Australia must pass through Bond, aka Bonded Warehouse.  You must have an authorised agent, usually a Freight Forwarder, present to inspect the bike at unloading.  His responsibility is to physically inspect and check the bike with Customs and AQIS to confirm the bike is the same bike you made application with DOTARS to import, and that it has been properly prepared in accordance with Australian Import standards as to cleanliness and the use of AQIS approved timber in packing and dunnage.

None of the items and tasks listed above are included in your shipping quote, and none can be performed by you as an individual.  To most, the mention of arrival fees doesn’t actually raise concern or give ride to substantial expense, but you will find very quickly that they will make your shipping quote pale into insignificance by comparison.

Arriving shipments are subject to two bites at the apple so far as fees go; once at the port, the other under Bond, so even if you ask your FF to include arrival charges (most refuse as there’s simply too many to know for every country) they can really only supply statutory charges at the Port of Arrival, for the actual port and services therein are independently owned.  Similarly, most Bonded Warehouses are privately owned and they are free to charge as they choose.  As your agent, FF’s apply 50% to all costs incurred, so the more charged at the dock and under bond means the more income for the FF.

This shipping invoice was the eventual charge for two bikes.  The original quote for shipping was roughly $1,100 USD, and the myriad of charges outlined became applicable before the bikes went to Bond, where a further $1,400 in costs and fees were applied.

This invoice is indicative of fees & charges incurred after your bike passes through Bond. These were two brand new bikes imported from Japan, and while new bikes can also be impounded, those from Japan are sometimes allowed in without washing due to Japan’s very high quarantine standards, and little history of disease.

You will note that there are a number of charges that seem duplicated, but they’re not.  Customs and AQIS (Aust. Quarantine) get to charge you for the same thing at least twice, with AQIS getting several opportunities.  Almost every second-hand bike is declared insufficiently clean, and ever since the Mad Cows epidemic, anything from Europe and the UK is automatically impounded by AQIS, even if only to examine for cleanliness.  Impounded bikes can incur additional charges for transporting to an AQIS washing facility, and cleaning is charged by 15 minute blocks with re-inspection charges applicable every time an AQIS officer inspects the bike for cleanliness.  There is of course times that bikes get through without additional charges, especially those that are in concourse condition, or when the economy is really bubbling and the priority is to clear the ports and Bond facilities ASAP.

Our service is comprehensive in that we take care of every detail post purchase.  All international purchases are broken up into three areas of responsibility and costs.

Our shipping charge includes all origin costs, and all arrival costs excluding items marked *.  It also excludes Customs Duty (gst) which is calculated at the exchange rate on the day of sailing, and payable upon the combined total of shipping, arrival charges, and purchase cost of the bike.  Australian Customs calculate this charge between arrival and processing for release, and a vehicle’s release is conditional upon payment.  Once released a vehicle must be collected within 72hrs or Bond Yard storage charges are applied at a rate approximating $150.00 per day per cubic metre (bikes are calculated at approximately 2.5cu m).

Historically, your landed cost (shipping + all arrival fees) will equate to $1,800 to $2,500 from the UK, $2,800 to $3,200 from most of Western Europe, $1,200 to $1,800 from Japan & Asia, and $1,200 to $1,800 from the US (west coast).   Shipping from more remote countries, or those not considered regular trade routes, will have higher costs.   Because we ship our own containers our cargo is not restricted; in addition to motorcycles we regularly ship personal effects, parts, cars, planes, boats etc.

InfoMo 102 – Importing bikes for ADR compliance & Australian registration

Despite the reality that there is no motorcycle manufacturing in Australia, the motorcycle industry falls under the auspices of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) and is therefore, a beneficiary of the last bastion of legislated protectionism.  It’s quite ironic that while ex-Prime Ministers, Premiers, and many notable MP’s are members of associations whose sole objective is to find foreign buyers for our agriculture industry, at the expense of local ownership I might add, successive Governments not only enforce, but maintain an ideology of increased protectionism for the automotive industry; go figure.   There’s either plenty of poly’s that hold interests in vehicle dealerships, or, the FCAI play an active role in maintaining trough levels in both sides of the political divide.

As a result of being wrapped up with car protectionism, federal law dictates four permissible methods of legally importing a motorcycle for registration.  These are summarized below; full requirements can be found on the DoTaRS Imports web site.  Raider Motorsport can assist, in part or whole, with the importation, compliance and registration of motorcycles under any of the provisions detailed below.

1) Personal Import Scheme

This provision is only permissible for Australian Citizens or Permanent Residents.   To qualify however, you must have owned and used the bike in its country of registration for at least 12 months prior to making application to import.  The bike still requires approval to be granted, and registration and insurance information must be provided to prove that you have owned & used the bike.  In most cases the bike you’re importing is identical to those sold here, but nonetheless there are still a number of minor modifications required to make the bike ADR (Aust. Design Rules) compliant.

2) Registered Automotive Workshop Scheme (RAWS)

The RAWS Scheme allows for the importation and compliance of used bikes built 1 January 1989 or later.  To be imported under this scheme there are a number of requirements.  Firstly, we must make application to have the bike added to the SEVS Register  (Specialist & Enthusiast Vehicles).  Once accepted and on the register we can import the bike where it must arrive and undergo preliminary testing and inspection to ensure the bike is ADR compliant.  Testing includes emissions, braking, noise, lighting, and every bike must have fitted a new set of tyres purchased and invoiced as being bought in Australia.  Upon completion the bike is fitted with an Import Plate, which takes the place of the Australian Compliance plate you find fitted to all vehicles sold new in Australia.  To see a list of vehicles that are currently eligible for import, and already on a RAW’s schedule, click here.

3) Low-Volume New Scheme

The Low Volume New scheme allows the Low-Volume Compliance Plate Approval holder to comply a maximum of 100* new vehicles for each category per year.  To import and comply a bike under this scheme it must be first listed on the SEVSRegister.  *Motorcycles have no restriction

4) Pre89 – Bikes manufactured before 1/1/1989

This provision, originally called the ‘15 Year Rule’, which as it sounds, entitled vehicles older than 15 years to be imported with minimal fuss and/or compliance requirements.  However, after abuse by people misrepresenting vehicle build dates, and the howling of car importers, most notably Toyota, who threatened to close their assembly plant in Victoria if the federal Government didn’t stem the tide of grey imports, the 15 Year provision was significantly altered as of 11 May 2005.  Under the amended rule, vehicles manufactured before 1 January 1989 require minimal compliance.  The vehicle may be imported and modified under a different set of criteria, with an engineer providing a report which demonstrates that the vehicle complies with ADRs relative to the bike’s build date.

Bikes not suitable under the provisions above, like racing and/or display bikes, can be imported under the Racing & Competition provision, or a ‘Special Uses’ provision.  Bikes imported under the competition provision can never be registered in Australia without first making application to DOTARS to have the import approval reassessed.  If granted the bike must then undergo compliance in accordance with the applicable provision (items 2, 3, or 4 above).

Presently Raider Motorsport can comply the following motorcycles;

Ducati 748 – 916 – 996 – 998

Ducati 749 – 999

Ducati 1098 – 1198

Ducati ST2 – ST4 – ST3

Bikes soon to be added;

Ducati Multistrada

Ducati 1199 Penigale