Shipping Motorcycle to DR

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chodebronson

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Aug 31, 2006
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Hi all, first off great forum! I'm interested in hearing any information someone might have about this topic, I'll be in SD for vacation at the end of this month and would like to have a motorcycle shipped from the U.S to as close to my hotel as possible. I have spoke to the dominican consulate here in the U.S and am told there shouldnt be a problem, guess I just need to find a carrier and go for it?

Thanks in advance!!

chode
 

gamana

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Apr 24, 2006
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why not rent

if you were moving here i would maybe understand your desire to ship your bike but, for only a vacation, why don't you rent one. if you search this forum, you will see that however you slice it, importing cars or bikes are a nightmare. you will most likely spend your entire vacation battling with the customs instead of riding.
 

chodebronson

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Aug 31, 2006
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upon further reading I find that is the general idea on the topic, have been to the dr several times and didnt even see a single sportbike (rice rocket) I did rent a crappy 4 stroke dirtbike which was a waste of cash.

Thanks Gamana
 

gamana

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Apr 24, 2006
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different ride

you might want to try having fun with a quad. completely different than a bike and maybe not your cup of tea but still fun to ride... just a thought
 

Ricardo900

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Jul 12, 2004
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I do not know how long your vacation is, but you should factor in the expensive cost of shipping, dis-assembling & re-assembling, custom fees(tax) and then re-shipping back to the US. Also, the roads in the DR are not suitable for sport bikes, and your bike will not be registered or insured, so you'll run the risk of having your bike impounded. But if you must, contact any local motorcycle dealership in your area, they will have all the contact info you will need to ship your bike, they do it all the time.

Good Luck
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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chode, this is as informative as it gets, no need to be rude.
listen to the boys and don't ship the bike, latin american bureaucracy is a pain in the neck and driving here is dangerous. maybe rent something, it is better have a cheap bike stolen or crashed, innit?
sorry if i sounded too ironic in the first post, i sometimes feel i need a helmet even as a pedestrian, god help me if i ever want to ride a motorbike....
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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It Could Take "Months" To Get Your Bike Out Of Customs,If Ever!

Then you may have it impounded,and have to leave it here when you go! You could easily lose it!
If you do get it out in time to ride it,there are no lights on the roads at night,except the "High Beams" of every oncoming Dominican! Then there are "Roads In The Holes" here! And you will be run off the road all the time. A foreign guy was just killed in Puerto Plata!

If you want to "Ride" something down here,I think you know what it should be!
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cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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If you want to "Ride" something down here,I think you know what it should be!
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:cheeky: :DThat's the ~Other~ type of "Crotch Rocket"... :D:cheeky:
 

zoomzx11

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Jan 21, 2006
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sad but true

These guys are 100% correct. I am a biker, crotch rocket, Kawasaki and had to leave my love at home. Down here you have no idea how bad it is. I have been here full time 4 months, on and off for a year. In that time I have seen three dead people in the road. Two were on small motorcycles and one in a car. Even walking anywhere near the road is dangerous. If you are determined, go to the dealer and best of luck to you. No one on the site means to crack wise, they just know what you are gettin into better than you. Its free advice but its good advice. When you get down here notice how many people you see in the street missing hands, arms and legs. As Judy Garland said in the Wizard of Oz to Toto, (more or less) Toto, this aint Kansas
 

cobraboy

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Jul 24, 2004
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The roads in the DR are not for the casual biker, especially on bikes with tight suspensions because of all the nutcases driving and the potholes and crap in the roads. And definitely NOT at night. And definitely NOT until a person has driven the roads for several weeks to learn and understand Driving, Dominican Style.

An experienced rider on a cruiser in the daytime might be OK IF he keeps his head on a defensive swivel and has a pulse headlight and "back off" taillight. I've seen big cruisers riding around with no real problems. There are a couple of rider clubs that I know of.

I just wouldn't want to be scraped off the road and sent to a public hospital in the DR.
 

tflea

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Jun 11, 2006
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Buy your bike here or rent it....north or south coasts are available if you can pay. Harley guys are abundant in SDQ, rider clubs, etc. Dangerous yes, but beautiful rides, also yes. If you are a rice rocket guy, you'll get hurt. If you are a cruiser guy....maybe you'll get hurt but not actually die, depends on your level of knowledge in riding....a good, good rider in US or Canda or the uk is probably OK....but....beware, as previous posters have said....it ain't Kansas. But there is nothing like riding here on an open road at 200K km+ on some curvy switchbacks with the "lady" on the back saying "dame mas" hombre!. Oh yeah. Dame mas! Hombre, la vida esta corta and if you die like James Dean or Steve McQueen, Heaven awaits. Go for it.! Me explico?
I just wish I had by BMW RT1100 here that I sold before coming to stay.
que pena.
 

CyaBye3015

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Jan 8, 2003
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Buy your bike here or rent it....north or south coasts are available if you can pay. Harley guys are abundant in SDQ, rider clubs, etc. Dangerous yes, but beautiful rides, also yes. If you are a rice rocket guy, you'll get hurt. If you are a cruiser guy....maybe you'll get hurt but not actually die, depends on your level of knowledge in riding....a good, good rider in US or Canda or the uk is probably OK....but....beware, as previous posters have said....it ain't Kansas. But there is nothing like riding here on an open road at 200K km+ on some curvy switchbacks with the "lady" on the back saying "dame mas" hombre!. Oh yeah. Dame mas! Hombre, la vida esta corta and if you die like James Dean or Steve McQueen, Heaven awaits. Go for it.! Me explico?
I just wish I had by BMW RT1100 here that I sold before coming to stay.
que pena.

I believe Steve McQueen died of cancer, not on the road, and James Dean was driving a car, not a bike!
 

DavidZ

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Aug 29, 2005
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Anyone have websites or contacts for riding clubs...specifically Harley/Cruiser on the North Coast? 2 Fridays ago, I saw about 50 bikes cruising west on the Sosua-Cabarete highway, seemed to be destined for one of the big hotels on the beach in Cabarete, where they were setting up for a fiesta of some sort...anyone know what that was?
 

rugbydutch

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Aug 9, 2006
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"Riding club"

DavidZ,
the gathering two weeks ago in Cabarete was a celebration of the 3rd aniversary of the "NATIVOS". There website: Nativos but it is in Spanish.
Other MC's: Los Barracos MC and Los FreeRiders from Santo Domingo, Los Caballeros and Los Desertores de Santiago, Los Obsoletos from La Vega, Los Phoenix Arantia and Los Costambar Harley from Puerto Plata. And of course there is a HOG HOG Dominicano
 
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