So I'm gonna pick up a used bike in the spring from somewhere, and I'm seeing a lot of interesting stuff in the surrounding states. I hear about people buying bikes on Craigslist, picking them up and riding them back home, but I was wondering how that works, legally? How do you get away with not having plates or registration? What about states that require insurance? Is there a 24-hour leeway or something that allows for vehicle transportation?

 

some insurance policies give you leeway on your coverage , also remember that if buying from out of state to check with your local rules (like here in cali if you wanna bring a bike in from a different state it must have over 7500 miles )

 

What about plates? Am I expected to register the vehicle BEFORE I pick it up? Seems goofy. . .

 

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/howto/htvr9.htm

 

from my experience in florida, ive always picked my bikes up with truck or trailer, then stopped at the dmv to verify clean title and then i paid for the bike. i wont get burned again. J, work it out with seller to pull deal at the dmv, #1 you wont get burned with bad title,#2 you can get a temp tag to get it home to your state.youll have to file for your state title anyway once its home.

 

That's a good idea on the temp tag. I've got friends at the DMV who could verify over the phone as a favor, but the temp tag would require me to go down there, anyway. Can you register a vehicle for another state (like going to a MI DMV to register a vehicle in IL?)

 

just curious if you have friends @ the dmv why dont you have them tell you what needs to b done ? im sure they could answer more accurately then any of us

 

That. . .is a ridiculously excellent point.

The conversation never got beyond "Yeah, just call with the VIN and we'll see what's going on with it."

THanks for the 'duh" moment.

 

I rode my bike from NH, where I bought it, back to Maine, then registered and insured it...probably not legal, but I feel if I explained it to a cop I could get away with it (granted I wasnt being stupid to get pulled over, or wrecked in any way).

 

Don't sweat it. If you have the title and bill of sale signed over noone is going to give you any **** for it - if you want you can call the INS company ahead of time and have them insure it, but i have never heard of an insurance company not having a 30 day window where you are covered on a purchased vehicle.

I bought my boat in CT and drove it home without plates or a title to the trailer back to Virginia - didn't get a title to the trailer for about 18 months after that. To top it off I had bought the truck off the side of the road on the way up and didn't have any plates on the truck. I had the bill of sale and title for it though.