ESSENTIAL TIPS Part two: imports
IN THE SMALL HOURS, WHEN SLEEP IS NOT HAPPENING and you are idly surfing auction sites and other corners of the internet, you might just spot that motorcycle of your dreams in the hands of Hank in Biddily Boing, Idaho, at a price you simply can’t believe.
Or you might spot a listing from a seller in an isolated and unfashionable corner of the UK with a shed full of slightly foxed imports, who has that Kawasaki four you have always dreamt of with 8000 miles on the clock and a Vetter Windjammer fairing still covered in Arizona dust. These are most often accompanied by the words ‘engine turns over on kickstart, just needs re-commissioning, NOVA present’. Or there they are, at a jumble, still with foreign plates attached, just begging to be taken home.
Picking up a bike from foreign climes can seem to be an attractive option. In some countries, bikes are stashed away in the backs of garages when the owner moves on to other things, rather than sold. A lack of rain and sleet in some states means they have survived largely intact, though in fact, what you should actually be looking for is somewhere with a harsh winter – six months living in a heated shed in Manitoba does wonders for a bike’s longevity.
While North America is the source for much of this aged metalware, bikes are also being picked up in Europe, though countries with strong economies like Germany tend to be out of the running.
