MAF/MPI biosecurity

Rustysauce · 01-22-2013, 10:17 AM

Hi all,

I am shipping my bike to Auckland from Santiago, Chile, and wonder if any of you who have taken your bike out of the country and returned, what was your experience with the 'biosecurity' stage of retreiving your moto from customs?

I am wrapping up over 16 months of riding in the Americas and have spent the last 3 days trying to clean my bike and gear. Despite toothbrushing the entire bike it appears that some of the dirt is now structural, beefing up what is already a solid DR650, hahaha...serves me right for not washing it very often.

What I'm worried about is the fee-based inspection/cleaning that I may have to go through upon arrival, if they decide my bike is a biological hazard. If anyone has any stories to tell of this, I'm all ears!!

Looking forward to riding New Zealand!

Thanks,
Nick

clintnz · 01-22-2013, 11:29 AM

If you have spent a few days cleaning it you should be ok. We got quite fussy before we shipped ours back from Oz, took off seats, tanks etc & gave them a good soapy wash, they were pretty clean & we had no worries with MAF. I have seen other bikes come in that were a bit grubby with no problems but the cleaner the better, loose soil & bugs is what they will look for.

Cheers
Clint

Voltaire · 01-22-2013, 12:26 PM

I brought a van full of gear in a few years back, it was clean but not immaculate, they were more concerned with the contents....Honey and dirty trainers......and a shell casing from the Somme.....charged me to have them steam cleaned.
Don't even think about bringing any food items...

Radioman · 01-22-2013, 07:33 PM

How about freeze dried food or packaged camping food?

I land on Feb 18th.... Will get my bike cleaned up before I ship!

Box'a'bits · 01-22-2013, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radioman

How about freeze dried food or packaged camping food?

I land on Feb 18th.... Will get my bike cleaned up before I ship!

Thoroughly cooked & prepared foods are fine. Declare them coming in though. Here's a link to the Ministry For Primary Industries which has some information on that. The FAQ are quite good.

Rustysauce · 01-22-2013, 08:41 PM

Thanks guys,

I also took the tank, seat, panels, etc. off to clean things up, so hopefully that's enough. I'll see how it goes and will post a summary of the process when I get to NZ next week. Heading to the airport tomorrow to crate the bike!

Rosie! · 01-23-2013, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radioman

How about freeze dried food or packaged camping food?

I land on Feb 18th.... Will get my bike cleaned up before I ship!

From my experience, they will be far more interested in your camping gear than your camping food. Make sure everything is nice and clean, and expect to have to pull things out of your luggage to be inspected.

Phreaky Phil · 01-23-2013, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rustysauce

Hi all,

I am shipping my bike to Auckland from Santiago, Chile, and wonder if any of you who have taken your bike out of the country and returned, what was your experience with the 'biosecurity' stage of retreiving your moto from customs?

I am wrapping up over 16 months of riding in the Americas and have spent the last 3 days trying to clean my bike and gear. Despite toothbrushing the entire bike it appears that some of the dirt is now structural, beefing up what is already a solid DR650, hahaha...serves me right for not washing it very often.

What I'm worried about is the fee-based inspection/cleaning that I may have to go through upon arrival, if they decide my bike is a biological hazard. If anyone has any stories to tell of this, I'm all ears!!

Looking forward to riding New Zealand!

Thanks,
Nick

We got our DR back at the beginning of December from the US. No problems with MAF. The bike had a good clean but wasn't completely spotless. I f you have made a reasonable job of it you shouldn't have a problem. As Rosie pointed out, they may wanted to look at you gear, especially shoes/boots.

Radioman · 01-24-2013, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosie!

From my experience, they will be far more interested in your camping gear than your camping food. Make sure everything is nice and clean, and expect to have to pull things out of your luggage to be inspected.

Thanks. Always good going knowing about the process, then being patient and knowing it will take some time.... Then

SYDADVGS · 01-24-2013, 11:09 PM

If your bike has a radiator or oil cooler make sure that is clean and bug free, that's the first place NZ officials look.
If that is clean they they tend to relax immediately.

If it's full of dead bugs they start looking everywhere and it will get expensive.

90% of the time it depends entirely on who you get and the mood they are in.
When I brought my bike back to OZ it was the same thing.

Also make sure that your bike and walking boots are clean.

Rustysauce · 01-29-2013, 10:48 PM

Got my bike back yesterday! The MAF inspectors gave it a quick visual inspection after pulling back some of the plastic it was wrapped in, and wanted to confirm the mileage on it as well, which meant pulling all the wraps off and re-connecting the battery, but in the end they deemed it clean enough. They asked if I had any food in my panniers, but didn't open any of my bags.

I had to pay $51 NZD for their time inspecting the bike, but that was all.

01-22-2013, 10:17 AM	#1
Rustysauce ^OP Adventurer Joined: Aug 2010 Location: NZ Oddometer: 50	MAF/MPI biosecurity Hi all, I am shipping my bike to Auckland from Santiago, Chile, and wonder if any of you who have taken your bike out of the country and returned, what was your experience with the 'biosecurity' stage of retreiving your moto from customs? I am wrapping up over 16 months of riding in the Americas and have spent the last 3 days trying to clean my bike and gear. Despite toothbrushing the entire bike it appears that some of the dirt is now structural, beefing up what is already a solid DR650, hahaha...serves me right for not washing it very often. What I'm worried about is the fee-based inspection/cleaning that I may have to go through upon arrival, if they decide my bike is a biological hazard. If anyone has any stories to tell of this, I'm all ears!! Looking forward to riding New Zealand! Thanks, Nick __________________ http://roadtriprambling.tumblr.com/

01-22-2013, 11:29 AM	#2
clintnz Trans-Global Chook Chaser Joined: May 2004 Location: Rotoiti, New Zealand Oddometer: 2,703	If you have spent a few days cleaning it you should be ok. We got quite fussy before we shipped ours back from Oz, took off seats, tanks etc & gave them a good soapy wash, they were pretty clean & we had no worries with MAF. I have seen other bikes come in that were a bit grubby with no problems but the cleaner the better, loose soil & bugs is what they will look for. Cheers Clint __________________ '03 KTM 640 LC4 Enduro The wilderness, the desert - why are they not crowded .................................................. .....with pilgrims?

01-22-2013, 07:33 PM	#4
Radioman dreaming adventure Joined: Dec 2005 Location: GDay from Australia Oddometer: 4,167	How about freeze dried food or packaged camping food? I land on Feb 18th.... Will get my bike cleaned up before I ship! __________________ Onto Chapter 3 of my life...... with Faith, Hope and Courage! New thread 5/11/2011 http://advrider.com/forums/showthrea...0#post15950430

01-22-2013, 08:41 PM	#6
Rustysauce ^OP Adventurer Joined: Aug 2010 Location: NZ Oddometer: 50	Thanks guys, I also took the tank, seat, panels, etc. off to clean things up, so hopefully that's enough. I'll see how it goes and will post a summary of the process when I get to NZ next week. Heading to the airport tomorrow to crate the bike! __________________ http://roadtriprambling.tumblr.com/

01-29-2013, 10:48 PM	#11
Rustysauce ^OP Adventurer Joined: Aug 2010 Location: NZ Oddometer: 50	Got my bike back yesterday! The MAF inspectors gave it a quick visual inspection after pulling back some of the plastic it was wrapped in, and wanted to confirm the mileage on it as well, which meant pulling all the wraps off and re-connecting the battery, but in the end they deemed it clean enough. They asked if I had any food in my panniers, but didn't open any of my bags. I had to pay $51 NZD for their time inspecting the bike, but that was all. __________________ http://roadtriprambling.tumblr.com/

01-22-2013, 12:26 PM	#3
Voltaire Studly Adventurer Joined: Jun 2011 Location: New Zealand Oddometer: 720	I brought a van full of gear in a few years back, it was clean but not immaculate, they were more concerned with the contents....Honey and dirty trainers......and a shell casing from the Somme.....charged me to have them steam cleaned. Don't even think about bringing any food items...

01-24-2013, 11:09 PM	#10
SYDADVGS . Joined: Jul 2007 Location: Sydney Australia Oddometer: 12,000	If your bike has a radiator or oil cooler make sure that is clean and bug free, that's the first place NZ officials look. If that is clean they they tend to relax immediately. If it's full of dead bugs they start looking everywhere and it will get expensive. 90% of the time it depends entirely on who you get and the mood they are in. When I brought my bike back to OZ it was the same thing. Also make sure that your bike and walking boots are clean.

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