I browsed the faqs but still have some questions. I'm an American working the wine harvest in New Zealand from April until June. I will be staying in Blenheim and working 10 kms away. Apparently I should be able find communal transportation from other transient winemakers, but where's the fun in that? Why bum rides when you can have a motorcycle! It seems buying a bike and reselling it is the most cost effective option. I'm not particularly choosy, any used 250/500, and I should have about $4,000 USD to spend. Mostly I'm curious about the procedure for registering a bike in NZ (emissions, etc.) And perhaps whether it would be more advantageous to buy from a dealer rather than a private party? Cheers!
hey bro Buying privately is def cheaper. with that kind of money you'll be able to pick up a great bike but selling may take some time. Over here we can pay to register the bikes for however long we want -say 3mnths & keep the bike unregistered for the rest of the summer so we don't have to pay for when the bikes not being used. The rego is around $500 per year. This is just a admin charge. The roadworthy certificate is called a Warrant of Fitness or WOF. it costs about $30 for six months & is a test of brakes, lites, loose bearings etc. Check out Trademe I have the exact same bike as this I bought for $4K about a year & a half ago in Blenheim so gives you an idea. http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/motorbikes/motorbikes/dual-purpose/auction-571015704.htm
You should have a pretty good choice of machines with that sort of money. Check out the LTNZ website for the finer points of buying/selling vehicles but if you want to keep it simple get something with a current warrant of fitness (WOF) & a current vehicle license (registration or rego) plus make sure you & the seller complete the required change of ownership forms. There are no emissions testing requirements in NZ. IMHO there's no big advantage buying off a dealer but if you are mechanically clueless & buying privately, getting the bike checked over by a pro could be a good plan. Cheers Clint
