Anyone successfully register a greybike 400 in California?

[Greyfourhundred]

I'm new to the forum, this is my first post.

I've owned and loved a black 3en2 greybike fzr400 for about 7 years now.

I'm going to be moving to California before the end of the year and have not been able to find a consistent answer about whether its possible to legally register greybikes on the road there. I've done some searches online and in one place on the dmv site it says something along the lines of "no motorycles beyond a certain age can meet california emission requirements" but in another place I read that if you go some route of stripping it down to the frame and registering it as a "project bike" you can do it.

So just wondering if there is anyone here from California that has legally got a jap-spec fzr 400 or other greybike on the road? Mine's got a 17 digit VIN and is technically a 1988 model year making it 25 years old this year.

[Rooster]

Google motorcycle shops in the area your going to be moving to, find one that doesn't specialize in choppers, Then ask who does California inspections for imports and out of state certifications. Nobody but a place that actually does the inspections can tell you what can be done, my buddy of 15yrs works in shop that used to do import inspections and salvage repair inspections and this was always his advice. And yes in California if it wasn't there from new your bike may only have a slightly better chance than a snowball in hell of being accepted at the DMV.

[yamaha_george]

Hi,
I have no experience of this problem but I think it would be rather harsh that as a long term owner moving to a foreign country they would not allow you to own & use your long standing rid.
I will ping agood buddy in the bay area and see what he says to back up the advice you have been given so far.

[yamaha_george]

AS promised from my pal in the bay area:-
Hi, George -

Well, he's won't be able to register it at all if it does not have the
17-digit US VIN. That's a problem with gray market Japanese bikes that
are less than -ummm- 30 years old or so. Here's the info on the VIN
makeup: http://www.kerrywilson.com/vin.htm

He won't have to worry about smog laws since there are none for
motorcycles in California except (I think) for bikes manufactured in the
last two or three years. I don't have to worry about smog equipment or
inspections for any of mine, including the newest (my '01 Suzuki SV650).

If his VIN is OK he'll still have to get the bike checked at a
California DMV office but he should have no problems if it's got all its
lights, a horn and a reasonable muffler.

[Greyfourhundred]

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

I'm going to be moving to South Orange County for work, not exactly sure what community yet. I'll start digging around and see if I can find any shops.

George, mine does have a 17-digit VIN but I doubt it's a "US 17-digit VIN" since it was produced for the Japanese market. British Columbia (westernmost province of Canada) allows greybikes to be imported once they are 15 years old. Even though the bike has a VIN, BC assigns its own number which gets permanently affixed to the frame.

I'll start looking into it more seriously; I was hoping someone would be able to say "I did it and here's how".

Cheers

[yamaha_george]

G,
the fact it was licensed in Canada should help if you go to my profile page you can email me direct and then i can put you in touch with some people i know well along the coast who once you get there can give sound advice and are all great riding buddies ( vintage brit Suzuki SV's etc.) and know the best scenic rides in the state.

[yamaha_george]

From one of my buddies:-


Hi George,

I've never dealt with something like that.  I'd think that since he's
already the owner of the bike in a foreign country he'd probably
have an easier time of it than someone trying to import one direct
into CA.

He might talk with

Julian Farnam <andbike@pacbell.net>

I get the impression that Julian has registered various custom
framed or non-road (CR500) bikes here.

He can start looking at the DMV website

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

How soon is he moving?  I saw this

 International Customers, please write to us at:

Department of Motor Vehicles
Customer Communications
MS H165
PO Box 932345
Sacramento, CA 94232-3450

With the employee furloughs etc I don't know how quick of a mail
reply he could hope to get.

cheers,
Michael