Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Dreaming of Europe

Like a lot of us, I dream of riding a motorcycle around Europe someday. A friend of mine, the local Triumph dealer back in the day, joined the Peace Corp in the early 70s. When he got out, he took his money and bought a brand new Triumph Bonneville and set out to explore Europe for a summer.
Here's the theoretical question of the day, and probably directed towards our friends in Great Britain. If'n an American was to land in England tommorrow, what would a brand new T-100 cost him today? (in dollars?) Could you even do that, buy and license a new bike, coming from the U.S.? (And no, I wouldn't want to lease one, I'd be staying on the continent quite a while)I'd probably be spending at least a couple of weeks in a lot of countries. Any ideas on this, friends?
And by the say, my friends story took a wrong turn. He had the bike less than a week and somebody stole it! He made his way around parts of Europe without it. When he got back home, the London Police called and said they found it, at the bottom of a quarry, and did he want it back. He declined!

My wife is from Quebec, and we fly up there quite a bit. I've been trying to get her to trailer the bikes to Maine, then ride into Canada. Haven't convinced her yet, but will keep working on it.

T100= £7799 upwards in UK depending on specs......
No problem buying one so long as you can produce valid insurance when collecting it..insurance ( fully comprehensive coverage) is hard to estimate without age and driving record.....say around £300 per year is my guess.
And of course you'd need to make sure your US drivers licence is valid for UK/Europe( not a problem).
Have you got an itinery in mind?
Al

Oh, and if you left Europe with it within a reasonable time( 6 months I think) you could claim back the value added tax included in the £7799......I think it's about 20%.....
Al

Please forgive my ignorance,but I don't understand the "keystroke" in front of the number 7799? Is this a "pound" sign? Or is this a dollar($) sign? I suppose I'd leave the bike there and have a dealer resell it. I'd hate to think what shipping would be on a cycle to take it all the way across the pond!
I wouldn't have an itinerary as such. I like to "wander". Of course, I'd have some must see "spots". Such as the Beatle sites in Liverpool. And Stonehenge. But mostly, I like the "countryside". A castle or two. Anything that has to do with history and art. But mostly, just wandering around, looking at the sites and scenery, talking to the people.

Icon for Pound Sterling, unless things have changed.

A Bonnevillle in the UK is £7,799 which is approx $10,920
In the US, it's $8,099 which is approx £5,785
The same bike crated up in England and shipped to the US for 2 grand less

Hmm how much to ship it by slow boat from this side of the pond and maybe sell it over there after all is said and done.

Ride it all over there and slap a sticker on it everywhere you go then when you get home put it in the livingroom.

Isn't it a sad sad thing for us UK residents when our bikes are cheaper abroad than at home?
But I digress...........weep, weep......
Al

Years ago I heard of a deal BMW had.Pick up the bike in Germany, ride it around.Take it out of Europe before 3 months and you paid no tax.I don't know if this'd apply to Triumph?

Sorry this is off topic.
I looked at buying a Speedmaster in Thailand they run about A$15,000 in Australia New and A$30,000 ATM in Thailand.They're made there!
The old bonneville range start about the same price range as Australia but go to about A$20,000!
Include me out I'm afraid!
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Isn't part of the high price of bikes in England part of a "thinking" that discourages owning and driving a motor vehicle in general? You know, to push people into the public transit services?