Bringing a bike home from abroad can feel like a lot of rigmarole for something with two wheels. In practice it follows the same steps as a car, it costs less to ship, and the testing happens under the same roof as everything else.
- Shipping from
- £1,250 from anywhere
- How it travels
- Shared container
- Test for newer bikes
- MSVA
- Import tax
- Same rules as cars
How we ship a motorbike
Bikes travel in shared containers alongside other customers' vehicles, which is why shipping starts from £1,250 from anywhere in the world. That is a guide price for the shipping only, built from a year of real jobs. It does not include import tax, registration, testing or any changes the bike needs.
Before loading we inspect the bike so we both agree its condition. For container shipping we recommend crating: straps hold a bike at the wheels rather than compressing the suspension, and a crate keeps it from moving at all. RoRo is not usually a service we offer for bikes.
Your normal bike insurance will not cover it at sea, so it is worth adding marine insurance. More on how we handle bikes is on our motorbike shipping page.
Import tax: the same as a car
Bikes are taxed on the same rules as cars, on the price you paid plus transport:
- From the EU: 20% import VAT, and no duty if EU or UK-built
- From outside the EU: 20% VAT and 10% duty, with VAT charged on top of the duty
- Over 30 years old: 5% VAT, no duty
- Moving to the UK: nothing to pay under Transfer of Residence, if you have lived abroad 12 months or more and owned the bike 6 months or more
If your purchase invoice is more than 3 months old, a valuation is used instead. We clear the bike ourselves as HMRC CDS authorised agents, and we tell HMRC it has arrived through NOVA within 14 days.
MSVA: the test for newer bikes
MSVA stands for Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval. It is the bike version of IVA, and GOV.UK sets it out for motorcycles, trikes, mopeds and quads that are under 10 years old and have never been registered in the UK. A pass gets you a Minister's Approval Certificate, which the DVLA needs to register the bike.
The inspection covers, in general terms:
- Lights, mirrors and the speedometer
- Brakes, steering and suspension
- Tyres
- Emissions and noise
- Structural integrity and build quality
- The bike's paperwork
There is also a partial MSVA for some bikes, which focuses on the headlamp dipped beam, a speedometer that reads in mph and, on left-hand drive bikes, mirror positions.
We run the only privately owned MSVA test centre in Great Britain, and every test is done on our own lane. Your bike does not leave our site between unloading, any changes and the test.
Older bikes
Bikes outside the MSVA rules usually go down the MOT route instead. Classic bikes sometimes need a dating certificate to prove when they were built, where the manufacturer's records are missing or incomplete. We can help with those too.
What changes on an imported bike
It depends on where the bike came from and how old it is. The usual changes are a headlight that dips the right way for driving on the left and a speedometer that reads in mph, plus anything else needed to pass its MSVA or MOT. We do the work in the same building as the test.
Do not ride it before it is registered. GOV.UK says an unregistered import can only go on public roads to a pre-booked MOT or approval test, and it must be insured. Ours is tested on site, so it does not need to.
Documents you will need
Your bike paperwork
0 of 7 done
Missing a document? Depending on the circumstances, we may still be able to help, so ask before you give up on a bike. Once it passes, we register it with the DVLA through our dealer-level account, then you insure it, tax it and ride away.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to ship a motorbike to the UK?
Shipping starts from £1,250 from anywhere, because bikes travel in shared containers. That is shipping only and excludes import tax, registration, testing and any changes the bike needs.
Is import tax on a motorbike different from a car?
No. The same rules apply: 20% VAT from the EU with no duty if EU or UK-built, 20% VAT and 10% duty from outside the EU, 5% VAT for bikes over 30 years old, and nothing under Transfer of Residence if you qualify.
What is an MSVA test?
Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval. It shows a bike that was not approved for the British market meets British standards. It applies to bikes under 10 years old that have never been registered in the UK.
Where is the MSVA test done?
On our own lane in Castle Donington. We run the only privately owned MSVA test centre in Great Britain, so the bike stays on site from unloading to registration.
Should my bike be crated?
For container shipping we recommend it. Straps hold a bike at the wheels rather than compressing the suspension, and a crate stops it moving in transit.
Tell us the make, model and where the bike is on the quote form, and we will plan the shipping around it.
