My Harley is "docking" in Rotterdam as I type and is being loaded on to a truck to Basel later this week. Eventually I'll get it through customs etc etc

Anyway, long story short - to get plates on the baby, I'll need to change the exhaust back to stock, air intake and guess something with the front light needing to be adjusted (it's a Japanese model)

I can go to the big Harley store next to Rotkreuz and pay a lot; or I can ask here if there is a hobbyist with the needed spare parts who can fix up the bike for me

__________________
/ Lars

Be careful not to over-Swissify it.

You'll also need a special inspection, including noise test, or a certificate from the importer (about CHF 1500 either way, been there, done that, but with a Guzzi and a Ducati, Guzzi tested, Ducati certificate).

Tom

Stock exhaust should take care of the noise test; certificate from the importer - well, my brother is running the European division of a transport company, I'm sure the paperwork is going to be taken care of

Haha, yeah, it's just for the test - then I can always change it back

Maybe, maybe not.

When we first did the noise test on my LeMans, it was too loud, even with a 'Swiss' pipe.

Phoned the factory, they said that for Swiss noise test the valve lash also had to be set to zero!

Of course, this is just my real-life experiences, yours may be different.

Tom

Do you really mean that?

That's what a Swiss friend of mine has done for years and years... no problems . Don't condone it, wouldn't do it myself, HTH.

It's odd in CH - with the police cracking down on noise emissions , esp from bikes, how Harley's seem to be a law unto themselves
Most seem to be on straight through pipes or slash-cuts

Maybe it's because the public like them ?

I don't know where you bought the bike originally but US stock pipes are not going to pass here because they're much louder than EU stock pipes...

If you want to environmentally Swiss'ify it, being a Harley, you should always carry a drip pan to place under the engine, when parked.

They are only ever parked outside Harley Bars and Harley shops

I think that by importer in this case the OP meant the official Harley Importer/National Sales Company. They handle the homologation of all models they import into Switzerland and if your bike is a model that's imported you may be able to benefit from their certifications/homologations done in the past.

You'll also be given a customs certificate when importing the bike and need that to start off getting insurance and organising the technical tests and registration documents. Very thorough, you can't start off the process of registering or insuring the vehicle unless you can prove you paid import duties or taxes.


The vehicle still has to be brought into the spec of the import standard into Switzerland and will be put through a technical test (or expertise as they call it in this part of the country) - I'd to do it for Car, Camper and Motorbike on arrival a few years ago but fortunately it's now fading into distant memory. In your case it sounds like the exhaust at least will need to be EU spec in order to qualify.

Yes, that's what I meant when I said "You'll also need a special inspection, including noise test, or a certificate from the importer".

If you don't get a certificate from the official HD importer, you will need to do a special inspection which costs CHF 1000 (or perhaps more these days) at a special place (Buchs SG as I recall), before the standard inspection (MFK).

Tom

Wasn't there a Hooters somewhere in Ticino ?

Only Interlaken and Zurich (or so I am told )

the certificate people are referring here to (the one from the importer) is called 'certificate of conformity'

No, not the COC (that comes from the manufacturer). If you only have the COC you still need to take it in for the CHF 1000 special inspection.

There is another stating that the bike has already passed the Swiss special inspection (or is the same as one that has), and that will typically cost you CHF 1500, but it saves the time and trouble of going through the special inspection, but the importer doesn't have to give it to you.

I've done it both ways, special inspection on a Guzzi I brought with me when I moved here in 1986, and paid the Ducati importer for the special certificate when I bought a new bike in Italy (from the factory) in 2007.

Tom

Do you have any reference to this? My understanding is that there is no need for an additional inspection if you have a European CoC as this is an attestation that your motorcycle conforms to EU norms. That's certainly the case with cars, and based on a quick web search, that seems to be the case with EU-spec motorcycles. See, for instance, this thread:

http://buell.actifforum.com/t5843-im...aise-en-suisse

Also referenced by the TCS website:




"Motorcycles:
Motorcycles first registered after 01.10.1998 need to present a EU Certificate of Conformity. After 01.01.2008, the emissions regulations of Euro 3 are applicable. No certificate of conformity is required for mopeds." More info, in German, available here: www.stva.zh.ch, Dienstleistungen /Fahrzeugtechnik / Merkblatt: Selbstimport Motorrad

The bigger question is whether they'll give you an EU CoC for a Japanese-spec bike. You may have to make changes before it's compliant.

I agree with (the) Village Idiot, I successfully imported a motorcycle with just the EU certificate of conformity (and I paid close to nothing)...