6/1 By Tony Eccleston

How I imported a Harley-Davidson to Spain in 2008.
By Tony Eccleston

This is a brief account of what I did to import a 2007 Harley-Davidson FLHR Road King to Spain from the UK. I had owned the bike from new in the UK where I had had a Stage 1 conversion and Vance and Hines pipes fitted.

The most important decision was to use an experienced agent based in Malaga to manage the process for me.  She is English but a fluent Spanish speaker.  Without this I would have had difficulty with some of the steps.

STEP 1
To make sure that I had all the necessary documents to prove my identity and residence in Spain.  These were:

• My NIE number document
• My Certifico de Empadronamiento obtained from the local town hall to prove that I was resident in Spain.  This should not be needed for someone who has residencia.
• A photocopia compulsada.  This was obtained from the local Notary for 3 Euros to be used instead of my passport which I needed for travel.

STEP 2
A check by an independent engineer in Malaga that the vehicle conformed to European regulations.  Because the bike was relatively new this required only a check of the vehicle’s documents.  Otherwise a document could have been produced after an inspection for a fee of 100 Euros.

Note that if any other modifications had been made it would have been necessary to provide documentation for them.  This was the case with a car that my wife imported. A special document was produced by the independent engineer at a cost of 100 Euros,

STEP 3
Inspection of the vehicle at the Malaga ITV station at a cost of 125 Euros.  An appointment was made.  The bike passed all parts of the test, including lights, braking and noise levels, but failed on one small point.  It did not have the small additional red reflector at the rear that is a requirement for all Spanish bikes.  For this reason the bike had to be brought back within three weeks after I had fitted the reflector (cost 3 Euros).

On the second occasion there was another issue. The inspector’s checklist said that the bike must have a front headlight, but the Road King has three.  The inspector did not like this but his supervisor ruled that it was OK if they were factory fitted and could be switched on and off by the dipped headlights switch, which they can.  This shows that that tiny details can be a problem.  Another Harley imported direct from the USA was failed on several details of the lights and reflectors because they were not to European specification.

Tony on his bike.

STEP 4
In order to avoid registration tax it was necessary to prove:

• That I had owned the bike for more than six months.  This was done through the registration document.
• That I intended to reside in Spain.  As I did not have residencia I had to go to the British consulate and swear an affidavit to this effect.  The consulate produced a letter confirming my intention to reside in Spain at a cost of 143 Euros.

There was a special Spanish form to fill in to claim exemption from tax.

STEP 5
The application to Trafico in the province in which I lived: this involved my agent going to Cordoba.  Two visits to Trafico were needed: one to collect the form and a second to submit it, along with the form for exemption from tax.

STEP 6
Payment of road tax: as it was close to the end of 2008 it was necessary to pay for only one quarter of the year.  Cost 24 Euros (similar to a car because of the size of the engine).

STEP 7
Purchase of number plate for 12 Euros.

There was, of course a fee for the services of the agent who managed the process.  I think this was money well spent because it made the process easy for me and made sure that I avoided expensive registration tax at a rate of 14.75%.