Import Advice
 

I know this is going to sound a little ridiculous. But I'm looking to import a scooter.
It's practically identical to what I own now, except I want the Carbureted Version instead of my Fuel Injected one.

The reason is that while my DiTech (Fuel Injected) is super gas efficient ($5 bucks of week commuting), when I spend another $1500 in parts, and I will have hit it's performance ceiling. The Carb'd version has a much higher ceiling.

The only sell the DiTech version in North America, so that means either Europe or Asia.

I'm not too sure on a couple things:

• Who our favored importers are.
• The legalities involved
• The paperwork involved

Pretty much, it's a lot of I don't know what I don't know. :rolleyes:

I'm hoping you guys can help give me a jumpstart on this litte quest.

thanks!

check out shipping cost first, it may not financially make sense

try this? SR50 R turner?
http://www.highgaintuning.com/aboutus.asp

http://www.apriliaforum.com/forums/s...d.php?t=172776


Ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/Aprilia-SR50-R-2...#ht_1371wt_993


or simply just swap a 150cc motor

I'm on Aprilia forums more than I'm here, and their carb'd section is pretty dead, I asked, but all the guys North American guys with carb'd are using the older engine.


I just spoke with HGT on the phone yesterday.
His focus is on turning the DiTech (fuel injected) into a monster.
Except he's creating custom parts as he goes, it's not going to be until he get it's all sorted out, that stuff will begin to trickle down to the rest of us.

The SR50 is much less common in the scooter scene (Much more expensive than other options), there are few after market parts for it compared to an Aerox, Ruckus or BWS.
There are even fewer for the DiTech version cause it has an entirely different power band.


Since it's not uncommon for people import cars, I figured RS might have a decent/reputable contact I could talk to.
I was thinking that a scooter is smaller and lighter, and if new, then the importer would just have to walk into the dealer and walk out with the scooter, no hunting around for a used one required.


So yeah, if we've got some names of companies, just point me their way?

thanks

Check out the sponsors on http://www.gtrcanada.com/

You can import it since it's a Piaggio and Transport Canada allows any import of an Aprilia 2004 and newer. All you have to do is find one and when you do, post back here and I can walk you through the importation process as I've been through it importing my Vespa. You don't need to worry about anything else yet other than finding the model you want. But as mentioned in a few posts above, you may want to do some calculations to determine whether this is financially feasible or not but if you're dead set on getting it, find one first then we'll talk.

Oh, how do you know that any it's allowed?
Where did you look that up?

I'm not dead set on an SR50, I think an Aerox would be a blast to play with too.

When you say "financially feasible", what kind of shipping rates were you looking at? And the import agent's fees?

It's on Transport Canada's Admissibility List.

I don't know where you can find what you're looking for but let's say you find the SR50 in Spain for $1000 CDN. Shipping it over costs $2000 (I made this up for the sake of arguement.) Would that make any sense in bringing it over? Personally, I would say no but if you absolutely had to have it then by all means. There are no "import agent fees" if you do this yourself and personally, it's something to learn and experience. Paying somebody to do all this is silly, but that's just my own humble opinion.

Like I said before, figure out what you want first, find out where you can get it and then we'll go from there.

Edit: Ouch. Mother Eff. If the scooter you're looking for was not made for sale in USA/Canada, you cannot import it unless it is over 15 years of age. My bad. Something to consider.

When I say "import agent", I mean that guy who's physically on foot in the origin country, like the guy to arrange the shipping and packing. Normal sellers don't do this stuff, and wouldn't even know which shipping company to use (ditto myself).


Son of a ....
I had hard mention that somebody on my scooter forum was bringing in an Aerox, and that got me thinking. I guess I'll contact him on what he's doing.

My 2 options would be an Aprilia SR50 R (that's the carbed version) or a Yamaha Aerox, neither fall into the older than 15 or made for canada.

I'm hoping that motorcycles, or scooters have some sort of exception.
I'm googling it, but it's like a wall of text in every article i'm reading.
Blah!

maybe just import the engine and go an engine swap?

No need for that. If you find a private seller or a business, you can either go on forums to ask somebody to check it out for you or have full confidence in the seller. Afterall, we're talking about a scooter, not a $40K Lexus IS-F deal gone sour. :blushsmile:

As a buyer, you should arrange for shipping and work it out with the seller. I would never allow the seller to arrange shipping for me.

Find out if there is a North American equivalent, then stick with the USDM one. It looks like Aprilia sold the SR50 R in the US which means you can import it. There seems to be different "models" of the SR50 R so check out which one it is that you want. Seems like you're in the clear for this one though and dealing with Piaggio USA/North America is any importer's dream!

Can't say much about the Aerox. It looks like a European/Asian model, not meant for the USDM market. I think you're SOL on that.

Nope! Scooters and motorcycles are treated exactly the same way as cars. :p

Your last option is to buy the motor itself and do a frankenswap.

I'm not all scooter savvy but if the motor is the same and just the fuel delivery system is different why not pull the fuel injection and switch it to a carb from the earlier one?

^
At first I was thinking that could be doable but the carb'd and EFI motors could have different bore/stroke and crank specifications. It could be done but a lot of places in town will not do engine/machining work on scooters. Modern Motorcycling was the only place that would do it and was the best but they've shut down. :(

Culverin - If you're dead set on switching to carbs, call up Christian or Tim @ Scooterhive - 604-708-5444.