And Then There Were ?

shadow

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Jun 27, 2007
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Well Ive been lurking here for a while waiting until I could make my first post and make it a meaningfull one.

Well there is now one more DR650 in Cambodia. I belive that may now make it about 8 or 9.

I would like to share with you my experiences of importing a BRAND NEW Suzuki DR 650 into Cambodia.

First step was to go out and find a bike that was suitable to me, the type of riding that I would like to do,was capable of doing and was a reliable bike with a good track record that could be serviced in Cambodia. The Suzuki DR 650 came out the winner in my mind.

Next step was to go out and purchase a bike I shopped around then went to my local dealer and got him to better the best price. I asked the to leave the bike in the original create.

I took the bike home on the back of my truck and set out to make the first modifications. Number one was to add an on off switch for the headlight as in Cambodia it is illegal to ride with the headlight on during the day to ride without one at night no problem.

InAus.jpg


I started the bike up just to make sure it would and found I had a leaking fuel tank. Thank God I did this before I left home. Took the tank back to the dealer and he swapped it with a tank from another bike right there and then.

Next was to accessorize the bike I added a heavy duty 4 meter chain and lock to the package. With this I locked the wheels to the frame; I didn’t want to be missing any parts on arrival. Threw in a helmet, some boots, hand guards and a bash plate. Next step was to replace the original cardboard packing with some plywood. The cardboard had already become soggy just from the trip home and the plywood would make it much more time consuming for any pilferers.

Packed.jpg


As I work for a company that does a lot of importing I decided to use the contacts I had from this and chose DHL to export the bike for me. DHL although they could have done better and saved me a few days wait were excellent to deal with.

I wanted to pick the bike up in Phnom Penh on the 24th of September so I backward planned allowing for at least a week of contingencies.

As normal when planning for the worst things always go better than planned. The bike left Melbourne on the 14 August and arrived in Snooky Cambodia on the 31st via Singapore. It was in Phnom Penh shortly after.

I arrived at the DHL office at 9.00 am on Monday the 24th of September only to find that it was one of the 30 something public holidays. Next day same routine turned up to the office and signed all the paper work to start the customs clearance process. There are a lot of letters and permits that need to be done. DHL took care of all of these for me. However the next day DHL called me to come back and sign one more letter that they had to modify slightly. I was in daily contact with the DHL office as they kept me up to date with the progress of the clearance. One week later on Tuesday the 2nd of October I finally got the call to come to the office and go out to the inland port and collect the bike. I think that 5 working days is some kind of record for Cambodia.

Any way I jumped in the truck and we headed out to the inland port.
About a half hour drive out of town.

theport.jpg


Port2.jpg


I didn’t really know what was going on or why I was going out to the port but it seemed that they wanted me there when they did the unpacking and inspection. Maybe in case the create was full of drugs or something. Anyway there were a ton of guys there about three in uniform and a few others with screwdrivers in hand. They had a job in front of them as I had put the create together with a Tec gun and not been frugal with the screws.

InCamb.jpg


Once one side was off the engine number and VIN number were checked and the create was loaded onto the truck.

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ontruck.jpg


I was starting to get pretty exited as things were going very smoothly. The DHL guy then told me to wait with the truck while he went to the office and did the paper work. I waited with the truck dirver inside the port for about an hour and I was starting to get nervous but then we were given the all clear to drive around to the front. After about another half hour of waiting the DHL guy finaly came out and we were on the way.

So what did all this cost I hear you say.

The Sea freight was $500 AUS
DHL fees
Customs Clearance $250 US
Approval on Invoice $250
Customs Permit $80
Cam Control Servey $10
Missing Insurance $20
Storage Charge $20.25
THC Fee $79.46
Handling Fee $35

Total Fees $744.41

Local Delivery $15 Truck driver and lacky for half a day.

Import Duty

The import Duty is worked out on the capacity of the bike and the year of manufacture. From this customs declares a value for the bike and the import duty is aprox 39% of this value. Regardless of what you paid or the value of the bike. For my bike I paid $1175 of import duty tax.

The next step was to have the bike assembled. For this I had the bike delivered to Two Wheels Only on st 368 near Martinis. Tony is a great guy and went to work the next day putting the bike together carefully checking everything over as he went.

Registration

The next step was to get a plate on the bike. I initially tried to do this myself it would have only cost $25 for the plate and $1 for the guy to put it on but after 1 day and 4 different offices and police stations learning the process that I would have to go through I decided to pay a premium and have it expedited.

flyingbikes.jpg


So it was off to Flying Bikes the next day. I met with ** parted with my money and a two Photos and was asked to come back at 3pm. At 3 I came back and we headed of to the registation office where I was led in to have my photo taken by the office and stored on the computer with the paper work. There were hundreds of people there as there were the day before when I had tried to do this myself. This time there were no ques for me and we were back outside 10 min later to have the plate put on.

Finally I was on the road legally.

Palace.jpg


swim2.jpg


Now I hope I can contribute to the board with a few trip reports.
 
Sep 19, 2006
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www.chiangmai-xcentre.com
What's the Blacked out Face for, are you a Mercenary or a Drug Smuggler??? Nice Bike though. Same as SilverHawk's who by the way has a load of Extras on his now. You should give him an Email and exchange Tips. Great Bike for this part of the World. I am Really impressed with the way you got the Plate so quick, Fat chance of that here with all the Homologation crap etc. With all the Corruption you would think it would be easy but???
Cheers Ian.
 

burnjr

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Dec 28, 2005
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shadow ,
nice and good info..u a lucky import bike to combodie..if u import bike to malaysia..the
tax is around 150%~200%.from the bike price.in the world..importing bike to malaysia is one of the higher tax compare to other country.. i dont why??????
c u bro and have niceday and ride
 

shadow

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Jun 27, 2007
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I blacked out my face as I post on a few other boards with the same nic and have shown more than my face in some compromising positions
 
Mar 15, 2003
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www.daveearly.com
Very strange way for a newbie to introduce himself.

quote:

I blacked out my face as I post on a few other boards with the same nic and have shown more than my face in some compromising positions







Why volunteer the information? And if you are afraid to show your face, don't post photos. Weird!

Good info and a nice bike however.
 

DavidFL

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quote:

Originally posted by SilverhawkUSA

Very strange way for a newbie to introduce himself.

quote:

I blacked out my face as I post on a few other boards with the same nic and have shown more than my face in some compromising positions










Why volunteer the information? And if you are afraid to show your face, don't post photos. Weird!

Good info and a nice bike however.








Agreed. That’s' a weird one alright. A very useful informative post, but if you've got something to hide why flaunt yourself in a pic like that?
Now if you’re not a Mercenary or a Drug Smuggler, then you have to wonder what’s with the identity problem - what are you ashamed or scared of?
Whatever, I hope to see some genuine road & trip reports from you, but please keep the other stuff (whatever it is) off this board; for this a motorcycle riders forum focussed on riding motorbikes & touring the region on two wheels.
 

Franz

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Jun 28, 2007
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Maybe his wife wouldn't like the last picture.........
Otherwise, useful information.
 
Jul 28, 2007
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Thanks, That's great info for a newbie such as myself. Are you going to store it in Cambodia and just fly in and out? Is it easy to drive into and out of the other countries in the area?
 

shadow

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Jun 27, 2007
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quote:

Originally posted by SilverhawkUSA

Very strange way for a newbie to introduce himself.

Why volunteer the information?







Sorry for bieng honest. I could have used a different nic like a lot of people do for different boards living multilple personalites.

Dont worry I will restrict my posts on this board to Motor cycles only. No more pictures of me or any girl passangers.

That is if Im welcome to stay.
 

daewoo

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Dec 6, 2005
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quote:

Originally posted by shadow

quote:

Originally posted by SilverhawkUSA

Very strange way for a newbie to introduce himself.

Why volunteer the information?










Sorry for bieng honest. I could have used a different nic like a lot of people do for different boards living multilple personalites.

Dont worry I will restrict my posts on this board to Motor cycles only. No more pictures of me or any girl passangers.

That is if Im welcome to stay.








Hey Shadow,

I am sure that you are very welcome to stay... feel free to post photos of girls on your bike as long as the pictures are harmless, and part of a story, not THE story... just remember that most of the guys on here are 'settled' with wives and families, and like to keep the board family friendly, and bike related... I am sure you understand...

A new poster living in Cambodia wishing to hide their identity just raises some suspicions, and I think that members just wanted to be sure that you understand the 'rules'...

We do all look forward to some ride reports...

Cheers,
Daewoo (same same Khmer440, ThaiVisa, Thumpertalk, Talesofasia, BMSC.forum, and many others [:D] )
 

DavidFL

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quote:

Originally posted by shadow

quote:

Originally posted by SilverhawkUSA

Very strange way for a newbie to introduce himself.

Why volunteer the information?





Sorry for bieng honest. I could have used a different nic like a lot of people do for different boards living multilple personalites.

Dont worry I will restrict my posts on this board to Motor cycles only. No more pictures of me or any girl passangers.

That is if Im welcome to stay.








Shadow
Lurkers are not welcome on the GT Rider board & as you’ve now contributed you're not a lurker. As your first post was a particularly good informative one you’re welcome to stay & post.
It's just that the pic with your face blackened out sure was a weird one to start with & caught a few GT Riders off guard; & they (me included) have to wonder what the problem is. So being good GT Riders questions are asked.
I don’t think any serious offence was intended, but you might want to NOT leave yourself wide open (not that it was your intention) with your next post & photos.
Post photos of yourself, even with girls (not scantily dressed hookers) on the bike, but black out your face & people will ask what the problem is – every time!

Your first real road & trip report should be a ripper…

You probably already know this, but I’d like to gently remind all newbies (& perhaps even a few “oldbies”), that excessive mention of, or focus on “extra curricular activities” is not encouraged. The GT Rider board is a public forum, which wants to have a good name for solid info on S E Asian motorcycle touring & bikes, not for the display of people's personal vices or dirty laundry. We all like to enjoy the good life, & you can party all you like at night, but not on the board. What happens on the road stays on the road.

Enjoy the bike rides & posting trip reports.
 
Nov 23, 2005
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Hi

Anyway, with such a beautiful bike, it will not take too long before we see your face in PP road, but maybe you want to wear a full helmet, which should be better as I see you only wear a cap. Not really a good idea on Cambodian roads.
Too many bikers are dying each months here, especially after midnight when high on some smoke and drink.
Take care
pH
 

bill

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Mar 29, 2004
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quote:

So what did all this cost I hear you say.

The Sea freight was $500 AUS
DHL fees
Customs Clearance $250 US
Approval on Invoice $250
Customs Permit $80
Cam Control Servey $10
Missing Insurance $20
Storage Charge $20.25
THC Fee $79.46
Handling Fee $35

Total Fees $744.41

Local Delivery $15 Truck driver and lacky for half a day.

Import Duty

The import Duty is worked out on the capacity of the bike and the year of manufacture. From this customs declares a value for the bike and the import duty is aprox 39% of this value. Regardless of what you paid or the value of the bike. For my bike I paid $1175 of import duty tax.








So the customs duty you paid equates to a valuation of $3000 for your brand new DR650. The rate, 39%, is a bummer but the method of calculation seems to make the bottom line reasonable
It would be good to know how consistent customs are with their calculations.

A brand new DRZ400S costs $5200 in the US.
If I only had to pay say $1500 import duty plus another $1300 in fees and shipping, that would total $8000 on the road and legal in Cambodia

For comparison, a new DRZ in Australia costs ~8k when converted to USD

Saw some low km second hand, ex Japan, DRZ400SM's at a local Phnom Penh importers shop. He was asking $5200 including tax
One downside of buying these ex japan bikes is a lot of them are stolen, (watch the broken steering lock lug drop on the ground when you check your steering bearings.)

Anyway, something to think about for those of us in Cambodia that would like to buy brand new.

Has anyone else had experience with the customs and the consistency (or lack of) when it come to calculating import duties and fees.
 

Hovis

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Jan 28, 2006
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Flying bike now says that they can import any bike brand new from Japan, probably at a lower price than you can get yourself
 

shadow

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Jun 27, 2007
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Belive it or not! There is now a level of consistency with the import duty and very little corruption.

Every bike is given a nominal value for customs purposes based on its size and year. I think mine was actualy valued at about $3750.

The 39% is made up of three individual taxes two at 10% and one at 15%

To check in advance what the rate would be you can go to the EMS office at the side of the main post office in PP and check with the very helpful customs lady there or there is a printed sheet stuck to the window with most bikes listed.

If you can get a bike for less than you can do it yourself there is a reason. It may be stolen (you dont really care). New? most likely second hand cheap for a reason.

You get what you pay for. Most of the time in Cambodia you dont get what you pay for.
 

bill

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Mar 29, 2004
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quote:

To check in advance what the rate would be you can go to the EMS office at the side of the main post office in PP and check with the very helpful customs lady there or there is a printed sheet stuck to the window with most bikes listed.








good info, I better check it out before the local importers rip down the printed sheet and threaten the nice customs lady.
 
Jan 19, 2007
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quote:

Originally posted by bill

quote:

To check in advance what the rate would be you can go to the EMS office at the side of the main post office in PP and check with the very helpful customs lady there or there is a printed sheet stuck to the window with most bikes listed.











good info, I better check it out before the local importers rip down the printed sheet and threaten the nice customs lady.






just dont fly your bike in, i did, big mistake,i imported a 1 yr old ktm 525 desert from the uk, the declared value was /is ignored, duty etc was $3500 us,.they tax on price of bike AND shipping !,.
 

DavidFL

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Subscribed
Jan 16, 2003
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SilverhawkUSA wrote:
Very strange way for a newbie to introduce himself.

I blacked out my face as I post on a few other boards with the same nic and have shown more than my face in some compromising positions
Why volunteer the information? And if you are afraid to show your face, don't post photos. Weird!

Good info and a nice bike however.
Shadow
Lurkers are not welcome on the GT Rider board & as you’ve now contributed you're not a lurker. Your first post was also a particularly good informative one, so you’re welcome to stay & post.
It's just that the pic with your face blackened out sure was a weird one to start with & caught a few GT Riders off guard; & they (me included) have to wonder what the problem is. So being good GT Riders questions are asked.
I don’t think any serious offence was intended, but you might want to NOT leave yourself wide open (not that it was your intention) with your next post & photos.
Post photos of yourself, even with girls (not scantily dressed hookers) on the bike, but black out your face & people will ask what the problem is – every time!

Your first real road & trip report should be a ripper…

You probably already know this, but I’d like to gently remind all newbies (& perhaps even a few “oldbies”), that excessive mention of, or focus on “extra curricular activities” is not encouraged. The GT Rider board is a public forum, which wants to have a good name for solid info on S E Asian motorcycle touring & bikes, not for the display of people's personal vices or dirty laundry. We all like to enjoy the good life, & you can party all you like at night, but not on the board. What happens on the road stays on the road.

Enjoy the bike rides & posting trip reports.
 

shadow

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Jun 27, 2007
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Im still here. The bike has been off the road for the past month with a broken ignition pick up coil. It was just one of those things that should never have broken but did. No moving parts, cant be electricaly overloaded,WTF.

The timing was good however as I had just got back from an atempted ride to Ban Lung. My mate and I turned around about 15km out due to a very slick mud surface that was like driving on ice. This road has been graded many times now and is in real good condition and will make a very fast trip when it dries out. I spent the next three days checking out the sights arounds Stung Treng. Thanks to Matt Jacobons book Ultimate Cambodia. Also checked the road out, that goes to Siem Pang made it about 50 meters down the road in foot deep mud when I decided that this was not fun.

The wet season in Cambodia makes any interesting off road trip not really possible and the 90% of Cambodia can be reached on sealed roads that doesnt make much of a story.

But if there is anybody out there that wants to go for a ride I should have my bike back on the road by the 10th of Sept.
 

shadow

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Jun 27, 2007
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Shadow
Lurkers are not welcome on the GT Rider board & as you’ve now contributed you're not a lurker
Im not really lurking not just a big poster. I made a post back in June and July on my bike trip attempts into Vietnam. In the end I did get to do a little bit of traveling around on a bike in Tra Vinh just not the one I wanted.

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You probably already know this, but I’d like to gently remind all newbies (& perhaps even a few “oldbies”), that excessive mention of, or focus on “extra curricular activities” is not encouraged.
I never did this in my post everyone else just jumped in with there 2 cents worth.

Maybe judging others by there own standards :oops:

Puting a picture of yourself on the internet is a dangerous practice it is availble to everyone to do with it as they please. If you piss someone off you may find your picture on the most wanted list or on a gay porn site :D