Grey impots. Is there a stigma?

... and have been told by some people, that grey imports (eg; VFR400, ZXR250) are crap, esp for a first timer, because they are just old bikes which are offloaded from japan as soon as they reach 20 000 on the clock.....

that is basically a load of bollocks - *most* grey imports are low-mileage, and generally in really good condition. The japs love the latest and greatest, and their rego rules are pretty much in favour of *brand new* bikes, that is why there is such a big market in grey imports.......

Of course you need to do all the basic checks, but if you are restricted to a 250cc limit, then a grey import can make a lot of sense. After all, its not like you will be riding it forever....

regardless of what the odometers or dealers say, most of the grey bikes comming into the country are 15+ years old and have done far, far more than 20,000km.


ive seen a container being unloaded outside sumoto here in melbourne and there was not a single clean bike amongst them.

sorry to disagree, but its just not the case - they may well be dirty after a trip in a boat, but the simple fact is, Japan is a really *small* country, they are charged a bloody fortune on tolls to travel anywhere, and they simply do not rack up 'far, far more than 20,000km'. They like upgrading after only 1-2 years, and definitely do not hold onto small-capacity bikes for the 15+ years you indicate.

The average odometer reading on Jap imports is well under 10,000km, they are *generally* well looked after, and are not >15 years old.

Try calling any of the jap import places yourself, and ask them. When I find the 'Spannerman' article about grey imports, I will post it up. He did a great article about this very subject some time ago, and dispelled a large number of urban myths about grey imports.

One thing that cannot be argued with, is that parts and servicing *may* be an issue, but as pointed out earlier, there are ways and means around those issues.

What Gosling says is true... in NZ most of the grey imports are 4 to 6 hundreds... and have less than 15K on the clock (for real, not wound back)...

Gosling the problem is not the trip on the boat but the fact thqt some of them have had half a dozen owners since then that bought them to get them off their Ps.


Not to say there not still good things that look ok just by the time someone else gets them they may need a few bucks spent on them to be in there prime so to speak.

or you can get one off a stealership with well a low odometer reading anyway but no one thats owned one believes it and a bling paintjob but you could buy a second hand sv 650 for less or a cbr600f4 or a few other things on the market.

better to buy a preloved 250 private and take someone who knows the traps to have a look.

Cyclone Tracykat's zxr400 was imported after a deposit was made & a search started to find one. It's in Brillinat condition Motor feels barely run in with 19 thou on the clock.
The truck driver who delivered Janell's zxr400 from sydney (madkaw purchased from a private seller in Sydney on our behalf, thanks again Dave) said he returns 2/3rds of the 250's Sumoto sells interstate. So i think you are both right they can be ORSUM or they can be CRAP.
Cheers Brett

and they simply do not rack up 'far, far more than 20,000km'. They like upgrading after only 1-2 years, and definitely do not hold onto small-capacity bikes for the 15+ years you indicate.

im really not sure what imports you are referring to? I know when i think imports, i think sumoto. have a look here:

http://sumotoworldof250s.bikepoint.nine ... fault.aspx


the sheer majority of the bikes listed there are cbr250R's and spadas, both of which went out of production around 15+ years ago.... and these are comming fresh off the boats. plenty of zxr250s and they have been in production for ages too. a few ZZRs and GPX's, im not sure what vintage exactly (they never advertise what year the bikes really are, only "2005 compliance"...

some really ancient things like the cbr250 (as in not R, not RR... the 1987 cbr250!) and the vt250f... a handful of GSXR250's (with a RR tacked on the end) which again stopped production around 1990, even if they do have 2004-2005 paint jobs



my fiances first bike came from sumoto and it was terrible. 18k on the clock, didnt have the original engine in it, and the engine fitted to it was absolutely cactus! replaced soon after with a good (better) one, but everything else on the bike was buggered. rust on just about every part made of steel.

Well yes, Sumoto is one of the places that import 250's that I was thinking of, and checking out the site and the magazine ad, all the advertised bikes are listed as '2005 compliance'...........

the other places are Recycled Motorcycles (also in Vic), who advertise themselves as 'The only Direct importer of 250's in Victoria' ?

I am sure there was also an importer in NSW , Gus Liu ?? He was, to the best of my knowledge, the importer of late-model small-capacity grey imports that was the subject of the article ( that I still can't find ), that I referred to.

Some of those paint-jobs on the Sumoto bikes look pretty *flash*, but yes, they are definitely older models.........

I think I will defer to the latin.............' Caveat Emptor"............

(go on all you old bastards, work that out )