Importing a motorcycle to Malaysia

Hi,

First of all, don't listen to the naysayers who insist that it's nigh impossible. It is very much doable, and not at all expensive, as long as you have time enough to go through the hoops.

The first thing you have to get is the AP – the licence to import a motor vehicle – two, three or four wheelers are treated the same at this time. For that, you need to find a 'friendly' AP holder. This will be a Malay company (only these are allowed to import vehicles). You have to be nice to them and agree on the value of the vehicle and their cut. At this point, it's much simpler to let them deal with the transport and – not least – the import procedure. That way, you don't have to bother about arguing with the Customs about the very low value of your bike They will always have better contacts there than you can ever hope for...

Once you have the AP, it's pretty straightforward. You book an inspection with Puspakom (either taking the bike to one of their sites or paying a few bucks extra – total 121.60 MYR – for a home visit. And as long as the engine and chassis numbers look original and not tampered with (more about that below), and correspond to the original registration document, you're good to go.

With the report and the AP, you now need a K1 document, i.e. the Puspakom report being keyed in to the system. This can be done by either your 'friendly AP company', alternatively there are at least three companies in KL that will do it for you if it's a private import, for 100 MYR.

And that's it – armed with the AP and K1 you're now ready to register the bike, get insurance, pay for the road tax and get the licence plate made!

Here's how I did it (twice):

First time was in '96-'97 when I brought my bike with me while working on a contract. Declared the value at 10,000 (!) MYR and agreed on it with the customs boss (he was Indian, so a bottle of Chivas went a long way...). Never bothered to register it, though. I drove with the Swedish plate and managed to get basic insurance for it locally. Then I left the country and took the bike with me.

Came back in 2012, on MM2H this time. Brought a car with me, as in those days you could import one vehicle without any duties. And the bike, which had already been in the country before and therefore exempt... I thought. Several weeks, and numerous interactions with the customs later, I had to resort to using my high-level MITI contact. Two hours later, I had all the necessary paperwork – go figure.

Fast forward to now: I spent years rebuilding and tweaking the bike until beginning of this year. It's a Harley old-school 70' chopper, with the Swedish registration papers identifying it as being a 1957 model (don't ask). With a custom hardtail frame, of course, and the frame number punched in by me. That was the biggest hurdle – getting JPJ to accept the 'homemade' frame number. But once I got the go-ahead from JPJ in Putrajaya (personal visit and insisting on seeing the bigwigs), in an official letter, the Puspakom guys were angels. And now, I've got the only radical Harley chopper in Malaysia that's actually passed the inspection – with pictures to prove it – and is road legal, even with the somewhat daring (by Malaysian standards) mural paintwork!

Thats great advice. I'm looking into importing my 2018 Ducatil Panigale V4S to KL.

Can you recommend a reputable AP import company contact?

thanks,

Mike.

I'll ask around and get back to you.

Cheers,
Nenad

Try *** at KLT Sdn Bhd, ***. And mention that he helped Jerome with a Porsche a couple of years ago.

Hey mate,  sorry for reactivating an old thread.  Your previous comment got edited by the moderators. I would like to import an s1000rr which I have owned for more that a year in Australia into Malaysia and leave it there for private personal use.  Are you willing to share the contact details again of the company that you use for AP and import purposes?  Thanks mate

Sure, no problem. But as the moderators are somewhat autistic, I'll have to write it differently: *** - you know which ones I mean...

Hi,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I am thinking about doing the same for my bike - currently in Saigon. I'd appreciate if you could share the contact you used to import your bike. I'll be back in KL this Christmas and would like to meet with the recommended companies/individual for advise and procedures for import procedures. Thanks for any information you could share.

Hi Nenad,
I am new to this thread and will be moving to Malaysia in a few months. We have a couple of cars we would like to import in to Malaysia. Is there any chance you could please share your contact with me?

Many thanks - Summerdayss

If you have moved,

You can apply for motorcycle insurance renewal through Motorcycle Insurance Renewal

Most of my buds use this. Not bad though.

However, there are others too. Choice preference. 

This thread is so stale. Is anyone still considering trying to bring a bike to Malaysia?

The basic thing about importing a bike or car is that its legal to do but seldom practical. I will just use general numbers to illustrate because the problem is CUSTOMS. You stick the bike on a plane and here it arrives and you have 90 days free in the country to ride and enjoy it.  It first went to Customs and waited for a determination of import tax. They place an arbitrary value on it, not what you paid and not what its worth in its prior country. You paid $5,000 and have receipts. They decide its worth $20,000, apply 100 or 200% tax, thats $20,000 or $40,000 tax and when you pay it you are free to register it. What is the worth to an owner to do that? Very little. You have to pay the tax to clear it from Customs and can get a refund if you take it back out within 90 days. If you keep it longer, no refund. Would you pay $20,000 for a bike worth $5,000 or $2,000? You can, but it does sound a bit dumb to me. The exact numbers arent important, just saying how it works and why its more practical to find a local bike. You wont know the exact numbers until you and the bike are in front of a Customs officer. By then, they have you by the gonads and its going to be hard to turn back.

I wanted to bring a boat here and register so that the boat wouldnt have to exit the country soon.  I went to Customs first and showed pictures, details and values and wanted in writing a basic, general estimate of the charges before I brought the boat. They refused and said I had to bring it physically to them for a quotation. I said NO WAY, and they didnt like that at all and pressured me to "work out something with them." Im not into bribery and backdoor stuff.  I dropped the matter. They pursued me by phone for two weeks to get me to "deal." I walked away and felt pretty dirty anyway. Thats just me, others are happy to deal by seat of the pants, pokerface, backroom ways. Anyway, thats the process unless anything has changed recently. In my view of things, I want to see published rules and list of charges which are adhered to and thats what was missing so I backed out.

Having said that, years ago some people reported bringing a bike or car or something and did get through the process. You'll learn the facts and truth when you do it.

Yes I am interested to bring motorcycle to Malaysia. So now I have to apply AP as well?

Matt_Toppz wrote:

Yes I am interested to bring motorcycle to Malaysia. So now I have to apply AP as well?

Read my post above yours and then contact Customs and talk to them. I dont know if you can enter offices during covid but maybe you can get an appointment via online or send email or something. See their website for information.

Do I need to apply for AP or straight make appointment with custom?

Matt_Toppz wrote:

Do I need to apply for AP or straight make appointment with custom?

Nono, let them guide you. The problem i see is how to have an actual meeting and that might prove difficult during covid. Start on their website and see if you can make an appointment or if they are now open for visits. If open, go there and ask at the desk to talk to a customs officer.

Hi... I know this is an old thread. Would you mind sharing the contact of the company you use for the AP and importing the bike with me as well? Thanks.

Great information friend and very helpful.
Was reading through your last responce but the names got edited again. I am looking to import an BMW bike from India. Have joined this forum today, if there is any option for private message, please share contacts whom you took help from to import. Thank you Mate 😊!

riteshryan wrote:

Great information friend and very helpful.
Was reading through your last responce but the names got edited again. I am looking to import an BMW bike from India. Have joined this forum today, if there is any option for private message, please share contacts whom you took help from to import. Thank you Mate 😊!

Not sure if the person who wrote the posts is coming back but if you are in KL there is one idea for you. On the left side of Sunway Pyramid mall there are rows of shops and in there there is a bike shop that sells high end foreign bikes. They know about importing because all their bikes are imported. I dont remember the name of the shop or even if they are still there but its worth trying. The shop was on a corner opposite a chinese stall restaurant. I had gone in there once and enquired about importing and never went back again.

Likewise, I would think any bike shop understands the processes and could help you -- if you dont go to Malaysia Customs itself. Myself, I dont engage in bribery or corrupt or backdoor methods because if you are beholden to someone anything can happen later and I dont want fines, jail, or deportation.   Fortunately there are legal methods to everything, its just a matter of money and whats practical in the end. There are many foreign bikes in Malaysia so yes its done and you dont need a special, secret helper for it. Myself, I when I first came I really wanted to bring my bike but ultimately gave up when I added up all the costs. I bought local bikes and got on with my life.

Thanks Mate.
I am speculating the same, of buying here locally vs importing, due to cost. Came across few used bike dealers in Selengor and PJ, one of them imports from Japan as recon bikes, not sure what that means, so dropped the purchase. I am very keen on bmw s1000rr, love the old model, 2017/18, but hard to find.
I am in Penang currently but will be moving to KL this month.

I will visit the place you have suggested.

Cheers!

Another shop in KL that knows about this is Welly World. They have all sorts of imported bikes for sale and could also give you advice or maybe import yours. I bought my local Yamaha from them.
https://www.instagram.com/wellysungaibuloh/?hl=en

Also, I will send you name and number of a KL friend who is a BMW rider and knows about this stuff and all the models. He could probably help you find one, too. Oh wait, I lost his number. Ok, try the http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/index.php and ask your questions about models, maybe there is one for sale, and about importing.

Also since you are in Penang, on the island there is this--
https://www.facebook.com/Hot-Bike-Penan … 775711564/
They have had all sorts of interesting bikes come through their dealership like a Kawasaki W800 which I always wanted and also they are a Royal Enfield dealer I think. Go talk to them.

I stay in Penang too and though there is a bike culture here its more vibrant in KL.

Some people dont care about money, they spend RM100K or 250K or any amount so importing is just some inconvenience to them but they still do it. Im not in that class.

Friend, thank you again for investing so much time, details are very helpful, have reached out to Hot Bikes over WhatsApp. Thank you again 👍🏼!

I want to import my 2016 dyna Harley to Kuala Lumpur. Can you help me out here. I read your first post and it was pretty clear and transparent but I think I need more help. Perhaps like a friendly ap company? Could you ask around to help me to make this happen. I want to ship the bike there asap! I'm currently in Vietnam and a ud citizen. I've been in Vietnam for 2 years

pinnaclecreditmanagement wrote:

I want to import my 2016 dyna Harley to Kuala Lumpur. Can you help me out here. I read your first post and it was pretty clear and transparent but I think I need more help. Perhaps like a friendly ap company? Could you ask around to help me to make this happen. I want to ship the bike there asap! I'm currently in Vietnam and a ud citizen. I've been in Vietnam for 2 years

I think you can write to Hot Bikes in Penang and ask your questions. See the facebook link above and also write to Welly World at the above link.  I have nobody near me that I can go in and ask and Im locked down.  When you make your contacts please come back and tell us what happened as it would help others with the same questions.