Importing a bike

Get informed, go to your local government agency and ask what is needed. Usually the local automotive association can help you (ADAC in the UK).
You'll need things like CE certification of the bike and other stuff like that, the dealer can provide if you request it.
Get all your paperwork straight before you set the buy or you can get in an endless time and patience consuming process.

How the tables have turned... Ten years ago I imported an Alfa 156 from Holland and saved myself more than 5 grand, a third of the price. It was easier for me than most as my wife's Dutch, so I wrote about it in the Telegraph and the whole import thing went mental!

It's worth noting that many bikes these days have symmetrical headlight patterns, so you won't need to change that, and on bikes with digital speedos you can usually convert the mph to kph with buttons on the dash. Some let you do this openly, with others you might need some inside info, but if you pick the right bike you won't have to make any changes, and every bike in the UK comes with EU type approval so you can register it in Belgium without any extra paperwork being needed, in exactly the same way as a dealer would - as BatuKMan says, the dealer can give you all the paperwork that comes with the bike.

You also have the option either of paying Belgian taxes or British ones - VAT in the UK is 17.5 per cent, I believe it's 21 per cent in Belgium, so paying UK VAT will save you. There is no vehicle purchase tax in the UK (what we call car tax, which also applies to bikes), so make sure you don't end up being forced to pay Belgian car tax - you won't have to if you do everything through the UK tax system, and this is your legal right. It's the taxes which make up most of the price differences between the UK and Belgium, possibly more so than the exchange rates.

You'll need to think about how you get the bike to Belgium. A van would solve most problems, but if you ride it you'll either need to register it in advance with a Belgian number - I don't know if this is possible - or you could get a temporary UK export plate. A bike dealer should be able to help with this, but don't bet on it... If not, we can get you some contact details of the registration authorities here.

Best time to buy is at the end of the season, from September onwards and into the winter as dealers will be wanting to shift stock and be very open to deals.

If you want to find south east dealers, go to the manufacturers' UK websites and do a dealer search either with a south east town like Maidstone, or a south east postal code: CT1 3XW is in Canterbury near Dover, try that.

Note it's the VFR800 VTEC Beke is talking about...

Another important aspect which is I forgot to mention in my previous post is warranty.
EU says they have to give it to you even you bought in another country... blah blah blah.
The true is completely different, the Belgium dealers may turn their heads when you pop your new bike with a warranty claim and then you either get to the UK to get it fixed by who sold you the bike or have the trouble of upsetting yourself to get it fixed by your local dealers.

Regarding imports, if you look around I'm sure there is a company that can take care of everything for you and it may end up being cheaper then you doing yourself, seek in the car classic forums, they are much more open to these kind of things and may point you in the right direction.

All I did was speak to my local tax office, but it was easier for me as I wanted to pay UK taxes and was bringing the car here too. I don't know exactly how it works in Belgium, but one option would be to ask the dealer you're buying from make sure he invoices you for UK VAT, and once it's paid the Belgian authorities can't ask you for VAT again.

The pre registered ones would be technically second hand on one count, i.e. already registered to one owner but would nit meet the 6,000 km criteria. It would have UK plates on it however -could you ride it home & then register it in Belgium to"import" it once you'd done 6,000 km?

I always use Kent Motorcycles on the A2 between Canterbury & Dover, top people to deal with.