Brainsquishy
06-06-2008, 12:02 AM
Alright then, here is my story...
It all begins with my stumbling into the bike on the net looking for dirt bike dealers in Ontario, Canada. Didn't even know what a Chinabike was!
So I take a look at the Daymak website and am duly impressed. I then drive out to the Daymak dealer in the Barrie area, and turn around and run. The place was a dump. If they can't keep there business in shape, I'm certainly not going to trust them with a bike my son and I will be riding on. Daymak only had a 150cc on their site anyway.
Then I went into Coolrides in downtown Barrie, ON. Nice shop and nice guys. They had a 150cc available as a straight dirt bike. They could put the enduro package on it, but with the $3,000.00 price tag, I looked else where. Too bad, I think these guys are missing out.
Then I found allwheelsmotorsports.ca in Concord, ON. Talked to them on the phone to see if the 200cc bike I saw on the website was in stock and if it could be plated. The guy told me they are only imported and sold as restricted use vehicles only. (off road), BUT several people have plated them. (HSUN 200GY) They called it a ULIKE but it says different in the manual I eventually got.
So I drove down and inspected the bike. To bad I didn't read this website first because I would have insisted on a complete tear down and locktighing of everything. Had to find that out the hard way.
These guys are not easy to talk to. They are all a bit indifferent to customer requests for info, but I am persistent.
I was told I would need the Bill of Sale, and a NVIS form (New Vehicle Information Statement) insurance and a Safety Inspection. Take that to the Licencing Office and get the plates.
I paid for the bike and strapped it into my truck, with a cap. We needed to almost lay the bike down first to get it in. I didn't know it at the time, but I guess the battery spilled some fluid onto the frame. Over the next day or two it ate into the paint causing a nasty etching. I will need to do some painting.
So I got it home. Did some nearby dirt riding to test it out. Feeling great, I took it to Canadian Tire for the Safety Certification. This is the Ontario Form 1 Cert, not the one required by Transport Canada. The bike passed without issue. The guy that did the safety is an avid dirt biker himself and was impressed with the "little bike". He did suggest that i zip tie the clutch cable to the frame as the cheapo stock bracket allowed the cable to be rubbed by the front fender. This would have eventually worn through a allowed water in. I did it and it work well.
So now I needed the NVIS. I was told I could come back into the dealership and pick it up. It would be "ready for me". Well it wasn't. The guy at the counter that day didn't have a clue what he was doing, but pretended to. He gave me a Certificate of Origin. He hand wrote the information onto the form. To bad none of it matched the Bill of Sale. Oh ya, forgot to say that when I asked the first guy what the model was for the mechanic to put in the Safety Certificate, he said it was an Alcander.
The day before I go into the Licencing Office, I get on the phone and start doing some research on how to properly plate my bike, without breaking any rules. After 13 different government departments from licencing to street level enforcement to the Feds, NO ONE KNEW WHAT TO DO! I was told by the Feds that if it is already in Ontario legally, it had passed through them already and they didn't care about it. The enforcement people only cared I had a plate (by default passed the mechanical fitness) and insurance and operated the bike according to the rules of the road in Ontario. I had nothing to go on.
So now I have three screwed up documents in my hand and I blindly bring them into the the Licencing Office. OH, boy!
The ladies in there where already comparing their "Best Stories" when I walked in (no kidding). They where ripe for a fresh one they could tell at the water cooler. I was meat. It was suggested either I or Allwheels or both of us together where running some kind of scam. I explained in detail what I had been told and that no scam was indeed taking place. They "wanted" to think the dealer was bringing the bikes in from the USA and illegally dumping them in Ontario. Apparently that is done here.
The clerk gets on the phone with the MTO and basically shuts me down. It was suggested that the MTO was going to flag a range of similar VIN#'s and check out each registration carefully. If I wanted them to continue I would need to bring in:
A) a "proper" Bill of Sale
B) A Form 1 Waiver of Import from the dealer showing the country of origin. That would be a Transport Canada form they tell me.
C) Export certificate from the manufacturer in China.
D) Everthing must match up.
I walked out with my tail between my legs.
Not to be kept down for long, I call the "wonderful customer service rep" at the dealer and let them know the good news. They where now under watch by the MTO (Ontario Ministry of Transportation).
They seemed to jump, well Maybe hop into action. I was told that I should have never gotten the Cert of Origin and that I should come right in and get the paper work straightened out.
So I got the proper NVIS form this time, after an excruciating 2hr wait in the shop. The guy must have been on the phone with someone trying to figure out what to do "right". Then I got the "proper" Bill of Sale with the correct info on it.
The next step was to correct the Safety Cert from the Canadian Tire, which they did in a very professional manner. (Mapleview location in Barrie).
I also go into my insurance agent office and pick up insurance for $643 bucks for the year.
So now I've got four "proper" forms, but no Import documents. Apparently, the guy from allwheels will only fax them to the Licencing Office or MTO at their direct request. Probably a good thing in their view. I had a special phone number provided to me to call when I need it to be faxed. So at least I had that.
Thinking I am about ready to try again, I stop myself. Maybe I should try talking to the big boss from the Licencing District Office. Maybe that person would know what to do for sure.
Now that number is very hard to get through to. I tried about 20 times. I tried to get to speak with the local offices to get an alternate number without contacting a single person.
Still not ready to lie down, I find a web page listing all the Licencing offices direct phone numbers in Ontario. So if I can't talk to someone here, I will call a nearby office and maybe they can give me a better number for the big boss.
I make the call. Now remember those ladies in the local office I mentioned. When I was in there, in line awaiting my turn, they were speaking aloud at how much it pissed them off when someone goes into a different office after they had rejected their application or documents.
But I am a brave one, (teeth chattering).
The lady at this other office actually answered the phone. A real person. So I asked if I could get the number for the district boss because I couldn't find anyone who really knew what to do with me. Just before she was going to give me the number and hang up, she asked what exactly was I was trying to do. After a brief explanation she said "why don't you just come in and we will see what we can do to help". I damn near fell over. Someone wanted to help! I was also a little afraid the local office would find out that I "CALLED ANOTHER OFFICE"! Should I black out my trucks windows so nobody sees me go there?
I made the drive and went in the very next day.
I waited in line for 10 minutes and then it was my turn. I walked up to the desk and said I am hear to see XXXXXXXXX. She knew exactly who I was right away.
Now this part kills me 8O . She opens up a binder she made to help her with these types of procedures. She is not phased one bit. She did tell me I most likely said too much at the other office and messed up my application. I took her advice and kept my mouth shut.
10 minutes latter the plate is in my hands. With one caveat. "You should be OK with that."
I'm still holding my hat next to my face as I go by the local office.
So there it is...
Hope you all have as much fun as I did. :D
Now to fix that paint job.
It all begins with my stumbling into the bike on the net looking for dirt bike dealers in Ontario, Canada. Didn't even know what a Chinabike was!
So I take a look at the Daymak website and am duly impressed. I then drive out to the Daymak dealer in the Barrie area, and turn around and run. The place was a dump. If they can't keep there business in shape, I'm certainly not going to trust them with a bike my son and I will be riding on. Daymak only had a 150cc on their site anyway.
Then I went into Coolrides in downtown Barrie, ON. Nice shop and nice guys. They had a 150cc available as a straight dirt bike. They could put the enduro package on it, but with the $3,000.00 price tag, I looked else where. Too bad, I think these guys are missing out.
Then I found allwheelsmotorsports.ca in Concord, ON. Talked to them on the phone to see if the 200cc bike I saw on the website was in stock and if it could be plated. The guy told me they are only imported and sold as restricted use vehicles only. (off road), BUT several people have plated them. (HSUN 200GY) They called it a ULIKE but it says different in the manual I eventually got.
So I drove down and inspected the bike. To bad I didn't read this website first because I would have insisted on a complete tear down and locktighing of everything. Had to find that out the hard way.
These guys are not easy to talk to. They are all a bit indifferent to customer requests for info, but I am persistent.
I was told I would need the Bill of Sale, and a NVIS form (New Vehicle Information Statement) insurance and a Safety Inspection. Take that to the Licencing Office and get the plates.
I paid for the bike and strapped it into my truck, with a cap. We needed to almost lay the bike down first to get it in. I didn't know it at the time, but I guess the battery spilled some fluid onto the frame. Over the next day or two it ate into the paint causing a nasty etching. I will need to do some painting.
So I got it home. Did some nearby dirt riding to test it out. Feeling great, I took it to Canadian Tire for the Safety Certification. This is the Ontario Form 1 Cert, not the one required by Transport Canada. The bike passed without issue. The guy that did the safety is an avid dirt biker himself and was impressed with the "little bike". He did suggest that i zip tie the clutch cable to the frame as the cheapo stock bracket allowed the cable to be rubbed by the front fender. This would have eventually worn through a allowed water in. I did it and it work well.
So now I needed the NVIS. I was told I could come back into the dealership and pick it up. It would be "ready for me". Well it wasn't. The guy at the counter that day didn't have a clue what he was doing, but pretended to. He gave me a Certificate of Origin. He hand wrote the information onto the form. To bad none of it matched the Bill of Sale. Oh ya, forgot to say that when I asked the first guy what the model was for the mechanic to put in the Safety Certificate, he said it was an Alcander.
The day before I go into the Licencing Office, I get on the phone and start doing some research on how to properly plate my bike, without breaking any rules. After 13 different government departments from licencing to street level enforcement to the Feds, NO ONE KNEW WHAT TO DO! I was told by the Feds that if it is already in Ontario legally, it had passed through them already and they didn't care about it. The enforcement people only cared I had a plate (by default passed the mechanical fitness) and insurance and operated the bike according to the rules of the road in Ontario. I had nothing to go on.
So now I have three screwed up documents in my hand and I blindly bring them into the the Licencing Office. OH, boy!
The ladies in there where already comparing their "Best Stories" when I walked in (no kidding). They where ripe for a fresh one they could tell at the water cooler. I was meat. It was suggested either I or Allwheels or both of us together where running some kind of scam. I explained in detail what I had been told and that no scam was indeed taking place. They "wanted" to think the dealer was bringing the bikes in from the USA and illegally dumping them in Ontario. Apparently that is done here.
The clerk gets on the phone with the MTO and basically shuts me down. It was suggested that the MTO was going to flag a range of similar VIN#'s and check out each registration carefully. If I wanted them to continue I would need to bring in:
A) a "proper" Bill of Sale
B) A Form 1 Waiver of Import from the dealer showing the country of origin. That would be a Transport Canada form they tell me.
C) Export certificate from the manufacturer in China.
D) Everthing must match up.
I walked out with my tail between my legs.
Not to be kept down for long, I call the "wonderful customer service rep" at the dealer and let them know the good news. They where now under watch by the MTO (Ontario Ministry of Transportation).
They seemed to jump, well Maybe hop into action. I was told that I should have never gotten the Cert of Origin and that I should come right in and get the paper work straightened out.
So I got the proper NVIS form this time, after an excruciating 2hr wait in the shop. The guy must have been on the phone with someone trying to figure out what to do "right". Then I got the "proper" Bill of Sale with the correct info on it.
The next step was to correct the Safety Cert from the Canadian Tire, which they did in a very professional manner. (Mapleview location in Barrie).
I also go into my insurance agent office and pick up insurance for $643 bucks for the year.
So now I've got four "proper" forms, but no Import documents. Apparently, the guy from allwheels will only fax them to the Licencing Office or MTO at their direct request. Probably a good thing in their view. I had a special phone number provided to me to call when I need it to be faxed. So at least I had that.
Thinking I am about ready to try again, I stop myself. Maybe I should try talking to the big boss from the Licencing District Office. Maybe that person would know what to do for sure.
Now that number is very hard to get through to. I tried about 20 times. I tried to get to speak with the local offices to get an alternate number without contacting a single person.
Still not ready to lie down, I find a web page listing all the Licencing offices direct phone numbers in Ontario. So if I can't talk to someone here, I will call a nearby office and maybe they can give me a better number for the big boss.
I make the call. Now remember those ladies in the local office I mentioned. When I was in there, in line awaiting my turn, they were speaking aloud at how much it pissed them off when someone goes into a different office after they had rejected their application or documents.
But I am a brave one, (teeth chattering).
The lady at this other office actually answered the phone. A real person. So I asked if I could get the number for the district boss because I couldn't find anyone who really knew what to do with me. Just before she was going to give me the number and hang up, she asked what exactly was I was trying to do. After a brief explanation she said "why don't you just come in and we will see what we can do to help". I damn near fell over. Someone wanted to help! I was also a little afraid the local office would find out that I "CALLED ANOTHER OFFICE"! Should I black out my trucks windows so nobody sees me go there?
I made the drive and went in the very next day.
I waited in line for 10 minutes and then it was my turn. I walked up to the desk and said I am hear to see XXXXXXXXX. She knew exactly who I was right away.
Now this part kills me 8O . She opens up a binder she made to help her with these types of procedures. She is not phased one bit. She did tell me I most likely said too much at the other office and messed up my application. I took her advice and kept my mouth shut.
10 minutes latter the plate is in my hands. With one caveat. "You should be OK with that."
I'm still holding my hat next to my face as I go by the local office.
So there it is...
Hope you all have as much fun as I did. :D
Now to fix that paint job.