TravellingStrom

Just a bit of an update

I have been going through the US Visa process and I have only one concern. If I am granted a visa and arrive at Los Angeles, I am not guaranteed an entry permit. The Homeland Security people at the airport may send me away. This is probably unlikely to happen, but is a possibility, so working on that premise and the fact that with the Aussie dollar a lot lower than I would like it, it may not be possible to do the full round trip on the funds I have. This may change of course 🙂

With that going through my mind, I have abandoned the choice of taking my bike OS. Just in case I get refused entry and have a bike in a box which would then have to be turned around, I have decided to buy a bike in the states.

I have mentioned this on a few of the bike forums, up at top right on this page, and have recieved a few offers of accomodation while I buy a bike and add all the bits. Thanks to those people, it is a big help. 🙂

I will remove all my bike mods here from the new bike, pack them all in a box and freight that across with me as either excess baggage or a seperate item, whatever is cheaper. At the end of my travels on that continent, I can remove all the gear, sell the bike and if I continue through Europe, buy a new one there. Not an ideal outcome but with the ways things are, the best possible alternative at this time.

I am booked in for a visa interview on 11th March, so hopefully not long after that I will be state side with a box of goodies. I have been looking at bikes for sale, but I will not make any offer until I have a confirmed Visa in my passport. That is also when I will book a flight, so things are still flexible, but I am working on a date of around the 20th March. Virgin have just started a new service to LA and they are quite cheap, so that is good.

I now have the decision to make on what to do with my new bike, do I keep it in my shipping container with my furniture or do I sell it. If anyone is interested in a brand new DL650 ABS with only 3500 km on it, let me know and help my decision making process. Of course, I need to buy another seat, cos I want my airhawk modified one with me, but that should not be a major drama.

Anyway, back to the paperwork 🙂

Cheers
TravellingStrom