I was living in NYC from 2009 to 2014.in 2011, I did buy a new motorcycle Harley Davidson (Ultra Limited Electra Glide) at Queens in NYC. I drove around 30,000 miles in the US until 2014 when I move back to my home country (France) with my bike. Since, I have been trying to register the bike in France without success.
I have been in contact with the responsible for the homologation at HD France who has informed me that HD US has decided in January 2015 to no longer issue certificates of conformity for US motorcycle exported to France (it seems that the decision is not specific to France but is worldwide). Even if I pay to change the required spare parts (lights, exhaust pipe), which would cost me around US$5,000, HD France would not be able to issue a certificate of conformity. I would have to go through an additional test of conformity with no guarantee of success (done by the French authority) for an additional cost of US$2000.
I have called HD USA (Ola) at the HD customer care services and have received no support. It seems that to prevent people buying used bikes in the US and send them overseas, a worldwide decision has been taken by HD US to prevent the export of used bikes. This has of course concrete consequences for US residents who buy a HD when being living in the US and want to take them back when leaving the US. I am in the middle of a conflict between HD US and HD France and feel like I am the victim of a war between two giants.