Buying a vintage sidecar motorcycle

Having seen many sidecar motorcycles for sale on okay and having some experience that would prevent some costly mistakes i decided to write this guide.

Some of the most attractive sidecar motorcycles are the Ural and the CJ750 (Chaing Jhiang). They are replicas of the 1938 BMW used through WWII. I personally own a CJ750 thatI bought for my father. It's a beautiful bike that always draws a crowd whenI ride it.Unfortunately these bikes also hold some hidden dangers. If you aren't familiar with import laws you should do some serious research before you buy.
In my research i learned a few key rules: The idea of a "New" CJ750 is appealing, but they do not meet the current EPA or DOT requirements. You can falsify documents in order to title one, but if you get caught.....
The only bikes that can be legally imported are a minimum of 25 years old. They are exempt from EPA and DOT standards as they are "Antiques" I don't care what the seller tells you, if they don't have docs proving its antique you may end up with a bike that you cannottitle. Ask for the VIN number of the bike if its not listed. If it is a 17 digit VIN the bike is newer than 1980. The 10th digit of the VIN tells you the Year of manufacture with A being the first in 1980. (B in 1981 etc.) Bikes with less than 17 digits in the VIN ( 14 or 10 ) are 1979 or older and therefore qualify as antiques.The other BIG area of concern is the availability of parts and where to have the bikes repaired. Most of the parts you might need for these bikes are fairly readily available. I have even purchased some parts here on okay. A simple Google search of the CJ750 will show several places to buy bikes and parts. It is a little scary wiring money to China to a stranger but you can ask for a customer list and send a couple of emails. The larger sites have this as an option. Repairs on the bike are fairly simple. Most qualified motorcycle mechanics can sort out the CJ750. You may run into a guy who throws his hands up at the very sight of the bike... If you can find a BMW guy thats probably your best bet. I do most of the work on my bike myself but have a couple of old school Beemer guys on speed-dial...
New Urals are available but they are 3 or 4 times the cost of the CJ750. (And not as attractive)
In short do your due diligence, spend some time researching and your total experience can be a happy one. Safe riding everyone!!