Check out my bike and tell me what you think. i currently live in japan and will be transferring back to the states, so if you have any info on what i have to change/inspect or what would make it easier to change it to the states regulations like obviously the speedo to MPH, but like exhaust and brakes and such. thanks for the suggestions.

Are you going to be doing it thru DoD or are you civilian?

If you're civilian, it's a pain but that model was sold in the US so you just have to get it certified by an RI.  Does it have the factory exhaust?  If not, put it back on.

You'll need the LHD light, gages in MPH, and the appropriate stickers and of course, the stock exhaust. 

2001 did not have catalyst in the cans so you should be ok.  Any other engine control mods need to be removed, i.e. EFI mods etc need to be undone until you get it titled in the US.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/faq%20site/pages/page3.html

and

http://www.epa.gov/oms/imports/

If you're mil, then the DoD will do most of it for you.

The stock exhaust is still on there., or atleast the the exhaust that was on there when i bought it. the exhaust does have something etched into it like a "this is up to a certain standard" type thing. ill get more detailed pics tomorrow and post em. everything is as you see it in the pics. what do you mean by LHD light? i was about to order a plate relocater and put  a sequential tail light on it to take the rear blinkers out of the equation. is that still legal? its not exactly up to par in the Japanese regulations, it will actually get you failed on the inspection but i dont care because its good until about the time i plan on packing up my things and getting out of Japan. I am mil, they said they will ship it but i have to have a contract thru DOT registered importer and they said because of all the regulations that the states have and the inspections and transportation that will happen, its going to be between 1800 and 5000. dont really mind that much but money is money and i dont want to lose my bike. also it has a switch that allows you to turn off all the lights on the bike, i dont know if that is exactly legal. i do plan on getting different handle bars in the future and might take that off but i dont want to pay someone a ridiculous amount of money to do something that i want to do myself. once i get it to the states are there going to be alot of rules and regulations that will hinder me from modding? like exhaust and other things, or will it just be considered a regular bike? also i have a 15 digit vin are all duc's different like that or just the ones that are sold over seas? thanks for all the info. it really tearing me up that i might not be able to take this bike back to the US. what stickers are you talking about?

You have to find an RI - registered importer -- who does bikes.

The more stuff you do yourself ot make it US -spec, the cheaper it will be for you.

LHD = left hand drive

You drive on the wrong side of hte road in Japan and the light dips on the right side.  US left hand drive dips on the left.  This is the lens of the light housing.  Find one on ebay.

THe switch that turns off the lights, do you mean the right-hand switchgear with the starter?  This is standard on all bikes OUTSIDE the North American market.  You can pick a US spec one on ebay -- plug and play.  It just plugs into the harness and you don't have the off switch for the lights.  You can put your original one back on once you get into the states, but to make it legit and pass, it has to have the US spec.

The stickers are EPA/DOT stickers which certify the bike is to US standards.  One says the exhaust is such and such dB at 4500 rpm, etc.  BS stuff that everyone removes.

The MAIN thing to avoid is the EPA re-certification.  If your bike was never sold in the US and there is not a comparable model, then the RI has to run it thru full EPA certification which can cost 10-20k.  Since the '01 S4 was sold in the US and you have the original exhaust on it, then you can get a compliance letter from Ducati (go ahead and write them and see if they'll issue one ahead of time. email them at contact_us@ducati.com .  They are pretty good about it.)  You just tell them that you have an 01 S4 with the original setup and please list what needs to be changed for the US market and please state that the bike is EPA compliant for that year model.

That's about it.  You'll get a letter showing the parts of the bike that have to be swapped (headlight, switchgear, add side reflectors, and add the carbon canister) and you're done.

Everyone here in the states throws away the carbon canister and you can probably get someone to be patriotic and donate one to you since we throw them away.  They are only required due to California and no where else in the world has them (lol).  Side reflectors can be anything, most RIs add reflective TAPE so I would pick up some you can remove or find someone who's taken them off (again, only required in the USA and most people remove them -- each fork and the tail of the bike)

good luck

thanks alot i really appriciate the help. i cant wait to get the bike bike back to the states. its been fun riding in japan.....but the speedlimit is so low here on the regular roads that its almost always like stop and go traffic, unless you wanna pay to get on the expressway just to go fast and enjoy actually riding for more than  5 mins without having to stop.


Thanks again
Sgt Lanier USMC

Here is the master list of RIs that you have to do the importing thru.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/web_RI_list01122006.html

Not all of them handle bikes.  You basically ship the bike to them and they do the rest and send you a bill.

I would get into contact with a couple and work out the details.  Make sure they know an identical US model was sold in the USA that year and that the only differences are road items and not emissions.  The Ducati bikes of that period all had Euro1 or Euro2 emissions and were imported into the USA with no changes EXCEPT for the evaporative emissions (charcoal canister). 

You will have an easi(er) time with the speedo because there is no alarm/sensor on that bike.  You just need to pick up an MPH speedo.  IF you can wrench yourself, then I would go ahead and do the swap on the gage and the headlight before you ship it.  Nothing like the RI realizing the bike is already US spec.  Make sure to tell them that you already swapped things out.

See who has some side reflectors too.  Most people throw them away.  IF you need some fork reflectors I might have a pair in my bin in the garage.  They were double-stick taped on.  The rear ones are attached on a small bracket on the frame.  Mind you they can all be removed when you get the bike in (including the charcoal canister).

I looked on my exhaust and its got Ducati engraved into it and a note saying: blah blah blah this meets regluations of 80 DB and sepcificatios and such. i hope thats right. the guy i bought it from only put about 5000 miles on it (8500KM) so i hope he didnt put anything different on there that i cant see. i guess ill just have to wait to put anything on it. i have 2 years left until i transfer to the states, so that kinda sucks. i wanted to reloacted the plate and put a sequntial tail light on. do you think that would pass the intitial inspection into the states? if not i have to wait because i would have to cut part of the sub frame to reloacte it, and i want the new tail light because i dont want to have to mess with the blinkers and try to mount them to the bracket. i can wait for exhaust because i dont want to put a new one on,re map, then put the old one back on and maybe there is a new problem or something with the stock exhaust. i have a swtich on hte right side of my bars that turns all the lights on my bike on or off. i dont know it that is legal to have on there. i hope that it is because i dont want to take it off and have wires danglin there, or have to take the wires all the way out. i can wrench a lil bit, i have another bike that i put a headlight on that i bought online, how can you tell which is LHD or RHD, i bought it from an site that is from the US so its prob LHD. when you say i dont have an alarm system, i do have the standard ECU, and on the speedo it has the code light that blinks if i dont have the correct key in, dont know if that makes a difference when putting a new speedo on. thanks again for the help.

ah.. yes, it does make adifference.  the gages on the ecu/security bikes are all mated.  you have to swap them as a unit.  ($1500 or so).  alternatively, there is a "flash" for the ecu which removes the security, i don't have information on that, you can check on the tech board.

look on the headlight lens to see if there is a "DOT" mark.  If there is, it's a LHD lens.  otherwise, it's probably not.

the cans are the same as on all models, they are fine i am sure.

the issue with conformance is that it must conform to NHTSA/EPA.  if you relocate the tail lights and license, it has to be in a DOT-legal way.  i.e. the turn lights have to be a certain minimum distance from the center of the bike, and the lights/lenses have to be DOT approved.

if you make any mods, keep the removed pieces and re-install them when you move.  the easiest way to ensure it will pass is to keep it stock.  if you change anything, the while bike has to be recertified ($$$)

when my 600ss was imported, it came with an aftermarket carbon can on it.  the importer told me it would have to be recertified.  i asked how much, he said the standard EPA test runs a minimum of $5000 and up to $10000 for a bike.  i asked him why, he said the can is not factory so they have to test and adjust the carbs so it passes original spec.  what about the original can?  he says, it won't need the test.

$200 later and a shipment from germany and i have an original can and put it on the bike. 

after i got the bike home, i took off that factory can and put it on ebay and sold it for $50.  i put the original carbon one back on.