Aloha,
If you are relocating to Hawaii, here are a few things that I have learned.
Every island in Hawaii does stuff differently. Registering you bike on Oahu will be different from Maui or other islands. The info below applies to Oahu.
Make sure your bill of lading specifically calls our your bike. Your shipping line will probably not tell you that. I asked several times prior to my move if there was anything I needed to do as I was bringing a bike in my container. They said that I didn't need to do anything special. If your bill of lading does not, you will have to take your bike to get inspected in Honolulu for the VIN before you can get it registered. You are supposed to have your cars registered in Hawaii within 30 days of arriving. I believe this applies to bikes as well. If your bike is not running, you can get it registered as a "storage status", and there is no charge.
To get your bike (and cars) registered, you must have a safety inspection. For my cars, I had to take each one in twice for the inspection (once prior to registering and the second time after DMV processed my paper work). I don't know if that is the case every year, or just because I came from out of state. Bikes must have a safety inspection as well to get registered. I hear there are not many places to get your safety inspection, but I will cross that bridge when I have my bike running.
In general the DMV and safety inspection is a pain in the ass.
Good luck if you move to Hawaii.
