Thought I'd write a bit of an update, just for the record.
On the plus side, I made a trip to Seattle and picked up some stuff I ordered for the bike. Been doing some small scale wrenching, replaced the idiot light lenses with a $20 kit from Taiwan (and it came with the plate, which I can use for another set of gauges that I have where a PO painted them), replaced the acorn nut on the mirror (thanks Wolf). I've got a set of fork ears that Wolf hepped me too (although I also nought a set of later ones from him, those are up for grabs), a grab bar that needs rechroming, the stator plate cover and the push fixes to mount it (although still waiting for a couple more answers on whether I should use some kind of adhesive as well). I mounted the DSS replacement shocks and they're garbage (just wrote in the other post I wrote about them).
I've also got a black headlight bucket that I am fixing up and repainting (along with a 350F one), and when it's ready I'll replace the chrome one, the fork ears, and the front fender (pulled the trigger on a repro from Vietnam, haven't even looked at it yet though, just staring at the box).
Best part is I've been ripping around the city, going farther (and faster) than my 350F would take me. It's been a blast.
As far as registering, that's a whole different story. When I brought the 350F it was with all my stuff in a one-time, tax-free move. When everything got here, I paid a guy to do the paperwork for the bike, a couple hundred bucks. I tried to find someone to do it for me again, but didn't have any luck, and the guy from Nogales said I should just do it myself, it's not a big deal.
So I looked up the process. First step go to REPUVE (Registro Publico de Vehiculos), according to one thing I read online. No, she said, you've got to go to SEMOVI (Secretaria de Movilidad) to do the registration (and I am learning more bureaucratic Spanish and acronyms so that that's a plus I guess). But... lucky you came here! Your bike is pre-1994 and has a 13-digit pin, so we will write you this letter to take to SEMOVI to get it registered, come back tomorrow and pick it up, and make an appointment with SEMOVI (I did for the following day). Picked up the lady, the woman was super nice, and went to a SEMOVI that was kind of near me. No, she said, you have to go to the SEMOVI at Plaza las Estrellas. Two days later, I did. And the cop in front said, "No, we don't do that here, you have to go to SEMOVI on Insurgentes Sur (I kind of like that we have streets named "Insurgents"). So I did, waited in a short line, and... "No, we now have a process where you have to do this online, here is the info."
So I scanned my docs, uploaded them, and was given a number for my transaction. Five days later, I hadn't heard, and then I went to Seattle and Vancouver for ten days. Of course while I was there they said I needed another form from REPUVE and I needed to scan the docs in color -- and my transaction would expire if I didn't do it in three days and I'd have to start again. Three days later, still in Seattle, they told me my transaction expired.
Went to the same REPUVE office in Coyoacan with the the nice lady (honestly, they've all been nice so far), and she said, "No, we've written you this letter, you need to go back to SEMOVI. This time I go to SEMOVI on Alvaro Obregon. "No, the lady says, you need to go to this specific REPUVE office on Municipio Libre and get this paperwork, then come back."
So today I went, and the guy was nice. He asked me if I had all the necessary paperwork -- I do. Then I made an appointment for next Wednesday at 10AM to get the bike inspected and get the paperwork to... SEMOVI Alvaro Obregon.
It has been a lot of running around, but honestly I don't really mind because I'm got minimal work to do right now and I'm riding the bike around everywhere. And although being told different things by different people (compounded by my imperfect Spanish, no doubt), it appears the end is in sight. I guess we'll find out next Wednesday.
In the meantime, I'm still running around with vintage vehicle plates from Washington state. I heard I had 30 days to ride to give me time to do the process. I've also heard I have 6 months. But, like with my 350F, motorcycles are mostly invisible to cops. Yesterday I was at a light and the two cops stationed there walked behind me to see my bike but the light turned green and I took off. Today I parked it in REPUVE with two cops telling me where to park, so they didn't care. One factor might be that a lot of the cops here ride 250cc bikes, and... they'd never catch me! This was taught to me explicitly in Indonesia when the guy whose bike I was on, a 250cc, was motioned to pull over by two cops who had what looked like a little 90cc. "They won't try to chase me because they know they'll never catch me." Here, there are a few guys with nice and bigger bikes, but most people who have motorcycles have 150s or 200s and use them because they can't afford a car. Motorcycle riders aren't good targets for soliciting bribes.
Anyway, the saga continues. Hopefully by next week I'll have CDMX plates.
