Buy bike in North America and then drive it through South America?
 

Hello everyone!

I am planning an off road/camping trip through the Andes mountain range in South America. So I would like to be able to cross boarders with the same bike, and buy/register the bike where I start my travel (North or South America). The bike will probably be a small, light, beginner-friendly, used, common/well-known enduro.

It seems possible to buy and register a bike in SA, but it's not clear to me which would be the best city/country (if there is such) to do it. People most often mention Chile, also Argentina and Brazil, it seems to me. Are there clearly differences regarding prices, availability, reliability/trustworthiness of the dealers, bureaucratic hassle?

I wouldn't mind spending some travel time in advance through North and Central America.
How advantageous is it to buy and register the bike in (any place in) North America instead, regarding the above mentioned aspects?

Thanks for sharing your experience!

Cheers,
Ettore

buy in USA
 

Hey

I bought my bike in Alaska and have ridden through to Uruguay where its in storage at moment. I intend to ship it back next year sometime when I complete my trip to Ushuaia end of year.

Worked fine for me. Im not USA resident so mate gave me address to register. The bike was new and there was no additional tax paid in alaska. I know it would be different in CA or similar.

Never checked out price of bikes in SA but know parts are more expensive because of import duties.

Good luck

HI and Thanks Haggis!
 

For some reasons it seems very much I won't be doing the trip too soon, but instead in year or so.

From my research the last weeks it seems possible to buy in SA, but I will eventually consider the trip staring in NA.

Thanks for sharing your experience!
Greetings

May not apply to bikes, but it has been stated here that a foreigner buying a vehicle in Argentina is not permitted to take it out of Argentina. Chile is better, but getting the paperwork through can take weeks rather than days and apparently needs the cooperation of a local resident.