There is obviously no concensus, each poster will share his own experience. From what i witnessed after 5 years travelling this continent, the easiest and cheapest option was to buy a new chinese 200 cc bike in Paraguay. No borders problems, enough power to climb the Andes, easy maintainance, bureaucratic hassles free. For less than the price to ship a bike from Europe to South America, you get two brand new shining kangoroo skipping trail bikes.
For example : Kenton Dakar - YouTube
http://clasipar.paraguay.com/buscar?...kar&category=0
http://clasipar.paraguay.com/motos_t...o_1743189.html
Now if you want to impress locals and show you are a "gringo platudo", you can ride a foreigner japanese bike with all the bling bling equipment. Inconveniences will be : the price of spare parts, the difficulty to find them, interesting theft target (much value in low volume and weight). The advantages? You might catch attention of some local motorclub members, because showing off is part of the latin culture. The choice is a question of money and personality : indepth or superficial, observing or being watched.
Last edited by Vorteks; 20 Mar 2012 at 17:52.
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