Anybody know what bikes are best in terms of being able to get spares in South America - I am thinking of riding a BMW F 650 GS but one person voice a worry that BMW spares are harder to come by than some other makes in South America? Is that so and if so, what are the better options?

Thanks!

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F650GS twin - Enfield Bullet 350 - Honda XL250 Degree

There are Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, KTM and BMW dealers in almost every country in NA, CA and SA. I wouldnt worry about it at all.

I never had any issue getting KTM parts either when I needed them in SA.

However, youre not going to find BMW parts on every street corner, thats for sure. If you want a bike that you can find parts on literally every street corner, you need to take a Chinese 125-250. :-)

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BMW parts are not always easy to find but you can always use Fedex , the problem is more to find people able to work on your bike or at least for a good diagnostic. the more basic the bike (Dr650 ,KLR650...) the better chance to find parts or people which can help you , even in the US most dealer do not carry much spare parts , the shipping is the only big difference between USA and South America . learn to do the basic maintenance and you will be alright with most bike.

Colombia imports Vstroms parts and builds the bike there, very cheap. I personally bought parts for my 650 Vstrom in BsAs without waiting.

One issue if you try and import parts is the wait through customs, especially in Arg

Cheers
TS

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Thanks to all for those responses!

Crashmaster said

- if you want a bike that you can find parts on literally every street corner, you need to take a Chinese 125-250. :-)

when i rode in SE Asia that was also true for Honda - does this also work in South America?

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Honda and suzuki seems to be the more popular mid size bike , don't spend too much time worry about potential break down . The tech in South America are pretty good and know how to fix most of the basic break down even if they do not always use the standar part for it.

Yes, Honda 125 - 250 are found everywhere. But parts for larger Honda bikes, no, although the 400 Falcon is quite popular in some South American countries.

I disagree that BMW parts are difficult to find. It depends what you mean by difficult. There is at least one BMW dealer in every country. They might have to bus the part to from another city, but thats about it. Just as in the US, if you need something from BMW Germany, it will take about 2 to 3 weeks to get it.

Like I mentioned, I spent 2 years riding everywhere in Central and South America and never had a problem getting KTM parts and "everyone" says KTM parts are difficult to get. That's simply not true.

Of course you want to be good enough with a wrench that you can do your own oil changes, valve checks, basic things.

If you drop your bike off at a dealer, you will probably get some flunky kid who knows nothing about anything, working on your bike. Do your own stuff whenever you can.

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Great - thanks for the input!

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F650GS twin - Enfield Bullet 350 - Honda XL250 Degree

Unless you feel you need at least a 650 why don't you consider a Honda CG 125.
Will cruise at 80-100 km with decent payload and can be fixed by any small town mechanic. Parts available everywhere through S.A
At around $1,800 U.S NEW in Chile you cant go wrong.
Bullet proof, light and apparently handles quite well off tarmac.
And you save $ without having to cross the gap or ship into S.A from another continent.
Ride what the locals ride and you will also have less worries about your shiny G.S standing out like a sore thumb.
Just a thought

James

Hi Goo,

I've clocked up over 75,000 miles on BMW F650 GS in North & South America... only a few more thousand to go til I finish my trip.

My advice is not to rely on BMW for anything while you're traveling but don't be put off selecting a BMW motorcycle. The most important thing to get right is the motorcycle of your choice, you'll be riding it most days so regardless of whether it's a BMW, Harley or a Vespa make sure it's something you enjoy riding and you're comfortable with. As I'm sure other people will tell you, there is no perfect motorcycle for an adventure... didn't one guy travel to every country in the world on his Honda Goldwing?

If you were to choose an F650 just take consumable items with you; oil filters, crush washers, cables and a spare water pump etc. if you run short you can stock up at a dealership by giving them a couple of weeks notice and a credit card. If you want I can give you a run down on what I would recommend, none of these items are big or bulky. If you run into difficulties and need a bigger item you will need to import it, as would any BMW dealership on the continent. This is the reason why you can't rely on BMW, without the customer base why would you carry items as stock. I would also add that there is no guarantee of sourcing any parts for any brand of overland motorcycle just because, as one previous post points out, it's the Chinese 125'c that are popular out here.

So if you want to ride a Beema just have a couple of "phone a friends" handy just in case. Motorworks, based in the UK, are experienced at shipping world wide (google them), and here's the good bit... if you're permanently exporting parts from the UK there's no sales tax (VAT)! You only pay import duties in the country the parts are sent to. The only countries they don't export to are the U.S. and Canada. I've used them a couple of times are I can't recommend them highly enough.

I thought long and hard about what motorcycle I was going to choose. My selection was based on reliability and my height so I whittled it down to a Beema or the KLR. I would choose BMW again but I would also do the same trip on something else, I'm just not that religious about my motorcycle. I think it's all in the preparation... and some things you just can't prepare for. That's the adventure and you'll love it.

Good luck.

thanks for those very valid thoughts realmc26. i rode asia for a year on a old Honda 250 Degree, a 250 Baja and then an Enfield near the end and they worked well for me, albeit a bit under-power for some of the rougher patches in Cambodia. This trip I will have more luggage and I will be travelling two-up for several months which is why I am considering a larger bike. I think i would find a 125 too small for sure - the 125 Minsk I rode in Vietnam struggled in places. A larger bike will definitely have its' drawbacks and that one about blending in is a big one in my book but it will be an (expensive!) experiment to ride something heavier but hopefully more reliable and comfortable. I definitely baulked at the idea of something as heavy as a 1150! I found borders hard to cross in SE Asia and it seems that getting the right paperwork is easier if you simply bring your own bike although I am still considering buying in country. At least this time I have a driving license..

and thanks for the insights easyg - muy apreciado! if you do have time to write down that list i'd be in your debt - i'm getting myself a maintenance course over the next few months so hopefully i will set off with a level of spanner-jockey confidence!

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F650GS twin - Enfield Bullet 350 - Honda XL250 Degree

Sorry goo , but I am getting a little long winded here. Its what I do best. :-)

Dont worry about trying blend in. Even if youre on a small bike, you will have plenty of luggage and probably be wearing proper riding gear so you may not attract as much attention as on a big bike, but you definitely will not blend in, for sure.

In fact, the attention I got traveling with a big KTM was not a bad thing at all, it was a great way to meet people and make new friends, although sometimes a quick stop for petrol would turn into an hour long question and answer session, but it was a great way to practice my Spanish and meet new people. Over my 2 years traveling in Central and South America I met some life long friends this way. Youre going to have fun with the attention IMO.

So, IMO, dont worry about blending in because unless you are on a 125 - 250 carrying no luggage and wearing a t shirt and jeans, youre not going to blend in. Blending in is not important IMO anyway. After my experiences over the last couple of years, I kind of chuckle when people wanting to ride Central and South America say they want to ride something where they will blend in. If youre a long riding moto traveler on any bike, that's next to impossible IMO.

easyg has great advice and I did pretty much exactly as he did, you would be wise to listen to what he has to say. I carried some consumables, (including spare water pump as the LC8 likes to eat water pump seals) but nothing over the top. I re-stocked consumables as needed when I was in a city with a dealer. When I needed anything I sometimes called ahead to a dealer so see if they had what I needed. Most of the time they had it, other times I had to wait a few days. I was on a KTM, but from what I have seen, KTM and BMW have about equal parts availability and dealer networks in Central and South America, with BMW having a slight edge I think. Unless you are traveling super fast and on a very tight time schedule, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just prep the bike that you like, and ride.

I have met plenty of long term world travelers on F650's and they did just fine.

easyg has been traveling on his F650 for a long time and many miles. He had great videos posted about his trip. Any advice he could give you about the bike and what to take would be excellent advice to have IMO.

Take what ever bike you like to ride, youre going to be living on it so you might as well enjoy what youre riding. Some of my best experiences were 2 up with a local girl I met, FWIW. Power is king when riding and passing on the pavement in South America. If you like to ride like a hooligan, on and off road like I do, take a bike with plenty of power and good suspension. You will enjoy the hell out of the experience.

My best advice to you is dont take too much crap with you. I never met a long rider that said he wished he had brought more crap with him. You can buy whatever you need for the occasion once you are down there.

Mi dos centavos.

buen viaje amigo, youre going to have amazing experiences!

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Thanks so much for that crashmaster - and don't worry about being longwinded - I can use all the perspective I can get! I have been enjoying your blog btw.

I think you're right about never being able to blend in but I also don't want to come across any more ostentatiously rich than I have to - just from the point of view of avoiding being robbed I guess - I don't think I am overly paranoid about the possibility and my experiences have told me that crime often happens to people who are either unlucky or lacking in common sense and despite many naysayers I found the countries I have visited in the developing world to be mucher safer and easier-going than expected. Certainly I am used to gathering a crowd and I totally get that that can be a great part of the experience even if it can get a bit exhausting after a while!

On another topic, can you give me you thoughts on weather? I am planning to hit South America in November, and I am mostly wanting to see Bolivia, Perú, Ecuador and Colombia, at least to start with. Does it make sense to you to start in Bolivia and work my way up north from there? I'm finding it hard to really get a feel for how wet is wet (if you know what I mean!) and how that works for motorbike travel etc.

Thanks!

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F650GS twin - Enfield Bullet 350 - Honda XL250 Degree

If you are going in November bear in mind that around December the rainy season can start in the mountains of Peru. In Bolivia as well. Also bear in mind that the Salar de Uyuni starts to flood anywhere from late December or as late as early February. That is of course all subject to the weather, haha!

Riding and camping on the Salar is not to be missed so try to hit it before it floods. Riding on the flooded salar, even just a few centimeters of water will wreak havoc on the electronics of the bike.

It might be best to start south and work your way north in light of this, but you will still probably hit plenty of rain on your way north. Not sure of the best shipping options down that way as most folks seem to start in Colombia.

Your departure date is not ideal IMO.

Dont worry about appearing wealthy because of riding a big bike. You are a foreign long term traveler so no matter what bike you have people will ask you how you got so much money to travel for so long. I just dont worry about the whole standing out thing in Latin America. If you use good common sense and travel with the normal precautions you should not have any trouble whatsoever.

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+1 on this idea.
This guy has spent the last several months circling around South America on a CGL125 he bought in Chile: From Chile to Texas on a Small Motorcycle | Ondrej Jurik

He crossed the Darien Gap by boat, and has now rode into Costa Rica, planning to continue as far north as Texas. He just has a tankbag and a large duffle bag with clothes and a few basic tools. His little Honda might only have a cruising speed of 80 or 90 KPH, but for most roads in Latin America that's plenty. He has put 27,000 KM on the bike so far without any major repairs or failures.

Sounds like an awesome way to travel....

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