I am flying to Santiago and am trying to ride a bike around Chile, Argentina, Bolivia and Peru. I am wondering which country is the best place to purchase a bike when it comes to the logistics of ownership, border crossings, etc??
I have heard that getting a bike in Chile can be a bit tricky, especially when it comes to taking it out of the country. I was thinking that that I could just take a bus into Argentina and purchase a bike there if it is advised.
Please let me know if you have any advice on the best places to buy bikes (Country, store, online forums.. etc)

Thanks.

There are LOADS of threads about this if you hit the search function.

I think Ecuador and Chile are pretty good. Can't remember why though.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Since you're landing in Santiago you might as well buy it there, it may not be the easiest in South America, but it is certainly possible and relatively hassle free. Try:-

Here and here

As Ted says, lots of threads about it.

There is a *rumour* that it is harder to get a bike out of Argentina than else where.

We bought one in Chile in Nov 2012 and went to Argentina and Bolivia with no issues. Our only issue was with Peru and that was my fault for not listening to the correct advice on how to collect the paperwork for the bike in my name.

Blog dealing with decisions here Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers' Stories - Two Pegs to Patagonia in South America Revisited (Pegless to Peru)

The Peru issue here

Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers' Stories - Two Pegs to Patagonia

The best (in my opinion) guide to buying in Chile is this Guide to Buying a new motorcycle (or a car) in Chile for foreigners | Ondrej Jurik

Getting the RUT is easy, getting the full paperwork was the awkward bit.

As I was buying from a private seller we could not transfer the bike docs without the proper RUT card. So we opted for a notary letter to get the bike over borders. At Peru it was not acceptable, the bike owner was needed to be present.

What we should have done was to get the paperwork started and arranged to have it sent to Arica for collection OR arranged for the RUT to be posted to Arica and sort the docs out there approx 6 weeks later.

That was a private sale.

*If* we had gone to a dealer we would have been able to use the temporary RUT paper work as being a foreigner the RUT number is a commercial one. If we had done that the bike would have cost more, but the paper work would have been much easier and quicker.

So, taking all that into account you need to ask yourself.

1) How much will a bike cost me
2) How much will it cost me to ship a bike both ways.

In our case the answers were.

1) £3500
2) £3800

For the experience and fun etc we opted to buy as we could source the 2nd hand bike in advance and had a lot of help from the owner.

You don't say when you are going, if it is soon I will be in Chile from 20th Jan to 20th Feb so may be able to help out. Drop me a PM.

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http://www.ytc1.co.uk

We just bought in Santiago, 3 bikes, and it was a doddle. Followed the above links, and it was easy. We do not speak Spanish, and bought new Honda CG125s.

I live in Peru and can purchase a bike for you, paper and prep it and have it ready for you when you arrive!

Cheaper to fly in and out of Peru than Chile anyways!

Cheers! Toby

I'll be there Monday, but not riding this time. House sitting :-)

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http://www.ytc1.co.uk