Bike transport to Brazil
 

I'm looking to do a New York to Brazil ride, or the other way around. First of all, does anyone have any recommendation on going one way (NY-Brazil) as opposed to the other (Brazil-NY)?

I understand that Variglog will be an option from Brazil to NY, that is if they are still in business. As far as NY-Brazil, would this same company still be an option? Something tells me it would be a lot more expensive to ship from the US to Brazil than vice versa.

My other option is the old buy a bike there and ride it back up, but that seems like it is a nightmare waiting to happen as far as finding a good bike and the red tape involved in getting it into the states.

Any thoughts?

To get a motorbike in Brasil will get you a lot of troubles, you will need a CPF, that takes about a week and you will need somebody to organice that for you!
The bike itself will not be a problem to organice if you are in the south of Brasil, but it will be about double price or more than that what you would pay in the states!
To ship your bike to Brasil is not the problem, but to get it out of the harbour will cost you about a week time and a lot of money! If you are lucky you make it in one week and with about US$ 500,- costs!
I shipped a bike to Rio would never do it again in my life!
Ship it to Buenos Aires and start you trip there, much easyer than Brasil!
The other thing is you will need a visa if you have an american passport and if the costumer does not like you he just gives you a month and than you can only extend your Visa for a month, if he gives you 3 month you can extend it for an other 3 month!

To start from the US would be may be the easyest for you!

Good Luck Appie!

Thanks so much for the advice. You've pretty much confirmed my suspicions. I've been leaning more towards starting in the US anyway, but I just wanted to explore all my options.

As far as shipping back to the US, would it be better to do that from Argentina rather than Brazil as well? If for no other reason, I feel like it might be a better option to go out of Buenos Aires because I can at least communicate in Spanish, but Portuguese is a total mystery to me (gotta get on that before the trip!).

Ship to Brasil
 

Don't be afraid to ship to Rio or Sao Paulo by air (not by sea). Varig has good service from New York (JFK). You can see my shipment report (May 2007) or http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/davidson/.
Good luck and don't miss Brazil - it's awesome so don't let language be a barrier. The natives are friendly.

Thanks for the advice. If you don't mind me asking, what did Variglog charge for shipment to JFK?

Don´t ship with Varig! They have big troubles since a year! Only about 25 planes left and if they not paying there gas on the airport theyr planes are not leaving!

Good luck Appie!

Dear lamorder
 

Please read my posts (xfiltrate) under CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA:

threads: BUY/SELL ...and..... SOUTH AMERICAN TRIP- ADVICE WANTED.

Might give you an option.

However, if you do ship to Buenos Aires by sea, the "Aduana" (customs fee is $400.00 per bike, this could vary with value of bike... to have bike released to you) Don't forget to buy insurance and, the advice was correct US Citizens need a visa for Brazil, apply for and obtain a visa for Brazil before you leave the States........airline/ travel agents can be very helpful here.
Personally, I would never "ship" by sea into South America.
Investigate South American tires/parts availability for your bike and gas/oil requirements, and select a bike/tires appropriate for your route.
Whatever you decide is true for you and that is what you should do. My posts are just data, I have learned through my own experiences, to be true for me, and I share my data for your consideration as a fellow overlander.

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I've decided to ride down from the US and then send the bike home out of Rio or Buenos Aires. Any specific help on that is most appreciated.