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

Talk to Toby. He'll sell you a 250cc bike from his stable of tour motorcycles.

aroundtheblock07@gmail.com

The bikes are well maintained and modified to his specification. His ace mechanic will build a frame for saddle bags at a very affordable price. Tony has spent most of his life in Peru and knows how to get things done. So when he says he'll get the paperwork completed and in your name by a given date, it will happen.

There are posts about riders buying bikes in Chile. Some get the paperwork processed quickly, others run into issues. Some think they have the paperwork right then they run into issues at a border. If you go the Chile route, search this forum and find a contact there that will help you through the process.

If I understand the details correctly, it takes 10 days to get the bike officially signed over in Peru, so you can leave the country. That might not be 100% correct (check with Toby...) but I see that as time to noodle around Peru while finalizing the documents. He has a "buy back" option, contact him for details.

I am working on a plan for Summer 2016, buy a bike from Toby and tear through central South America, plunging into the heart of the beast. Ride BR 319 through the Amazon grasslands, floating down the Amazon river on a barge, a few hundred miles on the Trans-Amazonian highway, back to the dunes in Parque Nacional dos Lençóis...and this is only the first half of the trip.

__________________
Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride

What a great and informative reply! Really makes a difference!

Your trip plans sound fascinating...hope you have an exiting time

Kind regards

I see the questions posted a lot in the SA and CA forum asking about buying a motorcycle. The part that is most often not thought through is what will you do at the end of the trip with a purchased bike. If your plans are for a circular route where you end up in the same country where you bought the bike, then selling is much easier as the buyer is not facing paying importation fees. In every other situation the process becomes complicated and sometimes creative.

A friend of mine recently returned home to Japan after three years of travel. He left trusty bike in Kuala Lumpur because he could not afford to import his bike to Japan. The bike is available for free to the next adventure rider...

Another friend cancelled his TVIP for Brazil and rode his bike into Uruguay, slipped back over the border into Brazil and delivered his bike to a waiting customer, then he flew home. Yes, he saved the expense of shipping his bike home, but has mixed feeling about selling his bike. I think the bike was going to live on a farm and never get registered. (Recent reports mention that temporary importation is no longer required for Brazil)

When making plans for the big adventure, consider the hassle at the front end: amount of paperwork, support navigating the systems and finding a deal. If it doesn't go smoothly, then time will be lost chasing the details. Equally, have a plan to dispose of the bike on the back end of the trip.

__________________
Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride

It currently seems, though requiring some preparation, relatively manageable to get the bike in SA. However, your reply confirms me further trust in the possibility touring NA being fairly easy regarding paperwork/registration/buying etc. So for the case I run into unexpected difficulties I keep this in mind.

Been claimed that if a foreigner buys a Argentinian-registered vehicle in Argentina, he can't take it out of Argentina.

__________________
Tony
Click here for Travel Photos & Travel Map

Indeed, well written, I think, Peter. The more one is going to spend on the bike the more seriously the plan for reselling it should be thought through.
To get back to the state in which I started isn't really an issue for me, I am very happy with it.
I will probably start looking for potential buyers early, so that I will possibly resell the bike a bit too early in some sense, but therefore then just nicely chill out for the rest and hang around in easy places. This way I will have plenty of time to find a buyer, rather than getting nervous in the last week before my flight back home because I don't find anyone interested in the bike.

Sad story in Kuala Lumpur.

What is TVIP?

Currently planing to go by Chile or Peru.

TVIP (sometimes TIP) = temporary vehicle importation permit.

A generic description of the paperwork nearly always required to bring a vehicle into a country. The purpose of the process is to control (in this case discourage) the sale of vehicles brought into a country without paying importation taxes/fees to the government. Some countries stamp the permit in the passport (ex. Nicaragua) and Mexico collects a deposit (~$400 USD) in addition to a small importation fee.

There is always a set number of days granted by the border official. Some countries routinely grant the maximum number of days allowed, others do not. The number of days varies from country to country, and border to border for the same country. The later is some times flexible and therefore the determination or whim of the customs officer. Speak up before the official fills out the permit if you need 180 days instead of the typical 90 days. The official may refuse your request, but you stand a chance of getting more time if you ask politely. The number of days granted on the TVIP won't exceed the number of days on your visa and can be less, so pay attention or stand a chance of paying a fine when leaving the country. Leaving Suriname customs noticed a problem with my TVIP. Apparently when entering the country customs wrote "10" for October instead of "11" for November, which meant on paper I had over stayed the permit. Suriname issues am elaborate visa is the form of a passport page sized sticker. I pointed out the dates and diplomatically as possible reasoned that the date issue was in fact a typo caused by a customs official. More his problem than mine. He stamped me out of the country... In Central America typos can result in fees to the traveler, regardless of the source. The most common mistake is an official transcribing the VIN incorrectly.

Reports in the past year note that Brazil is no longer processing TVIP for bikes entering the country. There are more questions than answers at this time.

Getting the motorcycle imported is the bigger half of crossing a frontier. Keep your humor, take your time and be organized with your paperwork, show up early to avoid lines and closed services.

To complete the TVIP paperwork I find it easiest to point out the key information to the customs official instead of making them search an unfamiliar document. They will usually want to see the following items in your documents:

• Passport
• Drivers license number
• License plate number (ti tle of ownership or other document)
• Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

Depending on the country, you may need to buy insurance at the border. Where it is required and not available at the border, you can usually buy insurance in the first town you come across.

__________________
Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride

Great Post Peter.

Could you possibly describe the requirements for Colombia? Any stamps in the passport, etc? Do you think if you left the bike in Colombia and flew out you would encounter problems either flying out or returning?

Thanks RTW. Glad you like the post.

No motorcycle info was stamped into my passport when entering Colombia in 10/2012 and 3/2013. I doubt you will having problems leaving Colombia without your motorcycle. They are more concerned that you are taking a gun or bomb on a flight out of Bogota, then leaving a motorcycle behind. My luggage was x-ray three times and search two more time in 2009. My TVIP was not surrendered when leaving by boat. The chances that any surrendered paperwork is ever matched up with the entry record in any country (paper or digital) is slim to none.

In my estimation, an expired TVIP becomes a problem when pulled over by police riding in the given country. TVIP doesn't stop leaving or selling a bike in most countries. For someone buying a bike, the problem is getting local plates. That is when importation fees/taxes raise their ugly heads.

I went through my passport in order of countries visited, north to south, then north again. Where there are no motorcycle details, the days are for the visa. TVIP documents were prepared when entering every country, capturing lots equipment details mentioned earlier and more. TVIP documents were surrendered when leaving, except when leaving Colombia by boat, oops. I forgot to surrender the TVIP papers when leaving El Salvador in 2008 as I headed south. It did not cause a problem when I entered same heading north two months later.

Mexico - no visa days entered, everything is on the tourist card. Entry stamp only, kind of strange...
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

Guatemala- 90 days visa
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

El Salvador - 90 days visa
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

Honduras
1/2 page stamp: date of manufacturer, type (motocicleta), make, VIN, license plate and other stuff I can't figure out

Nicaragua
(Nada regarding motorcycle in passport...disregard previous mention, bad memory. Very weird, I can't find the entry stamp into Nicaragua...)

Costa Rica
"Motocicleta" hand written over entry stamp - 90 days visa

Panama
Immigrations stamp and an additional stamp that I can't make out much other than the words, "control vehicular"

Colombia
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

Venezuela
Full page stamp, type (motocicleta), make, license plate, serial de motor (?) [recorded numbers that I can't identify] , serial del carroceria (serial of body work) [more numbers I can't identify], color (a commonly recorded item) - 90 days visa

Brazil - 90 days visa
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

Guyana - 90 days visa
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

Suriname - 60 days visa
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

French Guiana (traveling on an Irish passport, so I guess there is no visa limit?)
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

Brazil - On re-entry National police granted a 30 days visa. I left Brazil on the 30th day!
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

Uruguay - 90 days visa
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

Argentina - 90 days visa
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

Bolivia - 90 days visa
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

Peru - 90 days visa
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

Ecuador - 90 days visa
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

Colombia - 90 days visa
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport)

Jamaica - 30 days
(No motorcycle details stamped in passport...we couldn't take the bikes off the boat anyway.)

Cuba
30 days visa and TVIP (matched sailing schedule.)
(nothing stamped in passport)

Mexico
Couldn't find customs in Cancun when arriving from Cuba. Rode 5 hours to Belize border and imported motorcycle at frontier.
(nothing stamped in passport)

Notes:
- I never asked for longer visa or TVIP, cutting it pretty close in Brazil.
- The Uruguay customs officer had such bad eye sight recorded the VIN incorrectly. I gently took the form and pen, struck out the wrong number and entered the correct number. No problems leaving Uruguay, go figure.

__________________
Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride

Thanks for complying that list!

The my samples were from 2012 and 2013, which may have changed. Longer TVIP may be granted in some countries if you ask (or ask nice), use the right border or get a customs official on a good day. Your mileage may differ.

__________________
Peter B
2008/09 - NJ to Costa Rica and back to NJ
2012/13 - NJ to Northern Argentina, Jamaica, Cuba and back to NJ
2023 - Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia...back to Peru.

Blogs: Peter's Ride