Originally Posted by chris

Thought I'd contribute, again as with others above, my experiences mean jack. It's just that I've travelled though multiple borders in South America many times in the past year; all the way from Ushuaia to Santa Marta. I was never asked for any drivers licence at any borders, ever.

When stopped in country (very rarely: being on a bike you can hide behind large vehicles and it's easy to avoid eye contact when riding in the ditch/on the verge when undertaking stationary traffic being hassled by el commandante importante = fat bloke in a uniform fishing for a bribe = justifying his existence on the planet = increasing the hole in the ozone layer through his flatulence).

The one or twice I was stopped, I either did the usual no fumar espanol or showed him my colour photocopy of my expired drivers licence (laminated) or expired actual drivers license. On one occasion the matey actually had 2 brain cells to rub together and spotted that date on licence was prior to the actually date. I did have a new real current DL that I was able to flash at said copper.

I also carried a real international DL, albeit one that had expired (Uk ones only valid for 1 year) and had been (by magic?) extended with a biro squiggle and a stamp (from my local library? From when I last climbed the Eiffel Tower?), but it was never available as it doesn't fit in my mugger wallet in my jacket pocket and stuffed if I was getting off by bike in order to access my important documents, hidden on my person, just to satisfy some plod.

Summary to the OP:
1. Don't sweat it
2. Don't stop at road blocks
3. Learn how to use photo editing software
4. If 1 to 3 above fail, use bs or revert to the dumb gringo No fumar espanol. Remember to smile profusely. If you do, they think you really are stupido.