I deliberately let our ICBC insurance/plates expire on both our bikes after we left Mexico and continued South. All our docs matched what the plates said with new dates. We returned and relocated to Ontario, so just had them re-registered here.
Daryll

__________________
Central America, South America & Africa on DR650's - BLOG

I don't follow what you mean–matched plates with new dates

__________________
Glen
Live light, cast a small shadow

Use of photoshop and some Dollar store stickers.
Daryll

__________________
Central America, South America & Africa on DR650's - BLOG

That's what I thought.

A few things for the other poster, how are you going to qualify for the transfer of tourist to FM-3? Unless you have a job or a pension or can prove a healthy bank balance you might not get it. You will have to qualify as either a rentista (renter on a pension or renter with enough funds to qualify as not likely to run out of money) or a worker (you need a formal job offer and you will need a number of extra documents and have them apostilized as well), or you can qualify as a property owner if you have bought a house or a condo and have the legal title to it in your name. Time has nothing to do with qualifying for an FM-3, it all has to do with meeting the requirements and you can qualify from abroad through a Mexican consulate or embassy if you have everything in order. Just waiting out your tourist visa in Mexico and then asking for an FM-3 without qualifying for it will not get you very far.
Second, to register your bike you will have to import it. That means paying taxes etc... and the use of a good customs agent if they will handle this and many do not want the hassles and time involved.
Third, you will then need to plate it somewhere and begin to pay the yearly registration fees.
Unless you speak and write Spanish fairly well, you are likely going to need some professional assistance in this and it could get more costly than you think.
Just some things to consider. Remember, you can't always bribe every official even though it is Mexico. Think through what you are planning on doing and figure on a cost and then double that in time and money.
That will put you in the ball park.

I can qualify as a rentista (pensionado) with a combination of government pension & private investment income. I'll have to come up with a way to show a local address. Perhaps a long term RV park rental would qualify, with a letter from the owner as landlord. The new FMN (FM-3) cannot be obtained in advance anymore. You must be in the country, although some preliminary steps may be taken in advance.
I would prefer not to register the vehicles in any country down there unless I take up long-term residency. I'm aware that there is a lot of red tape, and a substantial cost, including, at least in Mexico, high annual registration fees & sharply higher insurance cost.
All this is about a year away. By then I hope to have a reasonable understanding of Spanish. I'm fluent in French; because of that, I have a rudimentary ability to read Spanish & Italian. I'm hoping the Rosetta Stone language program will get me to where I need to be.
I hope to avoid "la (?) mordida".

__________________
Glen
Live light, cast a small shadow

It is simple to avoid mordidas.
Don't pay them. I don't and haven't in almost two decades living here permanently.
As long as you have an address that mail can get to, like the office of the trailer park, that should get you the comprobante de domicilio you will need.
It won't have to be in your name, you just have to have one (a light bill or a phone bill usually).
I didn't know about the FM-3 change, thanks. You will need to have your original birth certificate apostilized for sure. You will also have to communicate in writing in Spanish. If you are really stuck I think I still have some old form letters a lawyer drafted and you need to only fill in the blanks.

Useful advice.
Re mordidas: That's what I have taken as the right approach from the many discussions I've read, although it will take some time to learn how to handle situations. Mordidas and other "travel expenses" can apparently be difficult to avoid at border crossings south of Mexico.
"Apostillization"—Here's the process in Canada:

"The combined process of "authentication" and "legalization" is the Canadian equivalent of "apostille certificates" issued in other countries that are signatories to The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (1961). As Canada did not sign this convention, notaries in Canada do not provide "apostille certificates". However, in most circumstances (depending on the country and document in question), R....y Notary can provide you with our authentication and legalization services, whereby, we will authenticate and/or legalize your notarized documents.
After authentication, "legalization" occurs when the document is presented to the consulate of the relevant foreign country for certification. At that point, the document normally acquires legal validity in the intended country of use."

As far as the Spanish is concerned, I really expect to be able to handle reading & writing by the time I get there. Speaking & understanding it may take a little longer, & will doubtless provide some entertainment for the natives.
Thanks for the offer re old letters. I may get them from you at some point. As I say, this is still a year or so away.
I contacted the poster who talked of preparing documents & plates & got an explanation of the process.

__________________
Glen
Live light, cast a small shadow