Hola!
I have been reading alot at this forum, but this will be my first post here.

I come from Norway and I have been planning a big journey through South America for the last couple of months. My plan/goal is to drive through all the countries in South America alone on a motorcycle. Never been to South America before, so this is maybe a too big goal. But that's good. aim high.
I want to start in Santiago, Chile and live there while I have to fix all the necessary paperwork. I will go for a KTM enduro 690r for this trip.
I have searched alot in buy/sale forums for motorbikes in Chile, but unfortunately it is not many of those bikes out there. A few but older models. So I thought maybe I should buy a totaly new one in Santiago I have tried to search for prices for the bikes but got no luck.

So one of my questions is, does anyone got some information about the prices of totaly new KTM enduro 690r 2013/14, ofcourse with legal number plate, ready for ride?
Maybe I could buy I older model from the KTM store But I don't want to get older than 2010/11.
However, I'm saving money for the adventure now and I have set my start date to december 2014.

I tried to contact Roland Spaarwater, the KTM dealer in Chile. But something went wrong, so the mails did not go through...

I have planned a lot and want to write alot more, but I start like this

Peace
Chris

Hola
I think as soon you see Southamerican prices for bikes you will change your plans. If you let me suggest something is much better to bring a KTM from Europe already prepare for the travel you wanna do and with paper problems free.

A quick check on internet takes me here: Chileautos: KTM 690 ENDURO R HARD ENDURO 2013 US$ 14.990

I believe this is the website that most Chileneans use for buying and selling vehicles there

Saludos

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Javier...
Dakar Motos “ ”

For someone using the British £ that is not a desperately poor asking price; for those using the Euro it is less attractive and for the Norwegian Kroner economy it is just "pocket money" pricing.

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Dave

Thanks for replies.
I have actually been at Chileautos and saw that price too. But was not sure if that was right. Thought it would be a lot cheaper
I noticed in spain the 690 enduro goes for 8500 EUR. That is over 3k EUR less than in Chile o.O
But when shipping the bike forth and back and all the extra fees, do you still think it is worth it?
In that case, that is a great alternative!
Thx.

That’s exactly what I mean when I told you “Southamerican prices for bikes”, here in Argentina are more less the same and as far I know others SA countries will be so, Brazil provably even worst...
USA maybe have the best bike prices in the world then in Europe maybe UK have the cheaper ones, just find there this one 2010 KTM 690 Enduro R, Adventure Spec, Rally Raid Evo1 Fuel Tank Kit | eBay in U$S its 9600.-

Southamerican countries where a motorbike is a sumptuous possession are far at bottom of the list for buying a bike...

Also something you have to bear on mind is that a local bike owned by a foreigner in these countries has many restrictions about border crossings and selling at the end of the trip

Bring a bike from UK for example at least to Buenos Aires is around than U$S 4000.- included local charges. Then from BA to UK is less than U$S 2000.- Travel like a backpacker is cheaper, but to do it on a motorbike in Southamerica is priceless.

Saludos

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Javier...
Dakar Motos “ ”

You can buy travellers used bikes who are already fitted for travelling at a fraction of this cost, and sell it when you are done to another traveller. For the paperwork, you need to get to an escribano with the seller who will allow you to ride the bike wherever needed if the bike is not from your country, or make the sale at home if it is.

You can also buy two local chinese bikes in most south american countries for a fraction of the price of a japanese bike if you are travelling by two (around 1500 dollars for a new chinese 250cc trail bike in Bolivia) and sell it back when you are done.

If you choose to send your bike, you can share a container with a car and pay the transport fee on the volume taken (i paid 200 Euros 4 years ago). You will have port fees once arrived, the best destination not being Argentina, cost and complexity wise.

Lots of options depending on your budget and tastes. Remember as well that in countries with high inflation, vehicles actually GAIN value in local currency, and the difference between new and used vehicles is fairly low, since local people prefer to save their cash in durable goods rather than in cash they dont trust.

my two centavos...

Buy your bike at home, prepare it and get to know it before you go, and ship it to S America - that's what I did and what I would recommend to anyone else. You want the right bike for your trip (everyone has different ideas of a moto adventure and thus different ideas on the ideal bike) and you want to know it's strengths, weaknesses, etc.

And as Javier has said, gringos on locally bought bikes will find crossing certain borders a problem - not so on a temporarily imported European bike.

I too dream of doing S America on an upgraded 690R - IMO, the perfect bike if you want to explore the dirt to its fullest, although the old 'KTM reliability' mantra is often brought up by others. I'm on a Tenere 660Z - great bike but heavy.

I have thought about buying a used bike from an another traveller, but I really want a "new" bike with low km/miles. I could ofcourse buy the bike home in Norway, but we got the highest prices yo
I have googled around, and it is no problemo for me to buy a bike in Spain after getting a NIE-number that takes a week or so.
I could always stay in Spain for a couple of weeks and get the bike travel-ready and rdy for shipping, before I leave.
I have been riding a EXC 525 and now I have a 690SM, I have also tried the 690 enduro before, so I'm pretty sure that's the bike for this trip =)

Thanks guys, later!

Yep, the prices of bikes here are pretty high. I bought a used 2007/8 KTM 640 Adventure with 13,000km on the clock for 12,000USD in Chile about a year ago. I probably paid a little bit extra but after looking a several 640's this one was mint and I love this single thumper. One guy tried to sell me one without its papers and the others where very well used...

I'm in the process of ship personal stuff to Chile and sent 10m3 for 750GBP form the UK, a bike is around 4m3 depending how you pack it. You'll avoid the various taxes compared to importing personal effects and you won't have to use an agent on this side (that's costing me 500USD alone) but you'll have to pay the usual lifting & shifting, customs/SAG presentation charges and also the private storage (customs use private storage places to inspect it, can't be avoided). Reckon you might pay another 500USD or more on this side when it lands.

It only takes 4-5weeks transit from UK to here!!!

I'm sure there are threads here explaining shipping to Chile, it's not complicated or that expensive.

Time spent buying a bike in you home place, preping it where items are easily found, shipping, then the tourist temporary import here compared with days spent in Santiago organising paperwork, buying a bike and getting it ready...como esta tu español?

It's all possible...and nothing is impossible.

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