I was born in the US but have Brazilian citizenship because my mother is Brazilian. I am planning on riding from Michigan, USA to Sao Paulo, Brazil in late 2009. I have invited my uncle (that is from Brazil) and a few of his Brazilian friends to join me on this long distance ride. The question that I have is there going to be any problem with with all of us if we buy a few KLR's here in the States and ride them to Brazil? Will they try to charge us duties on the bikes even if we are coming into Brazil by land? Also, are there any laws restricting foreigners from buying bikes here in the US? Will they need an international drivers license to be able to ride in the US?

Thanks

mococaman

I'm not sure how Brazilian aduana would deal with Brazilian citizens bringing in US origin bikes.
Could be a problem. Not sure.

For you, as a US citizen, I think you are OK as you can enter Brazil as a tourist and should be given an import permit for your bike. Not sure how long this is for. (3 to 6 months usually?)

Many Brazil experts here on HU ..... keep trying and asking for help.

Buying in the US should be NO problem for Brazilians
as long as they have a US address (you don't have to LIVE there, you just need something so the DMV can send bike paperwork) The Moto dealer does not care .... he just wants the money. You buy the bike, the dealer sends in the paperwork to local DMV and the DMV then sends out the new title and registration to address you have listed. If you buy from private party, you should go to DMV and do all the transfers for your relatives. Should be OK. In some states they want to see insurance before they issue a new title.

They cannot discriminate against non US citizens in buying vehicles as long as you have a legal, valid Tourist Visa.

Getting US insurance is another matter for non US citizens. Once across the border in Mexico US insurance is useless (invalid) but you can buy local insurance as you go, country by country. Different in each country.

I'm sure I've missed some things and I hope those who've traveled in Brazil and imported bikes can jump in with corrections and more info.

Good luck,

Patrick

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Thanks Molly Dog!!! Your answer was very much helpful. Thanks Again.

Hey Mococaman you may need to get in touch with an importer in Brazil that is familiar with vehicle imports as the lay on importing vehicles indicated "no used vehicles!".
I got caught up in this when I tried to bring my motorcycle to Brazil when I moved here in 2002. My motorcycle was new, 12 miles on the clock, but it was considered used do to it being titled in the US.
Also there is a HUGE import tax, somewhere around 90 to 100%.
Be very careful or someone my be stuck with a motorcycle they can not import.

Blaze out

Hey Blaze,
Is there a problem for NON Brazilians entering as tourists on US origin bikes?
Everyone here seems to manage it OK. No?

I think for a Brazilian citizen the import laws may change? Probably for a bike that has originated in Brazil, ridden by a Brazilian citizen,
no problem. But a foreign bike ridden by Brazilian resident .... different story and the govt. may want their 100% tax (very common rate).

I think getting hold of a Brazilian moto plate & papers for the same or similar bike "might" be possible unless they check VIN numbers. But some creative work in Photo Shop and a Laser printer may solve any problems.

Good luck,

Patrick
(things like this were so simple in the "old" days .... like 15 years ago!)

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

100%

And I thought Costa Rica was high, 100% is outrageous!!!

Ive been at three Brazilian border crossings the last week so here is some experience of importing bikes. I am Swedish bringing in a UK bike so it might obviously be slight differences for Brazilian residents.

Border: Foz Do Iguacu (from Paraguay)
Main use: Used mostly for Brazilian buying tax free eletronic products in Paraguay.
Procedure: A bit unfamiliar with foreigner but after insisting on importation papers they can do the paperwork.
Time: 45 mins
Got: 40 days

Border: San Antonio (first border south of Iguazu, Argentina)
Main use: Small border for locals
Procedure: Exited Argentina but got refused on Brazilian side. They had a customs office but they were too lazy or unsure how to handle foreigners.
Time: 30 mins (exit and enter Argentina)
Got: Nada

Border: Hipolito Irigoyen (30km south of San Antonio)
Main use: Mostly locals but bigger crossing than San Antonio
Procedure: No migration office so simply cross border and go to police station 300m past border on left hand side and they stamp will the passport. They even speak English (!). Then go back to the border where they sort out temporary import. Alternative there is a Receita Federal office 200m past border on right hand side. They also speak English (!).
Time: 1 hour
Got: 90 days for me and the bike

How it works in Brazil (for Swedes):
No need for visa. You can get up to 90 days for yourself and the bike. If you like more time you an simply go to the local "Secretario da Receita Federal" before the 90 days are up and get another 90 days for the bike.

Import taxes:
I declared the value of my bike as $3000. Even on temporary imports they calculate the tax although you dont have to pay it. The breakdown for me was as follows:
Taxa de conversao: 1.7
Valor FOB (US$): 3000
Valor CIF (US$): 5064
Imposte de importacio (R$): 1732.50
IPI (R$): 1670
Total dos impostos (R$): 3403

My Potuguese is not yet fully up to scratch but it looks to me that on $3000 you pay about $2000 in tax (3403/1.7)

Cheers from Sao Paulo

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Dude, that site in your link is wild, does this actually pay for your trip...More power to you if it does.

Since you were Temporary Importing yourself and your bike, how did you get the quote, did you just ask them? And what did they do to get the price on the bike? Did they just accept your value or did you have to prove your estimation?

Hehe, so many questions

Great post

I wish it was but it is simply my blog to update my fiends where I am and what I do although many people seem to like it. Almost thinking of throwing it up as a general service if people are intrerested.

To answer your questions:

I simply came up with it myself and I like to keep all quotes low in case I have to pay anything. Guess it is about half of the real value.

No need to prove anything. The customs have no real clue anyway and I guess I intentionally kept them busy with questions about Brazilian girls In Europe this would be out of the question but it seems to be the general topic of discussion with pretty much all policia and border guards and makes them muss less interested in my passport, values of bike and other material things. I even got the question outright at the Bolivian/Argentinian border: So which girls are best Bolivian or Argentinean...and the answer is obviously the name of your current migration office country

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Here is my take on what Mococaman was asking.
If the bikes are to stay in Brazil permanently, they will need to be Imported and will be subject to taxes, duties and tariffs. The problem will be this.
1st: Everyone planning on riding the bike to Brazil and importing it permanently must have a Import permit from the Brazil Government before they can import it. The government wants to know ahead of time what you are planning on importing; If you don’t get the import permit you CAN NOT import it!

2nd: You can only import NEW vehicles, NO USED! If you ride them here they most likely will be considered USED. It may also be considered used it titled/licensed in the US.

In Brazil importing is importing, does not matter if you are a Brazil or legal resident.
Even Brazilians who moved from Brazil to another country and are returning would have a problem with a vehicle as they are not considered as part of your household items.
The only thing I found in the import laws concerning people with different rules were diplomats.

On the taxes, the value of the vehicle is from an invoice, not just what you say for a permanentl import. This is one reason the do not allow used vehicles, they have on idea of the real value.

Mind you, all of the above is for importing a bike permanently.

For travelers temporarily importing a vehicle the law is different.
Anyone can temporarily import a vehicle as long as it leaves when the person leaves.
Also there are no taxes on the temporary import, only filling out the forms at the border.

They might be a little suspicious of a Brazilian with a permanent address in Brazil trying to impory a bike temporarily!

Also I would not try the faking thing, you would need the paperword showing it left the country. Would be bigger trouble.

In closing, it is not easy to import to Brazil and they prefer you not, buy local. A small thing called protectionism!
Sucks!

Honda have a factory in Manaus! They produce a bike every 50 seconds and export to eighty countries. I bought my 125 Cargo in Veracruz, Mexico, for the ride to Ushuaia. I stopped off at the factory on the way back north to NY. The head of production had the bike overhauled while I did a tour of the factory. They replaced the rear wheel and shocks (not good after being run down by a truck in Tierra del Fuego) and the tank because it had a dent! (BLOG at home) Mechanically no problem in 45,000 Ks. Real quality...and spares available everywhere south of the Rio Grande. I met many riders with bigger bikes waiting for spares.

That was very informative Simon, I will take that into consideration. I guess my only question is how difficult was it to ride a 125 cc bike up the mountains of SA?

Thanks

Mococaman

Honda sells a lot of bikes in Brazil including this little beauty

Honda Tornado

And this

:: Honda ::

But please be aware that as an American citizen you will NOT be allowed to legally enter into the states, no if's, no but's no and's. Just NO

Take care

PS: Next time you talk to your friends can you ask them how much a new Yam XT660 costs and if there are used XT's available and what are the costs of those, preferably a low mileage 2003 ?

Thanks again

Buying locally and touring is a hot topic. We purchased a new XR250 Tornado and a new NX400 Falcon (both manufactured in Brazil) from an authorized Honda dealer in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Elisa has now traded in her well used Tornado, 20,000 K through 6 South American countries, for a new Falcon. She had zero mechanical problems and required only suggested maintenance.

I had to replace the clutch on my Falcon, this after 20,000 K fully loaded and having done everything from ruta 40 in Argentina, over the Andes, up the coast to Lima and then through the Central Andes, up to Cuzco. La Paz and back to Buenos Aires.

We strongly endorse both of these Brazilian made Hondas. please see previous post for web pages on each bike. We pulled the air filters at Paso de Hama 4,500 plus meters altitude , and lugged on.

On a more recent ride, traveling on my US passport, I was required to obtain a visa (cost $100.00 US dollars) before entering Brazil. This, even though I am a permanent foreign resident of Argentina. Elisa is Spanish and entered on a free tourist card.

And a question, anyone ever bought a motorcycle registered in Brazil as a foreign tourist and crossed out of Brazil with the bike registered in their name? thanks xfiltrate

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Riding was no problem - 4700 meters in altitude in Bolivia was the record. Not fast, but never a hiccup. Riding into a head wind seriously slowed me. Crouching over the gas tank helped. And I would have enjoyed electrically heated clothing! Coldest was the last week riding north along the Appalachians (Blue Mountain Parkway) after staying with Possum.