Go Back   Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB > Regional Forums > South America
South America Topics specific to South America only.
Photo by Hendi Kaf, in Cambodia

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Hendi Kaf,
in Cambodia



Like Tree1Likes
  • 1 Post By flashgordo

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 7 Jun 2016
brclarke's Avatar
Contributing Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
Posts: 812
Question South Am, 125cc for 6 to 8 weeks

Hi….
I’ve been riding street bikes since 1992 and have toured overseas several times, but always short-term rentals of one or two weeks. I've been thinking of riding in South America for some time, but most rentals in South America tend to be pricey, costing $130-$200 US per day. That gets pretty expensive after a couple of weeks.

I’ve been reading a lot in the last few years about buying a 125cc out of Santiago, Bogota, etc. To me this makes sense if you want to take an extended ride: a CG125 would start saving you money over the cost of a big rental after about 10-12 days. I’m the kind of rider who likes to mosey along at the posted limit and I’ve owned a couple of 125s in the past, so I think I’d be okay with a 125 for several weeks of riding in South America.

Here on HUBB, you read lots about people either doing a rental for a few days, or taking a very long ride of 6+ months. I don’t see too much info on intermediate-length rides of several weeks… However, I’m limited by how much time I can take off from work. I am about 6 or 7 years from retirement, so I’m not in a position to quit my job. I do, however, get 6 weeks paid vacation a year. I could bump that up with some banked time to about 8 weeks of leave.

These are some questions I have…

1) How many days do you think it’d take after arriving in Chile, Colombia, etc. with a pocketful of cash to get a CG125 ready and on the road? I’ve read anywhere from 3 to 10 days. What was your experience?

2) Assuming it takes a week or so to get said bike, and I have maybe 6 or 7 weeks of riding time left, would it be worth the effort? I’m thinking 6 weeks is a long road trip, but then again I’d be moseying along on a little 125 with a tent and sleeping bag, so I’d be making slower progress. It’s hard for me to judge how much territory I’d see in under two months.

3) Say I’ve been riding my 125cc for several weeks, and I’m running out of time. I get to an airport and fly home. I’m not sure what happens with the bike. Do any moto dealers in South America do buy-backs? If I ride up to airport in Santiago and hand the keys to a stranger, is it a problem to just walk away from the bike and fly home? Or will there be exit paperwork problems? What if instead of Santiago, I try to fly back from another airport in South America, such as Buenos Aires, Quito, Lima, etc.?

Sorry I have so many questions. I hope others who have done this can offer me some answers.
__________________
Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 8 Jun 2016
Banned
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Now in Peru
Posts: 23
There is a hubber in peru that will do the legwork for you, just do a search, never met the man but he sounds like the solution to your worries
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 8 Jun 2016
Banned
HUBB regular
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Now in Peru
Posts: 23
This is a copy paste


Toby, based in Peru and has a buy back offer. Roughly speaking, you buy the bike (new or used from his tour equipment) he arranges the paperwork. Pretty close to sign and go. If you want to travel outside of Peru its something like 10-14 days while the paperwork is processed in your name. Everything will be sent to you by courier within Peru. On the back end, the buy back is based on very reasonable daily rental. He has other offers. Follow this link for and information and contact him for particulars. I am seriously considering getting a bike from Toby for a trip planed for 2016...

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...get-ride-76478

Its mostly 250 cc Chinese bikes that are a lot of fun off the tarmac. I recall he has a couple of 450 cc bikes, but I'm not sure if those are offered for sale.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 8 Jun 2016
Registered Users
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: ARGENTINA
Posts: 114
You can ride from Argentina to Colombia through Brazil and back for the Pacific shore in 8 week over a 125 cc moto, it´s a hard trip, I did it in 2012 over a Honda 250 cc. Ask me any question
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 8 Jun 2016
Peter Bodtke's Avatar
Gold Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Maplewood NJ USA
Posts: 588
There is no best, only what works for you. I enjoyed Colombia, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and a short time in Chile (with wife, without motorcycle.) In my motorcycle travels I found Peru to have an amazing variety of destinations...within it's relatively compact borders. Call it the espresso of South America. OK, the beaches don't compare to Brazil, where no combination of surf, sand, Caipirinhas and thong bikinis can be matched, but I digress. Back to Peru. Lima has world class restaurants, fine art, museums, music, its a scene. Down the coast, pisco sours (pisco distilleries actually), super sand dunes, the Nazca lines. Up the coast, the home of King Kong cake and rockin' tomb museums. To the east ride snowy Andes to Amazon mountain jungle, then ride the back road (almost) to Machu Picchu, before or after taking in the Sacred Valley sites...

Talk to Toby. Buy or rent. He's a overnight bus ride from Lima and will set you up. Friends are planning to return to South America (~November 2016) buying/rent bikes from Toby. For me its buy as I have a longer term plans, future trips two and three. Trip one, rip around the Andes to test ride the bike. Trip two, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia and back to Peru. Trip three, Peru, Chile, Argentina...dunno cause that is a bit too far into the future to begin detailed planning. All I know is that trip three means riding to TdF and dancing around Chile and Argentina before returning to Peru. Who knows, the bike may have 25-30,000 miles on it, so returning to base camp Peru become a economic exercise.

PS: Think about a 250 cc, you might want the power to climb mountains or keep up with highway traffic when needed. Others can tell you better. A 250 cc rental from Toby in 2014 worked well for me.
__________________
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
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 8 Jun 2016
brclarke's Avatar
Contributing Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Vancouver Island, Canada
Posts: 812
Cool

Thanks for the replies, guys. I believe I did see previous posts about Toby's offers to help folks out, and I'll go look again.

Two months maximum is a constraint I have to live with for now - when I retire in 2022 or so, I'll have all the time I want to tour.

I mentioned buying a 125 because, frankly, I'd rather be riding than spending the last week or so of an 8-week trip trying to sell the bike. If it's a cheap little CGL125 I bought for $1300, that's a lot easier to walk away from than a 250cc that I paid a lot more money for. I think for me the biggest question is #3 above. If I get to my final destination and can't sell the bike, what sort of troubles might I have if I simply hand the keys over to a stranger, go to the airport, and fly home?
__________________
Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 8 Jun 2016
BruceP's Avatar
Contributing Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: St Helens
Posts: 763
Quote:
Originally Posted by brclarke View Post
Thanks for the replies, guys. I believe I did see previous posts about Toby's offers to help folks out, and I'll go look again.

Two months maximum is a constraint I have to live with for now - when I retire in 2022 or so, I'll have all the time I want to tour.

I mentioned buying a 125 because, frankly, I'd rather be riding than spending the last week or so of an 8-week trip trying to sell the bike. If it's a cheap little CGL125 I bought for $1300, that's a lot easier to walk away from than a 250cc that I paid a lot more money for. I think for me the biggest question is #3 above. If I get to my final destination and can't sell the bike, what sort of troubles might I have if I simply hand the keys over to a stranger, go to the airport, and fly home?

Also consider Ride Chile, Ride-Chile.com | Home , they do a buy back agreement. See if they have an NX400 available (a surprisingly tough little bike).
__________________
--

http://www.ytc1.co.uk
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 8 Jun 2016
BruceP's Avatar
Contributing Member
Veteran HUBBer
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: St Helens
Posts: 763
Quote:
Originally Posted by brclarke View Post
Hi….
I’ve been riding street bikes since 1992 and have toured overseas several times, but always short-term rentals of one or two weeks. I've been thinking of riding in South America for some time, but most rentals in South America tend to be pricey, costing $130-$200 US per day. That gets pretty expensive after a couple of weeks.

I’ve been reading a lot in the last few years about buying a 125cc out of Santiago, Bogota, etc. To me this makes sense if you want to take an extended ride: a CG125 would start saving you money over the cost of a big rental after about 10-12 days. I’m the kind of rider who likes to mosey along at the posted limit and I’ve owned a couple of 125s in the past, so I think I’d be okay with a 125 for several weeks of riding in South America.

Here on HUBB, you read lots about people either doing a rental for a few days, or taking a very long ride of 6+ months. I don’t see too much info on intermediate-length rides of several weeks… However, I’m limited by how much time I can take off from work. I am about 6 or 7 years from retirement, so I’m not in a position to quit my job. I do, however, get 6 weeks paid vacation a year. I could bump that up with some banked time to about 8 weeks of leave.

These are some questions I have…

1) How many days do you think it’d take after arriving in Chile, Colombia, etc. with a pocketful of cash to get a CG125 ready and on the road? I’ve read anywhere from 3 to 10 days. What was your experience?

2) Assuming it takes a week or so to get said bike, and I have maybe 6 or 7 weeks of riding time left, would it be worth the effort? I’m thinking 6 weeks is a long road trip, but then again I’d be moseying along on a little 125 with a tent and sleeping bag, so I’d be making slower progress. It’s hard for me to judge how much territory I’d see in under two months.

3) Say I’ve been riding my 125cc for several weeks, and I’m running out of time. I get to an airport and fly home. I’m not sure what happens with the bike. Do any moto dealers in South America do buy-backs? If I ride up to airport in Santiago and hand the keys to a stranger, is it a problem to just walk away from the bike and fly home? Or will there be exit paperwork problems? What if instead of Santiago, I try to fly back from another airport in South America, such as Buenos Aires, Quito, Lima, etc.?

Sorry I have so many questions. I hope others who have done this can offer me some answers.

Lots of info about buying a bike in Chile.
Try http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...santiago-45637

The main things are :-
a) Get a RUT.
b) Get all the paper work sorted.
c) Don't forget insurance, as they will not let you cross from Chile to Argentina without it.

It can be done in a week, easier if you buy new (IME) than used.
__________________
--

http://www.ytc1.co.uk
Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 Registered Users and/or Members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
U.S. to South America Shuttle snoda21 Bike Swap or Rent 5 16 Feb 2015 20:13
South America Itinerary Div_Far64 South America 9 1 Jul 2014 02:24
Best 125cc in South America? ridetheworld Which Bike? 9 1 Dec 2013 13:06
MOTOS SOUTH! Florida to Panama and beyond. moto_girl Ride Tales 1 22 Jul 2013 05:55
6 weeks riding in south of US - starts in Vegas Nov 18. Peter Weiss Travellers Seeking Travellers 1 13 Nov 2012 03:16

 
 

Announcements

Thinking about traveling? Not sure about the whole thing? Watch the HU Achievable Dream Video Trailers and then get ALL the information you need to get inspired and learn how to travel anywhere in the world!

Have YOU ever wondered who has ridden around the world? We did too - and now here's the list of Circumnavigators!
Check it out now
, and add your information if we didn't find you.

Next HU Eventscalendar

25 years of HU Events
Be sure to join us for this huge milestone!

ALL Dates subject to change.

2025 Confirmed Events:

Virginia: April 24-27
Queensland is back! May 2-5
Ecuador June 13-15
Germany Summer: May 29-June 1
CanWest: July 10-13
Switzerland: Date TBC
Ecuador: Date TBC
Romania: Date TBC
Austria: Sept. 11-14
California: September 18-21
France: September 19-21
Germany Autumn: Oct 30-Nov 2

Add yourself to the Updates List for each event!

Questions about an event? Ask here

See all event details

 
World's most listened to Adventure Motorbike Show!
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...

Adventurous Bikers – We've got all your Hygiene & Protection needs SORTED! Powdered Hair & Body Wash, Moisturising Cream Insect Repellent, and Moisturising Cream Sunscreen SPF50. ESSENTIAL | CONVENIENT | FUNCTIONAL.

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.

"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)



Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance.

Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.

Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.

Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!


 

What others say about HU...

"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia

"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK

"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia

"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA

"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada

"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa

"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia

"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany

Lots more comments here!



Five books by Graham Field!

Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook

"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.



Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!

New to Horizons Unlimited?

New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!

Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.

Susan and Grant Johnson Read more about Grant & Susan's story

Membership - help keep us going!

Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.

You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.




All times are GMT +1. The time now is 05:03.