I've done the same really; scoured forums and blogs and then just came out here, like I said, people do it with much less. The things I would note, having now bought the bike, are;

Bring maps! I bought Reisse maps from the UK. Good maps are nigh on impossible to find here in Latin America.

Stuff like high-end hand pumps, 12v compressors, puncture repair kits, etc, should be brought from home. I've found it hard to source quality items out here. That includes tank bags, soft panniers, etc. the selection in Europe/US is much much better.

Same goes for riding gear as well; but you can find stuff from Allpine stars, etc, though again choice is not fantastic.

Buying in Chile has been trouble free aside from a delayed ID card prevented me from registering my vehicle for 5 weeks (luckily i am living out here so didn't matter).

I read your other replies to post regarding registering new bike in Chile...RUT/cards etc.
Being from the UK what problems will I encounter if I purchase new in Chile and how do I speed up the process ??
Is there another way around tis ie buy second hand or should I go for second hand foreign plated ??

I recommend National Geographic maps. They are printed on some kind of plastic paper, so they won't fall apart if they get wet or stick together if they get damp. You might find them in large bookstores in the UK or the US. They are definitely available online.

I'm standing in a store in New York City as my departure date got close and decided to not buy a map of Guyana. Could I find one there? Nada, nothing, zip. Basically there are only two major roads in Guyana, one that goes north and south, and the other goes east and west along the coast. I made it through, but didn't have the luxury and benefit of the information a map will tell me about my surroundings. I might have skipped something interesting that was an easy ride off the highway.

I found OK maps in a magazine/stationary store in Bolivia, then supplemented with freebie maps at a tourist center. I wasted money trying to find a travel map/book in Brazil that had camping spots...ultimately didn't camp in Brazil.

On my travels I take maps and a GPS. You can download free open source maps here: Free worldwide Garmin maps from OpenStreetMap These maps are create by thousands of people participating in the Open Street Maps project. They are not perfect, but good enough and surprisingly detailed in places. Know that the Garmin NA South American maps are missing a few countries...

Apparently you can download the KLM file from a personal Google map, copy it to your GPS device and all of the place you created in Google maps become points of interest in the GPS... I haven't tried this myself.

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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

Nunkun,

I'm currently expanding my blog to include info I've gleamed after 20 months riding S Am which may help others planning. Happy to answer questions direct too.

HORCA MOTO

Best advice I was given was don't over-plan. Just buy a decent bike and get on the road. Worked for me..

Paul

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Blogging @ www.horcamoto.com