Tires in Patagonia
 

Hey Guys!
I need new tires in patagonia for my KTM 990 ADV in 90/90 21 and 150/70 18 or 140/70 18. Do you now where is the best place to find them?
Greets!
Daniel

Ah, but what if he is in Chilean Patagonia :-)

I can't see a problem asking these sort of questions rather than trying to wade through clunky search facilities. Information on forums can become dated and useless overnight sometimes so asking the question anew is the sensible thing to do. Throwing in the requirement to have fluent Spanish adds another degree of difficulty

Anyway, it gives us all a chance to show newcomers how helpful we all are.

Cleland, you'll have great fun with this: Let me google that for you Please keep us informed how your infraction-count goes, while you still can.

FWIW, there may be tyre vendors who aren't main line bike dealers. In fact many bike dealers in South America, especially (in my experience) BMW ones, stock absolutely nothing. It has to be ordered from the mother ship which takes a longgggg time.

An aside: Many moons ago in (northern) Chile I needed a tyre: I flagged down a biker and asked him. He took me to his mate's garage where he had about 10 or 15 tyres lying around. I found one that fitted my bike. He wouldn't have been found on a Google search, no matter how good my Spanish was (it wasn't). Also did this in Siberia in 2013 as described in post 125 at http://advrider.com/forums/showthrea...=961578&page=9

People here on the HUBB know stuff that isn't just "findable" on Google... So, can I suggest, if nothing to say, say nothing?! That way, you can guffaw at all the noobs asking "silly" questions, without anyone ever knowing how knowledgeable you aren't either.

Now back on topic...

Unfortunately, I have to read all your utterances.

Indeed, I volunteered to be a Mod on this forum. I sent you another infraction too. I'll leave it at that.

Cleland. Your last post has been deleted. Time for a time out.

Hey Guys!
Woww I didn't expect that! So for everyone who was thinking that it would be easier for me to go the easiest way and let do the work by other people: read this!!
Of course I sent e-mails to every single KTM dealer on my way!! I am not stupid or lazy! But I need to remind you that south america is not the US, Canada or Europe where every e-mail get answerd! I only got one reply and that was the KTM dealer in Bariloche with the news that they dont have a single tyre that would fit! So when this forum is not to help guys out on the road and to share experiances that may help others. I dont know why I am a member!
Good luck to everyone who is out there!
Daniel

Afraid I haven't been in South America for a long while, but can suggest looking at http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...south-america/ and contacting local HU Communities via Horizons Unlimited Travellers Communities introduction | Horizons Unlimited

The HU search function at the top right might be of use too. If you're already quite far south, then possibly someone in Santiago or BAs could deliver the tyres to you on a long distance bus.

Good luck!

Yea, right .. GOOD LUCK :rofl:
To bad the One guy here who could have helped you just got :nuke: banned :nuke: No idea why. :innocent:

Try local bike shops if any nearby. Ushuaia has a couple, no?
They may be able to order tires in B.A. if they know the local shops like Cleland (who lives in B.A.) would. There are MANY Moto shops in B.A.

If found, Tires could be put on a bus, buses make the trip South often, many carry light Cargo.

Or, if you've enough rubber left on your tires to ride North to Comodoro Rivadavia ... they may have tires there?? or can get them in a day from B'aires. (Call ahead to find out! .. You're fluent in Spanish, right? Cleland is! doh)

Rivadavia is a BIG town, might be something there? It's about a 2 day ride from Ushuaia. (mas o menos)
Suerte!

Given prices a couple of years ago, consider the Chilean side over Argentina if possible. We found tires in Punta Arenas at:

Pablo Paredes Motos
Magallanes 330
Punta Arenas
Fono/fax: (56-61) 224239
Cel: (09) 92267148
Emal: pablo_paredes_motos@yahoo.es
GPS: S 53 deg 09.370 min / W 70 deg 54.033 min

There are some other motorcycle contacts in Punta Arenas, but the Paredes family shop was the best! (More details can be found in our blog)

More hints for Chilean shops/options in a related thread on ADVrider.

Hope these thoughts help

:welcome: Daniel, sorry for the nasty comments on your thread, it's certainly not the usual here! I'm pleased you seem to have taken it well! :)

So you know, Cleland has caused trouble and dissension before, and a couple of hours ago, after the above, he made EXTREMELY rude and obnoxious personal attacks on myself and chris elsewhere on the site where I think he thought I wouldn't see it, so he is now banned permanently.

Again, sorry for the trouble, I hope the information supplied above has helped you find what you need.

-------------------
A TIP for everyone - when asking a question it's always useful to note where you have looked already, so we don't make suggestions you've already tried, as cleland did.

I haven't been to Chile or Argentina in years but latest stuff I've read is that if you change USD or EURO at the Unofficial rate in Argentina, it becomes quite cheap ... much cheaper than Chile. Is this wrong?

I continually read traveler reports how expensive Chile is, compared to Argentina. Has something changed?

I know mark ups of imported products is HIGH in both countries ... so ... if getting Unofficial exchange rate, does that make Argentina a better value for tires than Chile? :confused2:

Rule 9 of our "Rules of the Road":

"NEVER pass by something you need on the assumption that it will be available later. Or cheaper. Just get it."

Another option, is in Punta Arenas, the mechanic that cooperates with the company MotoAventura.

MotoAventura have a large fleet of BMWs so that mechanic stocks a lot of dual-sport tires in his shop because he serves their bikes. We were there back in January 2013 and the info might be outdated but I don't think so.

I don''t have his address handy right now, but I believe if you contact motoaventura they will give you the address.

When we started in BA I bought 2 tyres and 2 batteries using blue dollars. Got to Iquiqui and needed to replace another 2 tyres and one battery and was disappointed to find the prices were dearer than in Buenos Aries.

Similar result for Punta Arenas.

As long as the blue dollar differential is so high, I doubt whether Chile would ever be cheaper.

Puerto Montt
Ask for Danilo at the KTM dealer, he'll connect you with the tire guy around the corner who has a goo election including the awesome Pirelli MT21 at very good prices and will fit for you - IF you're nice!

Hi all,

I met some other bikers and they told me impossible to get tires down south, well anywhere but Santiago - not sure they tried everywhere else ahem!

My tires are 18/21, so not exactly exotic, from this thread am I thinking it would be pretty okay to find a Pirelli or Sahara south of Chile or Argentina?

My rear defo needs to go but front has a good 5-8k on her, so reluctant to change now if I can find further south.

Cheers,
RTW

I would buy that new front NOW ... strap it on, carry it until your current front is shot. Unless you are CERTAIN your current front will make the whole trip, I would carry a NEW front on board ... ready when you need it!

That is what I did ... turns out I could have made my trip on my old TKC80 Continental. The good news was I was able to sell the more than half worn tire to a Moto shop guy in La Paz, Baja! And extra $15 in my pocket ... and he mounted my NEW tire for free! DEAL! (the TKC is a $100 tire ... so the shop guy still got the better deal! no worries) :scooter:
http://patricksphotos.smugmug.com/ph...-hTrtLc3-L.jpg

Molly,

I actually went back and bought it as couldn't escape from the gravity of all prior experience telling me to buy while I can, even though I reckon on my projected itinerary I'd have just made it back, but bald.

The MT60 front I reckon can get around 15,000k before it's shot, and I've done around 7,000k on it and my protected intinerary is around another 8,000k or so, but would have been pissed off if I had to change my itinerary for not having enough rubber left.

Do you adhere to the 3mm rule? What's it with tires, is it purely the lack of tread on tire that makes it liable to slip and not function correctly, or do the walls weaken as well and make the tire more likely to fail and possible cause a catastophre? The idea of front blowing out at highway speed whilst overtaking truck complelled me to buy now and not worry later.

Cheers!
Rtw

Yes, this is THE guy. Alejandro Lagos, in Punta Arenas, works closely with MOTOAVENTURA CHILE. I posted latest contact numbers, address elsewhere. I needed tires for my KLR in January. He had 6 (SIX) different brands that fit. Metzler's, Heidenaus, etc etc nothing Chinese. ALL in stock. A pro. First world shop. Irritable, don't let his personality throw you off. He's THE guy.