I arrived in Buenos Aires in Mid-September. Now, 8 months and 37,000 km later I'm about to leave Iquique, Chile for Bolivia on my way to Alaska.

My BMW R1200GSA is holding up very well, only minor problems like changing the headlight lamp or the heated grips which BMW Santiago replaced on warranty. Plus a few punctured tires of course. Excellent, really, considering that I rode about 10,000 km dirt and gravel roads.

I posted earlier about the Atlantic Crossing by ship, Insurance for the southern half of South America, the 2 month loop into Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay, and the ride down to Ushuaia along the Atlantic Coast.

So, what's new? Of course, the amazing scenery of the Andes! I crossed just about all passes between Argentina and Chile in the last 5 months. It's definitely Biker Country! Excellent riding! On the downside: Accommodation in Argentina is bl@@dy expensive. I never planned on camping, but I used my 1-man-emergency tent for at least 50 nights. If I'd known I'd have brought more comfy camping gear. In Chile I generally used a type of Hostel called Recidencial. They offer private rooms with shared bathroom for $12 to $25. Lot's of rain in Patagonian Chile, so I like to avoid camping there.

Never had any problems at border crossings, generally takes less than 30 minutes on each side. Cops weren't a problem either, although there are a lot of radar traps on the main highway (#5) in Chile. I was once stopped and told I had been going at 160km/h, while the speed limit is 120. Not true, My speed was probably not more than 140km/h. Anyway, I just got a warning and was sent on my way :-) The only region I was ever asked about insurance was north of Buenos Aires along the border with Uruguay. Never anywhere else.

I picked up 4 flat tires, always the rear one. Once I rode through the rubber in Tierra del Fuego - 600km after I first saw the wires it finally wouldn't hold air :-( Make sure you plan your tire changes carefully! Twice I picked up a nail and once the tire was punctured by a sharp rock.

So here are the repair shops I used between Ushuaia and Iquique:

Alejandro Lago
Street Ona 0471
Punta Arenas
S 53°08.792'
W 70°53.816'
mobile +56-96401233
phone +56-61212737
email: alelago[at]123.cl

Alquiler de Motos,Arriendo de Motos,Motos en Chile,Viajes en moto
They are based in Osorno, have a shop in Santiago, and Alejandro Lago in Punta Arenas as well as Jorge Hernandez in Iquique work for them if their BMW tours have a problem in southern or northern Chile.

Motoaventura Osorno:
500 km form the Airport, Sonia works in the office, she speaks Spanish, German and English:
sonia@motoaventura.cl
0056 64 249121 / 0056 9 98298077
Camino a Cañal bajo km. 3,3 (500 mts. antes del aeropuerto)
Osorno, Chile

Motoaventura Santiago
Dominique works at the office, she speaks Spanish, German, (and maybe English and French?)
dominique[at]motoaventuracenter.com
0056-2-8914344
Av. Kennedy 7686
Vitacura
Santiago, Chile

Also in Santiago is BMW, called WB Motos S.A.
Technical service is in
Av. Las Condes 7991
(Car and moto sales somewhere in the 11000 block)
Jose Diaz works in the office:
jdiaz@inchcape.cl
0056-2-229-8316
They changed my heated grips on warranty, no problem really, but I did not have the best impression about their work attitude.

I had damaged my panniers and it was not easy to get them fixed. Finally I found Motobal, a fairly large repair shop, that deals mostly with Yamaha, but will fix any bike. The owner used to be the mechanic to a Chilean motocross champion and says he'll import any part for any bike directly from the USA.
Motobal
San Eugenio 1497
Barrio Nunboa
Santiago
+56-2-237-8388
motobal[at]tie.cl

Crossing over to Argentina, there is the official BMW dealer in Mendoza of course, but a good mechanic, doing all bike brands, is Ariel Rodriguez (Spanish only) in Las Heras, a suburb 5km north of Mendoza:
Bahia Blanca 625
Las Heras - Mendoza
tel 437-8591 (country code is +54, find the city code yourself)
motomecanica625@hotmail.com

In Tucuman, Argentina is also a BMW dealer, but I never went there. I got a new rear tire at Pirelli, Belgrano 2053, phone +54-381-4330801. Watch it: tires are 50%(!) more expensive than in Chile. 155€ for a Pirelli MT 60, In Chile at Motoaventura just under 100€.

I had the tire put on in Salta at Dr. Bikes, run by the very friendly an capable brothers Luis and Daniel Dibez.
Goritti 393
Salta
+54-387-4216387

There is a Bridgestone dealer in Salta:
Neumaticos San Augustin
Av. Sarmiento 1043
+54-387-4213303
4400 Salta
They have the Bridgstone Battleax (?)
Front Arg.Pesos 760,-
Back Arg. Pesos 890,-

You can also ask for help at
Mathias Grill, a German guy who runs bike tours around Salta.
mathias[at]horizonte-tours.com
Vaqueros, 10 km north of Salta

In Iquique, northern Chile there is Jorge Neira Hernandez. He runs a heavy duty equipment business and repairs BMW (only!) motorcycles on the side.
Great guy, very helpful:
Sitio 16 Barrio Industrial Agpia - (Sotomayor alt. 2100) Iquique – Chile20º12´47,43” S 70º8´2,37” WTelef. Fax 00 56 (57) 418554

So, I hope all this information will help someone!

__________________
“It’s just a walk in the park!”
“You mean people are going to mug us and steal all our money and kick us viciously in the ribs?” Terry Prachett

BTW, here are the photos of my trip so far:

2010c_Hamburg to BsAs pictures by frankinasia - Photobucket

2010d_BsAs_Paraguay_Brazil_Uruguay pictures by frankinasia - Photobucket

2010f_Patagonia pictures by frankinasia - Photobucket

2011a_Patagonian_Andes pictures by frankinasia - Photobucket

2011b_Patagonia_Carretera_Austral pictures by frankinasia - Photobucket

2011a_Northern Argentina and Chile pictures by frankinasia - Photobucket

__________________
“It’s just a walk in the park!”
“You mean people are going to mug us and steal all our money and kick us viciously in the ribs?” Terry Prachett

Excellent description and good memory too. No doubt, we should create an exclusive thread for Chile, Argentina and Uruguay alone with all this information, so important for the community.

If you do one, I would add more info.

Gaston/SAMX