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7 May 2019
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Thanks for your advice! Although I have to say, that I got plenty of time to stay in Santiago de Chile. Since I have no time schedule for my journey, I could easily stay there for 30 days before my travel starts. The goal then is to travel the entire world from there and finally drive the bike back to Switzerland (crossing the sea from Alaska to Russia)
The fact that my BMW is too heavy and I am gonna sell her anyways brings me to the point where I have to decide wether to buy a CRF 250L either here and ship it to south america, or buy it directly there....
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8 May 2019
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Chilean bike?
I guess the same rules apply to other countries motorcycles (bike) as apply to New Zealand. That is you need to keep your bike registered and legally on the road in it's home country for it to be legally on the road in a second country. It is possible to keep a NZ bike registered by internet if you have a NZ drivers licence. Many people don't bother doing this as the authorities seldom check registrations. All they want to see is the ownership papers. This is fine until you are involved in an accident or similar. If you get insurance in say USA or Mexico you can be sure the bike will have to be legally on the road for the insurance to be valid. How do you keep a Chilean motorcycle registration up to date once you leave the country? It may be possible - I don't know. The next problem with a Chilean registered bike is that to leave Chile as a foreigner you will need to have a "poder" which is the legal document promising you will return the bike to Chile as mentioned here.
https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hu...tiago-45637-12
Then again you might get lucky and the customs will not ask you for it when you try to leave.
Don't forget that to get the temporary RUT someone with Chilean residency has to be your guarantor.
Chilean bikes are not supposed to permanently leave Chile but maybe no one cares and you can leave and never go back but you are still left with the registration problem if you are worried about that. Would be interesting to hear other peoples experiences.
And one last thought - Bikes are expensive in Chile. You might find you can buy what you want in Europe and ship it to Chile cheaper than you can buy in Chile or for a similar cost. Calculate your real costs of buying in Chile like money transfer and exchange rates. Chile is an expensive place compared to most other countries in South America
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8 May 2019
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Back into the hamster wheel again, in Oslo - Norway. Did a 5 year RTW trip/250 k kms, 2014-2019
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Buying a lightweight bike as a Crf250L or a Dr650 is a wise decision. Buying a bike in Chile as a foreigner without recidency is not. There are heaps of reports about all kind of foreigners who have bought a vehicle in Chile but they are not ablw to leave the country with their newly purchased vehicle - just check in the sticky thread in forum section and or google a bit.
Also as mentioned above - bikes are quite expensive in Chile and there arent a huge amount available and not so much aftermarket parts to buy either.
Usa are a much better place to buy a bike for such a trip. There are very many available, many are already quite well kitted for long distance travel, aftermarket and spare parts are readily available and the prices are in general not bad at all.
And in most states you will be able to register the bike in your name and by that eliminate all kinds of trouble at any bordercrossings around the world. And you will understand the language much better than in any spanish speaking country.
A spanish course is great to have and it can easily be done in Mexico or Guatemala on your way south.
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8 May 2019
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Ok thanks for that information! This is what I was worried about...
So then it could be an option to buy a bike in California and go south from there. But then I have the problem of seasons. I wanted to be in Ushuaiha somwhere around march and then go north again to be in the USA around august... I don't think I will make it down there if I start in California in december.
On the other side it should be pretty easy for me to buy a bike in the US since I have a swiss/us dual citizenship
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8 May 2019
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So, if you want to do a world trip on one bike you're better off buying American or taking your own bike. Me personally I find it crazy that people take their own bike. Purely because they spend my travel budget for a year just on shipping the bike. Then inevitably have a break down or two (or for some reason need parts) and end up stuck in a country which doesn't have the parts paying extraordinary amounts to get them shipped to them.
Your problem with buying in North America and riding south is crossing the Darien. You're looking at $2000 ish to ship the bike and yourself. For me, that's the cost of a bike. Which you can sell when you're done and recover most of the cost.
People are still buying and successfully riding Chilean bikes with a "decleracion jurada" which states that you'll return to the country within 12 months. Crossing the border with this if someone questions it will come down to your Spanish skill level and charm. Approaching the aduana as an extranjero with no Spanish and expecting a smooth ride with a sullen face will not go well.
I haven't heard of people having issues with Colombian bikes so it might be a better option. Again, the CRF250L is expensive. The xr150l or xr190 is much cheaper. Personally I'd suggest buying in south America (new) riding around and reselling in south America before moving to your next location and buying something there again. For example you might fancy coming to Australia after south America. Here we have an abundance of good second hand bikes. So shipping a dr650 here for example would be pretty pointless.
If you've got $100k to spare on a 4 year RTW trip then by all means buy a new DR650 in North America and go for it.
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9 May 2019
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snecdka
Ok thanks for that information! This is what I was worried about...
So then it could be an option to buy a bike in California and go south from there. But then I have the problem of seasons. I wanted to be in Ushuaiha somwhere around march and then go north again to be in the USA around august... I don't think I will make it down there if I start in California in december.
On the other side it should be pretty easy for me to buy a bike in the US since I have a swiss/us dual citizenship 
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Ushuaia to Usa, March to August - or Usa to Ushuaia December to March - whats the hurry? Dont you want to have a look around and see interesting places and relax at some beaches, hike some mountains and visit some far flung places?
Did you count for breakdowns? Waiting some weeks for spare parts to arrive or maybe not arrive, and some more weeks waiting for spare parts to arrive... Maybe a decent foodpoisoning or two? A bad flu and maybe pneumonia? It easily sets you back many days each.
Some persons do travelling only for the sake of travelling, Nick Sanders rode Alaska to Ushuaia and back to Usa again in 50-60 days or around that timeframe - but for most people I think stopping here and there smelling the roses, relax a bit, explore some new countries and take in some new environments is the main thing about travelling. Not only the feeling of having the bike under you 10 hours a day...
But ok, I see your point. March is not the best time to start southbound from the Usa. Will meet the rainy season in central America from June and onwards. If youre really quick you can make it to Panama and Colombia before the rainy season really are on. So July and onwards would be ideal for the Andes mountains, Peru, Bolivia, north of Chile and Argentina. Can be a bit cold of course. Then maybe October/November start towards the southern part of the continent, be in Ushuaia beginning of December. Hurry back to Valparaiso or Montevideo and ship your bike to next continent before christmas/new year.
Yep as mentioned the Crf250 are a bit expensive in south-America. Maybe better to go for the Honda Tornado 250 or the Yamaha Lander 250 or Tenere 250. Ir even the ubiquitous Honda Xr150L or the newer 190. Or even the Suzuki Dr200.
But in Usa the Crf is quite cheap. And so is a decent Dr650 too. Well - you have many decisions in front you. Best of luck with them and your travels!
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8 May 2019
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snecdka
(crossing the sea from Alaska to Russia)
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That's not really possible. There are no flights, and the one flight that sometimes operates in the summer, is a narrowbody jet that cannot take bikes in the cargo hold. Your closest option would be sea shipping from Vancouver.
Tbh the ideal option, shipping-wise, would be to buy an Alaskan-plated bike off someone in SA, ride it back up to Alaska, sell it there, then fly yourself to Tokyo/Vlad and continue on a local bike.
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8 May 2019
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Problems over problems, but in the end, that is what it's all about!
Probably the best way to go still is to buy the crf 250 in switzerland and ship it to uruguay and then solve any problem on the way. I got plenty of time so there is no rush to pass any disance. I read that you can take some small ships to cross the distance from colombia to panama and I'm sure, there is a way too for USA/ Russia.
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10 May 2019
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snecdka
I read that you can take some small ships to cross the distance from colombia to panama
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Yes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by snecdka
and I'm sure, there is a way too for USA/ Russia.
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Well if you find a convenient and affordable one, a lot of people here would love to hear about it.
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10 May 2019
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Maybe I have had enough of adventure motorcycling by the time I reach Alaska and then I start a ferry company to operate between Alaska and Russia ^^
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11 May 2019
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Location: Back into the hamster wheel again, in Oslo - Norway. Did a 5 year RTW trip/250 k kms, 2014-2019
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snecdka
Maybe I have had enough of adventure motorcycling by the time I reach Alaska and then I start a ferry company to operate between Alaska and Russia ^^
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Man - I love your attitude!  
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