So, i can buy tires for my travel bike for about $70 a piece if I search Ebay and Craigs List. I checked how much the tire are in South America and they are from $200-$300.

Should I carry tires all the way from the US or just pay the price of tires down there?

Tire prices vary greatly from one country to the next throughout South America. Buy where they're cheap....which means NOT in Brazil, French Guiana, Chile, or possibly Argentina if you can't pay in hard currency. Peru was cheap enough, as was Colombia. Paraguay has almost everything available cheap, although it all seems to be smuggled.

Or: just buy tires wherever you need them. What's the difference, really? I choked at the price I paid in Brazil, but it's now five years later and it's made absolutely no difference to the way I lead my life. That must mean something.

Whatever you do, don't carry tires all the way from the US. That's just silly. And stop listening to whoever told you they'd cost hundreds of dollars apiece in "South America." That'll be true only in certain countries (per above).

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

You can try to get a price estimate before going.

I did buy some parts for my KLR many years ago at Becar in Santa Cruz Bolivia.
They were not on the web at that time but now they are:

Becar - Repuestos
https://www.facebook.com/becarsrl

They have pirelli tires MT21, MT60, MT90 and many more. They even have a form ready to ask for tire quotes (Click "cotizar" beside the tire you like).


Maybe more shops are on the web now.

Patrick

Plan on your tire replacement .. say 30% less than the wear you would expect. If your rough plan has you in an expensive county then .. plan on replacing in the last 'cheap' country.

Same with services, chain and sprockets...

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There is a cost in carrying a tire. The added weight wares the chain, tire, sprockets, shock and consumes more fuel. Add the possible theft, taking it on and off the bike .. it is something to avoid if possible.

Not only cost but availability of certain tires. So type of bike can effect decision. Good advice to buy in less expensive countries ... but FACT is tires are expensive in just about ALL Latin American countries. Most imports are taxed at 100% duty or more.

Smuggled tires in Paraguay may be the exception??

Planning ahead is key. Good advice
I would not be worried about additional chain, sprocket or tire wear from carrying a 5 lbs. tire, but possible THEFT is a good point ... and the hassle of taking tire on/off bike every night.

Other thing is how much space a tire takes up, how easy or hard it is to carry on your bike. I've carried tires thousands of miles ... both UPS and DOWNS to doing this.

Good news is we hear about more bike shops carrying tires .... or they can order tires and get them fairly quickly. I only carry rear tire as fronts usually can be pushed to 10K miles if needed. Rears are short lived on a loaded bike. But if you keep highway speeds down your tire will last much longer. Tire choice to start is important. Get a tough, long lasting rear tire.

If starting journey with LOTS of exploration in Mexico ... (1 month?) then I'd carry a rear tire if you can fit it without too much misery. You will find tires in Guatemala City where all the shops are grouped together.

My rear tires (depending which tire I go with) last between 5000 and 7000 miles. (loaded DR650, 430 lbs. bike /200 lbs. rider, mix ON and OFF road, 70 mph highway speed) If you slow down, you can go further.

Tires in Mexico can be had but may be hard to find. Very few shops there service big bikes (over 250cc). But a good dealer (rare) may be able to order one, have it in a week or less? (some tires but not all brands or sizes)

So my choice would be to carry a rear until Guatemala. But if blasting straight through Mexico .... then no spare rear needed as you'll make Guate OK. (only about 3000 miles US border to Mex/Guat border)


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I did some searching online for my sizes which are the cheapest sizes here but not cheap elsewhere. 150-80-16 rear and 130-90-16 front. I expect to get about 12k from my rear ME880 and more from the front. That still leaves me far from TDF.

Obviously, whatever one pays for a tire won't affect ones life, but saving $200 means your trip can last 5 days longer and who knows what will happen in those 5 days.

I'm seriously thinking of putting a rear 130 ME 880 in the front. it is the same pattern (but reverse) as the front but much more rubber. Many have done this without problems and It would last the whole trip. Flame away

A little off topic but,I usually run radials on my bikes but what about outside the US, I know years ago there want such an animal and I ride 2up, so thinking about CA,SA which is looking good .So what is the ups n down of each, I dont run fast anytime anyway . Am I wasting money on radials? Also because it is not wise to run both at the same time ,I was thinking Bias wold be more available down there. Any Ideas? Use a 10-120 /19 up front, 150/17 rear

They have them. Those are very popular sizes and I've seen Tourance, Trail Attack and others when searching for tires on South American sites.

Those are odd sizes. I see on your profile you own a Victory.
If that your travel bike for this trip? I'm not sure what else uses those size tires but I have a feeling not many shops down south will have a 150/80-16 tire.

Does Victory have any dealers in S. America? I tested a Victory and wrote a short review back in around 2010 ... Victory Cross Roads or Cross Country model. Quite good and decent ground clearance for a cruiser.

Unless your railing corners hard it won't be the front that wears out. So just use a front ME880. Should go a long long way. It's the rear I'd be concerned about .... and given the weird sizes you've got ... I'd carry a spare rear on the back. Unless you know FOR SURE ... someone has that tire down south.

The 150-80 is a bit of a rare size, but the 140-90 is the same diameter and the ubiquitous 130-90 is just a bit smaller and will fit the rim with no problem. There are Victory dealers in much of South America and Harley and metric cruiser dealers that wold have that size. This is pretty much my setup for the whole trip, minus the tank bag and some extra lights on the crash bars.

It's not the 150 vs. 130 size difference I was thinking about ... it's the 16" wheel size. But if, as you claim, there are metric bike dealers ... then they should have 16 sizes available as some metric cruisers use a 16".

Great to hear Victory (Polaris) are expanding their int. dealer network. Good company, good products.

Don't forget that, like it or not, Harleys are everywhere and they use 16" tires

Good point Vic. I know there are A LOT of Harley's in Mexico but I'm not up to date on any other countries. I'm sure in most capital cities you'll find a few HD's and probably at least one dealer.

I've seen HUGE Harley rallies in Mexico ... with like 100 (or more?) guys on every type of chopper, cruiser and Rat. I'm sure there are a few HD dealers in Mexico with tires ... not sure on other countries.

But like most dealers down there, they may not stock a whole lot of tires. I'd call ahead to check availability, have them order what you need! I'm betting they'll help you out.

I went on Mercado Libre, latin America's Ebay and found many tire places that sell them. As I said, not worried about supply, just prices.

Mitch (Vic is for Victory)

If you cant find any tyres through main dealers in Latin America, then contact local bike clubs and communities through the HUBB or goggle, as you mention, nearly every country has a Harley club/group, normally in its capital, so if you can hook up with them and preferably give them a heads up with what you need, Im sure you will find some 16 inch tyres.

Good luck!

__________________
Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca