Im leaving in two weeks from Los Angeles to ride south thru central and south america and was wondering if I am going to need my title with me. I just bought the bike and it usually takes about a month for the title to show up in the mail. I have the registration and bill of sale in my name, will that do? I would rather not bring the title with me if I dont have to.

errr yes !!

You need it for almost anywhere. You "Might" not get asked for it but it's unlikely. You WILL need it in South America.

If you're good on a PC and have a decent printer, a good copy would do. They have no way to check it. The risk is yours though.

Ted

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Errrr no!!

This is just one of those questions which elicits a variety of mutually contradictory answers each time someone asks. Ted says yes, I say no, someone else says maybe.....

I was asked for my title just once in fifty or so border crossings and countless other document checks during a year riding throughout Latin America. On all other occasions my registration was all anyone wanted. But last time I answered this question, here or on ADVrider, someone else with equivalent riding experience to mine said he was asked for a title at every border all the way through Central America. Other responses ranged between these two extremes.

So no matter what answers you get, don't believe them, because your experience will probably be different. Me, I carry a title just as I carry a yellow fever card (never requested anywhere during the same trip) and an international drivers permit (demanded only in Guyana); it doesn't hurt, and it might help some day. Or the time might come when I'm the guy who gets asked for a title constantly, for no apparent reason.

But don't forget, as long as you're contemplating, that at least some Canadian provinces don't even issue titles. None of those riders you meet from British Colombia have titles, and you'll meet them all over the place. They all manage just fine.

YMMV. But I'd get someone to send you the title, or at least I'd get someone to scan it and email it to you so you can print a fake one for yourself. Use watermarked paper, do it double-sided, and have it laminated to prevent close inspection.

Hope that helps.

Mark

I may of been confused here..

I thought the "Title" was the registration ??

In the Uk, we only have one document for our vehicle. I WAS asked for this at EVERY border crossing in South America.

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Did some trips.
Rode some bikes.
Fix them for a living.
Can't say anymore.

Which might account for much of the confusion on the issue. In the States we have two documents: the registration, which indicates that the vehicle is "registered", i.e., tagged and current with payment of fees and taxes, and the title, which indicates actual ownership and is used to sell or finance the vehicle. Why it is done this way is a total mystery, and the fact that lots of places don't bother separating the two functions is evidence that it need not be so complex.

This is why you and I do not work in large bureaucracies.

Mark

As one of the British Columbians that Mark refers to I can attest to the fact that not having a "title" wasn't a problem for me in Central America and Mexico. We simply don't have a title since our government does not issue them.

I was asked for "papers" at each border crossing and by a few cops during routine, and two not so routine, traffic stops. I just handed over the "papers". At one border crossing the woman asked me "es el titulo?". I just responded with "si es el titulo".

With 50 US states, 10 Canadian provinces, 3 Canadian territories, and dozens upon dozens of other countries each issuing their own "papers" it would be very difficult for someone at a border crossing to actually know what these "papers" are supposed to look like.

So I wouldn't worry about it too much but have someone make high quality colour copies at home and send them, along with the original, to you wherever you happen to be. Better safe than sorry.


...Michelle
www.scrabblebiker.com

It isn't going to take up that much space, so there is no harm having a good copy with you.
Daryll

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Central America, South America & Africa on DR650's - BLOG

I'm British but have an American bike, and therefore an America set of papers. I was asked, specifically, for the title when I crossed the border at Tijuana. And I met a women in Baja who couldn't get on the ferry to Mazatlan becasue she didn't have the title for her truck.

My advice. GET IT. You'll only worry if you don't have it and it may casue problems.

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