Please help me. Hi I'm Max, 28, from New Zealand, I am currently in Argentina.
After months of searching I finally found an Alaskan registered KLR650 and bought it off an Israeli guy last week who had riden it down from Alaska.

Before he left the country we planned to take the ferry to Uruguay so I could enter on a new Temporary Import paper under my name.
However he did not have time to wait for me to send the papers to a friend in California to transfer title to my name so we visited customs and asked their advice.

We said he was "gifting" me the bike so no money was being transfered.
We said I needed this Temp. Import paper in my name so that I would be able to leave the Argentinian border.
Customs said all I needed to do was go to a lawyer and get a notarization paper, officially stamped etc, explaining that I am the new owner and that I have permission to ride the bike and also leave the country with it.

This sounded great! It only took 3 days in sweaty cross town Buenos Aires traffic to sort it all out, buy a tent and make it to the HU meeting in Viedma!

I also FedEx the Title papers to my friend in California (along with my drivers licence/letter of authorization/photocopy of passport) so she could take them into the DMV, prepare the new Title in my name and FedEx them back to me in Argentina (she had previously called DMV to ask if it was possible - they said yes on the phone).

Then I figured with 1) the Title in my name, 2) a Notarized letter confirming me the owner (in place of the previous owners name on the Temp. Import) and 3) my Argentine and neighboring countries insurance I would be sweet to cross the border out of Argentina get my new Temp Import into Chile then from then on I'd be home free, enjoying my ride of a lifetime.

Well, talking with Javier from Dakar Motos at this weekend's HU meeting, he wasn't convinced the Notarization would necessarily fly with the customs officers at the border so he suggested finding the smallest most isolated (hopefully without a computer) border crossing and hope for the best.

So this was the plan, stressing me out over the weekend with thoughts of having my bike confiscated buy customs if it didn't work, after months of pain trying to get it in the first place. That was until I found out today that DMV California won't issue new Title papers in my name without seeing the bike to confirm the VIN!

So what I really need to solve ASAP is this title in my name.
Does ANYONE have advice/solution to this????
Either advice about being able to change bike title in another state without the bike being there so that I can try that, or any other helpful solutions???
At this stage it looks like I will lose my new travelling buddies as they continue on to Ushuaia, and I will be stuck, unable to cross the border, lonely and depressed for Christmas.

Please any help as soon as possible, and I will have s ready for delivery.

Max