Flying a bike in a suitcase to South America

[Treveller]

Hi there everyone

A long time ago I transported several bikes from Miami into Brazil. 1992 I believe. I have photos but don't know how to upload them here just yet. It was pretty laid back affair. It was done with suitcases and a basic toolkit. A little welding and reassembly took place and then the bikes were sold in Brazil.

So, hypothetically. Moving forward to the current climate. Could somebody dismantle a motorbike, let's say in Australia, put it into suitcases and maybe a box and then fly it into let's say Santiago? travel via bus to get over the border into no mans land with the suitcases and box and then put the bike back together and enter the next country legitimately and start their South American journey?

This question is just for the sake of conversation of course and I would never do anything illegal. Just curious about this option for shipping in theory only.

I'd love to hear peoples opinions or similar experiences.

[Grant Johnson]

This should be an interesting discussion!
FWIW - Ed March flew his C90 in a suitcase a few years ago successfully.

Pictures - loads of info in the FAQ

[Treveller]

https://postimg.cc/VSS8nz6L

[Grant Johnson]

Treveller, that's the hard way for readers, if you can post the photo here directly it's a lot better.
Cool photo though! What bikes were they?

[Treveller]

Sorry Grant, just trying to figure it all out. They were Suzuki RM 125's and 250's. I am guessing they were 1992 models. Maybe 1993? either way they were a model year ahead in the United States with Brazil being a year behind in their model releases. It made the Bikes worth importing for us. $3k in the US and roughly $10k in Brazil...

[AnTyx]

Originally Posted by Treveller

Could somebody dismantle a motorbike, let's say in Australia, put it into suitcases and maybe a box and then fly it into let's say Santiago? travel via bus to get over the border into no mans land with the suitcases and box and then put the bike back together and enter the next country legitimately and start their South American journey?

I think the Argentinian guards would inquire about 1) your license plate (Australian?), and 2) evidence of the bike's Chilean TVIP having been closed out?

Why no man's land? Why not simply reassemble the bike in the air cargo warehouse at Santiago airport?

Assuming it's physically possible, what is the advantage over just... breaking down the bike into the smallest possible volume in Australia and airfreighting it into Santiago as normal? I think 150kg in overweight luggage fees is not going to be all that significantly cheaper...

[Treveller]

I think the Argentinian guards would inquire about 1) your license plate (Australian?), and 2) evidence of the bike's Chilean TVIP having been closed out?

I have seen YouTube with Australian plated bikes all over South America - that isn't an issue as far as I know. I'm not sure if the Argentinian guards care about where the bike has come from. Would they look at your cancelled Chilean TVIP? I have read other posts and people talk about changing ownership of their bikes in no mans land when selling them. Perhaps it is because they have dodgy paperwork? I'm not sure. I just asked this question to try and get some clarity on whether shipping in bags is a viable option? it used to be easy enough 30 years ago.

Why no man's land? Why not simply reassemble the bike in the air cargo warehouse at Santiago airport?
I gather that if I air freight with a shipping agent then it seems to take forever in Santiago with Customs and the paperwork required to enter the country? Videos I've seen have travellers taking all day or sometimes more than one day. Whereas people seem to do the border crossings ( between Chile and Argentina) in an hour sometimes? A much faster process?
I have also read/seen some people that need to cancel their TIP with broken motorbikes just go into no mans land and get rid of the bike there.

Assuming it's physically possible, what is the advantage over just... breaking down the bike into the smallest possible volume in Australia and airfreighting it into Santiago as normal? I think 150kg in overweight luggage fees is not going to be all that significantly cheaper...

I am assuming crating up a bike and sending it via shipping agent would be $3k or $4k? unless prices are less than I think? I am also assuming that paying extra baggage would be much less cost than that? cheap enough that I could possibly fly my wife with me to help with the heavy bags!

I also like the idea of the bike arriving with me on the plane. Sure I would be paying for transport to a hotel with heavy baggage and working out my transport onwards but at least I would have everything with me.

Thanks for the reply.

[TravelBean]

That was before baggage fees