Buying a small motorbike in nicaragua and then drive it through central america.
 

Hello everyone,

After having had a great motorbike trip through south east asia on a vietnamese-purchased suzuki 125cc motorbike without any problems at borders or with police, I would like to do the same in central america.

At the moment I'm in Nicaragua and am looking for a bike to buy. Now ofcourse I hear a lot of: 'You can't do this and you can't do that',( from travellers and locals) but i heard the same in SE-Asia and it turned out it wasn't a problem at all.

I've been surfing on the net but I can only find info about people who have ridden their big 650cc touringbike from back home with all the official documents into and through central america. However, i can't find anything about buying a local bike (a small one, like 125-150cc) and driving that across different countries.

Is there anyone who has done such a thing and can give me some insight about how it works with bordercrossing, policecheckpoints and to register (or not register) a locally purchased bike?

I could really use some info!

Thanks!

Greets Rob

If you are in Nicaragua and plan on touring the CA-4 countries, you will not have any problems crossing borders. A friend doing an RTW on a 125 Tales from the Saddle - Solo Motorcycle Tour Around the World on a Honda XR125 & Yamaha YBR 125 could be a good reference for you. He rode his YBR125 from Europe through Africa. Then from California down to Guatemala. His bike had electrical problems that could not be fixed here for months, so he purchased a Honda XR125L here to continue his journey to TDF. He is somewhere in Perú at the moment. Contact him for more info. Personally, I believe the best way to see/travel CA is on a under 250cc bike. good luck, and let me know when/if you are in Guatemala. We may get a chance to ride together.

Thanks a lot! I've emailed him and got some good info!

Hola ,

You will have the best time on those little bikes!

Just search with the term "125cc" or something similar and i think a lot will come up!

Let us know how thing go!

saludos.

Hi Richsuz,
my soon to be husband and are wanting to ride from Nicaragua to Belize for our honeymoon. is it possible to do this ride and purchase a bike? I know a lot of place will not allow rentals across the border and due to not being able to bring the bike back we do not want to rent. we are hoping if possible to buy a bike in Nicaragua then if we are allowed sell it in Belize, or,, see how much it costs to ship back to Canada. but we are wanting to do a week in CR, a week in Nicaragua, a week in Guatemala, and finish our trip in Belize. can you help with this with any info? I have been searching for a while and havent had any luck yet. lots of helpful people but no luck.

thank you, cheers
Jerri-Lea

welcome to the hubb. you cannot register a bike in nicaragua without residency. foreign plated bikes are not common. best place to buy in central america is guatemala, where foreigners can register vehicles without residency.

I agree with teevee I dont know the details of other CA countries but in Guatemala 1 day ( maybe 2 if your unlucky) And you are ready to ride anywhere. If buying a new bike plan at least 3-4 weeks to get your license plate (and ride through borders) with a used bike you can go anywhere right away.

:scooter:

As Coors said. Buy in Guatemala. Are you planing two up on a small bike? Or two small bikes? The problem with selling the bike later in a different country will be import taxes and registration which will make it unappealing unless it is a desirable bike. So pretty much do your travelling thinking your transport is disposable. Judging by your itinerary you won't have time to seat around to sell the bike. So if you'll be lucky to get $200 on a short sell to someone. An American rode from Illinois on a Suzuki GSX750 2003 last year. Sold it to another American for $150 which in turn rode it back north. At the end of the trip the bike served its purpose.

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Hi. I would like to buy a bike in Nicaragua and hav it registered on a friend who lives there. Would it be possible to take this bike over borders? What about insurance etc. Any advice would be great!
And why would you all go with the 125cc? I ride a 800cc back home and would rather have something stronger for Central America, or what are your thoughts on that?

in theory it could be done, if your friend gave you a "poder" basically a letter drafted by an attorney with all sorts of silly seals, that specifically grants you the power to transport the bike cross border. this should work, but you can expect to have more than the usual problems/stress at borders. insurance would have to be in the registered owner's name. bike insurance in nica costs $50 per year and you can only buy annual policies. you will need to buy insurance in each country which may present a problem since you are not the owner, but i can't speak to that with any certainty.

i guess some folks would rather have bikes that blend in and for which parts, tires, tubes etc are readily available and finding mechanics familiar with the models is as easy as turning the corner.

Hello Jerri-Lea, just saw read this, and my girlfriend and I are planning on doing the same thing. How did it go? What size bike would you recommend for two people? Any information or tips that you wish people would had shared with you before such trip?

Sincerely,
Mironese

Sadly, she only has made that one post, and hasn't logged in since 27 Oct 2015. You could try looking at her profile and sending her an email, but I wouldn't hold your breath.


Unfortunately, you'll see that a lot here: folks who pop in, make a few posts to try and get the info they want, and then drift off without any update or follow-up.

Hi Robb

I bought an El Salvador plated KLR afew years ago and rode to the United states. I even built a surfboard rack on the side. The process was super easy and i got all the correct documentation without an hassle. I had to pay for a temporary import into Mexico but otherwise and as people have mentioned, the C4 dosnt require permits if your plates are from one of the C4 countries..

Bike selection will be much more limited down there than some where like the US but you might get lucky and link up with another adventure rider on the sight..

have fun