out of date tags on usa bike through central & south america
 

uk rider on klr bought in seattle using seattle address. leaving usa to mexico then central & south america on washington state plates ,tags will be 2weeks out of date will this cause a problem leaving the usa and entering mexico .do i need to register leaving at usa customs and will out of date tags be a problem at all other countrys border crossings in central & south america any info would be much appricated

Holly
I am sure it would be best to get the tags, if for nothing else, peace of mind. But no one out of US will ask for Washington State registration paper, they will just want to see title. One way would be to remove the month tab so just the ,09 tab is there. No one south of the border will likely know that there is suppose to be a month tab. Your only problem will be in getting to the boarder because if they stop you in US they will want to see registration.
If you need help getting tabs, I am in Washington and could get the tabs for you if you can get info to me.

Bob

You will be asked for ownership of the bike, you will have to show title with your name, not registration.

just went through this
 

there is a post here some where ,i have the same deal with a oregon tagged bike and no problem at all as long as you have the title and a plate your fine ,my advice is get it colour copied and laminated ,and when the officials ask ,dont speak any spanish ,even if you are fluent enough to chat up penelpoe cruz ,dumb tourist works for me ,and a smile

Your problem area will only be in the USA and Canada if you have expired tags.
Outside these countries it really does not matter, just as long as you have a legal ownership document in your name and a valid drivers license you are good.
The license plate sticker is just a device to show the police that you have a current registration and paid your home state " road tax " for the year.Other states/countries have no interest and allow you to travel, the same courtesy is extended to them by your home state.
In north and central Mexico you will frequently see cars with US plates and long-expired stickers. These were brought in by Mexicans and they neglect to get them registered in Mexico to avoid taxes.
There has been a push on for folks to register such cars but the police appear to be very lax in enforcing this in much of the back country.

thanks to all for the usfull info and a special thanks to road hog for his kind offer of help, thats what really great about this biking community strangers willing to help one and other .tags expire 7 july i leave usa app 1 week later ,think il take the chance risk not so great thanks again for all your usfull coments and any further advice will be much apprecated cant wait to leave,:funmeterno: next 9 weeks on the road calafornia to argentina:funmeteryes:

9 weeks
 

the cops wont see you ,you will need to be going that fast,it will all be a blur

I've been driving through the americas with out of date everything for a while now. If anyone ever tries anything about it at borders or check stops I just say that it's old paperwork, and that I have in-date registration and insurance but the papers don't reflect it. I then claim that there is a law in Canada against sending official documents out of the country by mail, and thus of course my paperwork is in date but there is no possible way that I could legally have it in my hand to show them. Whatever country I'm in at any given time probably has lots of rididculous laws like that, so it's never really been questioned and they make do with what I've got.

Good call on peeling off the stickers, I had to peel off my year sticker too :)