Hi fellow riders,

First of all, thanks for the tons of useful info. I read a lot about the laws in each country but only found few comments regarding the prices, so here it goes.

I started a trip a couple of months ago to explore the americas. Landed in miami and hopefully, at some point I'll reach the end of argentina. So far, it's been buses, trains, hitch-hiking etc. But I'm getting that itch again... I'm currently in new orleans, and the plan is to pass from texas, and then go all the way south. In order to make it, I don't think I can afford much more than about 2000 dollars for a bike. Any suggestions as to where it would be cheaper to buy a used bike? Was thinking of something like a klr or honda-cb, but not too fussed about the model as long as it's relatively reliable (I guess in each place people have different obsessions with different models). Obviously the closer to here the better, but if it's much cheaper in another country, e.g. guatemala or costa rica, I can wait.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

Firstly.......

secondly.....look here

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...r-sale-wanted/

Hi, I live in Costa Rica, so forget here, the taxes are high so all bikes and cars are very expensive, I hope this would help you.

Bikes are FAR cheaper to buy in the USA than Latin America.
Texas is good to buy as is California, Arizona, Oregon.

There are 10 times as many good used bikes in the USA than anywhere in Mex, Cent. or South America.

With $2000 usd you can do OK, but $2500 would get you something better.
Craig's list is your friend. Be patient, shop around. Have cash ready when you find a good deal. Try to get seller to help you register the bike in your name and help with transfer. (not hard)

You must have the bike's title in your name to cross borders. Not a big deal. You may have to purchase US insurance (or not) legally required.

Once in Mexico, NO USA insurance is valid there, so you should buy Mexican insurance (although not mandatory, but a very good idea) You can buy Mex. insurance for any amount of time and you can add time as you like.

There are tons of threads here on HUBB about all this. Read up!

I'd look at 250's, 400's or 650's, street legal bike is best. Most prefer some sort of Japanese made dual sport bike as they are TOUGH, versatile and reliable. They pack up well and very easy to service and maintain. They use common tire sizes and parts may be more available down South.

Here are some more common, low priced bikes you might find out there
(listed dual sport bikes only, USA bikes only):

HONDA
XR250L, XL250R, CRF230L*, (XR250R or XR400R* with Baja street kit), XR650L

Suzuki
DR200, DRZ400S* or E, DR650SE* (buy post '97 only)

Yamaha
XT225 Serow, XT250, XT600R (rare)

Kawasaki
225 Super Sherpa*, KLR250, KLX250S, KLX400S* (same as Suzuki DRZ400S) KLX650 (rare). KLR650*.

* indicates recommended

KLR650's are quite common and cheap-ish. Try to get one that's set up for travel. DR650 is the bike I own, a good one but a bit more $$ than KLR. Good 250's may be hard to find and a bit too much money but if lots of off road riding planned, then may be preferable.

Many thanks for the info guys!

Mollydog that was very informative, appreciate it.

Had a look at the houston craigslist which definitely has more than new orleans. That XR option doesn't sound bad at all Plenty more to read but at least now I've got a better idea of the where, so have to check the how.

safe travels to all

If you can find a Qlink XF/xp 200 or a SSR XF 200 or 250, these are Chinese made but made in a factory with some kind of deal with Suzuki, Qingqi. They are found all over Central and South America (under different brand names) so parts and/or service would be easy to find. The advantage is they are brand new for near your budget as opposed to finding and sorting out someone's used bike. Many Suzuki engine parts interchange with the Qingqi engine, too. Put in Qingqi in the search feature and I am sure a few threads will pop up here on Horizons. I mention them simply because of their low cost and above average (for Chinese) quality. Plus, they are found throughout the US or mail ordered to you.

I bought my Honda Cargo 150 at merimoto in Merida Mexico for 1800 usd. But luckily i got a local resident who bought my sailboat to vouch for my plates. You see any foreigner can purchase a mptorcycle, but they give you 7 days of riding before you are required to buy the license plates and put them on. You have to goto the mexican dmv but heres the catch...you have to have an address with a light bill or a bill with your name on it in Mexico to get the plates.

So what I did was i asked my Mexican friend Picci to let me buy the motorcycle and put it in his name on the title when I made the purchase at Merimoto. (He was not there with me during the purchase). So with the motorcycle in his name we went to the dmv and he took a light bill of his and got the plates. Now the interesting part...In order to get the motorcycle in my name I had to show I purchased it from him. So we wrote a note on the back of the title stating the motorcycle and all associated documents were transferred to Me and he signed it. Then we went to find the "president of the town. (Dzilam de bravo) and this president stamped his seal on it and signed it and I was on my way.

One more catch. In costa rica they wanted to be hard heads so I kinda got into a quarrel over where i was parked with the aduana. He wanted me to put my bike with all my stuff on it out of my view on the side of a building and I told him no because there were several other vehicles parked where i was parked. Long story short he decided he didn't like the way my title was signed over to me. He laughed as he said it and sent me to the superviser in another building. After a lengthy wait. They said I needed to go to the lawyer across the street. (Imagine that) and get another document typed up and stamped and sealed stating that the title was legit....so for two hours I sat and watched this costa rican attorney modify a document to satisfy them and gave him. $30 usd. He said they were just giving me a hard time and he had only done this twice in his career. It did come in handy in Ecuador too though. Beware you have to buy insurance (seguro) at each border crossing, but don't worry it's cheap and readily available usually next door to the aduana.

So there you have it. This was the best $1830 I ever spent. Took me a year to go 17000 miles through twelve countries on super honda and never had a problem. Sold the bike to a guy from Israel living in Bolivia for $450 and a set of $1500 Judaica kosher knives. It's easier if you sell it to another foreigner, just get an attorney to transfer it to them for $20. Then i bought an American Airlines ticket home in La. Paz and flew back to Houston.

Sounds complicated ... and maybe a bit risky? I'd never travel on a bike without an official title in my own name. Ups the odds for "issues" at borders. IMHO, $1800 is no bargain for a 150cc bike. Lots of good used bikes around for that money and on re-sale will bring more than $450. But it worked for you so all good.

I like just a bit more power to be able to get out the way of speeding buses and trucks and safely ride up over 14,000 ft. with a bit of power left over. Off road in deep sand a bit of power pulls you through on a loaded bike.
But as Ogri says: "Any Bike Is Good!".