Awesome forum!

[flare]

Hey guys!

Ive just recently found this forum! i just passed my bike test last week and now im planning a trip from canada to s america.... southern point of argentina.

Im right at the planning stage, i dont even own a bike in the u.k. am i able to purchase a bike in say canada and ride it through borders?? otherwise id have to buy a bike in the .uk and ship it over! is there a big cost in this??

So you guys on the road, it must be awesome!! on typical how many miles per gallon does your bike do ? whats your cost per day on fuel ??

it must be so exciting!! id really love to do it, just need to plan out a few things and try make my dream a reality! any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!

[jc]

Welcome Flare.

My wife and I are riding a BMW GS two up around the world.
My advise to you would be to get s small bike (250 to 400cc max), depending on your budget. My BMW is nice in countries like Canada and America with long roads, but an overkil in most countries. We drove with an American guy on his Honda 250 Tornado (bought in Costa Rica) in Panama and Colombia and we did about the same speed, 70-90km/h.
A big bike like the BMw is expensive to fix when it brake, where a small bike is much cheaper to maintain in 3rd world countries.

We typically spend about US$60 per day, incliding everything from petrol, bike maintanance, food, excursions, sleeping etc. For one person with a cheaper bike you should be able to easily half that. It all depends.

Good luck, but I must warn you, if the bug has bitten, you are screwed to travel for the rest of your life, or as long as the money last at least!

Johan

[hopelessly lost]

JC is right on the money. You don't need a big bike, although I'd say a 650 is the perfect size. Where you're going (Central and South America) you won't hit any major off-road terrain unless you actively seek it out. He's also fairly accurate on the daily cost. I usually budget $50 per day and I managed to stick to that on my last trip to Europe, Middle East and North Africa even including shipping my bike from Canada and back again. Generally, the longer you spend on the trip, the lower your daily average gets to be.

Have fun.