Dear Travellers -

Me and my girlfriend we would like to tour South America with the Motorcycle, starting in december. Since shipping the bikes is too expensive, we will disassemble them und ship the heavy parts (engine,...) with a friend of mine, who is shipping his truck to Buenos Aires in May anyway. We will then just take the frames and the wheels of the bikes with us, when we fly there in december - hoping, that argentinian customs will mark the frames as a "motorcycles" in our passport, when we enter. Now the question is, where can we have stored the box with the heavy parts of the bikes, which comes with the truck in May? Does anybode know a trustworthy person in Buenos Aires, who would be willing to store the things in his home until december?
I would be very happy about an answer!

tim

Hi Tim,
You might have a bit of a problem with customs, when I shipped my bike in the engine No, frame No and No plate where all checked by the customs at BA airport. But I dont know for sure if they will issue you a temp 90 import with just the frame and wheels.
good luck
jose

Hi Tim:
We leave in Buenos Aires and we don’t have problem to store your bike’s part at home. But I think you will have a lot of trouble with the custom to get the parts to Argentina but more trouble to take it outside the country.
When you come with a bike in transit, you make a temporary importation and they give you a permit ion for 90 days to stay here. But you can’t do the some with the parts.
I don’t know but may be is better buy one here and when you finish the travel sell it.
But anyway if you will bring the parts or the bike you can store it at home.
Regards
Javier & Sandra.

hola,

yeah a cheap way of getting the bike to South America, have never thought of this.

Javier and Sandra are very trustworthy people, they have helped me and other travellers. Javier runs a mc shop, Dakar Motos.

If you arrive with the frame and the wheels on the airport, you will need a temporary import paper (for up to 8 months) for the bike from the customs. Right Javier ? I hope you speak spanish. They will need to put engine, frame and rego number in this temporary import paper.

Good luck. Suerte.

Mika from Belem / Brazil

Thank you for your answers - this is a great forum. the answers come so quickly... :-)
I think, I will just try it. Shipping the motorcycle there is expensive and probably equally stressing (getting the bikes out of the port). For buying one there, I am lacking the money. I just visited
http://www.mercadolibre.com.ar/
which is EBAY-argentina and was shocked about the prices. So we will be hoping, that the customs at the airport will either declare it as a motorcycle in our passsport or let it go through without anything. So the big problem will then be to get out of the country. But - I think somehow we may manage that.
The big question is - if there are requent police-controls in Argentina, where they ask for you importation-permit?
And on the other hand - is there no customs-office in B.A. where one can walk in and register the moto afterwards?
Does anybody know a EMail-adress of the argentinian customs?
I mean - it is no illigal thing, which we are planning :-)

tim

Hi Tim,
I 2nd everything Mika has said about Javier and Sandra they are fantastic people and have helped myself and other travellers on a number of occasions.
As for frequent police stops, you usually get stopped crossing from one state to another but most of the time its just to asks where you are going and how far you have travelled and to admire your moto :-)
The Moto is not stamped in your passport but you are given a temp import paper (which acts as a carnet). The customs at BA airport where great when we arrived if you do a search for "Baldgit" or "BA Airport" you should get Freds aka Baldgit report on getting your moto out of customs at BA.
Hope this helps
and good luck.
regards
jose

ps
Hola Mika, Javier & Sandra
from rainy Salta

Hi Tim.
First you have our house to store the parts or the bikes, don’t worry about it.
About the custom in Argentina, I’ don’t know the Africans ones, But here they like find trouble to ask you money. If you want you can try getting some information, the web site is www.afip.gov.ar.
Only a question: Could your father bring the complete bike in his truck? May be in that way he can fill the forms to the temporary importation.
The longer time I know they will give you is 90 days.
In May and June we will be here I suppose in December too. Any way if we are not at home we always left someone here.
We will give you our adress and our phone number.
But first try to be sure that you will take your bike away from Argentina….
Argentina’s custom and the police control are not the most honest in the world.
So if I can inquire anything I will tell you.
Keep in contact
Sandra & Javier
Ps: Hi Mika,Celt and every body from the wet and hot BAires

Tim,
Are you crazy?! This is a VERY BAD idea and I don't think it will save you ANY money! It will probably end up costing you more.... Believe me - it is MUCH better to ship a complete bike with all the paperwork in order than to try to ship it in parts. Getting customs to grant you a temporary importation permit on an engine and parts will be practically impossible! They will charge you duty on the parts - and it will end up costing more than if you shipped it complete. (Not to mention the cost of staying in Buenos Aires while you sort out this logistical nightmare!) Grimaldi do a roll-on roll-off shipping service from Europe to Buenos Aires and it's 170 Euros per bike plus port charges - see www.Grimaldi-freightercruises.com. We will be using this service next month from Bs As to the UK.
Good luck!!

By the way, we're in Buenos Aires, not Sydney as it says here (don't know how to update it!!)...

Hi Tim,

Wish you the best of luck -- Am very curious to see if this idea works. As others have said, could easily see "them" giving you more hassle than it may be worth. Receiving a bike at the airport in BsAs is much cheaper than at the seaport. ($60 vs $400). I've heard that Uruguay is a bit more expensive.

A friend shipped his bike to Valpariso (near Santiago), Chile, and paid US$7 -- yes, only SEVEN Dollars to reclaim his bike. I was with him, and the whole process was done in one day. The customs offices are walking distance from where the containers get unpacked.

Good luck and have fun!
-C & E



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hello from english speaking GUYANA,

me again, read all your remarks. about mojo - guess this are martin and jo - I had to laugh.

yeah, it is crazy to take the bike in parts to South America.

But only the crazy win ! This is South America.

would also like to know what is the end of the story.

please post it here and we will all have a laugh, or send you money to bsas.

greetings out of the heat of the jungle in Guyana - the name of this place is Linden, and I am surprised to find an internet cafe here.

keep riding

mika



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Really mate, don't do it. You are buying yourself a whole mess of trouble. Ship it a few weeks ahead of flying yourselves. Not perfect, but a lot better than the five or six terrible possibilities the other way offers you.

Maybe it'll all go through without a hitch. It is possible. But, as someone who as spent a great deal of my time in the last four years importing and exporting my bike, I strongly advise against the break-it and ship-it idea.

A frame is still a bike--it has the VIN on it. That's all the customs officer cares about. Tax on imported motor parts runs at over 100 percent in this neck of the woods (I am in Buenos Aires), so you may have to purchase the bike two or three times.

If I can help in any way in the next period let me know.

You will not be allowed to import any motorcyle parts that are used into Argentina. Period. I cannot even get my new parts through customs. Even if you could, why would you want to pay duties when a complete bike is given a temporary permit and no duties are required?