Traveling 6 weeks on/6 weeks off??

[NorCalKid]

Just wondering if any of you travel in stages? Anybody do like one month on one off leaving the bike in foreign countries? Is 6 weeks storage guna be fairly easy or will this be a constant hassle with them thinking I'm importing the bike. Just wondering if this is a realistic way to travel. I currently work 6 on/6 off rotation and travel half the year renting bikes/scooters. Thinking of just heading south on the VSTROM doing the same but kinda worried about leaving the bike in foreign countries and customs????? Not so much worried about physically storing the bike.

The nice thing about going this route, I have already been doing this without the bike for a couple years, I don't have to save up for a big trip. I just go next rotation(January). And I am still working, earning and can basically travel 6 months a year till I retire.

The negative, By the end of this year I will have been on 36 flights, that gets kinda old. And leaving the bike, no idea how difficult that will be????

Any thoughts?

[GenXrider]

I have done this and left it at the dealers all over Latin America.
The filter, oil and whatever fee's are often a lot less than storage fee's :-)

[Tony LEE]

In theory, and sometimes in practice, it is illegal to take a vehicle in on a TVIP and leave it behind. Usually ignored in Argentina, Uruguay, and Ecuador from personal experience and permission can br obtained frkm Aduana in Peru and Panama, but a couple of countries do make a note on the passport so there it may not be possible

Another consideration will be the duty of airline checkin people to make sure that all passengers hold valid outwards tickets. Often not policed but some airlines are very strict about it.

Another ptoblem that can't always be circumvented is that many if not most countries issue 90 day TVIP and while some allow extensions, most only process extensions in the last couple of weeks of the original permit. Others require a border run to renew. ARG is usually 8 months but sometimes only 3 months, Uruguay is 12 months. No idea about Africa.

[NorCalKid]

Originally Posted by robdr1

I have done this and left it at the dealers all over Latin America.
The filter, oil and whatever fee's are often a lot less than storage fee's :-)

Thanks, Alaska, US, Mexico will be no issue.

What were the most hassle free countries in Central and South America? I think in Costa Rica you have to do some kind of bonded warehouse? I guess I/m asking what countries did you do this in and which did you find prohibitive? And where was your bike registered?

I guess I am mostly thinking of Latin America. The flights to Africa and travel time kinda make this tough. And I already own a bike in SEA so no issues in that region(though I have spent a year out of the last 2 years there and would like to go somewhere else this year) maybe do the same in Europe(buying) so I have a EU plated bike and spend a year there on/off. Leaving the bike somewhere central and heading each direction for 6 weeks.

[GenXrider]

I have left my bike at dealers in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
My friends have done it in Panama and also Mexico without issue.

[NorCalKid]

Originally Posted by robdr1

I have left my bike at dealers in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
My friends have done it in Panama and also Mexico without issue.

Awesome, Thank you

[moggy 1968]

Originally Posted by NorCalKid

Thanks, Alaska, US, Mexico will be no issue.

What were the most hassle free countries in Central and South America? I think in Costa Rica you have to do some kind of bonded warehouse? I guess I/m asking what countries did you do this in and which did you find prohibitive? And where was your bike registered?

I guess I am mostly thinking of Latin America. The flights to Africa and travel time kinda make this tough. And I already own a bike in SEA so no issues in that region(though I have spent a year out of the last 2 years there and would like to go somewhere else this year) maybe do the same in Europe(buying) so I have a EU plated bike and spend a year there on/off. Leaving the bike somewhere central and heading each direction for 6 weeks.

I am doing something similar, travel for a bit, back to work for a bit, then travel for a bit. Sounds like you have a nice gig there.
Europe would be no problem, Ukraine is no problem, just come back from there. Off to Morocco in Feb so trying to find out about that one. Belarus is OK but you have to sort out the right paperwork at the border.

I fly 2-3 times a month for work, we almost never have return tickets booked, it's never been a problem.