Leaving a bike in Guatemala or Mexico

[Jake Dury]

I am an American who will be heading down to Guatemala on my KLR in the Fall. I plan to spend the winter down there and fly back home in the Spring, leaving my bike down South for four months while I work back in Chicago. I am unsure, however, of the legalities regarding leaving my bike down there for that length of time.

From what I understand, Guatemala requires you to place the bike in a bonded warehouse. If this is indeed true, how expensive is this and is it even feasible? What is the situation in Mexico? What about other countries around there (Belize + Honduras)?

I have searched this site and the internet but finding solid information about this is proving tough. Thanks for any help you can provide.

-Jake

[jcfalkner]

Jake,

I am currenlty in the same situation you are anticipating. I guy on ADV rider, who lives in Guatemala made a call for me and apparently you are not required to live your bike in a government fascility.

However, you do need to exit the country with your bike within the 90 days of alloted time. This 90 day period applies for Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Niguragua. If you need to leave your bike somewhere for longer than 90 days you might need to try another country or pay a fine for leaving your bike here for longer than 90 days. I do not know what the penalty would be.

You can refresh the 90 day period by leaving the group of 4 countries for 3 days and returning. I recently had to do this. I used Mexico as my exit country. I paid a $10 bribe to avoid the 3 day wait period and from what I understand this is pretty common.

I am flying back to the states in early July, so I will let you know how it goes.

Good Luck