Thanks, Mark.
Helpful as always. I didn't know Bogota - LA was an option. That makes infinitely more sense. And yes, a coast to coast route would have to take in the southern states only during that time of year, so missing Yellowstone, but still getting to see zion, moab etc. Hell, we may even go to Disney Land

Panama to USA border possible in 2 weeks? That's food for thought.

Bugger. I hate indecision.

Jeff's right, of course: there's a half a lifetime of fine riding in Mexico.

Start talking to Mike at Casablanca Hostel in Cali now so that shipping doesn't eat up too much of your available time. Anything is possible: it just depends on the price and how much trouble it takes to make it happen.

But hey, you hate indecision and you hate corrupt cops: what's left?

Mark

yes what a question indeed. One with no real wrong answer. Having just returned to the US from Honduras, I can say that CA and Mex are outstanding rides! Do not worry about what you hear on the news. I never had an issue of note. It depends, for me, what you are looking for. If it is 'riding', the US provides everything you can find anywhere in the world; huge paved highways, small winding roads through the mountains, offroad, mud, gravel, dunes, twisties, rain forests, high deserts, desert floors, huge cities, small towns, etc etc, I don't think there is anything you can't find here on a coast to coast. that being said, the US is a different culture than CA or Mex. But possibly after your first two months in SA it is time for a change anyway. A coast to coast ride across the US can be remarkable, however, a large part of the incredible, the OR and WA coast and mountain passes, the CO mountains, UT and its national parks, yellowstone, Beartooth pass, the Blackhills, the grand Canyon, glacier etc etc, out west may not be accessible at this time of year due to the weather. And in my opinion, having to ride from LA through AZ, and ugh(texas) is not anywhere near my top 20 ways across the country unless you just want to say you did it. So given the time of year, I say enjoy CA, and make sure you save at least a month to get a good feel Mexico, it is a lovely country, with outstanding riding and the people are wonderful.

I'm going to break the trend here with my personal opinion.

I didn't like Central America, and we gave it a fair chance doing mixed back roads and Panam riding. To me when riding in CA I felt like I was in a broken loop: volcano, beach, colonial city, jungle, volcano, beach .... I was actually starting to get sick of our Latin America trip until we arrived in SA (Colombia) and it was like a breath of fresh air. I have enjoyed South America a million times more than CA and if I were to do this trip again I would ship myself and bike straight to SA.

That's my 2 cents.

__________________
Canada to Argentina 2010:http://nomi-beto-adventures.blogspot.com/

Website:www.MotoLara.com

Obviously everyone has their own likes and dislikes.
Personally I loved Central America and its diversities- each of those small countries has a very distinct character and Guatemala was my favourite, the colours and the ambience of the indigenous settlemenst and markets, Tikal - the Mayan ruins deep in the jungle are phenomenal.
The diving and snorkelling in Honduras, camping on the beach with the turtles surfing right in next to us in Nicaragua, Costa Rica with its amazing cloud forests, Panama and its bizarre contrasts.
If I was you, I wouldn't miss out on these countries to see the States but then I prefer less-developed countries. I'll quickly add that I've had a great time travelling in the States and Canada as well, but they are a different tarvelling experience.

The countries in Central America are changing all the time, if you want to see them how they are now and before further development then head that way.
Yes, there are sometimes delays at the borders, but if you turn up with the expectation it may take a while and be prepared for it (believe me there are far worse border crossings in the world), I usually find I get through a lot more quickly than I expect.
A couple of words of caution, keep your shipping as simple as possible, if you are now on a time limit and want to make the most of yoru time, use routes that others have used before you - otherwise you can get delayed (speaking from personal experience).
Also - Mexico, which I also like is actually quite a big country and can take longer to travel through than you expect.

Marinomi - "volcano, beach, colonial city, jungle, volcano, beach"
I'm not sure what exactly you were expecting in CA if not those things plus a hundred other things?
true there isn't the majesty and the heights of the Andes that you get in SA, but I found each CA country has a lot to offer and wouldn't choose to miss out this whole section of a continent.

make sure you let us know what choice you make Garmei? And how the trip goes. Whatever you choose, ride safe and have a great journey.

__________________
Tiffany
On the road from...I'm not sure any more
http://www.tiffanystravels.co.uk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAUhV1r-kUo

Just in case there's any confusion - Mexicanos are quick to point out that Mexico is part of North America, not Central America.

__________________
SF to Panama and back
How I Nearly Killed My Friends In Baja

Thank you all for your informed comments. It certainly helps decision making and it's also a bloody interesting read! I'm curious, however, why people have exclaimed 'what a question!' Is this because it's a difficult one to answer, or is it just a no brainer for most people to go ride in this region? Don't be stupid man - go ride!' Anyways....

The responses here seem largely to reflect CA and Mexico in a positive light. The opinions of travelers we've meet who are heading south seem to be more divided on the subject. We're two up, and so this decision really has to be made by both of us and for ourselves, and I won't bore you with our internal dilemmas too much!. But your experiences help, so please keep 'em coming.

At the moment we're torn between flying to LA (which would allow us time to go into Mexico) or just staying in SA and having enough time explore all of Ecuador, Colombia and maybe Venezuela too.

Flying to LA may be prohibitively expensive. Hmmmm....

Just noticed you live up the road from me, do you get down to the Dee for a brew or a coffee much on a sunday,

steve

Not recently.....

PM sent

You definitely do not want to ride across Central America in a hurry. I did that and the corruption will start to drive you mad. I swore that I would never ride through Central America again because of the borders. I have never had patience for that type of inefficiency.

I agree with some of the posters above who recommended only exploring 1-2 countries at a time.

From a cost standpoint, if you are wanting to ride South America it is less expensive to ship your bike there directly as opposed to riding it there through CA. The Darien Gap is a $1k hurdle that some riders overlook.

The best way to see South America is to buy another travelers bike in Argentina using photoshop for the paperwork, see a few countries, and then sell the bike for cheap and fly back.

__________________
http://www.journeyrider.net Latin America blog (07-8)

I've always found dealing with corrupt officials to be about how fast you want to get moving again. If you're in a hurry you pay the money, if not you sit it out until they are bored and want rid of you.

Of the 100+ cops that have demanded money off me for some offence or another I have only paid twice and I have been bought lunch twice after a bit of a chat, so it balanced out pretty well.

Yeh, Central American borders can take a little while, but IMHO they are no slower than entering/leaving the United States (both land or air). With regard to corruption, I didn't encounter any. Maybe it was my attitude or possibly I was just lucky.

I believe that if you're fortunate enough to have the time and money (which the OPs say they don't have) then Central America and Mexico are well worth the visit in terms of great riding, sights to see and cultures to sample.
cheers
Chris

__________________

TBS.com

The Caribbean coast of Colombia is almost good enough in itself to avoid going in my opinion however the Stahlratte boat trip is pretty damn awesome.

What the hell is wrong with you ???? Bitching about corruption in CA and in the same minute suggesting to brake the law down here by photoshopping your papers !!?!?!?!?!?!?
Did it ever come to your mind that part of the corruption happens thanks to guys like you who think that they can do whatever they want down here and get away with it ???
Would you ever do the same shit back home ???
If you would have more RESPECT for the countries you visit , you probably would run into less problems !!

About CA border corruption. Sure, its there, in some countries, depending on the person doing your paperwork. I didnt have any problems other than a couple of customs guys that just had bug up their ass, just like some of these self important customs people do when you try to come back to the States. You know, the Barney Fife types.

I kind of like going through the CA borders. They are really interesting places full of interesting people living and working there. Its worth your while to talk to some of these folks and learn about what they do and how the system works. And FWIW, I always hire a helper. There are A lot of folks on here that get their panties in a wad and dont want to pay a guy 5 bucks to run the paperwork.

I dont see the big deal. I dont hand the guys my stuff, I just have them lead me around while I handle the paperwork and copies so there is no funny business. I always enjoy talking to these guys and 5 bucks is not going break your bank. But, maybe I'm weird that way. It has always gone very smoothly for me when I used a helper.

Be careful photoshoping bike paperwork. In Honduras, they wanted to see my title. I kept the original title well hidden as I didnt want it held hostage or taken from me, and showed the customs gal a very, very good copy, trying to pass it off as the original. She held it up to the light and said, "no, this is a copy, I need to the see the original with the watermark on it."

__________________
http://www.southontwowheels.com