Tips for riding down from Mexico to Panama

[maartenjmennes]

Hi All! I am new to this website, I have read many interesting threads already and thought I would give it a try.

I just finished my 6 years of university in Amsterdam, and am planning a little trip. I ride a motorcycle here in the Netherlands, but have limited experience with DIY motorcycle repairs. The original plan was to fly to Mexico City, buy a used motorcycle and ride down via Yucatan-Belize-Guatemala etc., to eventually finish in Colombia. There is no road between Panama and Colombia so I would either fly the bike or go by boat. However, my question is regarding the start of the journey. I have read different things about buying a used motorcycle in Mexico City, some good ones and some bad ones.

I am now starting to wonder if it would be better to fly to Houston instead, and buy a motorcycle there, as there seem to be a better supply of decent bikes. Is it a big hassle to get a used motorcycle registered on my name as a tourist in Texas? Or would it be easier to get the bike in Mexico City, and what should I pay attention to if I would choose this option? What would you do if you were in my position?

My spanish is definitely not sufficient to engage in lengthy conversations about the specifications of the bikes/price etc, but hope to find someone willing to help me, maybe someone that works in my hostel or something.

If anyone has any experience or relevant knowledge, I would really appreciate your tips!

Kind regards,

Maarten

[Sjoerd Bakker]

Goeie middag Maarten,
Your best plan of attack would be to buy a used motorcycle in the USA ,get it totally registered in your own name and then start the trip into Mexico and to South America.
Your selection of good motorcycles would be very restricted in Mexico and prices will not be advantageous over buying in the USA .Your Spanish language deficit would make it a nightmare to sort things out in Mexico.
Many foreign riders do such buys in the USA ( with a mediator) and they have little problems getting a bike registered in their name. As long as you can give an address of some friend or new acquaintance to fill the blank on the paperwork of ownership . There are no severe restrictions on foreigners doing this , unlike in NL where there are residency requirements for it.
There are many ways to locate used motorcycles that are up for sale, like eBay and the same companies that run the auto finder magazines and websites as you have in Nederland .Google search these and you will find them . Happy hunting

[markharf]

I'll repeat what I seem to be repeating too often recently:

The USA consists of 50 individual states (plus some random entities like Puerto Rico and the District of Colombia). Each state has different rules about who can or cannot register a car or motorcycle. What is easy in one state (Arizona, for example) is difficult or impossible in another (c.f., New York).

Therefore, don't take anyone's word for it that "There are no severe restrictions," and "they have little problems....", even including the usually-rock-solid Sjoerd Bakker; if you want to buy a bike in Texas, look up the rules for non-residents purchasing, registering and insuring bikes in Texas. Use Google, and read the fine print.

If you're not willing to do that, at least read this thread: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...nals-can-58648

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

[maartenjmennes]

@Sjoerd Bakker; goedenavond, ik had al zo´n vermoeden door de naam


Thanks for both the replies, appreciate it!

I do not have any acquaintances in Mexico or Texas, so registering it in my name will probably be very difficult. I would like to buy the bike second hand, and I heard in Mexico you will then need to find someone willing to supply their address for registering the bike in my name.

Same holds for Texas, where they also require an address.

I am thinking it might be better to travel by bus. This would be a real shame, but I do not see any other options, as I have to buy the motorcycle second hand and need plates and register it in my own name to cross borders.

If anyone has any suggestions, this would be great! I will fly either to Houston or Mexico City coming Wednesday.

Regards,

Maarten

[markharf]

Maarten, finding an address is easy. If you wanted to buy in my state (you don't since I'm a couple of thousand km from Mexico), I'd let you use my address. Easy.

It's the state laws which are difficult or impossible. Read the thread I linked, then decide you want to buy a bike in, say, California--right near the border. Or maybe Arizona, or Colorado. Post about your definite plans here, and someone's very likely to offer to help you out.

Or: give up and ride the buses. I've done that, and I can state with authority that a motorbike is waaaayyyyyy more fun....but maybe it's not worth it to you, which is fine.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

[Sjoerd Bakker]

Maarten , read the personal message I also sent you- look at your name tag at top right when you sign in, tap on " notifications" and get the list where you find the choice to read the pm
There are folk who will gladly lend you their address as a mail drop and fulfil legal Requirements for having an address . There are even some who will sell you a used bike and buy it back if you make it a round trip ; )
As Mark said , investigate which states make the least problems which you can easily travel to with a direct flight from Schiphol. California is one of those .

[maartenjmennes]

Thanks Sjoerd! I am experiencing some technical issues with replying to the pm, I don´t know if you received my previous two. After some more digging, I have come to the conclusion that it might be too ambitious to buy a motorcycle in the US.

In CA it usually takes 20-30 business days to get the proof of the motorcycle being in my name. As I would like to spend as much time in Mexico, I would rather not stay too long in LA area. I will send Tuckers a message regardless, to ask about his opinion, thanks for the tip!

My plan now is to fly to Mexico City, and hope to find someone there willing to lend me their address for the bike. I read on other sites (don´t know how trustworthy) that some sellers will provide this as a service to acquire the sell, hopefully for second-hand bikes as well. I do not mind hanging around in Mexico, as there are lots of things I would like to do there. If it proofs too difficult to achieve this, I will continue by bus and plan a trip like this more extensively in the future.

Thanks to both of you for all your insights!

Kind regards,


Maarten

[markharf]

Just noting that you're having difficulty with private messages because you've only got a few posts here. Keep at it and that difficulty will evaporate.

Like all the rest of us, you're somewhere midway through a lifelong learning curve. Enjoy your trip!

Mark

[chris]

This thread might be of interest to the OP: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...nals-can-58648

It's also worth remembering that a non-Mexican resident or citizen is not able to legally register a Mexican vehicle. Without legitimate papers, crossing a border to anywhere is impossible.

Also m/cs in the USA tend to be cheaper and there's much greater selection than in Mexico. While speaking a funny kind of English, they do speak English in the USA. Unless you're fluent in Spanish, you'll struggle communicating with a lot of Mexicans. With regard to Mexican bureaucracy: Suerte!

Check the appropriate Craigslists and the Fleamarket on advrider.com (you need to be logged in there, to view it).

[yuma simon]

I would recommend not registering a bike in California even if you purchased one there (not sure how flexible your plans are). California takes weeks to get a license plate and registration is why.

I honestly don't know how difficult it is for foreigners to register a bike in Arizona, but I do know that at one of the privately owned motor vehicle offices (there are official Arizona State offices, but these private ones do the same services but for a fee on top of what the state charges) I asked the guy working this question, and he stated it is easy, but I didn't have time to get into detail with him.

For me, if I buy a bike used from a private party, I can go to either the state motor vehicle office and wait for hours, or go to a private one and wait for minutes, pay $10 to $15 above what the state would charge, and walk out with a title, a license plate, and current Arizona road registration. And I am 20 minutes from the Mexican border in my small city, but I do not recommend buying a bike here in Yuma.

If you buy a bike elsewhere, you can ride it to Arizona or another easy to register state, and go through the same motions and walk out with a plate and title. I will try to find out how an address works here in Arizona for you.

[VicMitch]

Whie the US consists of several different states with vastly different rules, you can buy a bike anywhere you find one, then register it in one of the easy states. There is no restriction on transferring a vehicle from one state to another.

It is easier to buy in the US. For the price of a cheap Chinese bike in MX, you can buy a Japanese mid sized bike that will take you anywhere and kep up with traffic.

[yuma simon]

Originally Posted by VicMitch

Whie the US consists of several different states with vastly different rules, you can buy a bike anywhere you find one, then register it in one of the easy states. There is no restriction on transferring a vehicle from one state to another.

It is easier to buy in the US. For the price of a cheap Chinese bike in MX, you can buy a Japanese mid sized bike that will take you anywhere and kep up with traffic.

That is why I recommend that if he buys one in California, he ride it to Arizona (assuming he buys one in Southern California which is a good idea because there are MANY bikes there and the laws of economics would keep the prices lower than many other places) and registers it here. I am a 3 hour drive from San Diego, and one of the local border crossings, San Luis, has been recommended by several people for the ease of crossing, and being able to get all the paperwork. This area is right where the Mexican states of Baja Norte and Sonora are joined, so he could ride back west once he crosses the border and down the Baja peninsula which is probably one of the more scenic and epic rides in northern Mexico (and legendary thanks to the races). His bike would be registered, titled and plated in Arizona, which would make pretty much all the border crossings easier, since it would be HIS bike in HIS name.

[Anywhere at Home]

Hi,

I'm new to this world of motorcycle touring, but I've traveled around central America before, not by bike, and I might be able to help you.
My father and I are planning to go touring, however I'll start touring from California and I plan to pick my father up from Mexico City. He lives in Mexico City.

I'm planning to take with me a Yamaha XT250, and he'll take an Italika Dm250 or DM200. Italika motorcycles are the motorbikes that locals in Mexico use for pretty much everything. Commuting, traveling, family vehicle, you named it. They're cheaper that most known bikes, but oh boy they last.

By the way, I do speak spanish so if you have any questions about paperwork, etc, I might be able to ask my father and he can find out.

Let me know.

[xfiltrate]

Just want to bring to the forefront the issue of insurance. This is especially vital information for travel through Mexico and south. In the distant past I lived in Mexico for 3 years and as part of my past employment visited Mexican jails where I discovered foreigners incarcerated after having accidents involving personal injury or extensive property damage because they had no insurance or the insurance they purchased turned out to be of no use because their vehicle was not illegally registered in Mexico, or anywhere, or because of presenting fraudulent information at the border.

And, while purchasing in one State of the United States enables owners to register in another State this also requires valid and legal insurance in that State if the vehicle/bike is to be ridden on the public roads of that State. Furthermore, many Sates require a residence in the State for the purpose of registering a vehicle in the State and buying insurance. If an insurance company discovers that the stated residence in the State of registration is false, that there was no real residence, this becomes a loophole allowing foreign insurers to avoid paying liability claims, bail etc. And they do and will...

Granted, accidents are rare, accidents causing personal injury and/or extensive property damage more rare, but sh.. happens. My advice, have insurance especially if you are a land owner or have substantial personal worth. If not, have insurance as your responsibility to those you might accidentally damage.

Those who post here and suggest independently investigating the legalities of vehicle/motorcycle registration laws and the pitfalls of insurance have my vote. That said, the best advice comes from those who have been there, on the front lines so to speak of the issues. I have been motorcycling internationally since 1968 when after two years as a US Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica, I motorcycled from San Jose Costa Rica to Los Angeles. I also have studied international law.

Eat Drink and Buy Insurance for each country/State you visit. xfiltrate

[yuma simon]

Good points on insurance, but if he were to buy a bike, bring it to Yuma, Arizona, near me, register and title it, and buy Mexican insurance and cross the border (very feasible to do in a short amount of time) he probably would not need insurance here in Arizona for a few hours time, even legally. Maybe even in Calfornia where the last I remember, one needed proof of insurance after a certain amount of time after purchase.

But, and the BUT being a big one, there will be risk staying in the US uninsured for a significant amount of time; significant being a full couple days or more.