Crossing into Peru with new tires strapped to bike.
 

I know Peru has a faitly high import tax on new parts being shipped over so I am curious if I should expect to pay aduana fees if I cross into Peru with two shiny new tires strapped to my bike.


Cheers!

jfman

I milk all I can from tires

Then swap them back, if you must. Import used tires for free.

Splatter a little engine oil on the tires, then dust them. No one will make an issue of it. :mchappy::mchappy::mchappy:

Personally, I'd clip off the little rubber injection mold remnants too--at least in the center of the treads.

About a mile after crossing into Panama from Costa Rica I encountered a checkpoint. Showed the TVIP papers and whatever else was needed. Next the official asks me for paperwork on the new two tires strapped across the backseat of my bike. I explained that they are spares, no intention to sell. He looks dubious until I noted that they were the exact same size as the tires I was riding on.

A simple explanation goes a long way. Baffle them with logic.

Really there is never a need to carry spare tires when traveling in South America, unless you need a wide 19 inch front or something weird like that!
:mchappy::mchappy::mchappy:

I decided not to buy them afterall.

Now I wonder if big bike tires can be bought in Cusco... really want to aboid Lima.

I crossed the border from Bolivia to Peru at Copacabana in 2016 with a back tyre I purchased in La Paz tied on the back of my klr. Nobody checked. Nobody cared. Even had to open the barrier myself as the customs ossifer couldn't be ar$ed.

Having also observed the procedures at the main Panam highway border from Chile into Peru and into Ecuador near Vilcabamba, I feel the OP and others predicting problems are worrying unnecessarily.

CUZCO. Honda shop on Incahuasi street has the best option on tires.
:mchappy::mchappy::mchappy:

No duty
 

I bought a new tire in Guatamala, took it all the way to Ushuaia. Never even was asked about it.

Tire weight
 

I bought a new rear tire in Santiago, thinking I'd find nothing but down time (wasted time) waiting for something to be shipped out of BA once I was in lower Argentina. Weighed the new tire out of curiosity = 30 lbs. Stupid, I thought, dragging an extra 30 lbs. for X amount of days trying to get the last 1,000 miles out of the existing rear tire.

Had the new tire installed in Orsono, tossed away the used tire with good tread left but less the 30 lbs.

Dr. G
Chief, World Adventure Affairs Desk, CITY BIKE Magazine
Sexual Survivor: The World Motorcycle Adventure Tour and Travel Rally

Although schlepping spare tyres does add to the hardcore ultra extreme adventure look some of us aspire to :) View it as non shiney black rubbery "bling" ;)

Thanks a lot! Do you happen to know what brands they carry? Do you think they stock 150/70-17 and 19 fronts?

Have you bought $ from them in the past?

I am currently in Sucre and will enter Peru in the next week or so.

Carried one from Santiago to TDF. Kinda glad I did because if I had swapped it in Santiago it would be done already today and the dealer was out of stock on the tire I wanted when I came back up.

No, front 19s are going to be difficult in Cuzco. I don't live there and things are always in flux, but they are your best option. Lima definitely would but I recommend you ONLY enter and exit Lima from the south. North and East out of Lima is extremely dangerous traffic and even illegal for motorcycles.

:mchappy::mchappy::mchappy:

Riding a F800GS, I left my home in New Jersey with Anakees mounted, plus a Heidenau rear and Mofo front strapped across the back seat. I had the luxury of swapping them out as the road surface went from tarmac to dirt and back to tarmac.

The Anakee wore out deep into Brazil and the Heidenau give up the ghost in Peru. Bought a Brazilian made Pirelli in Cusco, a street tire as the dirt portion of my extended trip was pretty much done. The Pirelli lasted until Mexico City... Yes, you can find tires, but you might not find the tire that you want. Would I do it again? No, because the next few trips will be in 250cc chinese bike and tires will be both cheap and easy to find in South America.

PS: I crafted a thin round sheet of plywood as a lid/cover for the stack of tires stropped across the back seat, then stored a few things in the space. Later I bought a small duffle bag to hold the things I probably didn't really need when the tires wore out.

Tell me about it! I got pulled over arriving into Lima from the North. Lima is unfortunately my least favourite large city in all of my travels. I reallt want to avoid it if I can.

Gonna stop in La Paz on my way out of Bolivia and might buy there if there is available tire.

Not sure what you are looking for, but there is a BMW dealer in La Paz which is easy to find. I don't think they sell tires. There is a cluster of motorcycle shops in the Calacoto neighborhood, the southeast part of La Paz. I checked a few out but couldn't find what I wanted, so I rode on to Cusco. The Honda dealer in Cusco took me to a shop near the center of town where I bought the Pirelli and Honda mounted it.

The next day as I climbed the western hills leaving Cusco, something didn't feel right in my back tire. Back to the Honda dealer to have the rear wheel bearing replaced... Another night in Cusco, not so bad.

I bought some Metzelers from Todo Moto in La Paz, asked him to produce a receipt with reduced cost just in case.

When I crossed into Peru, sunat guy pointed at my new tires and said "repuestos" then I pointed and my worn out tires on the bike and said. Boy a instalar en Cusco. And that was it. No fees.