Early stages of planning ride with my 3 sons
 

Hi folks, I'm an Australian Adv rider, and I'm in early stages of planning a "dream ride" with my 3 sons to South America, and I have some pretty basic questions.

We are planning a 4 week trip around the 3 Corners. Probably starting in Antofagasta, Chile, and doing Southern Bolivia, Argentina, then back through Chile. Thinking of doing this late 2022 or early 2023. But our plans are totally flexible.

So here are my basic questions:

1) What time of year would you recommend?

2) Regarding motorcycles do we:
a) Rent bikes
b) Buy bikes and sell them (ideally from same dealer)
c) Ship bikes

Ideally, we would like mid-weight Adv bikes that would be comfortable offroad as well as on-road (like KTM 690 or Yamaha T7 etc.)

Those are my high-level questions for now. You will likely see me as a regular on this forum as I start trying to pull the trip together.

Thanks in advance
Brent

I didn't get any sense of how Australians are perceived in South America. While it's true that certain nationalities (including mine) are widely viewed through prejudicial lenses, it's also true that the overwhelming majority of motorbike travelers, regardless of origins, appeared to be having a blast in every region of every country I visited...which is to say all countries and most regions.

The exceptions were mainly people who had recently crashed, been victims of crimes, or insisted on acting like....ummmm....jackasses. I'd suggest that key contributors to having a good trip are avoiding crashing, being stolen from, or behaving badly.

In (very abbreviated) response to your questions: you probably already know the best time of year, which is summer. Four weeks is not long enough to justify buying or shipping unless you're either lucky or highly skilled. That leaves renting, which will almost certainly be expensive if you insist on high-quality 650-700cc adv bikes. This is not meant to discourage you; merely to point out the obvious.

In the end, no one can answer your questions with any certainty, because we don't know what's important to you or what sorts of limits apply. You might think about extending your trip in order to change the financials, or splitting a longer trip into sections separated by periods back home, which would do the same, or buying or renting lesser bikes. There are also upgraded Chinese bikes available in Peru which might suit your purposes. Or: maybe having just the right bike is of key importance, so shipping your own would be worth the added costs. You decide.

I'll add only that you're asking questions which have been asked by a whole slew of travelers before you. Doing some research on this site (and ADVriders, if you like) will offer a limitless store of firsthand information and advice.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Yeah, I guess the answer more properly depends on *where* in Argentina and Chile. In the south (Patagonia and southern Andes), summer and shoulder seasons are more or less the only times to go. Farther north, rainy season can be problematic, especially in the mountains. I rode through 6 inches of fresh snow over one pass in Bolivia.

SA in four weeks
 

With only 4 weeks, I would look for something organized.

Where you buy a package. MC rent, guide, accommodations ...

Shipping or buying bikes will not work for such a short period.(with decent budget)

And some thoughts about your preferred type of bikes.
That is not commonly used in SA. You will have very hard to find them.But tour organizers often provide large bikes.
The normal is much smaller bikes.
125-250 cc. Maybe up to 400 cc.

?? Is this true? Why?

New member, posted two (2) days ago. Be patient.

Gringos
 

Well, for some of them.
All "western people" are "Gringos".
= From USA.
Why they don't like US people ?
Read the history, and you will understand !
So even if you are from Australia or Europe, you can get blamed for what USA has done....

But it depends on where you go and how you behave

Planning
 

A month in South America Id stick to one country Like Equador Peru or Colombia
There are plenty of rental agencies
Colombia would be beyond your expectations with way more Diversity than you could imagine

planning
 

one month and many borders Unrealistic But whatever floats your boat covid is determing factor

Thanks Mark, I'm going to research all options, but I think you are right that renting will be the best alternative.

I've heard early Summer is the preferred time, I'm thinking of October now after speaking to a few others.

Yes, I'm reading this stuff, I just didn't get notified as it was my first post and I must have not checked a box to receive notifications. Apologies.

But now I will follow the thread more closely.
BP

Stay in one country, rent a 250cc moto. You will not be able to see one whole country in 4 weeks. If you like high mountains, I recommend Peru, especially the interior northern highlands. I like mountains, so I have Patagonia on my list to visit. The land borders in Peru are closed until March. I believe the same is true for Colombia. Depending on where you're going (touristy places or less so), you will do well to learn some Spanish. Otherwise carry some picture books to explain your needs, and have Google Translate on your phone.

hi there
if you have the money contact erik600 here on the forum and get a quotation for a 30 day trip.
saves a lot of hassle and you have a translater into the deal.
all the best geri
p.s.great guy,good service

Hi Manzini, thanks for your post. I will look up erik600. I'm wondering whether this is the same Erik as the Erik from RideAdventures.

BP

I'm curious why you say "rent a 250cc bike". I'm used to riding larger bikes, and so are my 3 boys. I think we would find it quite boring to go back to 250cc capacity bikes.

I know we won't be able to see an entire country in 4 weeks, that is not really the aim of of this trip... It's to have an amazing adventure with my sons. I've been to the Atacama once before and really love that. I think my sons will enjoy the desert riding and the incredible scenery. The idea is to go into Southern Bolivia for perhaps a week just to get a taste and a contrast.

BP

Thanks Mark, your response was very helpful. Yes, I have been searching through the forums, and I've been pulling out nuggets of useful information, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to get some dialog going as well.
BP

Early stages of planning ride with my 3 sons
 

A generality of course, but 250’s and similar are cheaper to rent (and of course to buy), can be dropped without shedding expensive plastic, and can literally go anywhere you point it.

Unlike a T7 or equivalent.

Something to watch for is that if you do rent, some companies will have in the fine print that if you damage it you must pay for the lost rental time while it is repaired. A friend of mine got burnt big time in Japan when he dropped a CB350 and it took them six weeks to return it to fleet - not covered by the full insurance.

If it were me - I would buy four postie bikes here in oz, watch Ed on C90 adventures how to pack them into bags, and air freight them.
Those four would take up the same room as about 1.5 T7’s :)

Fix them anywhere, and have a blast.

IMO - it ain’t the bike its the adventure that matters. And if one falls off a cliff, or gets stolen - meh.

:)


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Thanks Homers GSA, I will look at smaller bikes as well as mid-sized bikes, but a Postie bike won't cut it for me... That would be my idea of hell. A significant part of the adventure is going to be the fun of the ride, not just getting from A to B. We are going to try to do as much on dirt as we can.

Yeah its a mind stretch alright LOL.

I wonder what small Oz bikes could be dismantled to fit a small space?

Homers GSA

I'm going through the process of exploring EVERY option for procuring bikes.

1) Getting rental quotes for 4 bikes X 4 weeks
2) Getting shipping quotes to ship from Australia both ways
3) Exploring purchasing and selling bikes locally
and the longshot
4) Talking to a motorcycle vendor to see if they want to work with me.

My adventure videos on youtube get hundreds of thousands of views, so who knows, perhaps a bike manufacturer will sell me new bikes and then buy them back at an agreed value to get their brand featured.

BP

planning
 

your # 1 x that out, you won't be able to cross borders with a rental
maybe with a company guide representing the company
#3 yes but you may have to give it away when your journey is over
#4 good luck on that one
one month is not enough time to do anything you may have for your agenda that you have posted
Unless money is no object
look up Motodreamer in Cali Colombia
Mike may be able to answer all your questions He's the Man

Ride what you want, but riding a locally available moto vs an exotic one gives you easy access to unexpected repair solutions. 125cc to 250cc motos are the rule in SA. If you want to ride only the PanAm, then bigger is probably better, but 250cc does fine on the parts of the PanAm where I've ridden. Even so, I've gone through bad sections on the PanAm during flooding conditions.

I've ridden 6 months on a 250cc moto in SA, and it has been just fine. The unplanned and unexpected happen, even on the main roads. Imagine crossing a river on a bridge that consists of two logs plus dirt between the logs; would you prefer a 250cc or 650cc moto? Much like this painting to cross a flooding river, but not as deep a canyon, but riding (too narrow to walk it) the moto. The main crossing was washed out and impassible to traffic. I avoided a 100 km backtrack and was not bored crossing that bridge:

https://photos.smugmug.com/Peru-Ecua...3190661-X3.jpg

Then there are these road sections, main roads or detours. Not too boring either:

https://photos.smugmug.com/Peru-2016...MG_3521-XL.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Peru-2016...MG_3501-X3.jpg

https://photos.smugmug.com/Peru-Ecua...4041041-X3.jpg

Hmm, that is interesting, one of the rental companies I have contacted has said that I could go Chile, Bolivia, Argentina with their rentals.


Yes, it's a longshot, but you never know your luck... I can be persuasive :-)

OK, I'll drop him a note. Thanks

Thanks LD Hack. Yeah, I sure wouldnt' be riding any moto over tree bridges over a canyon like that. I might pull/push one over, but thats about it... and I agree that a 250 would be easier to manhandle than a bigger bike.

Lots of good food for thought.

And what prey tell would identify someone as being an “Aussie”?

We are the most mixed mongrel bred crew on earth.

53% of us have a parent who was born overseas.

28% are first generation.

21% are second generation.

Plus, we no one understands our English anyway, so that’s not a giveaway either.


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Hey Brentbat

Can you link to your YouTube channel. Lockdown needs some entertainment….


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It would be my pleasure... So my youtube channel is a blend of Adventure bike riding and Video production. I used to be a professional cameraman in my prior life.

But if you want to see some good adventure videos, then check out
the Idaho BDR that I rode in July


Or if you prefer to see me abusing my poor GS, then the Victorian High Country ride is probably up your alley

If you are into making motorcyle adventure videos, there is stacks of techy geeky content on the channel as well. Here is a link to the main channel.



Enjoy

https://studio.youtube.com/channel/U...editing/images

aussies not welcome
 

you forgot to mention that OZ was a penal colony in the 1800s mostly full of irishmen
they were granted amestry because of some wheeler dealer politician and sailed to the Americas for the goldrush of 1849 San Francisco This was Mexican territory back then
now you know the rest of the story its funny how history repeats itsef

Sounds like you are researching all the bike options and will soon know more than most on that subject. I spent nearly a year in SA on my BMW R1200GSA (trip report here if interested). In the FWIW category, here are my thoughts on your proposed trip in general:

1. Ignore prior posts regarding people not liking people from where-ever. We (wife and I, from USA and on two bikes) rode with people from all over the world, including Australia, and never saw or heard of such. People everywhere were welcoming and friendly.

2. My guess is that for 4 weeks, renting is going to be your best option, curious what you find and finally decide upon. Someone mentioned inability to cross borders in that case - not sure about that, that does limit you somewhat, but see #3. Regarding the "buy" option; from what we saw second hand, is doable but can be dicey. Be careful and do your homework on that one.

3. But regarding borders: From my experience, I'd advise (as others) to concentrate on one country for four weeks. You can easily spend four weeks in Colombia (despite other comments - we spent over a month there and loved it), Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Chile, Argentina ... take your pick. If it were me, going back for four weeks after having done the longer trip, I would choose either Peru, for the Andes (NOT the coast!) and some amazing roads and sites, or Chile, where I'd start in Santiago and ride south and ride the Caratera Austral (Rt 17) all the way to Via O'Higgins. It is a bit of an out and back, especially from Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins, but between Santiago and Puerto Mont you can take different routes there and back. That's about 3,000 miles total, and one could start further south - there are rental companies operating in or near Puerto Montt and cut that mileage in half.

4. Timing: Peru is close enough to the equator that it is a mostly a matter of wet and dry seasons - we were there from late August into October and it was pretty dry and wonderful. The perfect time for the Carretera Austral is Dec-Jan - early summer. The wildflowers are in full bloom. Wikipedia articles are pretty good about having a climatology section with average temperatures and rainfall by month - I used that, in addition to reading other trip reports, when planning our trip.

5. Which bike. I think you know this, but it depends on you and what you want. I was on a big BMW R1200GSA and the big beemers are pretty ubiquitous in southern Chile and Argentina, in particular, and the BMW F700/800 and R1200's seem to be the most common rentals. But if you are wanting to do hardcore off-road, then a smaller bike would be better; we became good friends with a couple of guys from Canada who were spending as much time off-road on the trip as possible, and they were happy on their DR-650's. KLR's were also prevalent. We road dirt when we had to, and we had to often enough, but we didn't seek it out. And we saw people doing the trip on Harley Davidsons and one couple from Argentina on a Chinese-brand cruiser.

Hope that is of some help - and just do it! You will be so glad you did.

Jim

13% of convicts were Irish. They actually kept the Irish numbers down as they were so damned troublesome LOL…


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That was bloody helpful. Thanks!


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