Hello,
I am planning to bring my bike to South America at the end of this year, ride it for a month and return next year for a new trip.

I have heard that it is possible to get a temporary import license to Argentina maximum 8 months
Uruguai max 12 monhth.
For how long time can you leave your bike in Chile, Peru and Bolivia?

best regards/lasse

Sorry I can't answer your question. I always begin and end my rides in Peru as that is my 2nd home. But if you need A PLACE to leave your bike in Peru or Bolivia, I have alot of moto-head expat friends who live there. They might even join you on part of your trips!

Cheers, Toby

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http://www.aroundtheblockmotoadventures.com/
'We build the bike (in Peru) for your Epic Ride of South America.'

At the moment we travell SA in a 4WD.
Here our experience:

For Argentina you always get a 8 month stay for your vehicle (you personally will get a 3 month tourist visa).

For Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia you get a maximum of 3 month. In some of these countries you have to make sure they give you the 3 month when crossing the border - but shouldn't be a problem.

Particularly in Chile I checked the possibility of leaving my vehicle for more the 3 month. I got the following reply at the border.
When leaving the vehicle in the country for longer then the 3 month (me leaving the country i.E. by plane) I would have to transfer the vehicle to a friend (that stays in Chile). This could be done at customs at the airport.
Honestly I don't know if and how this would really work.

Talking with some friends here in Chile they told me not to bother and to leave the car in the country as long as I feel like.
For most border crossings I thing this would work as they don't even look at the papers when taking them back. Only on reentering the country (when they processed the paperwork in the computer) I'm afraid to have problems.

Have fun.

Paddy

P.S. Don't underestimate the technical advance of customs in SA. Most of them are very fit on the computers and the vehicle is registered for ever once you crossed the border - very professional!

I don't know about how to work a way around that problem in other countries but I think there's one or two ways in Ecuador. In Ecuador (it should still be like this) you are permitted 3 months with your vehicle, at the end of that period you can ride out of the country, give back your permit to customs, get across the border onto the neighbouring country (Colombia or Peru) then back onto Ecuador, the same day if you like, and ask for another 3 months period. If you have two different nationalities and passports, you can do this twice on each passport, so it gives you one year.
Now, the problem is that you don't want or may not be able to be in Ecuador to take the bike out of the country every three months for which you can leave it somewhere until you go back, let's say a year later then you would have to take the bike to the border and eventually, if you are lucky, leave the country without being stopped by police and cross the border.
If you want to leave Ecuador legally you have to approach the custom offices where they would retain your bike until you go to the bank and pay the fine, I think it was about $300 usd (I had to pay this fine for overstaying), then you could go out of Ecuador and get back there later if you like, to ask for a permit. I asked customs about how long you can overstay for that type of fine and they told me that there was not a limit of time, the rules and fine were directed to overstaying, even if that is 10 minutes or several months.
I don't know about what would happen if you got stopped anywhere in the country without your bike permit but I am guessing they would confiscate the vehicle until you pay the fine but it would be annoying to stop your trip because of that BUT for this, I know police riders in Ecuador (I am ecuadorian) who would take my bike for me up to the border with no hassles even if they got stopped. I left my KLR in Ecuador for a year and it was even taken care of within the police quarters in Quito. (I finally managed to get ecuadorian papers for my bike, it was long but it is legal although this does not apply to you).

Good luck.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KncXg_VOkj0

I was in Santiago Chile several years ago and for me to get out of the country I had to transfer the bike to someone in Chile. It was not hard to do I just got a guy from the hotel that worked at the front desk to go with me to the airport and we put the bike in his name. It did not cost anything and that took it out of my passport. I would not have been able to fly out of country with it still in my passport. I flew home for 3 months and left the bike in the parking lot of the hotel. When I returned I found the guy and took him back to the airport with me and we transfered it back to my name. I ended up paying the guy $100 as he had to take off work to come to the airport and he kept a eye on the bike at the hotel for me. I can get you his name if you need help in Santiago as he is still doing that for others. Larry

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Larry Davis