Long term storage (10 months), Ecuador or Colombia?
 

Hola de Loja EC,

I am touring S Am on a Chilean plated Honda falcon. It looks as though I may need to store it from Mid August until mid May of next year. My current importation to EC is for 90 days.

I would like to store it, until May, then ride it back to Chile next year and sell it. I plan to contact the various communities, but if anyone has info on where I could store it or the paperwork involved in freezing my importation in either country, I would much appreciate it.

Gracias,
n

One stop shop
 

Cali, Colombia
Casa Blanca Hostel

Thank you for the reply.

Could you pleas elaborate? I take they can store my bike. Would they charge me, if so any idea how much? Who would I need to contact at the hotel to store my motor bike?

Do you know anything about handling the paperwork?

Contact Mike at Casa Blanca, It is a business and they have to eat so I am sure he will charge you a fair rate. Even if you find someone who will store it at there home it would be good to check with Mike to get an idea of how long you can store with out getting cross way of the law.

Bob

Hi N

Mike here!

As I'm told not to advertise about anything here, feel free to PM me for more on the subject!

Andy at Cranky Croc Back packers in Bogota is biker friendly and would probably be able to help out. Tell him Hi from Clean Simon if you see him!

You will have problems if you overstay the number of days allowed on your temp import permit. You are unlikely to have more than 2 or 3 months on your permit. So the most sane solution is to store it in a free zone, between 2 countries. I don'know the situation at the border with Ecuador but I know a guy who left his bike for a few months in paraguachon, that is the border town between Colombia and Venezuela. I also did that a number of times when I go to Vzla and I don't want to bring the bike. I know a fw guys who left their bikes in sta Elena in Venezuela, thAt is the border between Vzla and Brasil.

Thanks Claude,

Can you give me more specific information about who you stored the bike with and how much it cost?

Paraguachon is a lousy border town. The owner is a wayúu lady called chachi, I'll try to dig her phone number, I have it somewhere. Her business is on the same side of the road as the DIAN office, meaning on the left-hand side of the road if you are exiting colombia. it is on the colombian side of the border, maybe 50 meters further than the DIAN office. On the street she has a photocopy business, just enter there and ask for chachi. She always charged me 5000 COP per day (about US$2,50). I guess you could negotiate a special monthly rate.
once you have your bike there, you just handout your temporary permit at the DIAN as your bike as exited the country. When you come back to get your bike, ride to the DIAN and ask for new import permit. hope that helps.

Her phone number would be much apprecited. More importantly, would you feel comfortable leaving a moto with her for 10 months?

Thanks for the help.

sorry can't find the phone number. as for myself, for what it's worth, yes I would feel confident in leaving my bike there for a longer term storage.

Did you ever get this figured out?
 

Hi Glasswave,

I'm also looking for long term parking for my motorcycle.
4-6 months from May or June 2012 to October or November 2012 in either Colombia, Ecuador, Peru or Bolivia.
Chachi in Paraguachon that ClaudeNfat suggested sounds like a good option. Glasswave, did you find her number and were you able to contact her?
Any other suggestions welcome as well,

thanks,
-duncan
Motorcycle Menus | A culninary adventure on two wheels

precisely, i am going there next week to leave my bike for 2 or 3 months. she will charge me 100.000 COP per month. I´ll ask her phone number.

That's about double the cost of moto sized a secure indoor storage space in the USA, but on the plus side, it keeps your papers legal.

Mike at MOTOLOMBIA is currently advertising $50 and of course you are on your own paperwork wise. I am not sure of this, but Mike's service may likely have some perks, like starting and running the bike for 15 minutes each month or keeping the battery on a trickle charger.

Are there secure-n-store type storage lots in major cities in CO. Are they secure? How much are they? If they are decent and secure it may be an option for some people. $50 a month is a lot if you are going to be gone a long time, like a full year or something.

you cannot compare costs like this, motorcycles also cost double here than in the US.
Moreover, the more you get into poor areas of the third world, the more you will find that the prices have nothing to do with the "value" of the services, but with their specific "needs" at the moment. I used to be upset by that 15 years ago but now I find that if not normal, at least understandable...

as for the import permits in Colombia, you will not have any problem exiting the country at the border with an expired permit, you just pass through the border, but it might be an expensive mistake if they catch you before getting to the border, might be a routine check, an accident, whatever, and you will definitely have problems if you try to re-enter Colombia, as they have now computerized the issue of these permits. A few months ago I have been denied entry because I didn't hand-out my permit when I exited Colombia !! Fortunately I had a copy of the entrance permit in Venezuela with a date that was before the expiration limit, I had to write an explanatory letter etc... and in the end they cancelled that old permit.
The system is getting better...

P.S.: in any case, when I get there I will ask how much she would charge for 8-10 months storage...