What did you do with your bike at the end?
 

Hey all,

I'm finally getting off my bum and going for a ride.

My plan is to buy and register a bike in Georgia (Europe, not US), ride through the 'Stans, then Europe, ship it to North America (via Air Canada) and ride south until my money runs out (probably Guatemala).

In previous, single country, adventures I've just donated my bike to a lucky local, but this time I think I'll need to sell to recover some costs! Shipping it back to Australia is not an option because of strict regulations.


The only problem is, I've had a bit of a look around and still have no idea where to start researching options for selling. Can I do it in Europe? The US? Mexico? What's easiest?

The first thing you need to know is can you register a bike in your name in Georgia then how easy is it to re-register it into someone else's from another country, without this information it is difficult to answer your question.

My first recommendation would be to not buy the bike in Georgia, as you might not have a very good selection (Georgians are known to be, uh, not the most mechanically sympathetic of drivers at the best of times) and there will be the cost of shipping and importing the bike into Georgia already sunk into it. Consider buying a bike in the place where Georgians get their used vehicles - Europe - and taking a nice ride down the Balkans and via north Turkey into Georgia, or alternatively a ferry from Varna/Constanca to Poti/Batumi.

Beyond that, assuming you have a bike in your name on Georgian plates, and you end up in Guatemala. For that bike to be bought by a local and registered on local plates, the import tax on the bike would have to be paid. This can vary *wildly* between countries. Maybe Guatemala has effectively-zero import costs to make it easy for locals to get their hands on cheap second-hand vehicles. Maybe Guatemala has extraordinarily prohibitive taxes for fear of becoming a dumping ground for North American rustbuckets. A local used-bike dealer will probably have a good idea of the paperwork involved.

There's always a chance you'll sell your bike to a local farmer to use on his farm or up in the mountains, where they have an understanding with the local part-time constable, and license plates are more of a suggestion than a hard rule. In that case, ask around if there might be any consequences to leaving a country on foot if you entered the country with a vehicle, and an unsettled temporary import permit in your name.

We road two up RTW on a 2000 Africa twin... It is still my daily ride. so technically to answer your question,

Fixed her up and still ride it everyday. (my only vehicle) She is not over 300,000 km old.

No major rebuilds. Biggest job has been new oil rings and seals.. and a paint job.