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Trip Paperwork Covers all documentation, carnets, customs and country requirements, how to deal with insurance etc.
Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 6 Jun 2010
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Originally Posted by uk_vette View Post
.
Im'e with Redboots on this one.
They, the poilce will want to see your licence if you are stopped.
Any thing else, will not count.

I wouldn't risk it, as much as you want to go, it could end in tears.
I am not even sure a scanned copy would be sufficient ?

'vette
What about a situation where your licence was physically lost or stolen during your travels?

Would you stop travelling until a replacement licence was issued from your home country?. Here in Australia you have to reapply in person to obtain a replacement - does that mean I should fly home to get another one then fly back to whichever country I was in?

What if this happened to me in 2008 when I was in Russia? It takes one month to obtain a Russian visa - does that mean I leave my motorcycle in Russia for a month whilst I obtain another visa in Australia? Would the Russian authorities let me leave the country without also exporting the bike?. ....

... and so on, and so on.

I think it's fair to say that having a hard copy of your documents is sufficient to get you by and if I were jamesallen I would be heading off on my planned start day and having some one in the UK emailing a scanned copy of the licence once it is received and then forwarding the original of the licence to an address in a country where I plan to be on an agreed date.
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Old 7 Jun 2010
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Originally Posted by farqhuar View Post
What if this happened to me in 2008 when I was in Russia? It takes one month to obtain a Russian visa - does that mean I leave my motorcycle in Russia for a month whilst I obtain another visa in Australia? Would the Russian authorities let me leave the country without also exporting the bike?. ....
I think people are making too big of a deal out of this. Russian police have absolutely no idea what a british drivers license looks like. An IDP works fine, and if you're worried about losing it, get more than one...
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  #3  
Old 3 Jun 2010
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Originally Posted by DougieB View Post
I don't think that's the case at all. you have a license, just no document. get it sent on when it arrives. or have it scanned and emailed, so you can print out a copy.

no big deal.
That's correct. I have passed my test, but my license is still stuck in the gremlins of the DVLA and DSA being updated. I have insurance.

So you don't see it as a problemin any of the countries or borders
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Old 3 Jun 2010
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I can't specifically give advice on any of those countries since I've never driven in any of them. But it seems that you would be inviting trouble by not having proper documents for operating your motor vehicle. You'd basically be taking a risk by going without your licence. Once you start crossing borders you may have to produce the licence as part of the process to get the bike into the country.

In Canada there is a fine for not having your licence with you and I can only suspect that some of the countries you'll be crossing will have the same rules in place.

Again, I'm not from that area and can't give definite answers. If it were me, I would not leave without a licence.


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Old 3 Jun 2010
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it wouldn't bother me too much. I've travelled through france without a license document before. i'm not in the habit of riding conspicuously if my documents are not entirely in order, though.

and I'm not you. or the other people who've said you shouldn't. we all have difference experiences and comfort levels.

I've never been asked to show my driving license at a border. and, obviously, the EU doesn't really have borders. if I were touring the EU first, I'd just get it posted out to whatever EU country I happened to be in (which I have done before; UK license, IDP and carnet to south of france). if you're stopped in the meantime you risk a fine, so don't do something that will get you stopped.

you might want to get an IDP too, but you're probably too late for that if you leave before your license turns up.

if you're a squeaky clean sort of person, that this doesn't sit well with, then wait.

now, you have your reflective/hi-viz jacket, spare light bulbs, warning triangle, large GB sticker, headlight deflected to the right, etc, etc.. don't you ?
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