Dear all,

I've searched for answers to this question in this forum and elsewhere, but without being able to get a complete answer to the question, so here goes (feel free to point me elsewhere if it's been answered before):

I have a full UK license (and am a UK citizen) but would like to fly to South America (preferably Colombia initially), purchase a bike there and then go on a trip around SA.

I don't want to focus on other problems (such as the carnet de passage, which I don't plan to get) in this particular thread, I just want to get my head around whether it is theoretically possible to buy the bike there, register it there, and go travelling on it, insuring it either for all SA or as I go?

I was wondering whether there are any problems crossing borders etc, if my license is UK but the bike is registered in Colombia and perhaps even insured in a third country.

I guess also, my question is more broad than just SA - I would also quite like to do a similar trip around Africa (ignoring the carnet problem for now, I think I could mostly chance it, I have friends who've done similar..), again buying a local bike, so the question remains: Is there any issue, in a global sense, with having a UK license, a bike registered elsewhere and on-the-hoof insurance?

Hello Michael and welcome,
I have not used a locally registered bike in South America but there are plenty of stories on here where people have seemingly without a problem. There might be some countries where it is easier than others and this might be worth investigating.
No carnet needed in South America, not a problem.

People have done the same in Chile; Peru; Paraguay and Colombia. I did it in Chile. It is a relatively simple process and check my post over at the South America forum for instructions

I can't imagine that there would be, simply because you can travel to just about any country in the world and rent a car locally, then drive it using your UK licence.

There is an international convention that addresses recognition of foreign driver licences, it is the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. That convention, inter alia, sets out a protocol to enable an authorized organization (typically the motoring club in each country) to issue an International Driving Permit (IDP). The IDP itself does not confer any special privileges, it is primarily a translation (into multiple languages) of your existing national driver licence. It has no validity on a stand-alone basis and must always be presented together with your national driver licence.

With an IDP, you can drive a non-commercial vehicle for tourist or pleasure purposes in any country that is a signatory to the convention. There are a few countries that are not parties to the Vienna Convention, and hence don't honour a foreign driver licence that is presented along with a corresponding IDP. But the majority of world countries do.

Most first-world countries (North America, Central and Western Europe) don't pay much attention to the requirement for an IDP. As countries slide further down the development scale, they pay more attention to the paperwork.

Michael

But he's not asking about DRIVING ... he's principally asking about CROSSING BORDERS with a local bike holding a UK license.

And ... as already confirmed ... it's no worries if the TITLE of the bike
(Called LOG BOOK IN UK) is in the keepers name then all good. Aduana won't much care about your driving license ... it's your PASSPORT they want to see.
But if the title is in your name, all OK.

Insurance is ALL bought local, country by country. AFAIK, there is NO insurance cover that is valid in ALL countries. And ... as pointed out (proving you haven't searched much at all) ... there is NO CARNET in any S. American country.

The trick in all this is getting the Title for your bike in timely and affordable manner. Easier said than done and varies country to country.

You can also buy from another traveler and get the bike transferred into your name. (most US states this is possible ... if seller helps out)

Lots of possibilities. If you buy (for example) from a bike dealer in Colombia, then only do the deal if the selling dealer can guarantee he can expedite the paperwork/title for you. Much easier for a local dealer to navigate the system than you. You go along and pay the fees as needed.

Lots of variations on this theme and the rules will always be changing and bribes will be payed. Es normal.

I think that so far as the various rules and regulations are concerned, driving the bike and crossing borders with a bike are two totally different matters.

So far as driving is concerned, the answer I gave above in post #4 should be sufficient.

So far as crossing borders is concerned, that really has nothing to do with the driver licence of the operator (assuming the driver is properly licenced), it has to do with whether or not the specifics of the vehicle registration and vehicle insurance are satisfactory to the border guards of the country being entered.

Michael