Hi Ettore,

I did the exact same trip taking very remote paths solo throughout the central and southern Andes last year. I wild camped alone in the wilderness. Before I left I knew how to start a motorcycle and put gasoline in it. That was it!

There is so much I could say about my experiences but I will try to be specific. If you are going to do remote routes solo then in my opinion you should take note of the following points;

• Learn how to fix punctures yourself. I learnt this on Youtube and by trial and error BEFORE I hit the road. Carry the necessary tools and two spare tubes including patch kit.
  
  
• Buy a reliable, solid bike. I choose a brand new Honda Tornado XR 250 because I didn't want any nasty surprises by buying second hand or cheap China motos. If you want remote you need an enduro.
  
  
• Be extremely generous with your gasoline estimations. NOT FUN running out of gasoline in remote wilderness (happened to me). I found I needed around 400k range to be safe in parts of the Atacama and Altiplano, though 90% of the time 300k is okay.
  

Some may disagree with me but in my experience of being 'out there', high-end equipment that you can rely on is vital. A proper tent and sleeping bag with thermal air pad that can cope with extreme temperatures, though that will depend on where and when you go, still even in summer it can hit -10 if not lower at extreme altitudes. I would also highly recommend some sort of water filtration as this could be a life saver, or if not, saves you lugging around 10lt of water. GPS are really optional, even with one I still got lost a few times but at least it gave me a general direction of where I was going. They are a godsend finding hostels in big cities.

A decent riding suit which fits and has CE approved armor that will protect you in a fall. If you're doing solo stuff across the altiplano and on deserted backtracks, honestly GO SLOW, no more than 40kph. You will fall off so wear protective gear. Leave early and don't ride tired. Don't rush. Make sure you are aware of the distances between villages in case of having to abandon bike or in event of a brake down though it will only be down to you if you decide it's better to remain with your vehicle and tent, etc. Once I had to make the decision to ditch the bike and walk to get help after becoming stuck in 4ft clay. Make sure you have enough water and then some.


Limitations of lightweight bikes;

None really, honestly, I think 250 is fine if you are prepared to work the carb for anything over 3000m. I rode my Tornado 'stock' i.e. without any mods accept for 12v charger. You must pack light though like a cyclist would and use soft luggage. My 250 was comfortable at 80-90kp but often I'd just cruise along at 60.

Would I swap it with a DR650? Yes, probably. I love my XR but for the little increase in weight I'd gladly take that 650 for highways and strong headwinds. The DR650 would be my ideal bike. Plus there are lots of after-market mods, the large gas tanks would be VERY useful. But are DR650's available in Chile?

This brings us to your next issue. It really depends on what you what to do and what sort of trip you want. Doing a through-ride from the USA down to Patagonia is totally different logistically to buying in Chile and doing a 6 month tour of the Andes. Central America is a continent in itself though it looks tiny it actually takes ages to get around it, plus loads of boarders to cross not to mention the Darrien!

The benefit of buying a US plated bike is that you have absolutely no restrictions on it. Chilean bikes are a good bet and a very safe one for crossing boarders so long as it is YOUR name on the title, yet bigger bikes 400+ are very pricey new. However, Chile has a 6 month exit permit for its vehicles so if you want to sell it outside of Chile you might encounter problems in Chile, though I'm not really sure what would happen. I guess that would be a personal choice. I know several people who bought in Chile and flogged them in Peru or just even drove them back to the USA.

But go for it, it was the scariest, most amazing, life affirming thing that ever happened to me.

Any other questions PM me
Cheerio
RTW