Guatemala to South America Which Bike
 

I am new to this forum and realise this question has been asked many times and I have looked through past threads.

I am looking to buy a bike here in Guatemala and travel down to Panama and onto South America. I have a budget of around 25,000-30,0000Q for the bike or maximum 4000USD

I like to get off the beaten track and have no time constraints. From what I've read it sounds like a KLR 650 may suit my purposes. Any advice on this particular bike or any others.

After something that is easy to maintain and find extra parts. I have very limited mechanical experience.

I only have experience riding a Yamaha Virago 250 back in Australia.

Cheers for your help.

I just did the tripand trust me on thisyou want a honda. There are more honda shops on every corner than anything else. >In fACTthere are no other stores for any oother make unless you go into the big cities and trust me you dont want to.

Buy a honda and it will take you anywhere!

I would agree with the previous post on Honda being the brand of choice, but it needs to be the right Honda. The 250 Tornado is found throughout Latin America, and would probably be the easiest to maintain. The XR650's are much rarer, and dealers would likely not have parts. The Falcon 400, would be a good choice for South America, but I don't think they are available in Guatemala.

If you are in Guatemala, you have seen the many Bajaj Pulsars running around there. That bike is widely used in Latin America as well, but is not a dual sport type bike, if that is important.

I have used a KLR650 for several trips, including one to Argentina from the USA. It worked out fine, but I didn't need any bike specific stuff, just generic things like tires. A 650 class bike is nice for the power, and distances are huge in South America, but if you are not in a hurry, a smaller bike will be more locally maintainable.