Hello Niels

*Great* bike!!

I bought a Falcon for a 16,000km trip in late 2001. Paid $1,700 for a secondhand bike from a Honda dealer and sold it at the end of the trip for $1,400 to another dealer. I haven't worked out the cost per km, but it seemed like a good deal to me!

I bought and sold in Brazil: arrived in Rio, but a friend there advised that I head to the south.. after 15 years in the city, he trusts nobody!

So I found myself in Curitiba, visited all the bike shops expecting to buy a secondhand Africa Twin or similar (there were a couple to be had) but was distracted by the Falcon: light, popular (good for parts, servicing) and decent price.

My bike was 18 months old... but remember, this was 2001 prices.

Buying a bike in Brazil:
Speaking a bit of the language helps, but not essential. One of the staff spoke some English. I learned portuguese pretty quick!

Everyone in Brazil, local and gringo, relies on a 'despachante' (speeder-upper) to get a vehicle sale through. They do the queuing and hassling of bureaucrats for you. You'll find a despachante office close to any bike dealer. Adds about $100 to the cost. In my experience, good characters too ;-)

One little obstacle: to get the paperwork allowing me to take the bike out of Brazil, I had to prove residency *in* Brazil. Hmmmm.

The dealer took me to the local water company, got my name put on as paying the bill in his own home; then the despachante took the new bill (with my name) to the relevant traffic bureaucrat to get my papers stamped. (Not that I was ever asked for those papers in ten border crossings...)

So there I was, an Englishman riding a Brazilian-plated bike round Argentina. I was a target for every cop and truckdriver with a grudge!

Don't know what yr plans are, but I believe you'd have to sell the bike in Brazil too. Like I said, I had no problem - sold for cash to a Honda dealer in Rio in 24 hours. Which was lucky, because my plane left the next day.

As for the bike: I haven't said much but I am bike-illiterate. It had two wheels, lights, it was a pretty colour. (Sorry, purists. When I set off I didn't know I had to check the oil.) So it's a pretty forgiving ride. Petrol tank big enough for most rides I did except a couple of stretches of Patagonia. On tarmac I was cruising at 80-90 kmph.. quite enough for me. It didn't really like gravel (ripio) with the tyres I had. Got knocked off by the wind on Tierra del Fuego a couple of times. Everyone does! Luggage was *minimal*.

I bought the bike in Curitiba - strongly recommend the dealer, Honda Cabral
http://www.cabralmotor.com.br/novo_site/index.php
(site shows the new model Falcon too) and the English-speaking salesman who helped so much, Andreasa. In fact, here we are:
http://geocities.com/mikesbiketrip/p..._andreasa.html
(that site is 25% done.. but gives more details of the bike and trip.

Any questions, please ask away.

--Mike

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