From: Chris <exodus_adventures@yahoo.ca>
To: mototynda Siberia
Subject: Re: Fwd: keeping a bike in argentina MORE QUESTIONS
Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 09:40:34 -0400 (EDT)
What bike did you buy and was it ok, many people ask me about buying a bike?
I ended up purchasing a KLR 650 from a friend of a friend. At first I
wanted to purchase a motorcycle that was 15 yrs old so that I could import
it back to Canada, but found that they get in really bad shape. Most people
cannot afford to maintian the bikes properly, so you find alot of backyard
mechanics who use bad tools and stolen parts.
Did you buy it from Javier and did he sell it for your?
The KLR was 92
that came into the country in 96. In Canada, I have owned a few Kawi's, but
now I am a born-again Honda fan. The bike was acceptable, but I would not
go for a "single 650" again. Not enough juice, highways are dangerous if
you cannot keep up with the speeders.
The bike was purchased from a friend of a friend, and Javier was nice enough
to come to look at the bike. You cannot bring it to a mechanic until you
buy it down there. Unless you buy something newer through some connection,
you are asking for problems. Since Javier had done all the prep work on the
bike, and had intimate knowledge of the internals, he was pivotal in
qualifying and selling the bike. I paid approx $2500 US for the bike and
wanted a disposable machine that I could walk away from...almost lost it the
second day I owned it...to a gun-toting bike thief.
Granted, cheaper than shipping, but you spend a lot of time with
paperburden. It depends if you have 2-3 weeks to waste at the beginning of
the trip and also at the end. If I did not sell it, I would have stored it.
Also, you would have to bribe yourself out of the country since you must
be an Argentine resident for one year before thay allow you to leave the
country, or bring along fake papers. Don't forget, easier to buy than to
sell.
If you like, I have a connection down there that could walk anyone through
the process for a fee. It would save alot of time.
I definitely would like to go down again, and have not yet decided whether
to buy or ship. Another option is to purchase a bike "without papers" and
stay in Argentina. Much cheaper and Argentina is a big beautiful country
that can keep you busy for 2-3 months.
Ciao - Chris Guilbert
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