Doing RTW trip in sections?
 

Hi everyone,

I thought I would ask about this here, as I can't seem to find any information about it through google, maybe I don't know what search terms to use.

Does anyone know if its possible to do a motorcycle RTW trip in "sections", returning home for periods without the bike (months or even years), then continuing the trip afterwards?

The biggest problem obviously being that leaving a bike would require that it be imported into that country, and the import duties would have to be paid in full. Is there any way to get around this? Has anyone heard of someone who has found some clever way of doing this cheaply? Free ports perhaps? I am planning to start my trip in SE Asia.

Any information pointing me to a website or person who has tried this would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

look on Horizons unlimited, there is a lot more info about this on there and people offering places to store bikes who know about THEIR countries laws...i'm doing it right now but heading to South America - but for example in Uruguay a bike can be left for one year while you are out of the country

Hello Techdomi,
I am doing just that. All info on my blog www.mototravellers.com I can help with storage depending on your route.

Short answer is yes. It can be done, and has been done before. But it will bring you a few extra challenges with logistics. possibly cost you some more than doing it on one go. And storing the bike, the regulations will be different from country to country.

Looking for info on bike storage in Uruguay!
 

Hi everyone; I just posted about this that I haven't seen my family for 1.5 years and want to store my bike in uruguay and fly home and surprise them. If you have any contacts for Uruguay for bike storage, I'd really appreciate it!

=David

hi, i was just wondering where you were leaving your bike in Mongolia?

The problem with doing a trip like this is many countries do not allow you to leave the country without your bike although there are any that do, it requires some careful research.
From what I understand of Mongolia it allowed you to leave without the bike until this year and the only country in Central Asia which allows this now is Tajikistan.

this might be a naive suggestion, but how are they to know? if the plan is to leave it there for only 1 month? for example?

A lot of these countries have MASSIVE import duties. If you want to buy a Yamaha R1 in Thailand, it will cost you $40,000.

Everyone in that country knows they are getting screwed and they would love to sneak in stuff under the radar for themselves or for resale. But these countries have their systems in place to prevent people doing this. This includes tourists that "leave" their vehicles behind. You already declared your vehicle when you entered the country and they check for this when you are at the border or airport leaving the country. It's a very simple check and they are on the lookout for this sort of thing.

If it was easy to leave your vehicle like that, people would just buy new GS bikes in the USA and ride all the way down to Rio, and sell them used for for $20,000 pure profit. :D

HU folks will probably have some ideas where it's easier to make it happen. But those places will be exceptions to the rule.

I am aware of the phenomenon, the fact that you do not need a Carnet just made me question the ability to prove i actually brought something in..

You still go through customs at the border and they take down your vehicle info. Depending on the border, their paranoia level, and how they feel that day, they may also search your vehicle and check VINs. Once you're processed and they have you in the system, you go to another office and buy temp insurance for your temporarily imported vehicle.

All this stuff is computerized even in least developed countries (... well... almost...) When you leave the country and go through immigration they know if you brought a vehicle in or not. If you did and you are trying to leave without a vehicle, they won't let you just leave. You'll be on the hook for the import duties and possibly some penalties because you left the vehicle behind. If you crashed and totaled the vehicle, each country has some specific process you have to go through to prove that.

I remember reading HU and I do believe there are some very specific spots and maybe 2 countries where it is possible to leave a bike behind, but this is not typical and will not work for most countries. You really have to research and verify that it's possible and hope the loophole hasn't closed by the time you get there and try to do it.

A great place to leave your bike in Mongolia is OASIS GUESTHOUSE AND CAFFEE in UB.

You can leave a bike behind in Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. All with some creative paperwork and/or some good medical records:lol3