Adv Riders in Guatemala

[175grams]

Hi ans3,

You're going to love motorcycling around Guatemala! Its a great country to explore and there is a ton of sights, awesome roads, trails, and culture. Check out my ride report link below to get an idea.

You can buy a bike and put in your name as a foreigner. You will go through some "red tape" but its something that is done quite often here. Myself and plenty of friends have done this as expats in the country.

I don't see the bike you posted on the streets here but there are a lot of very similar options available. Honda sells a CGL125 that looks like the equivalent to what you posted. http://www.honda.com.gt/motos-doble-...ito/cgl-125-tp

I will tell you that if you buy a new bike, getting the plates usually is going to take a while.. sometimes a month in my experience. If you stay in Guatemala this isn't a big problem, but if you are going to cross borders you will need a plate. So buying used might be another option to consider as you can put the bike in your name within a few days. Actually, here is a checklist for transferring a bike into your name that I put together for others:



The last thing I will say is that a 125cc is going to be pretty small to go 2 up, we have a lot of elevation changes here and depending on your size, I think you're going to want some more power.

[richsuz]

Welcome to the thread and hopefully to Guatemala in the summer.

Originally Posted by ans3

Greetings from Iceland.

Well this certainly looks like a thread where I can get all the information i need.

I'm thinking about going to Guatemala with my girlfriend and some friends this summer. We were thinking about buying a cheap moto there and ride around Guatemala and other countries in the region.

I was wondering if you gentlemen (and ladies) might have some information about if this is possible. That is can I as a foreigner buy a bike in Guatemala and, if that's possible, what about taking it across borders in Central America.
Yes, foreigners can own/purchase vehicles here, but beware, that the process takes a couple of weeks at best if you are getting one brand new (even for Guatemalans). Consider locating a suitable used bike. The advantage of having a bike with local plates is that you need not do temporary import procedures to travel in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua

I was thinking about buying one of these: http://www.honda.com.gt/motos-doble-.../honda-cb1-tuf
and riding with my girlfriend on the back. What do you guys think?
My personal thoughts: The CB1 Tuf is a small bike, how big are you? I travel on a Honda XR125L , but SOLO and is good enough for me, but I weigh 145 lbs and 172 cms tall. My bike can handle about 225 lbs without effort, but two up and 45 lbs luggage is a struggle, I know, sometimes, I take my 14 year old daughter with me on weekend rides! I do between 300 and 700 kms on a weekend, with some power issues in elevations higher than 3500 m. But I put up with it. Top speed 110 kms/h, crusing single 85, two up 70. Up hill, drops of course, but I am there to tour, not to race. For two up you need a 250. Maybe consider buying a Genesis 250, chinese bike, with a DR250 copy. Or just pay the extra money between the CB1 tuf and the XR125L. What is your plan? What do you want to see, how remote you want to go? If you are in need for more help, PM your email or FB
Any information would be great.

All the best
ans3

[richsuz]

Beat me to it Chris! But at least we were consistent on our answers!

One more thing INSURANCE, since you will probably ask about it sooner or later. In reality it is nice to have, but not required. Make sure your health/accident insurance is valid here, for your own care. Usually any other expenses in case of an accident are taken care of on the spot. FWIW.

[ans3]

Wow thanks alot for the info Chris and richsuz.

I really don't have time to wait for a month to get plates on the bike so I guess i'm better off buying a used one.

Chris I can see on the homepage of CA Tours that you guys sometimes have bikes for sale. Do you anticipate having some this summer.
What is your opinion about the 200 ctx, do you think it has enough power for two up plus some luggage (me and my girlfriend weigh something like 320 lbs together).
I knew that 125 cc might be a bit small but I don't really have enough money to buy a large bike.

I have also been looking at the honda xr250 (http://honda.com.gt/motos-doble-proposito/xr-250) do you guys have an idea how much a used one of those would cost?

I have had little luck trying to find used bikes in Guatemala on the web. Do you guys have any pointers.

Richsuz, do you know how much insurance for a moto costs? I know my travel insurance covers me for any accidents and such but i'm thinking that it might be good to have a third-party liability coverage in case i run over somebodies farm animal.

I apologize for the flood of questions, especially if this is the wrong place to be asking them.

All the best
ans3.

[175grams]

Originally Posted by ans3

Chris I can see on the homepage of CA Tours that you guys sometimes have bikes for sale. Do you anticipate having some this summer.

It is possible, can't say for sure yet. To give you an idea, we have The Honda 200CTX's: 2011 for Q29,000 and 2009 for Q24,000. That's the prices the owner usually would ask.

Originally Posted by ans3

What is your opinion about the 200 ctx, do you think it has enough power for two up plus some luggage (me and my girlfriend weigh something like 320 lbs together).

It would get the job done, we ride two up on them all the time. But I will say that you will probably want more bike based on the weight you said, plus having some luggage.

Originally Posted by ans3

I have also been looking at the honda xr250 (http://honda.com.gt/motos-doble-proposito/xr-250) do you guys have an idea how much a used one of those would cost?

Check out this page, you'll probably see a few on there: http://www.olx.com.gt/motos-cat-379 In my opinion the Tornado (that's what they call that bike here) is a sissy 250, weak compared to the XR250's we get in other parts of the world.

[Craneguy]

First result on OLX is a KLR650. That might be a better choice...

[GuateRider]

Originally Posted by Craneguy

First result on OLX is a KLR650. That might be a better choice...

I agree 100% !!!
A 250 riding 2 up with luggage is not enough ; keep in mind that we have a lot of steep mountain roads here in Guatemala and a lot of buses that you need to pass going uphill...
Send me a PM if you are interested in a KLR , set up for long distance travelling with panniers and a lot of extras . And with Guatemalan license plates , meaning you could be on the road in 48 hours and no paperwork at all on the borders of Salvador,Honduras and Nicaragua .

[richsuz]

Guaterider to the rescue!

What is your riding experience Ans3? The ideal bike it may be, but if you dont really ride, it can also be a handful. Give us a little background information. And what are your traveling intentions, arqueological sites? mountain explore? mainly transportation from A to B and then park it until C, etc.

BTW, don't worry about a dead pig, no insurance will cover that. You killed it you arrange for a price with the owner and you own it...Call us when/if that happens, so we can fire up the BBQ!

[megan_eg]

Originally Posted by Saralou

Hey

We are in Guatemala headed South ( eventually Julio). We will be ahead of you likely, but would love to meet up.


Sara

Thanks for teaching me the simple basics of writing on forums Saralou. And apologies to all those I didn't figure out how to reply to, fortunately I believe we have all crossed paths by other means. It's been swell Antigua.

[ans3]

Thanks again everybody for taking the time to answer my questions. I really appreciate it.

richsuz. I have descent riding experience both on and off road so I'm not worried about not being able to handle the klr.
On that note.

Guaterider. pm sent.

But I'm really there just to travel and see the country so going slow is not a problem for me and I also have a small budget.
I'm thinking that riding a cheaper and a more common bike might be better. Easier to get it fixed if anything happens and less likely that it will be stolen. I'll mainly use the bike just to get from A to B.
With that in mind don't you guys think that a small bike will suffice?
At least it looks like it could work: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=301156

The barbecue sounds great richsuz, maybe if I get hungry i'll even try to find a pig to run over. Then I'll strap it to the back and bring it to your place.

Thanks for the webpage Chris. It's good to have a site where i can get an idea about the availability and prices of used bikes.

Thanks again everybody for the information. I'll maybe send you guys pm's from now on if i have any more question, if that's all right with you.

All the best.
ans3

[motomundo antigua]

Originally Posted by GuateRider

If you do it in January, count me in !!!! We should also get some good friends like marior97 from El Salvador to join us!

count me in,
Taz
Motomundo Antigua
2nd avenida sur #16
Antigua
www.facebook.com/motomundo.antigua

[GuateRider]

Originally Posted by ans3

I'm thinking that riding a cheaper and a more common bike might be better. Easier to get it fixed if anything happens and less likely that it will be stolen.

Small bikes get stolen all the time down here, big bikes don't. There is no market for a stolen big bike here.

[Craneguy]

Originally Posted by GuateRider

Small bikes get stolen all the time down here, big bikes don't. There is no market for a stolen big bike here.

That's right. The market is for spare parts so the most popular vehicles are the ones most often stolen. Here in Mexico VW cars are the most likely to be taken.

I haven't heard of a big bike being stolen here either.

[GuateRider]

Last Friday an interesting group of riders started for a 3 day ride up to Nebaj, in the northern part of the Quiche region.

Sara and Dan from BC , on a RTW journey, Megan from Alberta, a very brave solo riding young lady on a bike many years older as herself , Frank a big German fellow who recently moved to Guatemala , Mario and Victor from El Salavador , Trevor from Australia on his way to TDF, my lovely wife and myself the only locals in this gang.

We left from our place in Antigua and our first stop was in Katok for breakfast ; that's where Frank joined our group, coming from Guatemala City .





From there we continued on CA1 westwards and we stopped at a viewpoint above Lake Atitlan









Our next stop was Chichicastenango







From there we went on to Sacapulas, where we were joined by Mario and Victor coming in from El Salvador






All the pics are courtesy of Daniel and his great camera
More to come....

[GuateRider]

From Sacapulas we started climbing up the mountains toward Nebaj, en joying the incredible views





We stopped in Nebaj for a late lunch






From there we took a dirt road out to Acul and Mil Amores , a small dairy farm up in the mountains . This is the place where the famous Queso de Chancol , Guatemalas finest cheese, is made.


By the time we got there, a very light rain started …it makes the place look even more magic









But the rain couldn’t stop the local beauties from getting on our bikes






The next morning it was cloudy and foggy but we guys went still out riding , we went to Chajul and San Juan Cotzal.

At our first stop in Chajul, our friends from El Salvador got a nice “boots shine”…20 minutes later we were riding again through mud and deep water





The ladies in the meantime were busy back at the farm, drinking beer







Our accomodations in Mil Amores






Mario,the proud Touratech rep in El Salvador showed us the newest Touratech topcase for the tropics






Later in the afternoon , Trevor arrived just in time to join us for a delicious dinner