Planning a motorcycle trip across Patagonia

[Gunny]

Hey gang,

A couple of buddies and I are planning a motorcycle trip across Patagonia for January 2017.  Our thought is to fly into Santiago, Chile, buy enduros, then ride south then east to either Buenos Aires or Monte Video, then sell the bikes befor flying back to the states. Anyone do this?  Can anyone provide some pointers as I plan this trip?  Anything would be helpful.  Thanks.

[SMCx3]

Good luck pulling off your trip.  Sounds like a wonderful adventure. 

I am sure you have checked out ADV Rider forum?  You will get tons of information and find a few who have already tackled this trip if you have not visited.

[Pancake]

I'm pretty sure this will work if buying in Chile, however, if buying in Argentina you cannot take a vehicle out of the country unless you are a citizen. Weird law, but we ran into it. You can take a rental car across the border, but not a car you own. Also, you will want to look into the rules about selling in Argentina. Sounds like an awesome trip. Patagonia is unreal. Carry a spare tire if you can! That place is the definition of desolate and I saw this was quite common with the motorcycle trekkers down there.

[Rollin]

Of course make sure you know what the most common bike is where you are going, and learn how to fix it yourself.  I had a Suzuki DRZ400 and would set it on its side, take off both tires and rims, replace same, and put it all back together with the tools that I carried.  Or figure out how to clean out the carbs, fix a leaking etc. (whatever the most issues are with that model). As said above, go to advrider.com.  There are specific bike subforums that are very helpful.

I'd probably go with something small though, maybe a 200cc or 250 max.

[Abel]

Gunny - no enduro motorcycle experience to speak of, but I did bicycle through South America with my brothers a few years ago. Feel free to PM me for tips on Patagonia. We rode south through Santiago, crossed east into Argentina from Temuco to do the 7 Lakes Route and eventually linked up with the Carreterra Austral. Rode all the way down to Fitz Roy, Torres del Paine, finished in Ushuaia. Patagonia is truly unreal, something to behold, you'll never forget it. I'd recommend just sticking close to the mountains and the Carreterra Austral and avoiding Argentina's Route 40 as much as possible. The ripio will be jarring and the harsh wind and endless expanse of scrub brush gets old pretty quick.

If you change your minds on motorcycles, keep in mind that bicycles are easily transported via airplane in a bicycle box. Eliminates the hassle of buying/selling/registering a motorcycle. If I had a month, I would take mountain bikes and fly into Puerto Montt. Beautiful time of year. Ride the Austral in Chile and 7 Lakes loop in Argentina, tent camp when possible and otherwise splurge every few nights on a hostel stay or do like we did and make friends with the old ranchers and enjoy sleeping in their barns and swapping stories over coffee. You'll never forget it and you can take your bicycles back for more adventures in the States and elsewhere. With ideal group size of 3 you can spread load the weight of tent / stove / tools and it's that much easier to get off the bikes for resupply and tourist activities.

Would love to see photos of the journey when the time comes! I love that part of the world.

[Northwestie]

Well, gotta hand it to you if this is your chosen method.  I've been down there several times on month+ climbing trips - and ho! is it a windy place on those steppes.  It has gotten a lot more accessible with more gas stations, for instance, than it was even 30 years ago.   So, it's not such a crazy idea as it used to be.

Only advice I would give is to take some time to hike out in the hinderlands - some of the parks (TDP and Pianie) have gone full ballistic tourist with hot-shot lodging for the non-frugal crowd.   But - there are outer reaches of even these busy places where you will see no one and lots of other wild places.  Have fun.

[Abel]

Only advice I would give is to take some time to hike out in the hinderlands - some of the parks (TDP and Pianie) have gone full ballistic tourist with hot-shot lodging for the non-frugal crowd.   But - there are outer reaches of even these busy places where you will see no one and lots of other wild places.  Have fun.

This. Was shocked in Torres del Paine especially...took refuge from a storm in a stable that was part of a constellation of buildings owned by a mega-luxury hotel (seasonal employee trailer housing, stables for horses, etc.). I seem to recall anywhere from $1000-3000 a night at the hotel itself with guided hiking and horseback riding and such. Hard to imagine who can afford such a thing. Their seasonal employees were from all over South America, and happened to be closing up shop for the winter. We spent a morning with them gorging ourselves on their left over grilled mutton chops and incredible food that had to be eaten or would go to waste as they departed till the next busy season. Then we pedaled off and tent camped most of the rest of the way to Punta Arenas. It's a beautiful and wild place regardless of the luxuries being developed nearby...and as long as one is not limited to tourist shuttles (whether on a bicycle or motorcycle or otherwise) it's never hard to escape to the wild country in between.