overlanding
• They don’t have any official Motor- rad dealerships or dealers of any kind beyond those that work on small Chinese or Indian bikes or tuk-tuks. You would be amazed at what they can do with a minimum of tools but a lifetime of jury-rig- ging things with what they have.
• They don’t accept credit cards. Most third world places are cash-based economies.
• Money exchangers will welcome you at the border. Be careful, these guys are shady, illegal and going to rip you off, but often they are your only option to pay off the guys for decontamination of your bike, or for crossing the barrier—the U.S. dollar speaks loudly, but be sure to not overpay. A dollar can be a whole day’s pay for these guys. Sometimes better to get local funds to carry you through to the next border.
• If you do find a Motorrad dealer, he likely won’t have the part or tire you need, as BMWs are scarce, only for the very rich, and all parts are ordered in as needed at luxury prices.
• You need an International Driver’s Licence. This is not actually a licence but rather a companion translation document for your actual licence in multiple languages. It is usually available through your automobile club.
• You need a Vehicle Carnet to guar- antee you don’t leave your bike in their country without paying the luxury import taxes. This is essen- tially a passport for your bike. For- tunately, there are fewer than 30 countries still requiring these as they are expensive to obtain. Often three to five times the actual MSRP of your bike and equipment needs to be deposited in trust to guaran- tee you do not sell or leave your bike in the country. There is insur- ance you can obtain rather than depositing perhaps over $100k, but it is pricey. The only place to get it
70 BMW OWNERS NEWS September 2015
in North America is through the Cana- dian Automobile Assoc. in Ottawa, com- plete details on their website. Unless you dearly want to bring your bike into these countries, it is easiest to leave your bike at the border and rent one in-country or plan a different route.
• You need a passport/visa. Visa require- ments vary widely depending on your nationality. Check with your State Department or Foreign Affairs office for the latest requirements.
• A shaman blessing you/your bike may not be a bad idea. One women killed two roosters for us at an alter we hiked an hour to get to, and then made smudge that each of us was to bath our faces in. Strange stuff, but we had no mishaps for the rest of the trip…go figure.
• There are few campgrounds, and some nice meadows may have landmines, so to avoid early wake-up calls, ask the locals where to pitch your tent;
• What they may call a 3-star hotel, we may call a flop house room. This was the shower in one of the hotel rooms in Panama.
• Your GPS maps may be all wonky. GPS data sets are only as good as the data pro- vided by the particular country/state or town. Expect these to be a few years out of date—if they even exist. I have found
www.openstreet.nl a great source to download FREE maps, often routable and better than those available through Garmin.
• Asphalt is a luxurious foreign notion out- side of cities. If you don’t like gravel, bet- ter get more “seat time” riding it, because it is unavoidable;
• Beggars and pickpockets are everywhere. Best not to give money as it will be squan- dered, but buy them some food if you must. If they are selling small plastic trin- kets or offering a shoe shine at the border while you wait, help their family out by or getting a shine on your dirty boots or buying something, and then throw it out later—at least they are working, and it may be the only option open for them.
• Kids live on the streets. One boy was working outside our hotel as a prostitute
all night, and this is how we found him in the morning in Granada, Nicaragua. Be prepared for what you will see and experience.
• You need to secure you bike at night, sometimes in a locked compound, some- times in the lobby, other times on the street in front of the hotel with an armed guard. An alarm is a good idea to warn you when folks are curious or kids are sit- ting on the bike and taking pictures. Remember we look like the super rich in these places, riding in on monstrous bikes and fancy riding clothes.
• Everyday brings new experiences. Live those experiences, as those are the ones that will stay with you forever; and lastly
• Your home country may not have diplo- matic relations, so be smart.
Get the idea? This won’t be a ride to grand- ma’s house for Sunday supper! You need to understand that overlanding is not a holi- day, but an adventure with inherent risks on the road, challenges with the cultures and unexpected changes along your well laid out route. Lots of protests, some peace- ful some not so much, like one I encoun- tered in Ecuador where the local indigenous people were blocking the Pan-Am High- way for hours to protest lack of education funding. The decision to venture out indepen-
dently or with an organized tour was well covered in my earlier ON article on page 70 in the July 2013 issue. Go have a read of that article, then follow along with this series to see how to get ready. Most of the details will equally apply to either method—group or self-guided. Although most of my trav- els over the past 40 years have been as an independent rider or with a small group of friends, I did finally participate in an orga- nized tour, the Trans-Am Expedition, in 2011 with Globebusters out of the U.K. It was a top-notch operation like many tour companies, but not for the faint of heart! They will certainly take you on those “roads” less traveled. Questions/comments? Drop a line to:
Hooykaas@bmwmoa.org.
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