Chile Q's? ... post here - will try to answer!

[al128]

Hi there,

having lived in Stgo for nearly 10 yrs now - and being actively involved with off-road travelling, I feel I can help some - so I am all for Q's.

cheers and best wishes
Al

[tedder]

Cool! These may have been asked elsewhere, but I'll ask some of the easy ones.

* Where should we go for tires or bike parts? i.e., the BMW dealer, or who?
* Where to stay in Santiago? Somewhere safe for the bike, and cheap. (I don't own a KLR anymore, but I'm still cheap)

-ted (in Mexico, but headed your way)

[al128]

Originally Posted by tedder

Cool! These may have been asked elsewhere, but I'll ask some of the easy ones.

* Where should we go for tires or bike parts? i.e., the BMW dealer, or who?
* Where to stay in Santiago? Somewhere safe for the bike, and cheap. (I don't own a KLR anymore, but I'm still cheap)

-ted (in Mexico, but headed your way)

stay away from the BMW dealers, or pay the premium

There are 2 principal "agglomerations" of bike shops in Stgo.

X.) One is "10 de Julio" con "Lira" ... plenty of cheap stuff in 10-15 stores (bikes, spares, accessories), but crappy neighbourhood ... mostly you can park your bike in front of the store - so you should be ok ... try to go there in the morning, when the bad folks are still sleeping...

XX.) "Av. Vitacura" around numeration 9000 - there are 4-5 bikeshops w/in a mile with good mix of products and tires... its in the "nice" part of Stgo, prices will be higher, but you also will find higher end products. There is also a Suzuki importer @ this address.

One word of warning: What make/model of bike do you ride? ... Its easy to find Honda parts, but very tricky to find e.g. Kawasaki parts, being Yamaha and Suzuki somewhere in the middle of those extremes. Good news is that DLs are commercially available in chile, so spare parts and tune-up knowledge should be easier to get (as opposed to a KLR 4 example)

there is a good site, called www.mapcity.cl where you can hammer in street addresses and they give you zoomable maps - as Stgo is quite big and busy.


about places to stay in stgo. - let me come back tomorrow - I have a good booklet with prices - but let me say this - its very easy to find places in Stgo - so dont worry too much ... I will post the name/address of the hostal, as - iirc - they had parking for bikes and were in the better part of Stgo (Ñuñoa) w/out being too expensive.


My advice: get out of Stgo as soon as you ran all your errants ... its ugly, busy, aggressive, very contaminated in winter ... probably one of the worst places in chile ...


Do you have an ETA for Chile yet???? Def. drop me a line when heading in from north ... You buy ... and I'll sing like a canary

cheers
Al

[gpothoven]

Originally Posted by tedder

* Where should we go for tires or bike parts? i.e., the BMW dealer, or who?

BMW dealer had reasonable price on TKC´s, at least for this part of the world. About $180 for rear, $150 for front. They sure as hell made up for it in the mounting though. $120!!

[enduro-ince]

Wanna house swap next winter?

[al128]

Originally Posted by gpothoven

BMW dealer had reasonable price on TKC´s, at least for this part of the world. About $180 for rear, $150 for front. They sure as hell made up for it in the mounting though. $120!!

normally, dealers mount tires for free (or a small, nominal fee) if you buy them from them - since labour is very cheap down here in .cl


To get a ballpark, goto www.procircuit.cl and click on the "neumaticos" link and later on Bridgestone or Michelin ... or check out: http://www.imoto.cl/s.0/buscador.php?op=Buscar&fid=29

the current FX rate is 1U$S = 540 CLP

cheers - al

[Flying Gringo]

Originally Posted by al128

Chile Q's? ... post here - will try to answer!

Why is the country named after a condiment? And what part of Peru are you from?

[Flying Gringo]

Originally Posted by al128

Hi there,

having lived in Stgo for nearly 10 yrs now - and being actively involved with off-road travelling, I feel I can help some - so I am all for Q's.

cheers and best wishes
Al

If it's Chile today, will it be hot tamale?

[al128]

ok, leaving behind some less productive msgs, here is the information on reasonably priced lodging in Stgo.

www.patiosuizo.com

run by a swiss couple, located in Av. Condell 847, in Providencia, Stgo.

prices seem reasonable, they are close to the metro also

cheers
al

[Flying Gringo]

A good place to go in Santiago is the San Francisco. Clean and nice, with big rooms, and kitchenettes. Decent neighborhood, and near all the bike shops.

http://motoat.blogspot.com/2006/11/w...-santiago.html

[The Big J]

Do you have any info on good places in Cajon del Maipo? When I was there 4 years ago I did a day trip just before leaving and it seemed nice but no moto then so was a slave to where the bus left us. Or do you just drive straight in?

Also, is there still a restaurant in Las Condes called Akarana run by a New Zealander outside where they were putting the Hilton? (metro El Golf, maybe Tobalaba). I worked there for a couple of months, wonder how it's getting on.

[Brennan]

Hello al128,

Thanks for the opportunity to ask a few questions.

My girlfriend is going to meet me in Santiago later this month. Do you think she will have any problems bringing some BMW parts for me in her luggage. Nothing very big just some filters, spark plugs, maybe a new helmet? Should she check her bag with all the goods or carry it on?

Cheers man. I wil buy you a beer in Santiago if you have some time.

[Gustavo]

Originally Posted by brennan

My girlfriend is going to meet me in Santiago later this month. Do you think she will have any problems bringing some BMW parts for me in her luggage. Nothing very big just some filters, spark plugs, maybe a new helmet? Should she check her bag with all the goods or carry it on?

I never had any problems bringing small parts as a tourist to Chile (on my way to Argentina). I used to carry stuff I cared about on the plane, but in todays TSA world, I'd check anything that can raise questions by a layperson (every TSA employee? ).

I am not sure if they charge the reciprocity fee at the land crossings, but I am sure they still do at the airport. Last time I paid it, they "had no change", not a big deal for Americans (it's $100 even), but you must to pay it in cash (no CC/traveler's checks accepted).

Gustavo

[Flying Gringo]

Originally Posted by Gustavo

I am not sure if they charge the reciprocity fee at the land crossings, but I am sure they still do at the airport. Last time I paid it, they "had no change", not a big deal for Americans (it's $100 even), but you must to pay it in cash (no CC/traveler's checks accepted).

Gustavo

I paid with a credit card at the airport in Santiago. You can also pay the exit tax at Ezieza with a credit card. Once you pay this fee, you are good to go until your passport expires.

They do not collect it at the land crossings.

[Flying Gringo]

Originally Posted by brennan

Hello al128,

Thanks for the opportunity to ask a few questions.

My girlfriend is going to meet me in Santiago later this month. Do you think she will have any problems bringing some BMW parts for me in her luggage. Nothing very big just some filters, spark plugs, maybe a new helmet? Should she check her bag with all the goods or carry it on?

Just for curiosity's sake, what sort of problems do you think your girlfriend will have if the Customs agents find filters and sparkplugs in her luggage? Seriously, what is the worse thing you could imagine would happen if they found a $2 sparkplug stashed away in her luggage?

She probably won't even have to go through the revision. Most foreigners don't. They'll just wave her through.