The preparation_Part 1 - Informations & Paperwork

        Well, now that the trip project is confirmed and that all necessary bases are settled, how should real preparation start ?

        If like me you're more kind of a dreamy newbie, it will be by looking for some informations of course ! Actually it was already quite a long time that I was wandering on the net, between blogs and travelling forums, drooling over « Long Way Round / Down » (Ewan McGregor & Charley Boorman), « Jupiter’s Travel » (Ted Simon), and others adventurers stories, daydreaming more than actually recollecting infos... It was now time to start with check-lists and buy some stuffs !
The two pillars of this preliminary phase were without any doubt the famous « Adventure Motorcycle Handbook (v6) » from Chris Scott and the « Horizons Unlimited » forum (initiated and moderated by Susan & Grant Johnson) which both are incredibles information and inspiration sources.
And considering my (very) limited knowledge about maintaining/reparation & off-road driving abilities, those two points appearing to me as eminently essentials in this project's context, I also forked out for a book dedicated to each : « Adventure Motorcycle Maintenance Manual » & « Adventure Riding Techniques » from Robert Wicks & Greg Baker (feat. Simon Pavey). A great Thanks to the six of them for the fabulous experience sharing job realized, and to all that once participated to the HUBB (HU forum) enrichment !

        From administrative / customs formalities to insurance / health imperatives through a crowd of lessons learnt about all types of motos, accessories, equipments, and services, these "data bases"  provided me with all necessary informations to get this getaway correctly prepared.
I discovered the existence of the "carnet de passage" (vehicle temporary importation warranty, which requires to let deposited on a dedicated account the amount corresponding to its value, or even up to 6 times its value in India :x), and with quite a relieve that South America is a blessed continent for motorbike journeys as this carnet de passage is never demanded. Add to this that visas are a simple formality directly managed at the border for nearly each of the countries composing it, that life cost level is fairly low, and that anyone speaks the same language but Brasil, and you'll obtain the planet's most suitable zone to initiate to motorcycle adventure journeys !

        The threads dedicated to medical & rapatriement insurances probably made me spare much time and energy, my prospection having then quickly ended with a presumably interesting cover contract with Travel Nation (≈ 360 euros for 6 months), and skimming through everyone's experiences about camping & travelling stuffs efficiently helped me to constitute my kits for sleeping / cooking / first aid / etc...

        Finally, here's a short check-list that could synthesize the essential procedures to go through and the documents to get, at least for someone in a situation like mine.

- Passport : 
        The only mandatory thing here is to have at least 6 months of validity left at the moment of presenting it in customs, even if tourist visas don't go over 3 months (actually most often renewable 1 time). In my case, the national identity document (DNI) and the argentinian permanent residence recently obtained give me access to Mercosur countries (Argentina / Uruguay / Brasil / Paraguay) as well as to some associated countries (Chile / Bolivia / Peru) without even having to present my passport. It will be just for the pleasure of getting the stamp as a record that I'll present it in those countries's customs. From what I was able to check, Equator and Colombia could effectively be asking for it despite being also associated to Mercosur group in other domains. To be confirmed on site !

- Visas : 
        Fortunately, for a french as well as for a Mercosur's resident, South American countries are fairly relaxed, he great majority contenting themselves with directly delivering it at the border. The only one that leaves me with a doubt after my consultation of consulate's web pages is Colombia, I'll think it over on site if I don't manage to check it out on the way...

- Motorbike Documentation : 
        If you choose to rent a bike on site (it can be done for approximately 80 US$/day in BsAs, for a BMW F800GS), no worry in this case : all papers will be delivered.
If you plan to bring your own steed from your residence's country, it might be a bit more "leafy" in forms, local authorities being in position to ask you for a traduced version of your papers, this traduction having to be done by a local notary (escribano)... To make it short, it's all a mess but it can be done. Also count about 1.000 to 1.500 US$ for vehicle transportation by air fret, highly preferable to boat one to avoid having to wait delivery for weeks because of maritime transport's duration aleas.
Finally, if you have the opportunity to buy one on site as I did - best option as far as I understand and feasible as a tourist, you'll be carrying "el título" (property certificate), "la cédula" (registration certificate), and "la VTV" ("Vehicle's Technical Verification", mandatory for 2 wheels in Argentina).
Whatever the option, you'll also need of course "la licencia" (driving license) in original and international (multi-language traduced version, for those who wouldn't know about it yet). In my case, I also have the argentinian driving license, valid in all Mercosur's countries. I take advantage to thank again my friends Sandrine & Fred from Toulouse for their help in my international license's renovation and postal delivery. :)
And for the equivalent to the "carnet de passage", each country I'm going to cross will initiate me in its entry border a temporary importation authorization requiring the vehicle to get out of this country within the conceded duration, without any preventive deposite. Be careful here that the time period accorded to the vehicle can possibly be less than the one accorded to its pilot !

- Motorbike Insurance : 
        Of course it deals here with civil responsibility in case of crash, vehicle's damages being a facultative option. In my case, this option just wasn't available in Argentina even in normal use (office - home route & leisure activities), or outrageously expensive (proposed only by official sellers from Ducati / Triumph / BMW, for prices as high as 500 US$/month at the moment I checked... Just a bad joke !). I was happy still to have found the last insurance company proposing a robbery cover : ATM.
This civil responsibility can be contracted directly at the border while entering in each country of my route, and my ATM contract covers all Mercosur's countries without any additive cost for being in large time & distance travel, leaving me only Equator & Colombia to manage by myself at their entry. A nice surprise !

- Medical & Repatriation Insurance : 
        Some could be tempted to consider this insurance as facultative, but you'd better be aware that expenses generated by a +/- serious health issue (let's say once hospitalization is required, be it for accident or illness) or a recuperation by helicopter, without talking of an international repatriation, can quickly reach summits that the common of mortals which I belong to couldn't afford before decades of hard saving times... I remember Susan Johnson telling the story of a non-insured traveling woman whose journey was shortened by an accident : the medical cares & repatriation resulting bill was equivalent to a real-estate purchase, approximately a thirty years loan with high monthly payments... We can fairly say that this woman is not close to be able to save for her next journey !
In my case as I was saying earlier, after some reading on the HUBB and a few mails to various companies to check by myself conditions & prices, I finally covered my ass with a contract in Travel Nation (pack "Essential including USA/Caribes" for the curious ones) of 6 months for 445 GBP (actually 260 for the cover + 25 to get free of any excess + 75 for the Satellite Tel + 85 for the MacBook), thus around 600 euros total. And a 3 months extension is possible before expiration for about 120 GBP. An appreciable amount of the total journey's budget - equivalent to nearly a month traveling - but with this and the satellite telephone I can leave serenely and should be able to face even the worst situations.

- Health : 
        Here again, South America is a privileged continent globally, and my planned route - at least the part done riding - doesn't requires more than the Yellow Fever vaccine (and its injection's certificate for border crossing), which presence's zone extends from Bolivia to Colombia as far as I'm concerned. Not only this illness itself is not of the worst ones in case my prevention efforts wouldn't be sufficient, but also the secondary effects of its injection would be as much some headache, which personally I didn't even feel.
There's nevertheless to strive to protect against malaria from argentinian's north-west up to Colombia, especially near the Amazonia. It consists first in trying to avoid mosquito's bites, covering itself a minimum and with the help of DEET repellents, but also to swallow in these zones some chloroquine tablets just in case. Some stems being "chloroquino-resistant" (Amazonia for South America), better not skimping on DEET percentage (actually it depends on application mode) : 50% is fine ! :D
In any case if you're planning a trip, be it similar or different from mine, go and consult a travels dedicated vaccination center to get the freshest news about it.
And icing on the cake, unless Amazonia (alias "the green hell"), this continent is the one presenting the lowest density and variety of venomous animals and others walking terrors ! You can camp +/- safely, at worst you'll be risking a nice fever.
Anyway, a good first aid kit and basic knowledge about health & medical care can only help !