Warning: This is an oversimplified question. Weird people will just say “it depends” and nothing more. I hate those types of people. So let me start by saying “well, it depends.” Just kidding. Wait, no I’m not kidding, it does depend on the following factors:

Factor 1: Time in the country. If you’ll be here under 1 month, and your trip is starting and ending in the same region, rental IS the choice. If you’re going to be here for more than a month or your journey starts in a different part than it finishes, buying is the option. The truth is, motorcycles here are super easy to buy and sell, with low transaction costs, and great resale values.

Factor 2: What kind of motorcycle do you want? Small bikes are easier to sell. But the truth is, I wouldn’t recommend anything under 300CC or carbureted. Trust me, I tried it. I literally bought a new bike and tried to make it work but it’s just too limiting. At elevation, you’re going to lose power and carbureted bikes just require more tinkering or re-jetting depending on where you are. For example, If you have a bike with a carb and you go up to 8000 feet, which is something you’re definitely going to want to do, your gas milage is going to go to crap and you’re going to lose literally 25% of the power. On a 125cc, you may only have 10HP to start with.

Factor 3: Can you work on a bike or do you want to deal with problems? Most rented bikes are going to make the maintenance the owners problem, not the renter. So if you don’t mind changing oil (which will only cost like 15 bucks USD total), then buying is the way to go.

Factor 4: Do you plan on leaving the country? If you plan to cross the border, you’re going to need your registration. This is called a Tarjeta de Propriedad. It’ll have your name and ID number on it.

Can You Buy A Motorcycle in Colombia with a Passport?

You sure can. You can even look up your ownership history on the colombia Transito website. Here, they call that the RUNT and you can look up by ID # (your passport number) or your plate number. But I’ve purchased several bikes here in colombia with my passport.

How safe is it to Ride a Motorcycle in Colombia?

The truth is, probably safer than USA at the end of the day. Safer from thieves than the USA? Probably not, or at least that depends on your city. But when I safe its probably safer, I’m looking at the whole picture. In colombia, you’re not going to have to deal with Ice and snow or high speed highways. Black Ice is probably the absolute most dangerous part of riding a motorcycle in cold climates. Secondly, the highways here aren’t really fast. The terrain is actually so difficult that the drivers seriously pay attention, you really will have problems if youre not paying attention because there really are few highways. And you can avoid those highways if you choose, which is something some people recommend.

Can you get full coverage for a motorcycle in Colombia including theft insurance?

You can. Even with a passport. For example, I recently insured a motorcycle for the cost of 1,800,000 pesos or $470 for the year. This includes accidents, theft, hospital bills, etc. In my mind, it’s worth it for the peace of mind. Oh, and it covers out of the country as well. So when I ride down to Ecuador, the insurance will still be valid. I purchased this bike brand new and I assume a used bike thats not worth as much will have a lower cost of insurance.

So in conclusion, I hope these tips help you in your journey. Thanks for reading.

Do I need a motorcycle license in Colombia?

I’ve been stopped many times by colombian police. Not because I did something wrong but instead, because I was stopped at a checkpoint. There are checkpoints all over the place. They always looked at my USA license and thought it was okay. I never had a problem. The only time I had a strange encounter with police is when I had a girl with me who apparently was still married to a police officer in Medellin and the system had not updated the status. The police officer at the stop called her “husband” and asked why she was riding with some gringo. That was a strange way to find out my girl had been married before.

How safe is it to drive in Colombia?

Simply put, it is absolutely not safe to drive in Colombia. If you get on a moto, you are taking risks. Even in a place with tons of infrastructure like the USA, riding can be dangerous. Let me give you an example of how powerful I learned my front brake is. One time I was riding between Manizales and Pereira. I was in the left lane and I saw ahead of me a covered pickup truck in the right lane. With no signal and no notice, they guy just puts out his left hand and decides that at that very moment was when he needed to do a u-turn across the median from the far right lane. It was the most insane thing I had ever seen. I hit my front brake so hard, I had no idea I could stop that fast. He brought me from about 50 MPH down to a dead stop in the middle of the road. This is absolutely common. The drivers do not have the same type of education as they do in the USA, the licensing procedure is not as strict, and I have a theory that a lot of drivers should be wearing glasses but because of the poverty, their prescriptions are out of date or they just don’t have them. Also you need to keep in mind that the roads are not kept up. There are uncovered man-holes. Sometimes the roads just turn into nothing. It is really hard. You need to use 100% of your mind while driving. But you get used to it after time.