buying and insuring a motorcycle

A non-resident, non-citizen can own a motor vehicle so I’m sure you could buy a motorcycle, too. If you register it, you’ll be obligated to pay for any legally mandated insurance, and I think INS will sell you whatever supplemental insurance that’s available.

I certainly agree with that!

I rode big bikes on the road in the U.S. and Canada for twenty years but I wouldn’t consider riding one here. The combination of the road surfaces, the loose dogs, and the traffic and driving behavior make this a fool’s errand, in my humble opinion.

An article in one of the online newspapers a year or two ago related that one quarter of Costa Rica’s traffic fatalities are motorcyclists. Of course, the way they “drive” may have something to do with that. The old myth that it’s always the car driver’s fault is just that, a myth.

As a former rider myself, I would advise riding a bike in CR with extreme caution, if, not at all. CR roads have many challenges, not to mention car/truck drivers; to say the least. Like yourself, there is nothing like biking, while feeling the wind and the sun in beautiful CR; however, I do not; and would not ride in CR. Consider riding in CR very seriously. If you have ever taken a major spill, you know what I mean! I will now stick to a four wheel drive vehicle. Take a look at some of the CR police dirt bikes in the areas you will be in, you may even get lucky in meeting them at a check-point; it will tell you what conditions the cop and the bike have to endure.