Availability of parts in mexico and central America

[adrinalno]

Hi every one,

I'm leaving in 10 days to Canada and will drive south for a couple of month.

The bike I drive is a 1988 Honda NX250.

What are the chances of finding parts like clutch plates, voltage regulator, sparkplug or just off road tyres? Should I bring them just in case?

Thanks for your advice,

Adrian.

[josecito250]

Hi, I would say that you should find tires, spark plugs and a voltage regulator you could take from another bike in the worst case. You could change your clutch plates before you go if they are already pretty used and so you are good to go...

[ta-rider]

Best is allways touse local bikes insted of shiping bikes aroudn the world. Then you will find all parts needet in every second shop

[Sjoerd Bakker]

Tires and spark plugs should not be difficult to find . It is model specific bits that may be a problem for such an old bike which was not sold here in any shop that I know .The bike was basically a 250XL so engine parts of those should be similar
Built in Brazil NX250 were sold in Mexico but are rarely seen .
Does your bike have a history of blowing up voltage regulators ? If so it might pay to bring a spare. Other than that replace any of the wear items so you should be able to Go months .

Your time to start Canada in November is worrisome. Why so late ?
Most casual riders here will begin putting the bike on blocks at that time .
Southward Ho indeed. Don't expect to do any long trips in Canada .

[MikeMike]

Change your clutch before you leave or do it stateside before dropping into Mexico. Make sure your suspension is good. How much real Mexican off roading will you seriously be doing? Off road here requires some forethought these days. The other parts you can likely source from compatible shared models sold here. Be very aware of where you will be riding off road in many Mexican states. Do not go sticking your front wheel just anywhere. A good road/light off road tire might be your better choice.

[swissglobetrotter]

I live in Mexico and bought a used NX400 which was sold here until probably 3 years ago. Already not that common around the country and specific parts are hard to get, needed a bolt for my suspension and had to wait 2 months for my local Honda dealership to get it.
For the rest common parts as tyres, plugs,... are super easy to get at the dealerships or moto accessory shops.
I would definitely not travel with tyres but any specific piece you think is prone to break down would be a good idea... or even better as suggested above simply change before the trip.

[MikeMike]

Any machine shop could have made you a bolt. We're you waiting because it was a warranty issue? There are bike breakers/vineyards online, too. That is an exceptionally long wait time for Honda. Did you try another dealer?

[swissglobetrotter]

Originally Posted by MikeMike

Any machine shop could have made you a bolt. We're you waiting because it was a warranty issue? There are bike breakers/vineyards online, too. That is an exceptionally long wait time for Honda. Did you try another dealer?

That's exactly the problem here in Mexico... And not only here outside of the US this situation is not uncommon.

The fork tube bolt is a quite specific part, I am sure they can make them in some machine shops in Mexico but I doubt anywhere close to where I live.

Tried local dealer and dealers in other states...until I found out that Honda HQ Mexico did not have it and had to order it from Brazil. Also as often here they will give you a timeline and not comply to it, knowing it would have taken them more than a month I could have ordered it from the US and received it earlier. They requested payment in advance to order them promising delivery in 2 weeks...that's the official local Honda dealer! Did complain a lot to them, state HQ and country HQ,... but in the end after the time I had already waited it was easier to keep waiting knowing the part would arrive than start all over again looking elsewhere.

Still getting the usual consumable parts for most bikes it is really easy in both the official dealers and many smaller parts shops, the issue is when something specific is needed.

[Sjoerd Bakker]

Adrinalno, just out of curiosity how is your trip developing , assuming that it was THIS year that you were starting from Canada ?
If you started in South Ontario you are lucky thus far .We have had an incredible run of good , mild riding weather and high temperatures with only occasional night frosts and it is past the midway part of November already .
It could switch around at anytime to beginning to snow so head south soon .v

[VicMitch]

Take the stuff that is known to go bad and then just go. You will find anything you need or can have it made. I took a 13 year old Victory all the way to Argentina and there were no parts available even in the US for it so just go. It will be fine.

Mitch

[adrinalno]

Thanks guys my trip is going great. Just arrived at Mexico. Only my valve clearance is getting to tight so I'll have to grind the shims somewhere.

Cheers,
Adrian.

[Sjoerd Bakker]

Grind the shims ?????????????????
Really never heard about that being done as a tune up, would think the shims would be much too hard to get done at a hole in the wall shop with hand grinders . h
Simpler to measure and switch to correct thickness shims .
In "olden times" they did grind down the ends of valve stems ???? Risk screwing up the cam or followers .

[MikeMike]

Chapperal in California list the shims for your bike. Order and ship via express 3-4 days or use the part numbers and see if they are common to another model.

[markharf]

Originally Posted by Sjoerd Bakker

Grind the shims ?????????????????
Really never heard about that being done as a tune up...

I had this done once in Argentina when it turned out to be the easiest way to set my KLR valves. So not unheard of, but definitely not the norm. FWIW, it's done with a proper surface grinder, not by hand.

[pancho]

I have a hotcams set of 7.48mm diameter shims if that is any help to you. I am near Guadalajara.