Went to Lima with little to no experience on bikes and after a few days looking bought a 'Davest xtreme 250 gy-2' one of these... Motos DAVEST - Pantera Motos del Peru - motos scooters - recambios motos - accesorios motos - moto ocasion - motos 125 - comprar motos - motos bmw - motos cbr. The dealer who is the importer spoke a bit of english which was great as my spanish isn't very good yet. I got a 'permiso especial para firmar contratos' which I saw was needed from a thread on ADV and he sorted the ownership card and number plate. My girlfriend and I went to Cusco to go hiking and ruins visting for about 2 weeks until he let me know it was ready. Another 22 hour bus ride back to Lima then time to pick up the bike and get insurance which was incredibly easy and fast. Having all this sorted I spent a couple of days learning to ride around Lima which was fun, only stalled at the lights a couple of times...

By now we've about had enough of the city so after looking into getting pannier racks made up I decided i could just make one out of wood. It seems to be holding up well after 600km. We find our way out of Lima and head north without much of plan and after a night by the ruins in Caral we head to Huaraz, where we are now. The bikes not doing so good it seems to have developed a timing chain rattle, so I email the dealer and he has assured me he'll have it fixed by a dealer in Trujillo. Didn't expect much from a China bike but hopefully we'll get a few more Kms out of her.





Don't have much of a plan but we're thinking of heading nnorth through Equador, Colombia, Venezuala and down through Brazil. This depending on how well the money and the bike lasts...

Classic, a wooden pack carrier :-)

Have fun and good luck with the bike

kim

Onya mate! Let us know how you are going, there's some good blog tools on this site.

Nigel in NZ

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The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with . -- 2200 BC Egyptian inscription

Definitely keeping my eye on this ride report!

good luck with the bike big load for a 250 and 2 up

The same bikes are sold in south Asia under the Zarang trade name (and probably others) in Enduro specification, which doesn't mean too much since it is Chinese, it is just a marketing thing. For instance, the model for sale in Afghanistan has "200" written all over it, but I am told that it is actually a 150 cc capacity. You pay your cash and you take your choice, unless in Afghanistan where the dealers' could not care less what you buy, or what you do for that matter; get on and ride away, no insurance, no licence, no anything.

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Dave

Wow, what a practical idea - two large rucksacks on a wooden carrier. Who needs £1000 luggage!

*This is going back to May 2011 riding through here, I have been incredibly slack.


It was getting on into the afternoon by the time the bike was back in one piece and good to go. So we loaded up, bought a couple of dozen s and a couple of bottles of Cachaça for the army boys and headed back over the ferry. It was now getting dark but I was frustrated enough to keep going. Then the headlight decided enough was enough and stopped completely. Not Again. I quickly diagnosed that it was the battery. I had been having to kickstart the bike for a few thousand km but hadn't got around to getting a new battery. So under-powered LED headtorch strapped to the front it was into the night. Half an hour of this was enough with the frequent potholes and my already frayed nerves from the mornings towing, so we decided to camp soon. There weren't many places that looked nice for camping in the jungle, so we headed on until finding a church seemingly on its own in the middle of the jungle. After figuring that we wanted to camp on his lawn the pastor seemed happy enough. Setting the tent up I dropped straight to sleep before being woken half an hour later by excessively loud late night preaching screaming from the rough sawn church. A bunch of people turned up from the jungle to get yelled at for an hour or two. It was a bit strange, but these things happen.



Camped at church.


Up early, it’s nice to be on the road again. After 15 minutes ride I see a strange shape on a power line. Stopping to investigate we realise it’s a sloth who had a shocking experience and its’ hooked claws were holding it up on the line. Not much fun for the sloth.





Then it was on to the next ferry and back to the army base. We stopped for lunch and a few s and to say our thanks before heading off down the red mud road.



Thanks Renan!


The muddy parts were a bit easier as the road had dried out a little and I knew the best lines after having been this way and walked back already. We got through with a bit less drama than a maintenance crew heading out to service the communication towers, giving them some water and keeping on going. There wasn’t much we could do and they were working their way through with a turper winch.



Stuck.


We kept on riding and stopped at for the night at the tower about 100km from the army base. No one is staying at this one, but the gate is unlocked and we camp inside. The hurricane mesh fences wouldn’t be much of an obstacle for a hungry jaguar but I figure I must smell too bad to be eaten anyway.



Camping under the tower.


It’s south again the next morning and off down the road, which is a mixture of dirt mud and seal until we get to a river. There is a small village here and a big old riverboat tied to a barge as a ferry they take us across for a small fee seeming surprised. I think the ferrying business has all but dried up for them now their only access to the world is down the river. I think the locals are saying we can’t go further but I can’t really understand so we go for a look anyway.



Curious Monkey.


The bridges get bad until we get to a river where the bridge is burnt out completely. There’s a body of a car which tried to cross at some point and it’s a long way to the other side. Frustrated, we decide to eat lunch.
I noticed a side track back a bit so we investigate. Nope, no way that way either. Back to the road. This must be why the army and locals and everyone was saying don’t go. Silly gringos.



Getting Bad.



Worse.



No way around.


I think I can make a canoe out amongst the pillars against the other bank. I don’t want to turn back. Swim time!! I take the spare tubes out and inflate them to float across on. They don’t give much flotation but it’s something. I splash around in the shallows for a bit to convince myself that I won’t get eaten by piranha or any other strange Amazonian fish or reptile and take the plunge. The current is surprisingly strong so I paddle upstream and float over to the other side. The canoe turns out to be a decent size. We have a chance!






Almost There!


I Bail it out with the cut off soft drink bottle that was in it as it is almost full with water and paddle back across with the paddle that was cut to shape from a plank. Next step, manhandle the bike into the canoe. This is difficult but manageable, with the bike ending up hanging over each side a bit. I paddle back over with the bike and Kyla. We are both in our underwear in case we end up swimming. We make over and eventually get the bike up the muddy bank on the other side. Another trip to get the bags and we are off again.



Going for a paddle.



Perfect fit.



Looking back.


It starts to rain and we ride off again. I drop the bike at least 20 times on off-camber greasy muddy sections. At least falling on mud doesn’t hurt as much. We pass another maintenance vehicle going the opposite direction and they are shocked to see us. The second and last vehicle we see before the village 100km out of Huamita. Frustrated, we make it to a tower and stop for the night. There is a ‘light house keeper’ staying in this one and he gives us clean water and the use of his toilet. I climb the tower in the morning. There is an incredible 360 degree view of endless trees, with the only contrasting feature being the single dirt line cutting straight through.



There can't be much traffic when there are leafcutter ant highways crossing the road.



The way we came.



The way we're going.


I have noticed the fuel tank has a slow leak. It appears there is no crack, just fuel seeping out through the fatigued metal. I think this from the force of crashing repeatedly with the overfilled ‘tankbag’ attached. I hope it doesn’t get worse or we may be walking again soon. Leaving the compound we see big paw prints in the mud. For better or worse the cat doesn’t seem to be around anymore.


Prints.



Tightening the chain.


After another exhausting day we make it to the village 100km before Huamita, and find it has a place to stay. A and an early night for a long sleep in something that resembles a bed. A guy in this town sells fuel from his shed which is a relief, as it would be a bit touch and go to get to Huamita. This next section of road is very bad because it gets used. It takes a few hours to get out to Huamita and the rest of the day before getting into Porto Velho. Looking for a hotel a very kind bus driver sees us confused, finishes his route, and returns to show us the way.


Accommodation in the village. Clothes could stand by themselves now.



Made It!!!

As I finished reading your report and I stood up and cheered, laughing. Thank you. ratbikemike

You show great improvisation skills ,looking forward to your next blog.Noel

In Huaraz we looked at a map and decided it would be a great idea to go up over the Punta Olympica pass (4890m) to Chacas, and from there through to Yanama and back over a 4700m pass to Yungay. Then through the Canon del Pato to Trujillo. It was a good ride, took us 3 days.

We left the sealed road in Carhuaz in the early afternoon and after a bit of looking/going the wrong way we managed to find the start of the gravel road to Chacas. It started off rough and stayed that way for 5 or so hours to Chacas going 20-40 km/h the whole way. It was a big climb to the pass and a lot colder then it looked on the map, it was raining at the start and snowing up near and over the pass. Had a couple of sketchy moments in slushy snow with it being a long way down if we left the road and the bike was struggling for power up some of the steep rocky switchbacks up near the top. The road was a stream most of the way and with the rain it meant numb fingers and toes and a hurry to get down to a more hospitable altitude once we get to the pass. I'm sure the view would have been great if we'd been able to see anything. End up riding the last hour to Chacas in the dark and rain which is fun with the terrible stock headlights and some slippery mud.






Next day we put our wet gear back on and start off on another long slow day of rough gravel roads. Going up over the pass is another cold and wet afternoon and a hurried descent to get down to restore feeling to fingers and toes while i can still brake and use the clutch. The day ends with us getting into Yungay on dark, tired and with sore behinds. Some seat improvement is in need when i get around to it.. An early dinner and night definitly feels good.



Then it's through the Canon del Pato, the gravel road with about 30 or 40 tunnels. It's nice to be warm and only showers not just rain. Near the top of the canyon we have to wait about an hour while a recent landslide is cleared off the road and we head on down with a few more hours of slow gravel roads through the impressive canyon which has quite a lot of water going through due to the rain.



Now time to go to Trujillo and enjoy the beach at Huanchaco for a few days..

Nice report, keep it coming, would especially like to know about the bikes reliability!
Have fun.

__________________
'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.

Bikes reliability = Not much. With about 1300 km on the clock the piston decided to fall apart yesterday. The side had disintergrated, sending quite a few bits of metal the size of small change through the engine. We were only 50km out of Trujillo which was lucky and managed to hitch a ride with us and the bike on a pickup truck back into town. Getting to a repair shop at 5.30 on a Saturday evening they say it'll be ready by 9. So with a few guys working on it, we have a new piston and resleeved cylinder as this was cracked too, ready to go at 9.30. Total cost just under 400 Soles, about $140 US. Other bike problems, The rear brake has been through a set of pads and doesn't work properly now, a lot of the spokes came loose on the back wheel, Chain has needed tensioning about 4 or 5 times. Front end (headset?) got a bit loose. But apart from that it's been good.

On the positive I'm learning lots about fixing bikes..

Hi Chad, sorry to hear of quite serious bike problems, but sorted very cheaply, compared to European prices, whats the possibility swarf etc is floating around from the piston break-up?. If I was you I would do a couple of oil and filter changes after relative short mileages just incase, but even then, not guaranteed. I know breakdowns can certainly add often a different perspective to the trip, but its at unnessary expence, I know that I learnt mechanics very quickly, and met some of the nicest people whilst brokendown by the roadside on an old 500 Triumph!
Chinese bikes still leave a lot to be desired, I have a Yamaha badged YBR125 that was made in China, I thought no problem as Yamaha would not put their name on anything bad, wrong! no primer used on the frame and a rusted exhaust by 460miles from new, but at least its not let me down yet. I hope that your bike repair costs dont make you wish you had originally brought Jap.
Safe riding and all the best.

__________________
'He who laughs last, was too slow to get the joke'
Never confuse the map with the journey.

Hasn't been an update for a while, hows this trip coming along now? Get the bike sorted?