MOTOS SOUTH! Florida to Panama and beyond ...
As some of you may know we've recently had some bike issues. The short story is: Frank's radiator leaked, so we got it patched by one of these radiator repair shops here. But he job didn't look great, so we wanted to order a new radiator - which is why we decided to go to the BMW dealership in Quito. They sure should be able to order one for us if they don't have it in stock, so our thoughts. Not so much ... they were unable/unwilling (?) to order a new radiator and had very little interest in helping us out. They didn't care and it showed. Don't ever go to BMW in Quito ...
So we hoped the repaired radiator would hold up, and we moved on. And now we're stuck again – this time in the jungle! The repaired radiator broke again and now there is water in the oil, suggesting that the head gasket blew. So now we're in big trouble ... this isn't a quick roadside repair job. :-(
So now what??? The repair job would be expensive and maybe not even doable here, and shipping the bike back to the US isn't cheap either. Frank said today: “The bike isn't worth it. I will have to fly home and leave the bike behind”. WOW.
In case a repair job was possible, what's worth more? Being able to continue on a trip of a life time, riding through Peru and actually making it to Machu Picchu (our goal), getting to know Peru and it's people, or simply cold hard cash??? What's more valuable? Is this bike really just a piece of metal/plastic or is it more than that?
What do you think???
MOTOS SOUTH

MOTOS SOUTH! Florida to Panama and beyond.
We made our dreams come true! On New Year's Eve Day we headed out for the ride of our lives on our BMWs F650GS. We rode along the Gulf of Mexico, into Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Then we hopped on a sailboat and now we're in South America! WOW!! Colombia, Ecuador, Peru ... here we come!
If you're interested in our journey and our pictures, check out our MOTOS SOUTH facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/MOTOS...31716327023306

Like us on fb and follow our journey! We'd love to see you there!
moto_girl

Absolutely fix it!

Water in the oil - 10 to 1 it's just the water pump, a common problem on F650's. Head gasket is EXTREMELY unlikely.

As for the rest - anything is fixable, abandoning the dream of a lifetime will kill you. Get you and the bike to a town, any town, find someone with some mechanical skills, and with the help of the F650 experts here, we'll get you sorted and on the road.

Figure out the problem, order the parts, put them on and go!

Remember, there's no schedule, and problems on the road are a GREAT way to meet the local people, and that's what travelling is all about.

There's loads of advice on how to order parts and get them to SA here:
Shipping Parts | Horizons Unlimited

and of course on the HUBB.

Relax, take a break and enjoy. Sounds weird I know, but with a small attitude adjustment, in a few weeks you'll understand.

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com