Taking my first adventure ride this winter with my best friend Matt. We're both very new to riding, and traveling. So we decided to take it easy and go on a little 10,000 mile trip through Central/South America. We don't know too much about fixing bikes, and I took some Spanish in high school, but Matt doesn't know much at all.
What we can do though is make a great film! We're documenting the whole thing in HD, so be prepared to see us in action next summer when the film is finished (assuming we're still alive).
We're just about to build the bikes...
For more info check out ride-report.com

Tiernan

Here's the poop:

Matt's black 2006 DRZ 400SM-
Matt bought his bike on ebay. It came with an FCR MX, FMF Powerbomb exhaust, and Cyclops headlight. Today we'll add:
-Cycleracks luggage rack and saddle bags
-Thumpertalk case savers
-IMS 4 gal tank
-Corbin seat
-Britannia Composites Lynx Fairing

My white 2008 DRZ 400SM-
Bought this new from the dealer last year. Bone stock today, other than removed CA smog can and kickstand safety... and, ahem, custom shorty brake lever. Actually I got over anxious the last week and already put on the Cycleracks luggage racks and saddle bags. I actually dropped my bike the other day on the road and the racks/bags passed the test with flying colors! Today we'll add:
-TT case savers
-IMS 4 Gal tank
-Alaskan leather sheepskin dual sport seat cover

This is day 1, hopefully we'll have our gear from Wheeling Cycle Supply tomorrow and can put on the rest of the goods.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving weekend. I hosted a couple of couchsurfers from Israel and two friends from LA at Matt's house in his stead, and made my first turkey, which came out great.

Back to the build. We were waiting to put the tank back on until we got the Unibikers. Yesterday we got our full order from Wheeling Cycle Supply , including:
ZETA/DRC
-Handguards/protectors w/flashers
-clutch lever
-brake lever
-turn signals
-edge tail light
-skid plate
-throttle tube/grips
-brake snake
-wide foot pegs
-sliders
-confidence to crash...

I started the jet kit and realized I had to buy a metal drill bit (even in Vegas the hardware store isn't open at 3am) so we put that off for today.

We're really bad mechanics, but we're improving quickly. What's been easy:
TT case savers, unibiker, levers, luggage racks. The only hiccups we had there was: not having the alan wrench to remove the brake pedal (for the case saver and wide foot peg), the carb was a pain to get out, then I accidentally punched it trying to get the float bowl screws out without stripping them, Matt's bike didn't have the right harness to hook up the Lynx fairing and had to hardwire the electric, my shift lever was very difficult to get off and and Matt overtightened and broke the bolt on his, and the common fixes weren't too easy for us aside from the MCCT. We put high strength loctite on the countershaft nut. I noticed on the poll that the primary nut wasn't too bad for our years of bikes so we skipped that. I was confused by the free power mod, I think the how to here just says run the RR wires directly to the battery with a thicker guage wire, but I wasn't too confident without seeing photos. We've yet to deal with the stator or the swingarm grease, but I bought some and once the fun stuff is out of the way we'll get back to that business. I'm also trying to get my bike running again since it's my only wheels.

So, as I write this, Matt's working on his Lynx, and I'm about to do some jetting, put the tank on, seat on, adjust the levers and handguards to my liking, adjust the MCCT, install the skidplate, sliders, tail light/turn signals, then go test this 3x3 mod (and maybe the armor?) and do some wheelies with luggage racks and panniers on.

Tomorrow we may try to change the tires. We've got some tire spoons and valve stem removers from WCS, and we are afraid to use them. From past experience, we could use some advice there.

I'll post pics up next time.

Tiernan

Working on bikes is a pain in the ass, but feels good when you get it right.

We're just about to leave, fixing a few screw ups here. Last night we noticed the bolts holding the triple clamp (i think?) weren't on Matt's bike! Glad we noticed that, but we didn't notice that he hadn't tightened the nuts on the throttle mechanism (lol the doohickey, i don't know what it's called), on the carb and we had a fun time trying to start it today. Anyhow, the bikes are built and we're prepping to leave and get some daylight riding to LA.

We had an awesome party last night. Our good friend and realtor made us a four course meal each with it's own pairing, and we had a fun time saying goodbye's to friends. Both of us woke up with a lady today :ride:
Panther from ADVrider paid us a visit as well.

The sun is shining, and we're getting the F out of Vegas in a few.


There's a few things we haven't done that were recommended here including the stator loctite fix and greasing the swingarm... maybe we'll meet up with an ADV rider along the way who offers us his garage.

Anyhow, thanks for the support, and don't forget to check out Ride-Report.com for updates!!

Mexico took much longer than expected. When we were planning looking at the map, we’d expected to cross through texas, which would have brought us down the East Coast, and we would have saved some time. As it was, we rode nearly three thousand miles of Mexico! (including Baja). Before going there, I had made up my mind that I just wanted to get through. I had thought of Mexico as a means to an end, and didn’t expect to find much that I liked there, and also had it in my head this would be the least American friendly place. I expected that since the country has enough money to have a taste of what we have, they’d want more, and to take it from us. I definitely expected haters… When we landed in Mazatlan, it started to fell like “real” Mexico- the city obviously wasn’t run around tourism. Right after getting off the ferry, we stop in front of a motorcycle shop and I tell the guy my chain “tiene sed.” He greases mine, then the other three adventure riders we were with from the ferry. They don’t ask for any money, but we tip them out a couple of buck each.



From there we got our first taste of riding in a group, and it feels pretty good. The group soon splits, and three of us take the free road while the other two rock the Couta. Then we lose our bunkmate Anthony when he doesn’t want to ride at night, and Matt and I press on to Puerta Vallarta, where we meet our couchsurfing host Rolando.



He speaks excellent English, and tells me my Spanish is basic. But I was so proud of my skills! I get a shave from an old man, who makes my mustache look just like his that he’s had for 40 years and also tells me my razor is ruined from letting Karem try to sharpen it with another knife when she wanted to rid the world of my ‘stache. Oh well.



We get a late start out and head to Manzanillo after an impulsive stop bungee jumping on the way out...



I had taken a screenshot of the map of the Mismo Sol Hostel, which takes us into a neighborhood where kids are playing soccer in the dirt streets with no shoes on, and nobody has heard of this hostel and can’t imagine why we don’t just want one of the roach motels down the street. We roll around looking for
awhile, and finally hear and smell the resemblance of a Bob Marley concert.



We meet Buffalo Don, who lets us pull our bikes inside the gate, and we kick it with him for a bit.



He tells us how the medias exaggeration of Swine Flu has nearly put him out of business. This reiterates what Rolando had told us in Puerto Vallarta. Common story here: how the general public eats up stories of danger and fear. This is also why most people think this trip of ours is dangerous. It’s up to us really to figure out what’s true. What’s the credibility of the source of information? Like our Aussie friend says. “Mom says Russia is dangerous. ‘When’s the last time you were there mom?’” I only listened to people who’d done similar trips, and they all agree it’s safe and cool. But if you’re closed minded, and prone to believing fear-inducing stories, you’ll always remember someone who told you about someone they know who was robbed. If you believe everything you see on television, you’ll only turn the world into something George Orwell or Aldus Huxley might have imagined. I guess critical thinking isn’t for everyone though…



We didn’t make it too far from there after a late start, and tried to find a hotel at a random town, which was pretty basic. We take a wrong turn and wind up on a beach in the middle of nowhere that uses solar power only. We hit on the girls working there, whom are 22 and not allowed out at night without their family. They hand us off some s, which we take to the beach and jump in the warm ocean water then cool off and get a beautiful timelapse of the stars and palm trees there.



We get to Acapulco and Matt’s headlight isn’t working, so we share a lane as best we can, which is really hard entering Acapulco from the north, where the roads are windy with heavy traffic and there’s no patience from any locals. Matt almost takes a digger after trying to pass a bus on the right in the sand! Nice save, thank P90X. We find our way to a hostel in the center of town on the beach. The bartender/laundry cougar hits on my mustache for a little while, but it’s not enough to coax me into giving her a ride home on the bike. “Lo siento, pero ya he tomado.” Acapulco is a night of dance party, where the local dudes aren’t too happy to see Matt and I getting attention from the hottest girls there. **** em, we checked the girls ID’s what else do they want from us? I also met some very cool guys that night too, but they weren’t form Acapulco. I find more locals in tourist towns represent this group of people that I expected more of in Mexico- haters that see what we have and think it’s not fair. The girls take us for some really dank midnight tacos.



We’re out of Acapulco by 11am on three hour’s sleep, and head out for about a half hour until we realize Matt’s bike isn’t running right. I noticed he wasn’t behind me, so I waited on the side of the road until he finally shows up 20 minutes later. I guess his bike is sputtering at high RPMs… Coupled with the headlight, I’m thinking this must be electrical. Anyway, the bike’s good enough to make it so we just ride it as is. We roll into Puerto Escondido, again with no headlight. At least we’re not in a big city. Again with the screenshot of the map, we’re lost in the town of people who don’t know what a hostel is. As we’re navigating the dirt streets, Steve rolls up on a moped and tells us to follow him to the Twin Bridge Hostel. He takes us out that night to meet some Americans hanging out with a Ed, who exports Mezcal from Oaxaca, and I enjoy the company of some chilled out dudes who share a passion for cold , warm weather, and motorcycles. Some of the guys live there, some just visiting. It’s interesting to meet the Americans who’ve decided to leave their homeland and live in Mexico- especially when they don’t speak Spanish!



We stay there for another day and I go “swimming with turtles”, which should go by the more accurate term, “molesting a turtle in the ocean.” I basically held on to an unhappy turtle in the water for a minute while he’s hogtied with a rope. The best part of that one was watching our man Felix bellyflop into the water trying to grab them as soon as he’d see them- fthird time’s a charm. I’m on sunset timelapse duty, but I might have boned the shot practicing my Spanish with a friendly server who makes a point to drop me her email.




We leave hoping to get to Salina Cruz for the night, and wind up there for lunch! Holy shit we’re actually ahead of schedule! Nice town, girls giving us the bedroom eyes from all over, and lunch only cost the two of us like $50 pesos. We make for the border, and get as far as a little town Pijijiapan, about two hours from the border.



Good night’s rest and we make for it. We get to the border and meet the “helpers” for the first time, who are trying to stand in front of us, but I’ve read about them on ADVrider.com so I try to run them over with confidence.



The aduana at the border tells us we need to go back to the bank in the city 25 minutes away, and gives clear directions. We follow them for a half hour, and finally I pull off to ask someone if they know where they Banjercito is. “Muy lejo, en la ciudad.” Okay, shit. The aduana (customs) guy seemed so good too… Oh well, we drop into an Auto Zone to buy some silicone, which we think may solves Matt’s backfiring issue since his exhaust is leaking so badly. We see a young, grizzly looking guy and approach him. “Senor, estamos buscando para-“ “Whoa there, let’s do this in English.” [paraphrased, this was Matt’s conversation.] The American is down there volunteering at a place that gives him a casita and free food in exchange for work.



He’s trying to learn the culture. Anyhow, he says he knows how to get to where he legalized his bike, but only from a certain place. We ride around for a half hour, and show up exactly where I had stopped to ask the women. Banjercito was right across the street. This keeps happening, I try to ask directions from an adult, and they are really ignorant of what’s around them. Which way to Antigua? I don’t know, that’s like 10 miles from here, why would I know? Malaria, what’s that? (at a pharmacy!) Anyway, there are some really ignorant people here. I guess there’s a correlation to the 13 year old boys trying to get money from me at a border at 10am on a Tuesday.



We get to the border, and luckily the power is back on. Apparently it was off for several days, which shut down that entry to Guatemala. It’s a zoo, and we take on a duo of helpers, which really make it easy because they know where to get photocopies, how to get in line, and the basic etiquette of how to approach the joke of a border, which makes the worst DMV you can imagine look like a German, uh, I dunno something really organized. 6 hours later it’s nightfall, lucky Matt had fixed his headlight, which was just some loose wiring. We stop in a Shell Hotel (behind the gas station) for the night. Finally, I was tired of Mexico! We have no chance of getting to Costa Rica for New Years, let’s go for Antigua.



Matt’s riding is really improving, and I’m loving wearing out the outsides of my tires on these great Mexican roads. We’re happy with those we’ve met along the way. No attempted robberies, only attempted sales. No threats to the bikes, only people giving us thumbs up and trying to befriend us because our bikes are so awesome. No corrupt federales, only young guys envious and wanting to see a nice wheelie. No corrupt policia, only guys who give decent directions! Both bordertowns we went to blow, but I guess that’s to be expected.




The bikes are doing well. I adjusted my jetting back in La Paz and mine has been good since, Matt’s has had a problem most of this leg of the trip. Hopefully his stator isn’t going bad… perhaps fixing the exhaust leak coupled with adjusting the jetting will solve the problem. The gas has been fine, we’re buying the cheap stuff everywhere. It’s odd how gasoline comes in such a variety of colors. The tires work great, though we haven’t done any offroading yet really… The DRZ’s go about as fast as we want to ride at speed, and I’m glad for all of the money I saved, and having a Supermoto for the fun roads and weaving through city traffic. Plus they’re instant street cred from locals, travelers, and riders alike.

The video footage we have is mostly great, although it’s extremely hard to get as much as we’d like to. Being rushed all the time isn’t what we’d expected when planning the trip.



At the last minute we realized we were about 3 weeks shy of travel time we’d expected, and it’s really affected the journey. There’s a constant mental challenge of staying cool and enjoying myself while trying to push to Rio, and get awesome footage of everything.



Matt and I are close enough we’re really honest with each other, and often let each other know when we don’t like what the other is doing. Most of the time this is constructive… On a final note. I dunno. Mexico is huge. Glad to leave really, but also glad to have seen so much. This has been our first taste of Adventure Riding, so far so good.

Wow, very cool report. Cant wait for more.

I'm going to post up a report for Central America soon, we're just chillin in Panama right now waiting to find a flight to South America. We'll try to get to Lima...

UPDATE

Here's some business I learned in Panama shipping-wise.

The current rate on Girag is $901 per bike to Columbia. They're also shipping to Ecuador for $1901.

Copa isn't shipping bikes right now.

There's a company called Cargo Lux that ships to Santiago for around $1300 per bike, but that price will vary depending on the size/weight.

If you want to go to Santiago holler at:
Milena at Aero Express (Cargo Lux)
3027870/71, or 279 1747
mfranco@aeroexpress.net

The best contact at Girag is Luz 6030 6725 luz.lopez@girag.com