Originally Posted by fintip

Don't know if I'll be booed off the stage here for driving a scooter, but I'm just an opportunist. I got my first dirt bike when I was 11, been riding whatever I could get my hands on ever since. Having lived in Israel for the last 3 years, I didn't have my own transportation the last couple months back in the states--and then a family friend gave me an old scooter he had. (He and my uncle ride their harleys together regularly).




It's a 125cc Yamaha Riva, 2001 (last year produced). I rode it the 350 miles back home on back highways, and it died three days later. He had neglected to tell me that he had never changed the oil on it. Should have known...

So compression went bad, but I've decided to get the engine rebuilt because I enjoyed the ride. Getting the cylinders bored out to fix compression, and to add some horsepower. The mechanic is a great guy, and it looks like the engine will be better of than when it was new. It needs new bearings on the steering and new tires badly, will do those too.

I've been planning a trip to South America for a long time now, but since I have the scooter, I got infected with this thought of driving it down instead of flying down. I live in Texas, so Mexico isn't far away. I've spent the last two weeks reading everything I possibly can about all the motorcyclists who have taken this trip and put up blogs about it--I ran into several reports here, and at AVDriders.

And I think I'm going to do it.

I've gotten a lot of negativity from places I've posted preliminarily (the scooter group keeps talking about how I'm going to be murdered, because mexico isn't safe, making jokes about how 'he's not afraid of the banditos'), but hoping you all have a bit more level head about this.

I'm planning to drive down to Costa Rica, and find someone I trust, and leave it with them while I go on for a couple months further on south pas the Darien Gap. The reason I picked Costa Rica is that, from what I read, they don't stamp your passport for vehicle import--but can anyone confirm that this plan is ok? Maybe some other papers would be problematic leaving the country months and months later?

I can't tell what the final word on insurance is. I just want whatever is bare-minimum to get me legal--does ever country in CA sell you basic required stuff at the border? I plan to spend a month or two in CA total, 3 or 4 months in SA, and then 3 weeks or so on the way back up.

I've got a lock for the bike, combination lock--it's basically a beefy bicycle lock, advertised as being heavy duty enough for a scooter/motorcycle as well. Is running it through the tire and a stationary object enough, or should I attach it some other way?

Anyone know of a way to put panniers on a scooter, or if people actually do that? I guess I could go cloth panniers if I had to, but it'd be great if I could leave them locked on somehow like the hardboxes everyone has on their BMW's here.

Most importantly, what should I bring along for the scooter to maintain it? If I gave myself a 10lb scooter survival kit, what should I put in it? I plan to have a small gas tank (1/2 gallon?) and oil on me, of course--should I bring a spark plug, or assume I can just get one there if necessary? Or will replacing a spark plug conceivably be something that kills my bike and strands me, and having a spare will enable me to quickly replace it and keep going? Etc. I'm not a mechanic, but I'm handy. i can change oil, spark plug, do basic stuff. Helped a friend rebuild his old '69 corvette once, among other odds and ends that have had me looking at a motor's innards.

I've never taken a long trip, other than that 350 mile one-day trip, on a moto. What do I need to know? What type of maintenance should I be keeping? I know to check the oil, but how often on a ride like this, and how often should I expect to change it? How long will tires last? As far as I can tell, riding it stead at 80% of its power should actually be better for the engine than stereotypical scooter driving, and I shouldn't drive at night. I won't be driving at night. I've read a ton about driving in Mexico itself (blinkers aren't the same thing, Green angles are awesome, people make crazy passes, etc.), so I'm not without knowledge, just... trying to get a nod of approval.

I'll be traveling extremely light--just a 60 liter backpack, plus whatever the scooter needs.

Worst case scenario, I sell it for a couple hundred bucks and continue on backpacking. Fine. It was a give-away to me anyways.

Thanks for your help.