I'm considering touring Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala again but a bit differently. I did it before during December in a Van over 2 weeks. This time I would be heading out of Sudbury, Ontario in mid May 2004 for about 2 months riding a 1982 GS400EZ (if the compression is good, have to check that still). The loop was about 16,000 km the last time but I may spend a long time touring Belize.

So, am I in for a ton of rain? Will it drop 12 inches of water at a time? The season is supposed to be from late May to late October but I have no idea what the rainy season really is.

The only acceptable riding gear that I've got is a Tecnic perferated leather racing suit and I was wondering if that would be too hot to wear when it isn't raining.

If I go I would like to travel with somebody else but not a group.

Thanks, Steve

__________________
--1982 GS(X)400EZ--

I don't know much about Belize or Guatemala, but I have been in Central Mexico, primarily Veracruz State, several times during the rainy season. It can rain very, very hard, but usually only in the late afternoon and early evening. There should be plenty of dry riding time each day before the rains.

As far as your leathers go, consider getting some different riding gear before you leave. You will really fry in the tropical heat with leather, and they will take forever to dry when you get wet. And you will get wet. Leather is probably the worst material for tropical weather, synthetic/textile is best. Get some "mesh" riding gear, its really not that expensive and drys quickly when you get wet. I have seen last year's Joe Rocket Phoenix jackets for half price on the web...as low as $70USD.

-Dave

__________________
Dave McMillan
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/mcmillan/

hey stephen,
the rainy season is july to september in central mex. i was in oaxaca in late september where several mountain roads were half washed away. coming back on la pera outside cuernavaca it was raining so hard that even cars were not continuing. rain gear? joe rocket wear. breathes nice, is protective and doesn´t weigh you down on the shoulders after a few hours like leather does in the rain. right now it is a little cool to be walking without a light coat during the day in d.f. so don´t worry about getting too hot. you were here last december, but it was not as cool as this year. we went for a run to tequisquiapan yesterday and had to plug our vests in. so depending on when you are leaving is relevant to what you should bring in regards to riding gear. chow,k

..........one other thought. david mac is very correct about the rain. you can set your watch to the rain. it usually starts to rain in the very late afternoon and into the evening. by the coast/jungle it rains during the night. k

Thanks for the replies guys. I am surprised to hear that it is chilly in some parts of Mexico. I slept on the roof of my van in Acapulco (beside a grocery store across the street from the skate boarding park, next to the water)on December 31st and it was HOT!

It sounds to me like the trip is doable. I'm going to try and put together enough money to cover 5 weeks. Maybe I'll skip my University Graduation so I can tour for a longer duration. I'll try to hit every country that doesn't require a Carnet.

I'm looking at using a pair of seal line dry bags for my stuff. Maybe just one 70 litre bag for everything and a 35 litre for when I'm not traveling.

Also, how big of a town do I need to be in to find a hotel? We didn't use them during the last trip but I'm not prepared to camp alone. I also plan on keeping my big bag and bike in the room or parking lot while I'm out and about.

Cheers, Steve

__________________
--1982 GS(X)400EZ--

at sea level it is hot and muggy, but don´t forget d.f. is 3250 meters above acapulco. that´s half a mile higher than denver. plan to stop riding during the day to leave plenty of time to scout out a hotel were you can drive into their locking courtyard or "lobby". usually the smaller towns are beyond poor and won´t have anything you feel secure with, so my suggestion would be some town/village that has a pemex or a zocalo. if you can speak a little spanish, necessity and opportunity can open doors for a modest cost. K

I spent 4and 1/2 weeks riding from Mid Atlantic US down to Costa Rica and back in June and July '03. In Mexico I traveles down the East Coast to the isthmus and then crossed over to the West coast. If I remember correctly it rained on me 30 days out of 33. That said it usually was only for an hour or two. And it so hot that after a day or so I stopped using my rain gear. I would just get wet and then ride on till I dried. The relief was wonderful.
I completely agree with others --forget the leather gear. Get fabric.
Even the very small towns have a motel--sometimes it is a"bump and run" with a curtain covering the parking area so that the vehicle parked there can not be seen from the street. Most motels/hotels will make accomodations for parking your bike so that it is secure. Once the desk cleark loaned me phone books to build a ramp to ride up the steps into the lobby.
I think you will find that people will think you are more approachable on the bike. So, you will meet a talk to all kinds of wonderful folks.

Enjoy your trip!!!

Bob

Well, I went to Mountain Equipment Co-Op today and spent 300$CDN. Now I've got everything I need for the trip except for tires, chain, and sprockets. It was a very exciting shopping experience trying to figure out how to carry everything. I got two 70 litre roll-up waterproof duffle bags for my gear. I'll probably have them rolled down to about 40 litres each for the trip.

I also got a big 130 litre dufflebag which will travel empty so that I can toss everything including my jacket, pants, and helmet in when I am not staying in a hotel. When I'm in a hotel I'll just leave everything in the room and ride around with a fanny pack as carrying everything would be tough. I bought 30 feet of 2" webbing and six sets of buckles to strap everything down to a wooden rack I made a few years ago.

I'm bring a little sleeping bag for hostels and maybe my thermarest and tent but weight will be an issue since I don't have hard bags. I was surprised how small the new ones they sell are! You can fold them in half and practically stuff them into a tennis ball container!!

The only thing I have to worry about now is return insurance. My insurance will run out in June but I don't plan on returning until mid August and I do not want to re-insure my 400 for another year. I can not get monthly insurance in Ontario It would be a shame to sell my first bike when re-entering the states but I have an 1100 I want to start riding after this summer. What I could do is find a buyer in Mexico and transfer the ownership after I return the bond sticker. Then walk across the bridge to the US and hop a bus or hitch-hike to Canada.

I'll be mounting a 1-gallon lawnmower gas tank on my bike for the Baja.

As for the leather suit. I don't know if I can get anything else. The Phoenix jackets are on Ebay so I'll have to be patient and see if I can get one for cheap over the next few months. I was thinking of wearing it as I do own a set of First Gear rain pants/jacket. Would this be good enough? I know it's too hot to wear the suit even in Ottawa once the bike stops moving but it is of good quality and I already own it.

Come on MAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Steve

[This message has been edited by StephenRivett (edited 05 January 2004).]

__________________
--1982 GS(X)400EZ--

Stephen: I live in central part of Mexico (Guadalajara) Rainy season is gone in most parts fo the country. But there are some off season showers right now, you can check weatherchannel map. I dont think will keep on raining any more after this week. Some places is cold but very rare below zero celsius. Some beaches are little warm maybe 28 or 30 celsius the most but if you travel thru our Sierras it will be colder. I would care most for cold than for rain.
I yopu plann to pass by Guadalajara drop me a line, also let me know your basic route so I can specifically tell you more about all weathers.
Nice Trip

------------------
MOROcycler

__________________
THE Motorcycle JOURNEY is making known the unknown.
http://www.morocycler.smugmug.com

It gets that cold? I never even considered cold as I thought it got warmer and warmer until the equator is reached. I guess I better take my 7C sleeping bag instead of my 15C bag. I'll have to bring my electric vest along but it is quite small.

My route has expanded to going through Mexico all the way down to Panama. I'll probably stay in Xela Guatemala for a few weeks as I've heard it only costs 30USD a week to stay with a family while learning Spanish. Let's just hope the lessons are reasonable. My route through Mexico will be from N. Laredo to Monterrey (Highway 57 libre), to Mexico City, then to the coast to Vera Cruz to Cancun and down to Belize. On the way back I'll be coming from Guatemala around the coast to Baja. Actually, I may do it the opposite way around and start in the Baja. After studying in Guatemala I'll return to Belize and head for Honduras. I know it is easier to go to Copan directly from Guatemala but I'd like to take in Belize during two seperate one day trips because of their insurance laws.

Nothing else is planned right now. I am trying to find a cheap North Face tent on Ebay right now, I've already gotten a First Need purifier off of there. An 80$USD tent will pay for itself if I use it 10 times. The only problem is I'm a chicken and don't like to camp alone. I'm going to get a completely mesh tent so I can see what's sniffing at me. Llamas can be scary! hahaha

Cheers, Steve

__________________
--1982 GS(X)400EZ--

Keep an eye on the altitude--guadalajara is up at maybe 6800 feet? or higher? Mexico City is at 8500 or something like that, I think. The point being that a couple hours ride/drive can take you from (hot) coastal jungle up to (cold) snow-capped mountains. So to judge temps on your route, pay as much or more attention to altitude as you are lattitude.