Hello everyone, just sharing photos of my recent ride to Baler and Dinadiawan Aurora province located North East of Luzon. Left for the adventure November 29 Thursday night. All packed and ready to go, leaving home. Christmas starts early in the Philippines, you will start seeing christmas decors and hear christmas carols in malls when the months ending in "ber" starts. It is perfect to visit the Philippines and ride in the country side in December as the weather will be more cold and comfortable enough for visitors from cold countries. However, December traffic in the cities will be a torment during this month. Not much to take pictures of during the departure ride as it was night and nothing much the camera can capture. Managed to reach Baler Aurora just before daybreak and have breakfast before heading out to Dinadiawan. Baler is a surfers beach with lots of hotels and surfers shacks you can choose from depending on your demands and budget. Here's a photo of sunrise at Bay's inn where we had our breakfast. Leaving Baler for Dinadiawan after a hearty breakfast. Spectacular views of the Ampere Bay welcomed us along the road. And more breath taking views as I go along. The pictures cannot do any justice as to how beautiful it really is when seen by the naked eye. Here's my paper gps by the way A real one will be mounted soon on the left side. About 3 feet away from the cliff As I go along... Time to relax in Dinadiawan. Day 2 was to head back to Baler and spend the night there before heading home the next day. Activity choices were 1) to go surfing, or 2) bum around by the beach with lots of food and booze. I was kinda tired after all so obviously I chose option 2 But first, a walk around Baler to see the surroundings was part of the itinerary. Stunt kids jumping off a bridge onto a river Finally it was time to go home. I'm able to take a couple of pictures of what I've missed during the night ride. Pantabangan Canlili/Diayo dam has a road wide enough only for 1 car and has endless number of road humps. One of the endless twisties It was truly a great ride with no trouble. Also mixed with luck. Saw this after blasting through a long road stretch, the nail went through the tire knobbies. Till my next ride report, signing off from the Philippines...
Job well done on your ride report. Those Opinion 2's are nice after a couple of days of riding. You have done a lot of work on your XR200, looks nice. You should never have any trouble finding it in a group of XR200s. looks like you had great weather, and your photos should make a few want to come to the Philippines to ride. ITS MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES...
All of the major islands have something to offer the motorcycle rider, Luzon being the largest island probably has the most to offer. It is also the easiest to get to as that is where the international flights arrive and depart. The Lonely Planet travel books for the Philippines are good source of information on travel here. The books are not geared for the motorcycle traveler, but, do have good general travel information. I hope this helps. There is another Philippine site here that has lots of info also.
One can go to the Land Transportation Office and get paper work that will allow a motorcycle to be taken aboard the ferries. Without this paper work it is a timely process to get a vehicle of any type onto a ship or ferry. This is to prevent stolen vehicles from being taken to another island.
\ No worries, shoot all the questions you want. We ADV inmates from the Phil. want to share the beauty of our country along with the rich culture and friendly people. I've only ridden in Luzon as of the moment. As far as transporting motorcycle/s within islands in Luzon via RORO (Roll on, Roll off) ferries, Local registrations such as OR-Official Receipt and CR-Certificate of Registration are to be presented at the pier. Luzon alone has a lot to offer with endless beautiful sceneries. If you want to ride out of Luzon, I'd recommend Coron and Puerto Princesa in Palawan, I've been there but on a package tour. As reference and a teaser, you might want to check out this video on youtube by some tourist adventurers on rented bikes. It got me excited to go back there on a bike as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIu0Z4PH-Vk Here's another video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrjjAC8e1_Y
Cool pics and you are milking that 200 for all it is worth I'd say :) .... I'm over on Cebu and more dirt oriented than you but there are some fast trails here that are not too rough and many just got graded ....
thank you for sharing the beauty of the Philippines through your words and scenic photos. your headlite solution looks cool. if you won't mind i have these questions -does it uses halogen bulb, do they lit at the same time, how much is the total wattage? i admire your bashplate, looks sturdy. ..
Hello rgon, I love the Philippines and it's endless beauty to discover About the bike, I've retained the stock headlights with the stock bulbs for reliability purposes on long rides. I've installed a projector light beside it with a separate switch, it uses a halogen H3 35W bulb. Both can be turned on at the same time. I've also installed a volt meter on my bike to monitor voltage drop/charging level as you know that these XR's don't have a back up kickstarter nowadays. The bashplate was bought online from a seller in Laguna, you can look it up in sulit.
Hi Carlos, I'm moving to the Philippines from the US this year, and am commuting every couple of months, have a place in Manila and Batangas, I've have a XR200 there, can you or any inmates suggest some Bike stores in Manila where I can buy parts / accessories to trick out the XR? Thanks Tim
I know ...ESP with it being election yr, the concrete is flowing out there ... Bad for me but the locals really need the roads paved to help moving around on those underbone bikes ...
Panglao, I know you asked about where to get items for the Honda XR200. I do not know anything for sure, however, it looks as if Carlos may have a motorcycle accesories business. I am only guessing here, but, there is a Carlos Cycle Care in Paranaque City. Hopefully Carlos will correct me if I am wrong about this.
YnotJP yup that's right I do have a motorcycle accessories shop although I mostly sell underbone accessories. Panglao regarding accessories for the XR200, I bought some of through online sellers and some from shops in Caloocan. For the uncommon accessories, I personally customized.
