Mexico by Motorcycle ... in 1981

Thanks for sharing this trip and pictures, your photos have held up well.
Most of us would never venture on a trip like that with a high mileage bike:eek1 Inspirational.
Truly an adventure!

Great photos, made me feel like I was watching one the old time travel shows on TV . Have never visited Mexico, so it's still a very foreign land to me, but definitely something to look forward to. You mentioned that the whole trip was 11,000 km, how much time did you spend covering it?

I think the old Minolta totally kicks G12's butt My dad used to have the Kiev clone you mentioned, it was like magic to me as a kid. Developing and printing in our own bathroom, totally cool stuff, thank you for sparking that memory :)

wow .. thanks for sharing!

Thank you. I love reports like this.
I am going riding now & pretending i'm in Mexico

Edit - rated 5 stars from me!

awesome post !

Man what an awesome trip!! Thank you for sharing, we really enjoyed the pictures. Cool bike too.

What film ? Kodachrome ? ? ? And how'd you transform it to digital format ?
Any tips ?

Fabulous RR: thatnks for putting it together for us; Great piece of history & well documented ! ! !
Especially like the comparo photo Google Earth - Then & Now shots.

Quote: "The ceiling fan was so low the steel blades nearly chopped off my fingers. They were bleeding and bruised after I reached up while removing my T-shirt:"
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Ho-Lee-Shyeeit ! ! ! ^ ^ :eek1:huh:eek1:huh:eek1:huh

Thanks again for sharing a little bit of history.

First, thanks for the great nostalgia trip to Mexico. As one that went there well before 1981, I see as already said, much that's the same-sure, the cars are older, some clothing changes, rest is sameo.I bet many of those PU's are still running! That PV street is paved now. Not the main street nowdays.
One part of me thinks back & says not so long ago (I was 38 in 1981) & my lower back-ha! says it is...

In post #44 the 22% interest comment reminds me of my dilemma in November,1980. I'd just spent the better part of 2 years building the home we still live in-done in the mornings(I worked "2nd shift" most days with night students then) & on weekends, so quite a self construction project! Built a road, then this cabin on raw land , own water system,sort of hippie style, back to the land deal. When I finished the house I needed to combine the 6% farm/land loan with the construction loan and went mortgage shopping.
It would be real interesting in todays economy of artificially low interest rates to see how many would survive the 17.5% I was offered. I went to the bank pres that held the construction loan & he said why don't you sell it. I asked if thats what HE would do after 2 yrs of sweat & got some smart ass remark & I walked off cussing the guy under my breath. I also tried several times to buy insurance on the almost completed structure & no company would sell a policy as many were burning insured new houses then to avoid going under from rates. To this day i refuse to do business with any of the companies that refused my money for insurance. I also got away from that bank once I'd paid off the loan. I ended up with a 14% straight loan from them, which I paid twice a month to kill the principal & was free & clear in 9 years!
At that time people(like the bike dealers mentioned) were going under that had been very conservative with their money,esp. compared to todays world of over extended,multiple credit cards & living beyond their means!
Check out the OP's friend, Phil's hand as extended in the pics of his MC trailer, sleeping bullet shaped cocoon-folks that's a working mans hands, if I ever saw one!!!

The "take the pics for the old man you will become" is so true. I find that in todays world there is zero interest (except RR's here!) in pics of past trips from others around me. It's just not like the old days when you took your film in or mailed it and everybody ganged around the prints excitedly. If I live to that point of rest home lethargy(as in don't die riding) I plan to have my MC & other trip pics at my bedside & reminisce!
The GoPro camera fad makes me wonder who actually wants to look at the results? I'm always ready for the next trip not much into lingering on the last one to long.
I'm ready for some tropic riding!

Awesome pictures! Love stuff like this. This picture belongs in the cool trucks thread. Anybody know what that ford is? Granddaddy to the ford expedition.

Wow, Mexico was just as ugly 30 years ago as it is today. I guess being a kid I just didn't noticed how ugly it was...


I really can't understand why some Americans want to travel here.

Hats off Falang, trip down to memory lane. I noticed you did not have much luggage (which is the way to go in my book but I still carry more than I need lol) with space in your backseat and ready for a back rider...
Thank you for sharing history and showing how it was (curious how you made the old awesome pictures clear).
Cheers!

I'll bite on the ugly idea. Yes Mexico has more than it's share of litter,straight pipes into streams & buildings that would look better were they painted, too many utility wires and so on. My wife is always bothered by the trash lying about. I see it too but it doesn't keep me from the many good aspects of Mexico & it's people.
They are actually starting to pick up the trash down there last few years!
Guess who picks up the trash in my KY home? One guess is all you get!
Main diffs I see over time are roads & signs and some buildings & of course in touristy areas like Play del Carmen where the influx of money has changed things in a huge way-not all for the better IMO. Wasn't it 1974 when Mexican govmt. started the Cancun thing? Not much there before then. I can remember standing in line as recently as late 1980's to use THE! phone in Playa. Now they have big macs & traffic jams...:huh
watch out what you wish for huh...

interesting.
not a lot of change in over 30 years.

amazing work with google earth vs 1981

Great write-up Falang! Brings back many old memories.

When I went back up to BC this last summer, I met a few folks from this site. I didn't see Phil this time as he had moved, have you been in touch with him? I sent him a card but got nothing in return.

The border guard at Juarez was very friendly:


So awesome seeing "vintage" reports. Film still has a magic that digital can't capture.
I love the border guard; looks like he belongs on the bike—or in a commercial.

Exceptional report! Amazing to see how things were before I was even born I envy you having experienced the times before we have become dependent on cell phones and the internet.

Very cool comparison pictures!

Thanks for posting this up. It's really very cool to see the "now" vs "then" comparison shots.

Thanks its a very nice raport !!