Oregon to Ushuaia on an XR650L

The grooves in my swing arm are 2X that deep. Don't sweat it!

here, there is a moto shop in Rio Gallegos:

http://www.smmotos.com.ar/
Av. San Martín 2290
Río Gallegos - Santa Cruz
0054 2966 426777 / 424957 / 434531
ventasriogallegos@smmotos.com.ar

it could help you!!!

regards!!
Yuraco

and here : Honda motorcycles in Rio Gallegos:

http://motos.honda.com.ar/concesionarios/santa-cruz

FONSECA

Dirección: Avda San Martìn 2160
Localidad: Rìo Gallegos
Teléfono: 02966-430949
Fax: 02966-15623158
Email: seymarmotos@yahoo.com

Good Luck

Thanks doc! I'm heading there tomorrow!

By the way, there is an Italian guy here on an MP3 like yours! He's riding it around the world! I'll try and post a picture tomorrow! He claims that he does 60 KPH in the ripio with it. Go Battle Scooters!

This will probably start a countershaft sprocket debate (not my intent!), but I believe accellerated chain slider wear and the resulting swingarm damage is usually a result of using 14 tooth or smaller sprockets.

I have had 14/47 gearing trash a slider in 2,500 miles, then switched to 15/50 and went 15,000 without significant wear.

Agree on the swingarm grooves - don't worry about them!

Ride safe,
Miguel



Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

Hi Miguel,

Let's continue this idea at the XRL rider's page. Interesting.

I don't post on your thread much, but I've really enjoyed checking in every night.

I'm a little bummed that you're almost to Ushuaia, I've enjoyed the RR so much!

Ride safe!

If by quarry you mean hotel with hot water and heat, then yes, I was holed up good!

Hmmm....I'm using a 15/45. I think the main issue was that the countersprocket was on backwards....

Do you think the whole chain is toast? To me it looks like it's just the links with the plate that are all messed up.

I'm going to go to the bike shop in a few hours when it opens, remove the damaged links, and try and put it back together with the master link that I have. If that doesn't work, then I'm going to just buy a new chain here. I would like to try and avoid that as they are extremely expensive here in town. If I can make it last another 400 miles or so, I can get to Punta Arenas where they have a sort of tax free zone and get one a lot cheaper. I'm also going to try and make that old chain slider work. I may have to find someone with a tap as neither I nor Manolito know how to say "self taping screw" in Spanish.

I'm about to head down and flop the countersprocket around.

Thanks for the compliments! The ride isn't going to be over when I hit Ushuaia; I'll still probably be riding for a month or so. I still have to hit up Torres del Paine, the Carretera Austral, the gravel portion of Ruta 40, Fitz Roy, the Glaciers at Calafate and Perrito Moreno, Buenos Aires, and possibly Brazil and Uruguay. So, I'll keep writing...as long as the bike keeps running and I still have money...

Awesome ride report. Fantastic pictures! Looking forward to the rest of your adventure.

Jeff
Sisters, OR

Bryce, just arrived from the bank :dog. I went to the dealer but you wheren't there.
Are you still in town? I think Mauricio is coming with his battle scooter. I have some steak waiting for you

It's called "tirafondos" in Spain but beware that in Argentina it could be a completely different thing...

Yikes! Since you deem the rest of the chain to be in good shape, maybe you can get a clip-type master link at one of the shops there that the pin fits your chain rollers and the o-rings will fit inside. If the pin fits but not the o-rings, o-well, just be more attentive to adequate lubrication. Clip-types are easier if you're not dragging along a chain tool; I'd get a spare one, too. Clip direction goes such that install is in the direction of forward rotation, of course...
I hope you do make it to Uruguay - I loved it there. Montevideo... Punta del Este.... Bring your mate setup with you.
Que Dios lo acompañe!

Check all the chain pins as it looks like a lot of wear on the inside of the plates. If you can use the masters you have just replace that one link with what you have. Lube it up really good and maybe a little looser than normal.
Dave
Ride On!

If I may reiterate, the best way to set chain tension on your, and any similar, bike is to compress the suspension such that the centerlines of the front and rear sprocket align with the cnterline of the swingarm pivot, then set to near-taut (just barely loose of having tension).
No need to guess...

Day 126 (February 18, 2013)
Rio Gallegos, Argentina
Day's Ride: a few miles around town

As soon as they opened this morning I went to the local moto shop. I removed the damaged link and installed one of the master links that I had and found that the chain was now way to short. So, now I needed a new chain....



Unfortunately, the only thing that they had in 520 was this non o-ring number. Blast. Luckily, it wasn't too expensive. Only 300 pesos.

After we put that on, I asked if they would help me drill some holes so that I could re-install my old chain slider. Unfortunately, it was time for siesta....



That meant that my chances of getting out of Rio Gallegos today were shot. Why does everybody in Argentina need to take a three hour lunch break? When you've got things to do and places to go, siesta time becomes very frustrating. These are the times that I wish I were back in the States.

I went back to the Hostel for a while then headed over to Manolito's house for steaks. Manolito showed me his indoor BBQ; very cool!



He's say's that everyone in Argentina has something like this at their house.

After lunch we sat around for a while and waited for the moto shop to re-open. At 3:00 PM we went back to the moto shop only to have them tell us that they wouldn't be able to work on my bike until tomorrow.

As we were standing around discussing what I should do next, Maritzio showed up on his Battle Scooter. I met Maritzio at my hostel yesterday. He's on a round the world trip on his 350cc, three wheeled scooter! Incredible. He's already rode the length of Africa on this thing.



Manolito told me about a mechanic that might be able to help me drill and tap my swing arm and we decided to ride over to his shop and see if he could do it. When we got there we found that he was still closed. Luckily, we had just passed a different mechanic who appeared to be open, so we back-tracked and asked if they could help. After Manolito explained what I needed, they said that they could do it. It's so nice to have a translator.

After taking off part of the rack and moving the battery box, one of the mechanics drilled a hole in the swing arm.



Meanwhile, I took my leatherman and cut a new slot in the end of the old chain slider.



After we had drilled the new holes in the swing arm, we ran into a problem. The mechanic couldn't get enough downward pressure on the tap to thread the new holes. So, we solved the problem by just getting a really long bolt and sliding it all the way through the swing arm.



Because we didn't have a bolt of that length on hand, the owner of the shop drove Manolito over to the bolt shop to buy one. When they returned and the bolt that they had just purchased didn't work, the owner took Manolito back to the shop to buy another one!

While they were running for the second bolt, I did my best to reinforce the old chain slider with super glue and duck tape.



If you can't tell, this thing is barely holding together! Just a small piece of rubber. I think it will hold, but just to be safe, I loaded it down with super glue.

We finally put everything back together and I had the mechanics sign my tank. I tried to pay them, or at least buy them beer, but they refused! I love meeting awesome people like this. It really makes the trip.




After we finished up we went back to Manolito's house and I had him sign my tank. Manolito is awesome! He has totally gone out of his way to help while I've been here. Once again, another highlight of the trip!



Tomorrow I'm going to try to make it all the way to Ushuaia. I'm still feeling some sort of drag when I pull in the clutch and coast. I don't know if it's the chain catching on the newly configured chain slider or something else. I may take my rear wheel off before I leave in the morning and check my rear wheel bearings. Beyond that and the chain, I have no idea what could be causing that feeling. Maybe it's all in my head. I have a tendency to imagine problems. I'm so tired of bike problems. I just want to make it to Ushuaia.

Glad to see you are ready to go. Luck on rest of the trip. Keep it lubed up and you'll be fine.
Dave

That is a fantastic story! Who would have known this? Superior reportage.