Oregon to Ushuaia on an XR650L

[motoged]

Sounds like a typical adventure start.....those overweight ammo cans are cheap and WAY too heavy....good luck with subframe issues

[RZRob]

Will enjoy following your report as I plan my own adventure.

RZ Rob

[Ulyses]

So far I've found that you can eat in a resteraunt for about 100 pesos, or, you can go to a street vendor, get much better food, and only pay about half the price. Typical dinner at a street vendor in Mazatlan.



Left Mazatlan yesterday and started heading for Puerto Vallarta since Ed Zachtamundo knew a guy who had built a house for his mom down there and said we could all stay. We also added two more riders to our group (both KLR riders) who only rode with us for the day. We've been avoiding the toll roads for the most part and sticking to the "Libre" side, but man, getting stuck behind semi's doing five miles an hour and jangling about on what seems like an endless procession of "topes" definetly makes you wish for a toll road sometimes. For those of you that don't habla, topes (and vibradores apparently) are the speed bumps that mexico and much of central america uses instead of things like speed limits and traffic signals to help people drive safely. Because people just pretty much totally ignore things like stop signs and one way streets.



We stopped and had lunch at an open air, road side cafe out side of San Blas on some random backroad and saw this lovely little machine:




If the XRL decides to explode on me, I know that I can always pick up one of these bad boys and keep on trucking. Or maybe I should just get one now and carry it with me on top of my rack. It would probably weigh less than one of my boxes!

After lunch we stopped at a Pemex and I filled up "El Senor" with what the attendant assured me was premium. I've been using premium to try and keep the engine running cooler. However, after filling up my tank, I reallized that it had a suspicious red tinge to it. Sure enough, everyone who had filled up with the "Premium" started experiencing a serious power lag and higher engine temps. The XRL ran surprisingly poorly, was struggling to get above 55 MPH, and was heating up really fast. Eventually I just pullled into a gas station, disconected the fuel line, and drained about 2 gallons of the crap into the parking lot.

Some guy came over and asked me what I was doing. I told him "La gasolina esta sucia!", which he apparently understood, cause he walked away and left me alone. Other than the dirty gas, the riding was beautiful. Much more vegitation than baja....almost jungle like......



Got into Mazatlan a little later than we expected and after checking out a few hotels on the outskirts, decided to go into downtown and stay at a hostel. Big mistake! Never stay in a backpackers hostel when you and six other people are on bikes. After getting really lost, really frusterated, and really tired, we finally found the hostel and immediatley commendered the entire building. The few broke college kids and hippies staying there were a little shocked to see seven surly and pissed off bikers walk in and start yelling at the kid behind the desk for beer and a place to crash. Unfortunatley I failed to get a picture of all seven of our bikes crammed into a tiny space in front of the hostel, all chained together, with two disc alarms on the outside bikes. It was quite impressive.

This morning woke up late and left Mazatlan by the crack of Noon. Made it to Tequilla, Mexico. Apparently they invented Tequilla here or something. Don't really know, was too tired and pissed of from staying in a hostel last night to really care. There were tons of Agave fields on the way in though and they were quite pretty. Here's some pictures from the day's riding:







Was really tired when we got to Tequilla and didn't feel like going through the hassle of finding a cheap hotel, so we splurged and got a fancy hotel (580 Pesos, or about $45). It's really nice in here. Unfortunately, they won't let us take our bikes in the rooms. Darn.

[NotAllWhoWanderRLost]

Thanks for the update and cool photos, the lush vegetation and scenery look amazing. And it looks like you saw some decent weather. I was in Medford and Grants Pass yesterday and your not missing much. It was foggy in the morning with rain and wind most of the day. Fall has arrived in Southern Oregon and you got out of town at the right time.

Have fun and keep up on the photos. It must be quite the sight with a group of seven bikes. We'd love to see a group photo!

[Ulyses]

Originally Posted by NotAllWhoWanderRLost

Have fun and keep up on the photos. It must be quite the sight with a group of seven bikes. We'd love to see a group photo!

Well, I'll see what I can do, but as of today, it's just me and Ed Zachtamundo on his KTM. So we are down to two. The KLR's can't keep up.....haha!

[alvincullumyork]

Originally Posted by Ulyses

Well, I'll see what I can do, but as of today, it's just me and Ed Zachtamundo on his KTM. So we are down to two. The KLR's can't keep up.....haha!

Lets see some dirt. You are on a dirtbike after all.

[jub jub]

I'm in! Great RR so far!

[0theories]

Nice report! I passed through Grants Pass earlier today (not on a bike yet though). It's sunny and warm!! Will be heading south in a few weeks on the KLR :) Only going as far as Panama though. So, I'm a USMC veteran, tell me more about this free stay on the SD recruit base please.

[Ulyses]

Originally Posted by 0theories

Nice report! I passed through Grants Pass earlier today (not on a bike yet though). It's sunny and warm!! Will be heading south in a few weeks on the KLR :) Only going as far as Panama though. So, I'm a USMC veteran, tell me more about this free stay on the SD recruit base please.

Ugh....a dreaded KLR rider...haha! If you are retired from the Marines or still in the IRR, you can stay at the BOQ down there for about 30 dollars. They have rooms in the barracks too for like 10 dollars. You really just need a military ID. Here's their phone number: (619) 524-4401. I just got out in August, so I'm still in the IRR and I showed them my ID, no problemo. It's really close to downtown too, right next to the airport.

[WilderRider]

Great report.

I am just a little ahead of you in Guatemala. It gets even better the further south you go, IMHO.

[Ed Zachtamundo]

In their defense, we may have taken some excessive...uh...liberties with regards to traffic laws. But, in our defense, it was AWESOME.

[auldublinr]

Hey Man love your report and sense of humor.Can never go wrong with the Honda .The ktm boys might beat you to the first Bar , but you'll make all the bars

[Brown Falcon]

Great report so far!

When did you switch to the Avon Distenzia's? I've got them on my XRL right now because they came on it, but I'm wanting some more aggressive tires for it.

Weather looks great down there! I've been having fun commuting to OSU 5 days a week in the rain.

[EmilianoXR650L]

[Ulyses]

Originally Posted by MikeMike

Be careful with your Spanish. The word "Maricon" means a flaming gay person. I think you meant "malecon" which means "boardwalk". If you are coming through Vereacruz, drop me a line, I can show you some good riding here.

Thanks! I'll rember that. I think we are going to Oaxaca, but I appreciate it!