Christmas in Baja!

[motoged]

Originally Posted by simmersonwheels

That IT warms my heart, .....

Yeah....because you're pushing it as much as riding it....

Brave move to take an antique 2-smoker for more than a day ride in Baja

You guys picked a great route....next time you can spend a bit more time and chill in some of those places....you saw some stuff most Baja riders miss due to standard routes....good on ya !!

[rote_baron]

Got the IT cleaned up and ready for it's next adventure - pics below. When searching for a bike that could make the trip I considered many different options. First was how much? Which is not usually so much a choice as a limit. I did have enough funds to purchase a new bike, but I have a good number of motorcycles and I didn't want to eat a substantial depreciation if it were sold after the trip. I could have also swapped out the old DRZ400 with a new or slightly used one, getting a new (new used) one and then selling off the old one. This was probably the "best" plan, but it was also the most costly upfront.



So I started looking and found several candidates, and also browsed a couple of vintage ads. A plated IT490 showed up and I was intrigued. Very nice looking bike that had a large tank and not too bad of a power band as it's more of a dual sport/desert bike. That being said it IS a 490cc two stroke, so still got a one hell of a power band and I'd heard horror stories about back fires that caused injuries and also ones that broke the case. These three things soured me on the 490, but the thought of riding a two stroke vintage bike had taken root. Within a day or two a IT175 that was plated showed up. I ran over to the guys place and had a go. Unfortunately it was a situation where the bike was in fair running condition, but tired. Even if it we're tight I doubted that the 175 would have enough to get me and all my luggage up a steep hill.



I kind of went back to plan "A" and started looking for another DRZ400, but a plated '79 IT250 popped up. Off again to have a ride. This one sounded good and when I rode it, it went really well. When it cleared up and hit the power band, glorious. Nothing accelerates with the excitement of a two stroke. The sound, the smell and the pull; it's intoxicating. Making you forget the mixing of the oil, the sputtering and coughing, fouling plugs, stuff rattling off from the constant vibration, the noise (so much you and the person riding next to you will suffer permanent hearing damage). Twist the throttle and it's all fine. In the back of the truck it went.



The IT250 did provide us with an adventure. Everyday something happened, but it never failed to start and was still running even after the chain failed (which was not it's fault). As for the other things, a little more prep' time and those would have not occurred. Anyone who races vintage two-strokes will tell you to wire tie most every nut on the bike, I adjusted the idle screw and probably didn't tighten it properly and the kick stand wasn't welded on correctly from a previous owner. It was a good ride. If you get a chance to ride a vintage two stroke, have a run and experience the challenges and rewards.



Thanks for all the comments and we'll be posting the last day's pics and our final video - the most exciting one.

[rote_baron]

Heading North out of San Juanico we took the High Road head and found that it had soft, blown out sections of fesh-fesh. The Baja 1000 had made use of this road on its route and had contributed to the number and length of these areas which made for some exciting moments. The last one was really exciting for Karen .

[TwilightZone]

>"The last one was really exciting for Karen ."

Nasty stuff... she didn't panic though, kept the front wheel pointed the right way.

Hotel Posada... "Hot Water 24 hrs". Heh, there wasn't any hot water when I was there.

[rote_baron]

Originally Posted by TwilightZone

>"The last one was really exciting for Karen ."

Nasty stuff... she didn't panic though, kept the front wheel pointed the right way.

Hotel Posada... "Hot Water 24 hrs". Heh, there wasn't any hot water when I was there.

We had to let the water run for about 20 minutes before we got any hot water. It was kind of cold outside and I did not want to take a cold shower...

Karen

[motoged]

Yeah....I hate silt, too !!!

Two years ago I broke my leg (fibula....spiral break just above the ankle) going down in that stuff. The crash was north of San Juanico and about half-way to San Ignacio.....about 100 meters south of the rancho that asks for a small toll to pass....the flats west of the high road will be my route next time...


That Ride Report ......http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=666961












You guys did well

[rote_baron]

Originally Posted by motoged

Yeah....I hate silt, too !!!

You guys did well

I remember reading some of your report when I was researching for our trip. Why I didn't pay attention to all the sand you were talking about on the high road I don't know... I guess I didn't want to get stuck in any mud Definitely the low road for us next time

Karen

[The Walrus]

When riding the Baja.......always.........always.......always..... ....check the agua calientes before you check in.

If I remember, we signed the deal with Oscar after the hot water test............

[rote_baron]

It was sunny but quite windy this morning in Gonzaga Bay but we had a good breakfast and knew we just had a 100 more miles to San Felipe.



We headed out in the late morning, once again towing the IT, filled up with gas and made it to the checkpoint just outside of Gonzaga Bay. When we rolled up to the checkpoint the military guy points to the DR's back tire and I see right away at what he's pointing at. I said Baron your back tire is flat... He was not happy! Instead of changing it right there we decide to ride back to Rancho Grande. Before we left this morning we had talked about Baron riding the DR back to San Felipe and getting the truck, driving the truck down and loading up the IT then driving back to San Felipe. But we decided that would make for an extra long day. After the flat Baron was thinking he'll just ride the KLX back and get the truck but by the time we reached Rancho Grande he decided just to fix the flat.





He worked on it for quite awhile and I kept thinking it doesn't usually take this long for him to change a tire?? The tube had gotten down under the bead and he couldn't get the tire off. Luckily there was a tire shop right behind the store... Baron and the tire guy worked on it for about 45 minutes with grande tire irons before they could get that tube out.




The culprit!



Once Baron was able to get the new tube in it went pretty quickly. So once again we headed for the checkpoint.



We decided we stop about every 30 miles to give ourselves a break as it was super windy and Baron was only able to go about 25mph towing the other bike. Just before we got to our first break point a white pickup passes us waving their arms at us. We didn't really pay any attention to it because everyone who passed us seemed to do the same thing. As we crested a hill we saw the white truck had pulled over and was waiting for us. As it turns out it was a family we had met the week before at our hotel in Loreto. We put the IT in the back of his truck for the last 60 or so miles



Baron & Chance road the other 2 bikes the rest of the way and as it turns out the wind really picked up and Chance had a hard time keeping the KLX up to speed. An hour later we were unloading the IT at Kiki's, happy we made it back!




The bikes already to be loaded back up for the long slog home...

It was a great trip, frustrating at times but in looking back I'm ready to head south again and explore some more I had read many Baja reports here while planning this trip and hope our report will help those that are planning a trip south as well. Thanks for following along

[stickman1432]

Nice report...............in watching your videos, did the 3 of you always ride that tight and slow? Did your air cleaners survive and how about all the dust you sucked in to your bodies?

[motoged]

".....We put the IT in the back of his truck for the last 60 or so miles "

Epic !!! Another bit of Baja luck. Good trooping ....towing is less than fun.

[WHYNOWTHEN]

Good ride report! Thanks for sharing.
We were down there the same time as you guys, and must have ridden the same roads a day apart.
Great job taking the family, and overcoming the IT hiccups. Let us know if you ever need a place to stop near San Diego.
My wife is always excited to see other woman dirt travellers.

[rote_baron]

Originally Posted by stickman1432

Nice report...............in watching your videos, did the 3 of you always ride that tight and slow? Did your air cleaners survive and how about all the dust you sucked in to your bodies?

I do get fairly close when trying to get video of the group, but the camera apeture and running the video through motion stabilization has a tendency to make it appear as if I'm right on top of the person. In the last video it looks like I might have gotten hit with the dust, but it was actually a couple of feet away. That said I did ride through a far amount of dust throughout the trip. This is where a filter skin comes in handy. We ran these on all three bikes, but mine was the only one that really got dirty. I actually pulled the skin off right before the chain failed. These things are great if you're on a long ride or going to be in very dusty conditions. Your air filter can be really dirty, then pull off the filter skin and it's almost completey clean again.

Thanks,
Baron

[rider914]

Really enjoying the report and what a great family trip

Love seeing an old blue still on the trail
I rode the heck out of an '85 IT200 in my teen years. Great bike

Originally Posted by rote_baron

Heading North out of San Juanico we took the High Road ...

Q: Does Karen ride rodeo for practice?

From your pics and vid, the high road looks exactly the same as when I last took it in '07.




-M

[flo_w]

Glad to hear the IT made it, looks like you had some exciting adventures. It was great running into you at Coco's and in Loreto, here's the picture of all our bikes at Coco's. What an awesome familiy trip guys, respect!