Baja - ride report to Cabo...and back!

[nuclearalex]

the story isnt over yet...

I have a question - on my 954 I only adjusted chain once in about 5K miles. Is that because most of those miles consisted of <200mi trips? or is it because street bike needs fewer adjustments than the dirt bike?

 

[Nemo Brinker]

Such a cool saga. MOAR!

 

[CockyRooster]

the story isnt over yet...

I have a question - on my 954 I only adjusted chain once in about 5K miles. Is that because most of those miles consisted of <200mi trips? or is it because street bike needs fewer adjustments than the dirt bike?

That is normal wear for a good chain, and this was the math that I figured for my situation.

Bike has 7500 mi. w/stock chain, and adj. only 1/3 of the way back. another 2kmi. shouldn't be out of the question with a good bath in lube. What I did not take into account was the previous owner had let the bike sit for 3+yrs. due to health reasons, and it had a slight coat of rust on the links stiffening the chain. Typically not a big deal, but with near 600 mi. at highway speed there was too much prolonged friction and the o-rings melted out. It was a gooey mess splattered all over the rear of my bike.

I should mention that I brought 2 spare master links in case the chain broke or needed to be shortened as someone's cousin's brother's aunt's daughter's brother usually has a grinder of sorts. But now I'm concerned about it coming loose, jamming the cases, locking the rear wheel, etc. In hindsight it was stupid to not at least break the chain and install a removable master link. Hmmm. I wonder what will happen? Will I survive? Good question.

More pics coming.arty

 

[DanTheMan07]

.....Will I survive? Good question.

Now that would a twist i never saw coming

 

[nuclearalex]

my friend and I are planning a trip to prudhoe bay this summer... it is a compromise i agreed with him to. Initially he wanted to go south to tierra del fuego. I said that given we have no experience in adv. riding, going north would be a safer bet. I am worried that even going to alaska would be too much for us.

 

[9rPilot]

my friend and I are planning a trip to prudhoe bay this summer... it is a compromise i agreed with him to. Initially he wanted to go south to tierra del fuego. I said that given we have no experience in adv. riding, going north would be a safer bet. I am worried that even going to alaska would be too much for us.

A friend of mine and his father are headed to Tierra del Fuego right now...
You can follow their adventures at: http://longridesouth.com

Some of their border crossing experiences are priceless. BTW these guys have never been anywhere beyond Mexico on bikes before this trip.

 

[CockyRooster]

Doña Anita "Mama" Espinoza - the mother for anyone who needs one. Tough as nails, generous, tolerant, and righteous. She opened the restaurant decades ago to support the orphanage she founded caring for the many lost and forgotten children of Mexico's hard times. She also organized the Flying Samaritans Angels on Wings - a group of doctors and dentist who volunteer their time and fly to Mexico to help those who could not travel or pay for it. She is a tireless champion of human rights. I wanted to meet her as I've heard about her work and wanted to contribute some of my own good fortunes to her and the children, but the family had already retired for the night. I'll just swing by on my way back through.

[/IMG]

Mama's motel next to the restaurant with a view of the mountains in the back.

[/IMG]


The restaurant is connected to a small historical museum which has the only computer available for public use. They ask for a $2 donation which goes to the caring of the children, but they're not draconian about it. So after some tacos and a beer to wash them down I sit down to write the gf a long letter sharing the details of my adventure thus far with a request to bring me a new chain. But I'm perplexed by the Spanish keyboard. I do know enough Spanish to fake my way through to gmail, but there is no @ key anywhere on the keyboard. Huh? After a precious hour I finally type in microsoft/spanish/keyboard into the search window and up came a diagram of the keyboard with the commands for @. It was shift+Q. How in the am I suppose to guess that? My Spanish lessons in way of books on tape warned me nothing of this. At this point I'm exhausted, facing a 400mi. ride mañana, smelly, and thinking of that king size bed.

Our nicknames for each other now also took on a Spanish flavor, and my email read as follows:

I'm fine. Need chain. Go to Peninsula Honda. O-ring chain, 110 link, 520 pitch. Cut one extra link, and give me 2 spare master links - all clip-ons.

The romance will have to wait

 

[CockyRooster]

In la manana despues desayuno y cafe, I fix the parts on the bike that I fixed the night before. I adjust the chain, correctly this time, and tighten down any loose nuts and bolts. Things look different after a good nights sleep, lol.

I get ready to roll out, and prepare for the big day. This will be the largest expanse of desert to cross and the highway runs straight down the middle of the peninsula. , Guerrero Negro (black warrior), is the only place that seems to have any sort of accommodations and that is some 230 mi. away. A little factoid is that it is also the middle of Baja, dissecting the North and the South in half, but it isn't until Santa Rosalia, 365mi, that I will be back on the coast.

On my way out of town I pass a small auto repair shop that would've been handy to have open last night. A small line of traffic has congealed from the cars slowing down for the speed bumps in town. They are no problem for the El Mosquito and I roll pass the line of cars at the edge of town and motor on my way unobstructed.

The scenery changes dramatically as El Rosario is the bottom of the mountain range and here is the scenery for the next 400mi.

[/IMG]

I look forward to forward to finally having some time on my new bike to explore it's personality since so far it's been mostly open super slab and tight schedules. Now I have nothing to do for a very, very, very, long time but to introduce myself to the new mule, and see what he has to show me. I roll on and off the gas, gently - keeping the condition of the chain in mind, and get a feel for it's power and handling. Some smooth corners are ahead and I pick up the pace before bending into the curve and aiming for the apex and...BRaaaaaPPPPPP Thumpa thumpa thumpa!!!

My funky fix on the spark arrestor took as much as it could, and then spit itself out onto the road. No problema! I was glad to have it for as long as I did, so I pull over and let the line of traffic that I passed earlier to pass me by again. I walk back to retrieve the part to fix correctly once I reach a big town and there it is - flatter than a gray squirrel on the highway. How in the heck did the cars run over it? It was laying on the last 6 inches of pavement along the road! I pick up my trash, unroll a piece of tissue from my emergency roll of toilet paper, stick it in my ears, and bitterly ride on my way.


...but just some 75mi. out of town I roll to this giant pile of rocks.

[/IMG]
I think that this was a group of aliens first attempt at geometric formations, and said "F-this" and went to do crop circles in much lighter corn fields.

Catavina - The Rock Gardens is what this place is called. It is so impressive to see in person and it was impossible for me to catch the grandeur on camera. Here is a shot with a truck in it looking for some scale.

[/IMG]

From a distance.

[/IMG]

Some of the surrounding scenery. The cactus in the middle looks like a man in camouflage walking off.

[/IMG]

You don't want to overshoot this corner.

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

Breathtakingly simple.

[/IMG]

 

[CockyRooster]

The Baja hay bales for you racers out there.

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

Way to reach for the sky. Check out the small fiery red flowers at the very top.

[/IMG]

I think that the little mule likes his new pastures.

[/IMG]

...and what lays ahead for the next few hundred miles? No cops, no speed limits, and no traffic to speak of.

[/IMG]

 

[CockyRooster]

But 50 miles later you will find your new best friend. This is the last gas for 200mi.!

[/IMG]

He just hangs out here, and his family consisting of his wife and three kids were playing a little soccer just off of the side of the screen.

I appreciate the opportunity to snap a few pictures as I wait for him to siphon the gas from a jerry can to something more manageable to pour with.

[/IMG]

He finishes pouring the gas in, and I was expecting to hear the price of the gas to be (in Austin Powers voice) one million dollars! Instead he charged me exactly what Pemex was charging at the station and he gave me change back from 100 pesos ($10). He's a better man than me.

The gas station superintendent leaving after being satisfied that the till is balanced...

[/IMG]

The road that lays ahead after a few miles past the (cough) gas station...

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[CockyRooster]

I ride into Santa Rosalia almost 400mi. and over 8hrs. of continuous riding later with just a quick stretch and a candy bar at the gas stop in Guerrero Negro.
I'm exhausted, my ears are thumping, my mouth is dry from dehydration, and I just finished one of the funnest riding stints in my life.

A quick shot of the escaping daylight right before checking in.

[/IMG]
That was cutting it a little too close, but there wasn't a hotel for 100mi. on either side of the town.

The yappiest, most unfriendly dog I ever met. He takes his duty as watchman very seriously. It was the hotel clerks pet and was spoiled beyond belief. A rare problem in Mexico, so good on ya, puppy.

[/IMG]

After some food in the hotel bar/restaurant I headed back to the room for a great nights sleep, and snapped this picture in the morning. Not great, but...

[/IMG]

...check out the view that I woke up to from my balcony $45 per night.

[/IMG]

Some more shots of the Sea of Cortez from the same vantage point.

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

[/IMG]

 

[CykoKlr]

Hey, are you on brake or something????? Finish the story....

 

[CockyRooster]

Hey, are you on brake or something????? Finish the story....

I enjoy the patio with some coffee, and the warmer weather as I'm near the Tropic of Cancer.

[/IMG]

A look back at the hotel.

[/IMG]

OSHA rules slightly...don't exist in Mexico. Have a close look at the struts of the wood ladder tied together with rope.

[/IMG]

A look at the gate, and the road beyond.

[/IMG]

Nice and clean!

[/IMG]

Well...a few leaves blow about...

[/IMG]

So this is what the place looks like in the daylight! Ahhh the palm tree - the universal sign for warm weather and vacation.

[/IMG]

 

[CockyRooster]

The plan from El Rosario was to stop in Guerrero Negro, continue to Loreto the next day, and then make it to La Paz the following, and then San Jose Del Cabo would be a cinch from there at only 120mi. By skipping Guerrero Negro yesterday, and if I can make it to La Paz (350mi.) today I gain an extra day of wiggle room for incidentals, so that's the plan.

Yesterday morning I adjusted the chain all the way back as far as the adjusters would allow, and now the chain lay like limp rope atop the swingarm again. No Bueno! The adjusters are a cam and peg system with detents for incremental adjustments, but we're maxed out and the cams are against their stops. I loosen everything up and beat a little groove into the cam stops to let them rest against the pegs and gain more adjustment.

[/IMG]
You can see the little peg just ahead of the axle, and the adjuster is swung back for the sake of the photo. You can see a little groove that I'm beating into the part with a screw driver, and yes, rock for a hammer. That little groove will rest against the peg and keep the axle from sliding forward under torque pressures.

I check the fluids and look for anything else that may have loosened up. The little mule is solid as a rock save for a thumpity exhaust and sloppy chain, which points back to sloppy preparation. I can hear the little mule telling me "Dude, I'm here for you, but you've got to help me out a little."
Time to load the bags for the next leg of the trip through a few mountain passes to La Paz, sign the church and holy ghost across my chest (Sooo....now I'm suddenly religious) and make it happen.

[/IMG]

 

[NorCal Factory]

Great story!

Take a couple links out of the chain to tighten it up!

 

[CockyRooster]

Great story!

Take a couple links out of the chain to tighten it up!

Ah yes...as I passed a small auto shop on the way out of El Rosario the possibility of a grinder was an honest one, but - one detail that I left out of the last post was that while I was pondering cutting a link out it had occurred to me that the chain was OEM stock, and the new master link may not fit. Suppose the new link did not fit? I would be stuck in a way that is beyond explanation.

I decided to plead to the BARF brain trust in the garage forum for any wisdom on the subject and made the mistake of giving too much information, and gave the fact that I was down in Baja and stuck with a stretched chain, and was wondering if any link of the same pitch would work. I was not in a possition of trial and error, and was looking for an immediate response as I had to make a decision first thing in the morning.

SO after meandering through the first few post of Monday morning racers ribbing me for being down in Baja with less than 3 spare chains(and they were right), as usual, some great Barfers came through and offered up the good drippings of their brain matter (I think ALANRIDER7 chimed in w/info), but it was determined that there was a chance the link would not work.

Any chance at all was too large, so this is why I decided to soldier on until I could find a shop with enough parts to make do in case it did not work out.

Thanks for the props! I will post new pics once I get them sorted out The best has yet to come as my next leg is another near 400mi stint to La Paz. I sure do hope that I make it as the gf will be flying in soon!

 

[HiggyB]

This is all great inspiration as I'm considering a baja ride later this year, thanks!

 

[elbacalao]

Great write up on a great adventure. Keep posting!

 

[Racinfrk]

This is all great inspiration as I'm considering a baja ride later this year, thanks!

Dont go too late in the year. Hurricane season starts in late July (if I remember correctly) and the humidity goes through the roof. We made the mistake of going in mid September one year and well here is the story:


http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46939&highlight=baja

 

[HiggyB]

Dont go too late in the year. Hurricane season starts in late July (if I remember correctly) and the humidity goes through the roof. We made the mistake of going in mid September one year and well here is the story:

http://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46939&highlight=baja

Good to know. I'm off for some riding in April (non-Mexico, hittin' the Grand Canyon, Utah and then back to California on a 10-12 day ride with my pops ), after that November was really the ripe time. I'm guessing that after the rains and hassles it starts getting cooler, but too cold? I have much research to do for sure and will read up on your thread, thanks for the warning/heads up!