During a trip to Costa Rica in February of '08 with my friends Phil and Paul, we started to talk about how much fun it'd be to be traveling on motorcycles. So a few months later, we started to talk about riding to Mexico to visit some friends who have left the States and are now living there. Our initial plan was to trailer our bikes to Phil's parents' house in California then ride down Baja to La Paz. Cross the Sea of Cortez to Mazatlan then work our way north visiting Durango, Copper Canyon, and other interesting places on the way back to California. When we took into account the added expense and time lost with the ferry crossing and the additional paperwork of vehicle importation, we decided to keep our trip on the Baja Peninsula.
The Bikes
We began preparations in earnest in October. Paul used a similar setup to his Sturgis rigging for his Husaberg FE550 and added some leather saddlebags. He discovered once he loaded the bags that more side support would be needed. So he fabricated a support out of a large pipe clamp bolted to the subframe. With a large yellow waterproof bag for clothes strapped atop the sleeping bag and tail bag already on the rear of his bike and a tent tied onto his handlebars, Paul was ready for action. Olly and Sven at Husaberg would likely have a heart attack if they saw what he did to such a fine racing machine! Paul had already fabricated a custom windshield and highway pegs for his bike last summer for the ill fated Sturgis trip during which his Husaberg broke a piston ring.
Phil delayed getting a proper dual sport bike until early November so
the crunch was on to get his BMW F650 GS Dakar properly farkeled for the trip. We ordered most everything Touratec has to offer for the bike as well as a nice set of Ortlieb waterproof saddlebags. Paul and I spent a few weekends having an adult beverage and trying to decipher the instructions (in German no less) for the Touratec equipment. Installing the new handlebars and riser clamps proved to be the biggest challenge. This took us about 5 hours to get sorted out. Getting a replacement front rim required a trip to Woody's Wheel Works in Denver to have the work done. We also installed a new Staintune exhaust to pep up the Dakar.
I had my KLR650 pretty well outfitted already and had done a number of dual sport
trips last summer. I managed about 6,000 miles of fantastic riding last summer on my burrolito negro (little black burro). I installed new tires and chain and sprockets and had a pre-trip check by Terry at Extreme Power Sports. I mounted my panniers and was ready to go.
Trip Synopsis
Day one took us from Yucca Valley, CA through Palm Springs, CA past the Salton Sea and to the border at Mexicali. We headed south along the east side of the peninsula to San Felipe. On day two we continued south to Puertocitas where the road turned to dirt and continued to Alfonsina on the Bahia de San Luis Gonzaga. On day three we headed south to Coco's Corner and back to the pavement then southwest to Guerro Negro
on the Pacific coast. On day four we then headed southeast to San Ignacio and on to Mulege'.
We spent an extra day in Mulege' due to a case of Montezuma's Revenge then on day six it was a big push (310 miles) to La Paz. We spent another day here due to bike maintenance. We got a late start on day eight since Paul had a relapse and was not feeling too well. We made it around the cape on dirt roads to Cabo San Lucas before dark and Phil treated us to a night at the Hilton Resort. On day nine we rode northwest to Todos Santos after stopping in Cabo so Paul could get a new rear tire. On day ten we headed north for Cd Insurgentes but about 70 miles north of La Paz, Paul's bike developed transmission problems. We managed a ride back to La Paz where we rented a pick-up truck to haul his bike. Day eleven; we went north to Cd Insurgentes then east to Lopez Mateo. Day twelve; whale watching at Lopez Mateo then rode northeast to Loreto. Day thirteen was back to Guerro Negro. Day fourteen; we followed the coast around the major military checkpoint then a major push to Ensenada (about 340 miles). Day fifteen was a short run to Tecate to cross back into the U.S. where we met Phil's parents with the truck and trailer. We returned the rental truck and made tracks for home
rnia. We moved our trip departure date up since work was slow and we were all so focused on going that we weren't doing much anyway.
arents' house
the crunch was on to get his BMW F650 GS Dakar properly farkeled for the trip. We ordered most everything Touratec has to offer for the bike as well as a nice set of Ortlieb waterproof saddlebags. Paul and I spent a few weekends having an adult beverage and trying to decipher the instructions (in German no less) for the Touratec equipment. Installing the new handlebars and riser clamps proved to be the biggest challenge. This took us about 5 hours to get sorted out. Getting a replacement front rim required a trip to Woody's Wheel Works in Denver to have the work done. We also installed a new Staintune exhaust to pep up the Dakar.
trips last summer. I managed about 6,000 miles of fantastic riding last summer on my burrolito negro (little black burro). I installed new tires and chain and sprockets and had a pre-trip check by Terry at Extreme Power Sports. I mounted my panniers and was ready to go.
