jfman

Thanks guys, bprrowed the correct screwdriver and got 3 of the needles out. 4th one is stripped thanks to a previous owner so its goin to stay in there. Cleaning this all and witing for a few parts to come in the mail and its going back on the bike.

My 1985 has ~12mm headed plugs as drains on the bowls. What is the easiest way to get to those when the carbs are on?

Like this but I'll have to shave the sides down? https://www.summitracing.com/parts/kle-601-6?seid=srese1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkvaYjL7x5QIViZWzCh0NFAPTEAUYBSABEgJdxPD_BwE there is t a screwdriver I can buy that works perfect out of the package?

What is a screwdriver that is known to work perfectly for the idle mixture screws on our carbs?

Well I own both a 1985 and a 1988. The 1988 seems a little bit lower than the 1985. I have yet to mess witht the suspension. I plan to mount new tires and then ride it and mess with it as I start riding it. If there is an issue with the air suspension. Is there a way to have the rear at the max setting permanently?

Simply I want the rear of the bike to be a little higher to scrape less.

Hello Guyz! What is the tallest tire you can fit on the back of a 1st gen venture(stock Wheel of course)? What sizes are workeable?

The photo above is a 650. I have the 1000 model which is bigger and has comfier ergos and seat. I have already put 77k kms on it and it's quite comfy and capable. But the Venture was comfier I must admit. Here are links of previous rides done on the Versys Alaska http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/alaska-2014-hotel-budget-zero.995038/ Mexico (Copper Canyon) http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/spending-christmas-in-death-valley-and-the-new-year-in-urique-mexico.1040296/ Around the US + Tijuana (old report with grainy photos) http://www.blokessportbike.com/showthread.php?t=64421

Cowpuc: I am riding thru your area in a few weeks on my way to Alaska (on my Versys). If the timing is right we should meet. jfman

Ask and you shall receive: https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=ff6156d9d096cbc95 Take note that the spot device didnt always work so there are some sections that are missing. Cheers!

Day 23 and day 24 - Demise of the 250$ motorcycle Amazing how well this bike has served me for this trip. This Venture was my first tourer but it wont be the last. I have learned to appreciate these bulky bikes during this trip. Alas this trip was hard on this old hunk. It was this bikes final day into my hands so I gave it a last look-over before hitting the road. The fresh seals blew on the very first day of this trip. I blame my mechanic and the frigid temps on the first leg of this trip. The seals leaked for the length of the trip but the suspension kept working as it should with no loss in dampening. This is why you never buy 10+ year old "new" tires. This Harley tire looked new when I got it but after riding from Texas to Cancun, the thread was starting to crack and separate from the carcass. This problem showed up a few days before the end of the trip so I kept a close eye on it and hoped for the best. The exhaust system on this bike took a bit of a beating on the Topes. About halfway thru Mexico, a leak developed down there and it was getting a little bit worse each day but it never got bad enough to make me want to fix it. Riding back towards Cancun I spotted a hotel off the highway. I pulled in and I saw a nice row of garage doors. A love motel! Perfect to work on the bike. I pulled up to the reception window and they have a vacancy and it's only 700 Pesos which is a good price for the area. This place is called Sensaciones Motel This motel delivers! Round Bed, chair, loft area and... Stripper pole! How does this work? Yep! But down these stairs is the "piece de resistance" Perfect! This is your final destination trusty Venture. But the day is early so I went to to town to eat and get my laundry done. Nice and tidy Shot of the streets of Cancun Cancun looks more like the USA than it does rest of the country After this I rode North of the city to hit the beaches the locals use. The access road in unpaved but in great shape. I reached the beach and parked my steed in the soft sand. The beaches here are a little rocky so you have to be careful when walking around and swimming I think I spent a total of 20 minutes swimming then I packed up and left. I have never liked spending a lot of time at the beach. I then rode south to reach Playa del Carmen. I had heard of a bar in Playa del Carmen that was owned by French Canadians so I decided to got check it out. Los Tabarnacos is what it's called so I pulled in for a drink and for some food. Hockey fans can watch the games here You have been warned! A few patches from local Montreal firehouses. The owner of the place was surprised to hear that I made it from Canada in March and promptly offered me a round (then a second) of Tequila on the house. I ordered some poutine from the kitchen and hung out there with the other patrons from my home province. After spending weeks in Mexico working on my third language skills it was odd to run into a place loaded with people who spoke my first language. It was getting late so I left Playa de Carmen and headed back to the Sensaciones Motel. When I arrived at the Motel, I put the bike on its center stand and after shutting the petcock valve to the "off" position, I let it idle until it quit running. Like a vet who was administering a shot to put a dog to sleep, I stared at the Venture with a sad an guilty look on my face. The bikes seemed to want to run forever, like it did not want to die. After what seemed like minutes, it started to miss a little, then the idle got rough and it finally drew its last breath. I then pushed the bike into the garage, looking around and over my shoulder, like a thief who was stuffing a stolen bike into a garage in a rough part of town. I shut the garage door behind me and I started the dirty deed. I first pulled the airbox from the bike. This gave me access to the carbs. Some ebay browsing had earlier revealed that these are worth a pretty penny on the secondary market. So I pulled this organ from the donor. Next I removed the coils and CDI from the bike Next was the clutch. I removed the clutch cover just like I had done at @skizzman home in Texas. I removed the Barnett springs I had previoudsly installed there. The mutilated beast: Not a pretty sight. I stuffed the removed brackets, plastics and fasteners into the right pannier. Last but not least, I removed my plate from the bike. I then went to bed. When I woke up the next morning. I started to pack my belongings to prepare for my flight back to Montreal. I took the topbox to my room and, to make it lighter, I removed the metal hardware that was at the bottom of the case along with the cushion. I then wrapped the carbs in a dirty shirt and put it in 6 layers of plastic bags to make sure not gas fumes or smells could escape it. This is what I would be flying to Montreal with. A top box loaded with carbs, CDI, Coils, and handtools and a drybag with my camera and my clothes in it. Rise an shine - The light of the day would expose the crime scene. This Iguana was perched on top of the protection wall of the Motel and looking at the scene. This is my first time seeing on of these in its natural environment. A tent, a sleeping bag, an empty gas can, a chair, fluids and Whiskey. These things I would abandon with the bike. I lined these items up against the wall of the garage. I then walked to the front desk and asked for the hotel's handyman. When he showed up, I motioned him to follow me to my garage. I told him I had mechanical problems with my bike and I was flying to Canada. In my best Spanish, I told him he could have these belongings along with the bike for parts. He immediately fell in love with the bike and started to ask for the papers and the plate. I told him "solomente es bueno para partes" but he kept asking for the plates. I had to be firm with him and tell him "no papeles" , "no placa" He still seemed happy about the free bike. I handed him the key, grabbed my top case and drybag and walked off to the side of the highway. I motioned a commercial passenger van to bring me to the airport. Only after I got in and paid, I realized he was not going to the airport but he dropped me off at the exit for the airport. I crossed over to the exit ramp for the airport and and a truck picked me up. I handed the guy a few pesos and hopped into the bed of the truck. I slipped my helmet on an took a selfie while riding in the bed of this pickup truck. Arriving at the airport. They dropped me off here and I slipped them some pesos for the ride. A shuttle bus picked me up about 10 minutes later and I made it to the terminals. I had a few hours to kill and some pesos left over so I ate a very expensive lunch at the airport while waiting for my flight. When I boarded my flight (a direct flight to Montreal) I looked around at all of the tanned vacationers in t-shirts and shorts. I stuck out like a sore thumb in my dirty jeans, motorcycle boots and Joe Rocket Jacket. Last photo of Mexico I made it home and was back at work the next day. Take away the leaks this bike was pretty reliable and required a level of attention that was reasonable considering its age. The charging and cooling system of the bike were top notch. Its cooling system was in fact better than on my Versys 1k which likes to run a little hot in certain conditions but not this heap. It was well suited for this trip. The weak points were the suspension which didn't deal with Topes well and the wind protection that was too good in this very hot weather. This trip was also very economical. After I got home, I listed my carburetors on ebay along the the CDI and I ended up getting 220$USD for the carbs and 180$USD for the CDI. Take away the 100$ battery I abandoned with the bike, I rode this beast for roughly 9000 kilometers basically for free. I am very happy with the outcome of this trip. I know my luck may not always be the same but I hope to try this again some time in the future. jfman

Day 22 - Palenque to Cancun I leave the hotel and head to the ruins. It's very hot again today. The place is packed. The parking lot is completely full and cars have taken to parking on the side of the roads leading to the park. I look at the ticket line and the wait seems to be well over an hour. I decided to forgo the ruins. There's just too many people and I can't see it being worth the wait, at least not in this heat and in this crowd. Free of charge, there is a nature walk you can do there so I opt for that rather than the ruins. This tree is quite huge (see helmet set at its base for size) Nice little cascade there. After that 30 minute walk in the jungle(I guess it qualifies as a jungle?) I am completely drenched in sweat from head to toes. I am not dressed for this type of activity and I havent experienced this kind of heat and humidity in years. The only solution is to head back on the road: This is 186 Leading to Campeche. This below I am pretty certain is a highway crossing for monkeys. I did see a dead monkey on the side of the road a few miles further down 186 but I was riding in a tightly packed group of cars traveling at high speed(cant tell because the speedometer is out but I guesstimate 150kmh.) Needless to say I did not want to pull over for a shot of the dead money because there might then be two dead primates there. I Turned left at Escarcega to head North to Champoton to reach the Gulf Coast. I rode along the coast for a few dozen miles then I got on 180 to make my way to Cancun. I rode all day and at around 10pm, yes with a day and a half to spare, I made it! I have arrived at my final destination. Time to check into a beachside grand hotel and sip Pina Coladas until I pass out from the sugar high! I pull into a fast food restaurant with wi-fi to find a hotel. Is this Mexico?!? Cancun is an evil, evil place! I cant afford these prices! Massive sticker shock here. I call a few places and everything below 150$ a night is completely booked. It's time to pull out the guerilla camping tactics. With the help of Google Maps, I spot these two unbuilt dirt roads leading to the beach about 10 kilometers south of Cancun. I ride over to this first spot. The info on Google maps is dated and this whole area is now completely built into a gated resort. I luck out with this location however. Off the main road, there is an gate but there is no one manning it and it is open. I slowly ride through the gate and I then veer to the right to reach this dirt road leading to a small sea-side resort. I quietly setup camp on the side of the road there. The lights from the small resort remind me that I am close the property. Well that is sugar coating it... I am on private property so I have be discreet here. No noises, no campfires, no fiddling with the phone, no messing around with the bike. I quickly setup my 24$ tent that I had not yet used on this trip, cracked open my whisky bottle and sat down on my 5$ tripod chair and just looked at the stars. Yep just me, my bike and my tent. Pure bliss: I was happier there than in any hotel I could have been in Cancun. Below, the ride reports worst photo: The quality of this photo is poor because I took it quickly and covertly with my DSLR to avoid being spotted. It is the worst photo of the report but probably from the best moment of the report. The past few days had not been great motorcycling days(mostly due to the heat, semana santa traffic and the aftermath of food poisoning) but at that moment I remembered how stealth camping made me feel. It made me feel calm and rested. it made me feel like I was so far removed from my real life that its problems and annoyances could never reach me. Why did I not camp out more on this trip? This was a mistake, one that I do not want to repeat. I will never go on a ride again where I cant stealth camp at least some of the time. In Cancun, even at night the temps are still very warm. I could however feel a faint breeze coming in and looking at the moonlit sky, I could spot dispersed clouds slowly strolling high above. I slipped into my sleeping bag and quickly fell asleep. With a full day in the bank and camping just a few kilometers away from the airport, I had just one thing to worry about for the next day. Ok, now what to do with this motorcycle? It had made it but what to do now with it. The answer lies in the next update.

Day 21 - Canyon del Sumidero to Palenque I am slowly but surely decorating my steed's topcase. This is the only tru sign of a man's affection towards his motorcycle. Mexican roads are hard on the bike. Blown fork seals, leaking water pump seal, leaking gas tank petcock, broken odometer, broken front blinker, ever worsening exhaust leak from hitting topes, hydraulic clutch system acting up and finaly one of the two latches on my top case has broken off. If the last latch breaks, I will have to duct-tape it shut. [/url] Alarm system works flawlessly however. First thing I did leaving the hotel was to go check out that road that goes above the canyon. Apart from the occasional tour bus, it's a fairly nice road. The view is worth the trip. It is nice and somewhat cool up here but down below in Tuxtla, it's very hot and humid. Best not to drop my helmet here. It could be a long way down to retrieve it. There is an observatory project in the state's plans. It sure would be a nice addition. I ride back down to town, cross the bridge into Chiapa del Corzo and I pull into the boat tour's parking lot. Turns out some have come from farther than I have. I take a photo of this overlanding rig from Germany. I stand in line, buy overpriced water bottles and hop on a tour boat to enter the canyon (now flooded due to a dam being built) First stop is to watch this sleepy Alligator. The canyon offers safe havens for all kinds of species. The massive canyon walls protect them from humans and other predators. Here are some vultures. The sights are quite nice on this tour. Yes it is touristy but I recommend it if you want to apreciate the true beauty of this canyon. Don't you just hate these guys waving huge ipads around in the air to take photos? I was secretly hoping he would drop it in the water. Sometimes the boat tilts in such a way that I can get a good shot free of tourists. If you look closely, you can spot monkeys up the the trees. I would also see these guys later on my ride riding around in the area close to Guatemala. Hard to wrap my head around the fact that I was riding in snow and less than three weeks later, I can spot monkeys on the side of the road. Before this trip, I had never been South of Miami. It is my first experience riding in this type of climate and I have to be honest, I don't like it. The tour boat stopped at some kind of shrine. This tree looking thing is made by water deposits as it is filtering its way through the bedrock from above. We are headed to the end of the navigable waters here. In this heat, it sure feels nice to be on the water and to get a little bit of fresh water splashing onto us to cool us down. At this point we turn around and we ride back out. I recommend this boat ride to anyone traveling thru the area. The beauty of the canyon is better observed from the water. Ok someone kill him please. I will pay you in Canadian Dollars After the boat ride I headed back on 190 to reach 199. I stopped and thinking I had left my DSLR camera somewhere, I emptied all of the contents of my cases. Only to notice that the camera was under a shirt in my topcase. The heat and humidity is starting to get to me. I am becoming tired and cranky from the heat but from a motorcycling point of view this is a nice ride. Ten degrees cooler or on a bike that allows the breeze to come in it would have been a sweet ride. A problem I had in this stretch of road was that there were not any gas stations. Not having a working fuel gauge or a working odometer made this leg of the ride a little stressful. 199 was more remote than the roads I had been on for the last few days. There was a lot less traffic on these roads and I guess that was both good and bad. In some areas, the vegetation would encroach a little onto your riding space. These are more hills than mountains like back in Oaxaca. Good curves but less elevation changes and more humidity. Now was this photo taken in 2016 or in 1986? I am approaching Palenque. But before I get to Palenque, I stop at the Cascadas de Agua Azul No swimwear and getting close to losing daylight I spend a total of 5 minutes here. Just enough time to take a photo or two then I leave. The falls and the whole area is simply gorgeous. I ride into Palenque as night falls. I'll be blunt: I absolutely hate Palenque. The place is crawling with snotty backpackers. I am a sweaty, dirty, weird broke biker on an old funky motorcycle wearing a black jacket and jeans. In a sea of college kids in cargo shorts and bikinis, I stick out like a sore thumb and although many here speak English, I find it impossible to have an intelligent conversation. All of the hotels in Palenque are overpriced and/or have no vacancies. I settle for this place, Yaxkin Hostel. I pay extra for a private room with AC. After a shower I head to the bar upstairs and I chat with the only local in the place while downing a couple of beers. Then I head to my air-conditioned room for a good night's sleep.

Current usd/peso rate is 19.5 Mexico is a bargain right now.

Day 20 - Oaxaca to Tuxtla At once finally felt recovered from the Hamburgesa de la Muerte. I had eaten a whole medium pizza and I had digested it fully. Success! I could now get back on the road and just enjoy riding, in the heat. One thing I forgot to mention to you guyz earlier is that the Venture was acting up on the previous day. The previous day was the first day where having no second gear was a major inconvenience. Easter was quickly approaching and with so many slow moving cars in the mountains, it was almost impossible to make a pass. First gear was just too short, third gear was way too long and second gear was AWOL. To top it off I now also noticed that whenever I will run the bike at full throttle in this now warmer climate I had a new problem. The hydraulic clutch started to act up. The bike would keep moving even with the lever fully engaged which made things quite intersting. I could only guess that the hydraulic fluid was too old for the strains and for these temps. I left Oaxaca and of course headed East on 190. Traffic was much lighter here than on 175 the previous day. It did not take too long before I started to hit memorable sections with tasty curves. Nice pavement was present and much fun still to be had. I did not really want to stop too often so I have a little bit less photos for you guys than usual. This is getting close to Tehuantepec After Tehuantepec, things got flat and there was not much to see apart from the mountains north of the area and a few impressive windmill farms. The heat was becoming tougher and tougher to bear, at least for this Canadian. If I learned something on this trip is that I prefer riding in colder weather over high heat/humidity environments. There comes a point where I just get too uncomfortable and I dont enjoy it anymore. Here I spotted a bike parked in the shade so naturaly I stopped to check up on the rider. And this is where I met Alesio, a Mexican military service man on his off day traveling on his bike. Turns out he was just on a snack break and did not need any help. He explained to me that a motorcyclist in need of help will set his helmet on the ground behind the motorcycle. His helmet was hanging on the bike's mirror so all was well. In Mexico, I almost never run into people traveling ny motorcycles so whenever I run into a rider, I highly cherish the encounter. Sort of like running into a relative in a far away city. On the stretch on 190D between Arriaga and Tuxtla, in the intense heat, there were a lot of broken down cars... It was unbelievable. It seemed like I could spot someone stranded every 5 minutes of riding. I saw a whole family of 6, kids and all, standing in the heat by a car with an obvious blown tire. I pulled over to help them put the spare on, only to see they had no spare in the trunk. They were on a road trip to Yucatan and they did not even have a spare. The sun was beating down on them so I felt bad for them despite the severe case of fatalism. I gave them my jug of water and at their request I gave the oldest teenager a lift on the back of my bike to the next Cuota station so he could call get some help. When I got to Tuxtla I rode past the town to Chiapa de Corzo to get some info on visiting Sumideron Canyon for the coming day. I rode back over the bridge which gave me a slight glimpse into tomorrow's tourist attraction. I chatted with some locals and they told me about a nice road North of Tuxtla that leads to a few overlooks for the canyon. I decided to make my way up there and to camp up there away from the town. However when I got the park, the road was closed for the day. I do not think camping there is a possibility. I just rode back down a few hundred feet and parked at a spot that has a panoramic view of Tuxtla to watch the sunset. I relaxed there for a good 30 minutes to see what the city looked like at night. I then went to Autozone to buy some brake fluid to bleed the system that operates the clutch. Gringo heavant to the rescue once again. I then went to the old Centro to grab a bite to eat. (this Beetle was cute) After stumbling into a completely disgusting "hotel" (and you know my standards are low) I finaly found this place (Hotel Fernand0) for about 4 or 500 pesos. It did not have AC but it was "cool" enough to sleep there with the fan on. Tomorrow morning I will visit Sumidero Canyon

Day 19 - To Oaxaca These rides are a lot of fun and some of my best memories. Scratch that; They are my best memories, period! That being said it's not all fun, all the time. On that particular trip, I encountered something that I had never encountered before. This was my fifth multi-week trip and for the first time I got the feeling I did not want to be on the road anymore. I realized I was doing the miles because I had to do the miles. For the first time on the road, I sort of wished I was at home. Is my love affair with long distance motorcycle traveling withering? Am I doing these trips to prove something I no longer feel the need to prove? Was I running away from something I no longer need to run away from? Who knows... One thing is certain is that I overthink sometimes. I blame this partly on the hangover from getting food poisoning but clearly there was more to it. Another factor was the Semana Santa. There was an incredible amount of cars on the road and that made traveling less than enjoyable at times. These details dont show in the photos because I wait for the cars to clear before I start hitting buttons. On that morning I left Boca Del Rio and rode on 180 for a little while. I ran into a few of these trucks carrying wood. They all seemed to be headed in the same direction. This direction: I dont know the purpose of the factory (to make charcoals or to produce power?) Either way it seemed like the trucks were delivering wood to it. I kept riding on 180 a little bit more. The road was in the middle of a narrow strip of land. I had the Gulf of Mexico on my left and the Laguna de Alvarado on my right. I turned right on 175 then immediately up and over the river. Kept riding for a little while. Then I reached the nice little colonial town of Tlacotalpan and stopped for a quick shot of the centro. When I reached San Juan Bautista Valle Nacional, I go confused and wandered away from the main road but in the end I found the correct path out of town. I started getting into a little bit of elevation and the curves started coming at me. So be prepared for another barrage photos of twisties Mas por favor! And as always the views in this beautiful country dont dissapoint At this point, I had never been this far south in Mexico. The climate in these mountains is a little more humid and the vegetation is very lush around here. That vegetation is sometimes so dense that it wants to take over the paved roads. Not a lot of room to pull over in this area. Here is a safe spot Another classic shot of a Mexican road sign In the higher elevations, I ran into something I did not think I would see down there. That's some serious wood for Mexico. I parked the bike next to the stack so you guys could get an idea of the size of that tree trunk. This Canadian is impressed Photo taken in British Colombia? Yet proof once again that Mexico is far more diverse than we are led to believe. Ok enough photos of downed wood. Gotta hit the curves again At this spot I checked the elevation - 9530ft, not bad. I am about to start going down the mountain. The shoulder is quite odd here. Look ma! No sidestand! The sun doing its thing And the ride down is almost just as nice. Pavement quality is also very good on 175 No idea what this tree is but it made for an good photo. At this point I was about 45 minutes away from Oaxaca de Juarez. The sun was setting so that was the last photo of the day. When I reached Oaxaca de Juarez, I turned left on 190 and stopped at the first hotel I spotted on my right. I asked the lady working at the front desk to order me a pizza from Pizza Hut(or was it Domino's?). My stomach at this point was still a little fragile but it handled the pizza and a little bit of whiskey just fine. Going to Chiapas tomorrow

No deer there. Just Burros and cows. I did see a few small monkeys when I got all the way south but I did not get a chance to take a shot of one.

Day 17 and 18 - Jalpan to Boca del Rio I woke up at around 9am after a pretty crappy night due to food poisioning. I was not cold anymore but I really felt like crap. All of my muscles ached a little and my stomach was fragile. I could not eat anything. I could only manage to drink some flat diet coke. This is going to be a long day on the road. I felt weak, I was barely hanging onto the bike and every topes made my back muscles want to throw in the towel. On this day, moral was low and I dont think I took a single photo with the DSLR. Even getting off and on the bike felt like a task. I arrived in Jalpan where I managed to get lost for 30 minutes trying to find the correct way out of town. (my brain was not all there) Some more of 120 east of Jalpan Feeling like crap but at least the views offered a little bit of comfort. I crossed back into San Luis Potosi on 120 Near Axtla de Terrazas On the eastern side of the mountains, the climate is changing. Warmer temps and more humidity. Just crossing a bridge near Atlapexco After this I reached 180 and I rode along the Mexican Gulf Coast to reach Boca del Rio. It was getting dark and I did not feel well at all. I was just making the miles to reach Boca so I could recuperate from this hamburgesa fiasco. I got the cheapest room I could find in Boca (I think 500 pesos) and I got two nights because I needed to recover in a place with easy access to reliable food. I crashed at my room and I sleep for 12-14 hours. The next day I went outside and took a peak at the police motorcycles(the station is next door) A Honda CB500 and Wee Stroms I wonder if they would trade with me? I went to the beach near the hotel but it was very rocky. After a 20 minute dip, I left the playa to grab something to eat. Boca del Rio has a lot of American restaurant chains and it seemed like it was the only thing I was willing to eat that day. To be honest, nothing exciting or nice happened in Boca. The next day I would be leaving for Oaxaca and I would be feeling well enough to start taking some decent photos for the report. Saludos

Not the water juste the coffee. But I did drink river water in Mexico before(out of necessity) and have yet to get sick from it. Saludos!

Day 16 - On the way to Jalpan After a last cup of coffee in San Miguel de Allende [/url] I hit the road towards Tierra Blanca Fresh pavement is a welcomed and common sight The view does not dissapoint here Good god I love Mexico This is around Santa Catarina This path was not part of my orginial route but it's too good to pass up. I simply cannot resist these roads even not really knowing where they lead. Bird watching is one of my passions (this is a lie btw, only here for the curves) Sweet curves as always I take a break to admire the view every once in a while. At this point I come to realize that I am lost again (I meant I am exploring again) And this is how Mexico works: one minute you are on an amazing freshly paved road. The next minute you are riding dirt. And more dirt Still fun to ride but the progress is slow A road sign: for a change this one has not gone missing yet. Mandatory burro encounter Lazy and slow moving beasts they are. More backcountry No idea where I am at this point. And I wish I was on something lighter or with better suspension. At 40km/h it will take me all day to reach a paved road again But I do love these types of hillside roads. Oh look! Civilization! But where am I? Road signs are there but... I am not certain but I think I arrived to Penamiller using 161 If this is even Penamiller Ok maybe it is No more arguing After this I get on 160 and the pavement is fresh fresh fresh I ride this road for a little while Not a bad ride here At this point I know I am on the correct path to make it to 120 I plan to go east on 120 and make it to Jalpan before sundown. There we go! 120 does not dissapoint No plans to stop here but I cannot resist Holy mother of god! Have you seen these dirt switchbacks in the background? These switchbacks have made my bucket list but I can't ride them today. Not on the bike I am using for this trip. I will have to come back here one day with a proper motorcycle. Same spot looking East Looking West Back on 120 I get into some more paved goodness. These shots (with the road signs and curves in sight) are my favourites on Mexican roads. When I get higher up I hit the clouds/fog ceiling. It is so dense that water just pools and rains down my windshield. First gas station since leaving San Miguel. The guys in the old VW van are as interested in my bike as I am in their cool travel rig. Soon after filling up, the fog dissipates quite a bit. Night fall is coming soon and I have not had anyhting substantial to eat all day so I stop at this burger stand in Pinal de Amoles. The stand is making burgers for a kids soccer team and they are quite slow at churning the burgers out. This is 30 minutes later. Another 10 minutes passes. Here's one of my long awaited burgers. Never in my life have I waited this long for a burger... and never will I again. I gobble the burgers then I ride further east in search of a hotel. I ride a few km's and I pull into this spot(pic taken next morning) I go in and as it is often the case, they dont have the change needed to break the 500 pesos bill I hand them. While I am waiting on change, I start feeling a little cold and queasy. I finally get my change and the keys to my room get handed. My room is on the second floor so I bring the first load of things to carry up there. I throw the stuff onto my bed then I walk back down the stairs to go grab a second load from my Venture. As I am about to to set foot back into the building I hear a loud snap. It sounds like a firecracker or a small caliber gunshot. Then, a Mexican lady comes running down the stairs yelling and talking so fast that I cant make out any of the words she is saying. All while this is happening, I start feeling a little bit more queasy than I did before checking in; like my brain is in a fog and cannot think clearly. To top this the lady has gone completely berserk, she is yelling, jumping up and down and blocking the way to the staircase. I get the feeling that someone may have just been shot upstairs. In a moment that I can describe only as complete stupidity and lack of worry for my own life. I decide to walk up the stairs as the lady is blocking the way and telling me no to go upstairs. I keep my body hidden and peak my head down the corridor to see... well to these broken tiles. It takes a long second to figure this out but I see that there are no guns or anyhting violent going on here. The building has shifted and the tiles have popped in the hall. from the floor having moved. Not the most reassuring sight in the world. I throw the second load onto the bed and before I go fetch the last load, I spot this crack in my room. I gather from this that it is not he first time that this building shifts. Afterall, it is built on a mountain side, in Mexico. you can even tell that they have fixed previous cracks that are just coming back. A few of the guests are at the front desk asking for refunds because they think the hotel is about to collapse. At this point I truly do not give a crap about the state of the building. I just want to reach my bed and soon. I really dont want to have to look for another hotel tonight. I slip into my bed and I quickly fall asleep. Around 1am I wake up completely frozen, teeth clattering, my body shaking uncontrollably. I feel terrible. I go to the bathroom and I start puking my guts out. It is bad, everyhting that is inside me is coming out. When I am done, I lay on the bathroom floor of this Mexican hotel shaking badly and out of breath, heaving, panting. After a minute of this I start puking again. This time more painfull but less puke is coming out and some goey stuff (bile?) I am not even done puking that I have to go numero dos and pronto. I grab the trash can to keep the other end covered and I lose every last bit of what I have left in me from the back end. Quite a glorious night. After this I shower up with cold water. There is no hot water nut I am not surprised as this is standard in rural Mexico. I brush up, take a swig of diet coke and got back to bed, my whole body shivering and my teeth still clattering to no end.

This summer was a litle bit sidetracked.(some here make good guesses) Now I am back at it. I got an update coming for you guyz soon.

Thenyouwilllikethislinkfrommy2014triptoMexico (spacebarnoworkie) http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/spending-christmas-in-death-valley-and-the-new-year-in-urique-mexico.1040296/page-8#post-26855835

Day 13 tru day 16 - Repairs and playing tourist in San Miguel de Allende The first thing I do When I reach San miguel de Allende is get a room at Posada de las Monjas. This is a Villa style hotel that has an antique look, great staff and very important: secure parking for motorcycles. Cost was 730 pesos an night. A little steep for Mexico but was worth every penny now that I think about it. The view from the balcony in front of my room: Room 23 Since I am still a kid at heart and since I heard that this hotel is popular amongst the Advrider community I decided to play a little game with you guys. I pulled the light switch cover here. And I left an emergency fund in case someone here needs it for a ride Canada. Or if you just want it for the fun factor I don't really care. If you happen to grab that toonie, well chime in and let us know. Exploring the streets or San Miguel at night. No tourist hotspot is complete without a Starbucks At the Centro, they have Mariachi bands playing and these immense costumes dancing thru the night. I love the Parroquia there. Looks simply amazing. The next day I wake up to this: Massive fuel leak. From the petcock. Don't you just hate it when you have a leaky petcock I ride to Gringo heaven... I mean Autozone and I buy this. Autozone parking lot: Yes I am that guy. The guy that takes his junk apart in an Autozone parking lot. Drain Pull Smother: (I know it's not pretty or even the correct fix) then reinstall While this was all curing, I went grocery shopping on foot and ate an amazing plate of seafood for 110 pesos. About 6 hours later, I walked back to Autozone, put the fuel back into the bike and I was good to go. No more fuel leaks. The next day I decided to visit the Jardin Botanico El Charco del Ingenio. It is basically a maze of pathways with different species of cacti circling around the top a george that overlooks SMA. It's worth your time if you want to do something nice to stretch your legs out in nature with decent views. I would not however put this on a "do not miss" list. View of San Miguel from the Jardin Aliens at work Now another issue with the bike I forgot to mention. Every since reaching the higher elevation of this area the bike has been running rather poorly. @Skizzman had warned me that this would happen as my bike was running a little rich even in the lower lands of Texas. I inquired about how to adjust the carbs on Venturerider.org and once again they saved my butt with some important information. Canadian Ventures have adjustable needles with clips. So I pulled the slides and put the clips on the top notch for all 4 carbs. After this quick fix the bike ran a heck of a lot better. Visiting the streets around San Miguel during the day. Nice door: Back at the Parroquia Another photo for my wooden door fetish collection: Little bit of patina there. The last morning I was in San Miguel de Allende, I went for a cup of coffee at the centro historico. For the Semana Santa festivities, I got to see Jesus arrive on a burro. Only in Mexico. I really enjoyed my time in San Miguel. It's a little bit touristy but I think it is worth checking out if you are riding thru this part of Mexico. The energy in the centro is very nice and the feel of the town is something you won't forget.

Thanks a lot Puc!!! I look forward to meeting you.

Day 12 - Wandering around the Mexican Backcountry Still at the hotel, while I fiddle with my phone I spot some backroads going across the mountains between Rio Verde and San Miguel de Allende. At this point I am wanting to explore off the main roads to check things out. I ride down 69 for about 10 km's then I make a right when I spot this nicely paved road leading to the hills. After a few kms, pavement quality decreases but it is still pretty decent at this point. Nice straight and flat. I don't really know where this is going to lead but I like it so far. After just a few more km's, the road turns to dirt. Now I don't have the right bike for the dirt but these roads look to be in good condition and the landscape is too good. I just can't pass this up. It's pretty smooth at this point and the road is manageable. I realize that I may be headed towards rougher roads but I don't care. If it gets too bad I'll just turn around. Besides, that morning view heading towards those hills just makes me weak inside. The landscape reminds me a little bit of the area around Tubares near Copper Canyon. Relatively easy dirt with hills that can done on pretty much any bike. It was my first time riding this beast on the dirt. It's actually easier that it looks to ride one of these mammoths on dirt roads. However the bike was not liking the ride as much as I was. The suspension was not designed to soak up these Mexican dirt roads. The whole bike was in in a constant state of bottoming out and rattling. If I dared look at the massive fairings as I was riding, I could clearly see the plastics moving up and down with the bumps independently from the rest of the bike... very much like the breasts of a curvy woman that is running. I started to wonder if this was not too much or too rough for this bike. But I kept going. No ride thru the Mexican back country is complete without a stray cattle or some burros here and ther. At this fork I turn left purely on instinct. Maybe this is a good time to tell you guys that my GPS has none of these roads mapped in it and of course my cell phone has no reception here. Then I ran into my first cattle gate. Fun stuff - but this one I was able to ride around. Of course I run into another fork in the road. Now this other cattle gate, I had to dismount and walk the bike across. I finally arrived in town. A tiny little town called Agua Fria. I rode passed the town but then I turned around because I got a feeling the road may get worse from there on out. I turned around and stopped at this tiny school to ask for directions. There was a teacher with about 8 kids in the school. She stopped teaching for a few minutes and we started to chat. After she found out I had made it down there from Canada, she explained it to the kids on a map that was hanging on the wall. Then a man in his 40's arrived. I told him I was wanting to get to San Miguel de Allende thru these back-roads. He explained that the roads were getting worse from this point on and that I should backtrack a little and catch the new paved road at the "Presa" He said the word "Presa" many times but I could not figure out the meaning of the word. He drew a map on a piece of paper to get me there. One thing he mentioned is that if I made it to a town called Pueblo Viejo, I was on the wrong path and had to turn around. In my limited experience in rural Mexico, the locals had always been great at helping out and this time was no different. So after some chit chat, I turned around and headed back to the first fork in the road where I had made a wrong turn. I reached this bridge. Not sure if lost again or on the right track. Bulky steed obliges, at a slow pace, I kept riding this road for about 10 km's. I then reached a tiny town and stopped at this little tienda. I bought some cheese and some fizzy drinks. As I was chatting with the owner, his wife brought me some food she was cooking for the family. As I ate, I talked a little bit with the cutest little Mexican girl I had ever seen. I gave her some Canadian coins as a souvenir and headed out on the road again. I ride for about 15 minutes and I reach an area with a few homes. I spot a sign and it reads "Rancho Viejo" Awe crap... I had made it exactly where the man in Agua Fria had told me not to go. I was puzzled because in the previous town was a sign that was telling me the way to the San Luis de La Paz, where I needed to get to. I stopped at a home where some folks were hanging out. I explain to them that I do not understand how I got here since I followed the sign to San Luis de la Paz from the previous town. They proceed to tell me that this is the old road to there but now there is a new road at the "Presa" (still don't know what Presa means at this point) As I am chatting with these folks, a 14ish year old girl with a very short skirt emerges from the house, suitcase in hand. She tells me she needs to make it to Victoria, and that it's on my way to the "Presa" she wants me to give her a ride there. Everyone at the home agrees. I get a really bad feeling at this situation. Carrying a scantily clad minor on the back of my bike in the middle of the Mexican backcountry is a recipe for disaster. So I politely tell the whole family that I cant give the teenager a ride because "la calle es muy mal" y "no tengo otro casco, es muy peligroso" As I ride back to where I came from, I am wondering as to how a family would allow a such a young girl dressed this way to get on a motorcycle with a complete stranger from another country. Well at least these roads are fun to ride, but not so much on the bike I am on. I pulled over at these switchback for some photos. Another reason I had pulled over was to mess with my speedometer that had quit working. I fiddled with it a little but there was no easy fix for this deal. And that was the end of the speedometer for the rest of this trip. So I kept riding on this nice road. And reached this water break. Water breaks like this are mandatory spots to stop for photos. This time I think I am on the correct path. Well this sure explains a lot. And this is where I learned the meaning of the word "Presa" Here's a shot of the Dam's reservoir. After many hours in the back country, I had reached that sweet pavement again. And sweet that road was. Brand new black top. Perfect curves This is "progress" I can live with. And the view here is amazing. If you like good pavement this one is for the books. Just off 57D, it connects Doctor Mora to Presa El Realito. After a relaxed ride on 57d I reached my hang out spot for the the next couple of days. Time for some R&R in San Miguel de Allende. But that is for the next installment.