Escape from DC

[NittanyXT]

Good to hear from you, Trevor! You'll have to let us know if you come across any Mexican "Kasey's".

 

[twodogs]

Glad to hear your still moving along. I like many of the others were wondering how it was going. Been watching you on spot..... Stay Safe

 

[dcstrom]

Ok so I had an exciting weekend, fitting a new Ohlins rear shock and Sonic springs. Chris (Jagermeister) was very efficient, getting the parts out to me so that they arrived in San Diego on Friday. Then Carl (tubebender) and I spent most of the day Saturday installing everything. Carl was brilliant, as was his wife Virginia, who ran the turkey sandwich side of the operation.

I'm not fond of the setup on the gas cannister - the hose is supposed to go under the passenger peg bracket, but with the Jesse rack also mouted to that bracket I can't get the angle right. I think I have to modify the bracket that holds the cannister... another time...

One disappointment was that I now have too much sag on the rear. Not that surprising given the load I have on and that the shock wasn't set up for me. I spoke to the Ohlins guy that did the initial setup, he had all the specs. It already has a heavier spring than standard (130 vs 150 nm) so should be ok with just some more preload wound on. Unfortunately this means the shock has to come out again, and some special tools required to do the adjustment.

I found a guy in Tucson who can do it, so heading there now. If I make good time I may be able to get it done today.

Anyone in the vicinity that might want to have a beer tonight?

Trevor

 

[thfraser]

Keep the reports coming! I'm glad to hear that you are getting the repairs you needed, made in very short time.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Tucson is awesome. One of my favorite towns. If you have time to explore take a ride up Mt Lemon and have lunch at the Iron Door across from the ski resort. Definitely ride through the saguaro forests on the east or wast side of town. And head out Speedway to the parking lot on top of the mountain to watch the sunset. I do love Tucson.

 

[Don in Lodi]

If you're fond of old westerns there's the 'New' Old Tucson Studios to the west of town.

 

[dcstrom]

Good to hear from you, Trevor! You'll have to let us know if you come across any Mexican "Kasey's".

That's a pretty high bar mate, but I am examining all the candidates closely. I will certainly let you know!

 

[~TABASCO~]

Did you get your shock set up ? How is the font doing after the new springs ? How bad was the fork oil ? Be safe ! ::008::

 

[dcstrom]

Did you get your shock set up ? How is the font doing after the new springs ? How bad was the fork oil ? Be safe ! ::008::

Hi Mate,

yeah I went to see Carlos at http://serranomotorsports.com/ and he got me setup up pretty quickly. Very helpful guy and knowledgeable about a lot of things m/c related.

I'd talked to Gary at Ohlins the day before, and he suggested putting another 6mm preload on the spring, via the ring nuts on the body. I'd already used up all the available hydraulic preload. Carlos pulled the spring and made the adjustment, but we only improved the sag situation by 10mm - meaning I ended up with 90mm sag when I was aiming for 60. This is with my full load on a 150nm spring. Yes I need to lose some weight! but still, what I'm carrying is no heavier than a large pillion, or an average one and a long weekends worth of camping gear. So I would think Ohilns SHOULD be able to make the shock work with that kind of weight.

I spoke to Gary again and he said that adding more preload to this spring is not a good idea - I really need a heavier spring. Problem is, the next heaviest from Ohlins is too heavy, they don't have one the right rate for me. He's discussing with Sweden.

Meawhile no choice but to use it as it. I did a run fully-loaded up Mt Lemmon today (thanks for that tip dirt-dad), and it handled great, very smooth ride at the moderately fast speeds I was doing. The Sonic springs make a difference too, I like the action much better compared to stock. If you're prepared to put the time into installing them, for $80 they are a great improvemnet. If you're already changing the fork oil, it's almost a no-brainer.

Now I have to find out how it handles rough roads. My guess is, very well, but I'll have to be careful not to hit too many large whoops that might bottom the suspension.

Fork oil was good as I'd had it changed before I left DC - so it had about 12000 miles on it.

One other suspension-related problem though - there was a little bit of oil around the seal of the left leg after we changed the springs. Been keeping an eye on it, wiping it off once in a while but it kept coming back. Yesterday there was the tiniest drop collecting around the bottom of the leg, so I knew it was time... Weird that it just started after we changed the spring. Maybe it was about to start leaking on its own, and us pumping it when filling with fresh oil just exacerbated the problem? Dunno. I have a Sealsaver tool for cleaning seals, and would have tried that but was near a dealer and went to see what they would say. They just said "change it" and they got it done the same afternoon under warranty. Now I have Honda 5w in the left leg, and Motul 5w in the right (dealer didn't have Motul). I can't tell the difference so I guess it doesn't matter!


Trevor

 

[~TABASCO~]

Great report... If there is anything I can help with just let me know..... Post pictures of your travels ! ::008::

 

[eemsreno]

Hi Mate,
. Now I have Honda 5w in the left leg, and Motul 5w in the right (dealer didn't have Motul). I can't tell the difference so I guess it doesn't matter!

Trevor

This could be a very serious offence using anything Honda in your Yamaha, at least it wasn’t Kawasaki oil , the outcome could have been fatal.
Steve

 

[dcstrom]

Easy peasy! Now having lunch on the beautiful town square at Magdalena de Kino, a couple of hours from the border. Paperwork for the bike took less than an hour, and I already had the tourist visa from Baja.

I guy in a truck just stopped and yelled something about a bike club in town, and he's going to send a couple of guys around. Could be interesting!

 

[tubebender]

Way to go, Trevor! The journey continues ::26::

 

[dcstrom]

Had a nice first night back in Mexico, got to Banamichi, about 4 hours easy ride from the border. I stayed at http://www.losarcossonora.com/ - a hotel run by an american couple. Tom gave me a great welcome, first coffee then later some local liquor that's like tequila but not, called bacanora. Nice stuff! Tom's on advrider.com as Turkeycreek - look him up if you're thinking about coming down here. Not only does he do great accommodation (and liquor...) but has a lot of good advice about travelling mexico.

The road from Magdelena to Banamichi was fun and scenic, but surface was pretty broken up in places. This is where the new suspension made itself felt - or not felt, as the case may be! The bike just glided over rough sections that would have felt very harsh previously. Great!

I went through a couple of police checkpoints - or at least they are some branch of the Police, known as PEI. At the first checkpoint I didn't recognise what was on the side of the vehicle - PEI didn't mean anything to me, except maybe Prince Edward Island, but I thought that was probably not what they were referring to. I was more focussed however on the guy waving me down with the AK slung over his shoulder. I must have been casual friday for these guys, this one was wearing a track suit top, jeans and sneakers... He asked me where I was going and then waved me through. No drama but a bit disconcerting not knowinq who you are talking to. There was another stop a bit further down the road, this time the guys were in uniform and it showed - the attitude was less casual as well! Again, no problem and got to Tom's place around 4pm.

Today making my way to Copper Canyon, probably get there tomorrow.

Trevor

 

[Dirt_Dad]

...this time the guys were in uniform and it showed - the attitude was less casual as well! Again, no problem and got to Tom's place around 4pm.

Do be aware those roadblock guys sometimes like to steal things from you. At least that was the case when I was there a few years ago. Thankfully they were not persistent if you challenged them on what they were trying to take. Not that I challenged the AK holding teenager, but one of the guys in our group did and it worked for him. He was driving the support van with more stuff to steal, so hopefully you'll never give you a second look on your tightly packed bike.

 

[~TABASCO~]

Nice pictures DC ! ::008:: We cant all be there but we live though your pictures and words..... Now let me sit back and read about Mexico..

 

[Boosthund]

Hey Trev,

Just now catching up with your big adventure!

Glad to hear you're all healed up and flexible, physically and mechanically.

Interesting suspension upgrades ... what caused the failures?

Stay and ride safe.

Best,
Paul V.

 

[dcstrom]

Interesting suspension upgrades ... what caused the failures?

Stay and ride safe.

Best,
Paul V.

Hey Paul,

I think the suspension failure was a combination of my fat arse, too much gear, a rough road and an undersprung stock shock. I have to admit though I was a bit "shocked" at the failure... I'm not THAT fat, or THAT overloaded, and the road wasn't THAT rough. Weird thing was, the shock didn't leak or anything, just lost all damping. I suspect if I'd had an upgraded spring, the shock wouldn't have been working so hard, and whatever it was that let go internally might not have.

Happy with the Ohlins so far, but it would be sad if I wasn't, at the price (although I have to thank Chris again - his misfortune meant I got a shock at a better price than otherwise). More impressive (for the price) are the improvements at the front - for $80 the Sonic Springs give a much smoother action than the stock springs. Don't ask me why! Side by side the look the same to me, except for the progressive wind on the bottom of the stock part. Downside is they are quite a bit of work to install.

Hope all's well in your neck of the woods?

Trevor

 

[dcstrom]

After leaving Tom's http://www.losarcossonora.com/ I took some quiet backroads to get me over to Mex 16. The roads were so quiet in fact that more than once I thought to myself "why am I the only person on this road? Do the locals know something I don't?" I was able to keep my paranoia in check, mainly by focusing on the riding and the road and dodging the potholes. The road south on this map is one of these... Once I got onto Mex 16 east, the road was just fabulous, and not quite as deserted. There was still very little traffic though, and a million and one curves, it was just a blast. I was stopped at a military checkpoint not long after getting onto 16, but the guys were friendly and interested in the bike more than anything else.

These are some of the backroads that took me to Mex 16

Dodging holes, rocks and sand!

But soon I was on MUCH better pavement, winding my way between these imposing rock formations. It went on like this for hundreds of miles... I've never ridden better roads, and with such little traffic. The banditos/donkey/cows/trucks that I'd been warned about either weren't present or didn't present much of a problem. Cows and donkeys tend to be slow moving, so on the odd occasion they are standing in the middle of the road, they are easy to avoid. My worst animal experience so far was trying to avoid a vicious-looking dog that was chasing me in the streets of Creel; my usual tactic is to accelerate away, but with slow-moving traffic ahead of me this wasn't an option. Instead I resorted to weaving, and almost wove myself into the back bumper of a parked car! I have to figure out another strategy - a blade that pops out from the boot, a la Maxwell Smart?

These roads and this scenery are nothing short of spectacular. Or did I already say that??

And of course Copper Canyon. The view from Diversidero, about 30 miles from Creel.

More soon...!

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Fantastic photos, Trevor.