Riding to Usuhaia two-up Ride Report

[martincito]

As I promised a while ago I'm going to write a ride report about this trip.
Now I'm in Nicaragua but lets start for the beginning. Remember that English is not my first language, so be nice with my grammar mistakes.

The Travelers:
Martincito


My wife, Lorena



The beast: R1200GS








Mods to the bike:
Sargent seat
HID Low beam
Ultra light Piaa bulb High Beam
Givi Windshield
Fastway footpegs
Hepco and Becker Crash Bars
Starcom intercom
Fuzeblock fusebox
Hella Micro DE Fog Lamps
Touratech Light protector
Streetpilot 2720 gps
Adventure rack and cases
BMW Tank Bag

I installed everything by myself. I live in an small apartment and I had to do all the work at the parking with a few tools. I feel very proud about that. I learned a lot thanks to this forum. I'm a complete ignorant about mechanical stuff. Before I start checking this site I thought that "The Final Drive" was a heavy metal band from the early 80'

[martincito]

It was hard to fit everything in the cases. We tried to minimize as much as we could.


Leaving Hoboken after a few stressful weeks. Quiting jobs, canceling things, getting vaccinations, international driving licenses, sending the dog to Argentina with Lorena's brothers, etc.



We got bad weather in Virginia on the Skyline drive but it got better on the Blue Ridge parkway. It was my first time on the BRP and I loved it.








At the end of it we took a wrong road I was looking for the 81 interstate but we end up in Virginia at the 58, called "Crooked road". It looks that could be a nice ride full of twisties to do with my BCR, but it was at night, very cold and full of deers and I didn't enjoy it

[AndrewA]

Hey it's Martin!


opcorn:

[martincito]

After Virginia we pass trough Tennessee



And after that Alabama with a great stop at the Barber Museum






This beemer would fit our needs for this trip better. Safer and roomy for two-up




but the logo on the tank will get us in problems

[wswartzwel]

Subscribed!!! This is gonna be good.

[martincito]

We crossed the Mississippi river a couple of times going To Louisiana and Mississippi.







After sleeping in a lot of cheap motels we needed a nice place to compensate.
We went to and old plantation house in Natchez, MS. A beautiful house run by an old grumpy woman. I'm sure she was in charge of the whip at the slavery times.








Hanging out with the Harley crowd at the motorcycle bar in Natchez. Very nice guys that gave a lot of advice about the roads in the area

[martincito]

Originally Posted by AndrewA

Hey it's Martin!


opcorn:

Hi Andrew,
I'm going to try to make the USA short due that everybody knows the country.
How is the weather in Boston?
Is already cold?
I'm cooking here!!

[PFFOG]

I still can't believe you passed up Weak sauce V3.2 for this

Keep it coming, sounds like a great adventure.

[martincito]

We went to New Orleans and them to Baton Rouge to get an oil change. At the BMW dealer the mechanic noted doing a test ride that the front break rotor were bent.
I was feeling the front shaking when braking but this was my first bike with servos and ABS and I though that was normal.
The shop didn't have rotors in stock so we rode to Gulf Coast BMW in Houston and they got the rotors in 24hs. They were very nice and efficient , but the Pasadena area is quite bad and all the motels were full due the hurricane that affected Galveston.


I almost managed to leave the country without any encounter with the law but it wasn't possible. I was in Houston with 100 degrees, I had to take the exit on the highway but those lines were packed with cars. I stayed in the center line and took the exit at the very end cutting off the cars. There was two cops waiting for people doing that maneuver threading the American lives and the values of the freest country in the world. The cop stopped me but let me go telling me "If I have to write you a ticket for that I have to arrest you" he also said to my wife "Slap him went you get home" So I took off to my motel slowly and thinking what could have happened between Lincoln and today.
I had my video camera on.


After Houston we went to Corpus Christi and stayed at the house of a friend of my wife. I finished the installation of the fog lamp and we sent a box with 9 pounds of staff that we realized we didn't need to Hoboken

[martincito]

First border crossing.
Viva Mexico cabrones!!!!!
We meet a bunch of guys on Harleys on a gas station close to the border. they were coming from a HD rally in Isla de Los Padres, TX. We crossed together the border.





We spent our first night in Mexico in one Autohotel. They are hotels for having sex, so they have a hidden entrance and you park in a closed garage next to you room. The safest place to park the bike close to the border, plus they have porn channels on the TV and free condoms.

[Steve Carlton]

Keep going...

[martincito]

Real de Catorce.
We went to this incredible town. You have to ride 20 kilometers on cobbled. I drop the bike the first time here. I realized that if I was riding fast, around 50mph the bikes was going smoother. But there was an slow truck in front of me, so I stopped to let it go and my boot slip on the stones and I drop the bike. Nothing happened to it just an small scratch on the crash bars.


Real de Catorce is an old mining town. You have to cross trough the mine to get to the town. This is the mine tunnel.



The tunnel was close to traffic because there was a fiesta and a procession on the town. I had to wait 3 hours outside so I took some pictures.



Finally they open the tunnel. It was amazing! With a lot of sub tunnels for mining plus a lot of small chapels with Virgins.



This is the town

[martincito]

From Real de Catorce we rode to San Luis Potosi.
This is the cargo train that runs between Mexico and the US


Here I took the picture for my Weak Sauce friends. It's an small town at the edge of the desert were the peyote grows




We crossed the Tropic of Cancer!!!!



In San Luis Potosi we met four BMW Riders from Texas going to the BMW Rally of Guadalajara on theirs GS's

[martincito]

We saw this guy at a gas station taking his pet for a ride


We visited Guanajuato a city with a big university and a lot of life. It was built over a hill and underneath the city there is a network of tunnels. Is almost impossible to not get lost in there.



This is San Miguel de Allende, a nice tipical Mexican town taken by Americans now they have Starbucks and Oyster bars

[KMoore]

Great thread Martin. Keep it coming

[martincito]

Riding in Mexico is hard. You have to deal with lunatic drivers that tailgate you all the time, don't respect motorcycles nad with a lot of "topes" sometimes they have signs indicating them on the roads and sometimes they just appear in the middle of nowhere. But there is one more danger: Crooked Cops.
As soon as we entry in the Mexico City area two cops on bikes stopped us.
They started inventing infractions. "Motorcycles can't ride on the left line" The vehicles that end with your number can't circulate on Saturdays. I had to paid them 30 bucks so they let me go after half an hour of discussion. Meanwhile we were talking four guys with Japanese sport bikes passed next to us wheeling their bikes. After that I removed the plate from my bike. I said, "Better without a plate than with a gringo plate". Never the cops stopped me again in Mexico. So if you ride in Mexico take out your plate, there is a lot of bike without them.
In Mexico we stayed at a friend home and we visit The Basilica of Guadalupe.
I had the 6k miles service and brake fluids change at Munchen BMW in Mexico City.
It cost me $250.

[martincito]

To Be Continued................

Soon...................................

Wilson!
Wilson!
Where are you?



Smile Wavy

[R69S]

AWESOME!!!

Be carefull, have fun, and keep us updated.

[shreddr]

brilliant!

[Highlander179]

Why am I not surprised you had multiple encounters with the LAW? LOL

Keep it coming, great stuff!!!