Maya Finally Arrived Yesterday

Just got a call from the trucking company delivering Maya, the truck shat itself 2 miles from where we are

Waiting on another call to either pick her up or they may be getting another truck ... as Bevan said, if we didn't have bad luck we wouldn't have any luck at all

J u s t w a n t t o g e t h e r h e r e..........


She finally arrived ......sort of, she got within 2 miles of here then the truck shat itself and was towed 40 miles away

So we chased across town to get her .... finally tracked her down.

Good clean tomorrow and sort out the stuff we do and don't wan't.

Crammed in



Getting freed



She is tall!!!



Off we go



Bit of cheek off dancing going on set up at full height!!



So we have her home, she needs a good bath to tomorrow will be full TLC day.

F i n a l l y we can start to go forward

Caught By The Wolves In Phoenix

Couldn't believe it, was out on a ride around Phoenix, was riding down the road minding my own business ..... the DR swerved all by itself into a back street and turned into a carpark.

Not sure what to do I went into the shop..... turns out it was Zen Motocycle  http://www.zenmotostore.com/

So with Dillons help he sorted us out for luggage for Maya

1 x Wolfman Large Duffle 

2 x Wolfman Tank Panniers

1 x Wolfman Tank bag

Also picked up screen, bars and front guard so came away with everything we needed.

So with our new setup on Maya we are running full Wolfman soft luggage setup complete.

These are them.



Maya comes with the two Wolfman Expedition rear panniers and a Giant Loop Coyote bag, we won't be using the Giant Loop Coyote Bag so that will be up for sale.

Can't speak highly enough dealing with Dillon at Zen, free plug for a good man.

http://www.zenmotostore.com/

info@zenmotostore.com

Ph 480 600 2978

GIve him a call or email as he can sort you out for pretty much anything.

Now we just need Maya to turn up !!!!

On The Way To Nogales

Our plan is to get back to the US and get sorted to continue on one bike ..... what can possibly go wrong??? 

We employed a fello and his good lady with a ute to bring Chiwi and Hobbit back to the USA as Ellen could not ride. 

We left Lo De Marcos, 7.00 am sharp so 8.30 Mexican time... hmmm what happened to 7.00 sharp?? a n y w a y the trip was uneventful, we arrived at Navajoa and got a Hotel at midnight after clocking 1000 km of our 1600km drive.

Following morning we set off at 9.00 am sharp, 10.15 am Mexican time ... hmmm what happened to 9.00 am sharp ... there is a pattern forming here. 

Only 10km out of Navajoa BANG and the left front of the truck drops to the road amidst grinding and thumping sounds, our driver to his credit held it straight and bought us to a stop, we all bailed out, we just past a road cone on the side of the road so I ran back and placed it 100 metres back from us in our lane. 



Upon returning back to the truck we had established the bottom suspension ball joint had failed (mostly cos it was fncked to start with) and bailed out of the swingarm and the whole lot had gone to ground, it had hit the tire and gutted that wide open too.







The swingarm was ground down and torn open so was stuffed and they had to find a replacement.



We were there two minutes when a couple of mechanics pulled up, they organised the tow truck (uh ouwh ... here we go again) and we were on our way back to town.







So here we are right back at the beginning of the report sitting waiting for parts to turn up, we are supposed to be in Nogales tonight crossing to the US tomorrow.



The guy for the shocks turns up, yes the RHS is yesterday so he takes off and gets a new pair, he comes back, argh wrong ones, hmmm, ok come back 1 hour later and has the right ones, but only one has rubbers and washers .... WTF.

We sit and wait another 1 and 1/2 hour.

This is how Mexicans can two a 2 hours job into a 6 -7 hour job so easily and as usual the only time we DO have something organised like our pick up in the USA at Nogales this shit happens and we to simply sit around and wait for others for the most of it seemingly simple shit.

For the most of the time we have no timetable or organised deadline as this seems be the only time when shit happens and it stuffs things up. 

See what happens now. 

We finally hit the road again some 7 hours later and drive into the night to Hermosillo, we ended up staying at a love Motel and we had to be out at 6.00am which enabled us to get a good start by 7.00am, we carried on to Santa Anna for breaky which was very nice.

Upon finishing breaky we continued to Nogales to the border, to get out TVIP back turned into a bit of a drama as the bikes were loaded front first ....where the VIN numbers are, the (huge) lady wanted us to unload them completely ... we managed to get the manager across an shuffled things around enough to read them and get our deposits back.





We carried on to the border and had to fill out an I94 and pay some money to extend our VISAs in order to get sorted again.

We met up with Neil a fello ADVer who offered to come and pick us up, very kind indeed, also a HUGE thanks to his boss Al Jesse http://www.jesseluggage.com who gave Neil the time out to come and pick us up, in this harsh world there are still great people around, you guys rock!!!. 

The bikes were unloaded from the ute and reloaded on to a trailer after a carpark reassembly job 







Neil in action



Both bikes loaded we were ready to do the finally leg to Phoenix so time to say goodbye to our driver Manuel and his good lady who we will catch up with again when we head south.



Now we are in Phoenix, re grouping, ordering replacement gear and selling bits and pieces off and playing the waiting game with Maya and here arrival.

Not much to report other than slowly waiting.

Montreal - From Ellen

While we are back to US, I took the opportunity fly to Montreal to visit my sister and her two girls.


I like "Da Yi"'s icebreaker jamper - Says Sara (3years and 8 month old)













I Can do split - Angelina(6years and 3 months old)


I can do it too...

Gift to "Da Yi"

Da Yi is Sara's best friend


We were invited to a church Xmas party by Sara's day care teacher Christina who is great help for my sister since Angelina and Sara started their young life...


Sara - I love food

I can't see mum


Look what we got for Xmas!


Monday morning, snowed overnight and rain in the morning, my sister has to remove the snow before drive to work.

Mazatlan to San Blas

Upon leaving Mazatlan we said goodbyes, it was already 30 something degrees c when we mounted up and put our riot gear on at about 9.30 am and very very sticky, I was wet with sweat before we even left.

Again we took the libre (free) road as it was quieter than the cuota (Toll) road and LOT less expensive, the speeds that we are doing we make no ground on the cuota roads and the libre roads always go through villages and town which is why we are here is to look at the place.

The trip was uneventful apart from one wrong turn thankfully as Ellen is riding with only half the footing capacity.

Arriving at San Blas it was 38 degrees c and REALLY sticky, we found a hotel and decided to stay, they had a secure yard and a pool (as we later found out) so game on, I took the bikes in and there was a BMW 650 already parked there.



In through reception





The owner Marco turned up shortly after and we got chatting, the were too others there as well Andy and Andrew .... cool easy to remember.

So we had 3 DR650s, 1 BMW650GS, 1 KLR650 so we were comparing notes and chatting about our mods, setups, hiccups etc which was great fun.



Nothin but front row seats for Hobbit to watch TV 



Looks like Hobbit picked up some freeloaders too



Tea time was knocking so we all headed off to a local taco place (patten forming here) and had a feed, 36peso each which is about $2.70 we had a huge feed, very very nice indeed.





Town buildings



After tea we sat in the town square and chatted some more about Burt Munro, John Britten, and bikes in general, great to talk with Andrew how is an enthusiast like me, by this time the temperature had plummeted to 29 degrees C .... time to bust out the puffy jacket.

Ellen headed of to bed early being tired so I took the time to get this ride report up to date for you lot!!! 8-D

Durango To Mazatlan - Back Track Two Weeks

BACK TRACK TWO WEEKS

So in order to let you guys know we are not dead I am posting up the report I wrote prior Ellens big off, needless to say this is slightly out of whack time wise but I have written it and it records our trip which is what it is all about.

Leaving Mazatlan we headed off down the Mex40 libre road (free road), it was a very nice ride and the weather was great although slightly chilly to start with.

New Bridge



The first part was flowing corners and straights so we maintained a nice even pace taking in the scenery and enjoying the ride.

About two thirds the way to Mazatlan the road tightens into a myriad of twisties better suited to a light weight motard than a big bike.



This is called the devils spine and I can see why, neat bit of road.




We came across a crash between a car and a truck, appears the car missed the corner and hit the left front wheel of the truck, the trucks axle was torn off the spring back onto the drivers step through the back of the front mudguard.

The car (a nissan pathfinder) was punted back across the road and was trying to finder path back up the bank which didn’t work, neither vehicles were going anywhere without heavy towing equipment so we threaded our way through the wreckage and the 100 Mexican onlookers and were on our way.

Taking in the great road and extreme views from 2850 metres (9350 feet for you imperialists) was a treat, only a few points to stop and take take photos as there are no shoulders at all for 99% of the road, the Mexicans cut only the width that is almost required and no more... actually sometimes quite a bit less!!



Further down the road a truck (that was) loaded with reinforcing mesh threw its load on a tight corner with an off camber, I made it through but Ellen with her right foot injury lost it and threw the bike down the road, I was unaware of this until I got through and waited but she did not turn up.



I turned around (I was only 50 metres down the road waiting for a moment) then I saw the guys waving their arms and yelling, I looked further round to see two of them helping Ellen to the side of the road and two of them pushing her bike.

Ellen had buggered her already buggered foot again, the bike had sustained some damage with some twisted components and had gravel rash, I straightened out what I could so we could make it to Mazatlan then take the time to sort it out on flat ground without trucks roaring past.







Advice to any RTWers, if you are new at riding and want to enjoy your trip more school up on the basics and practice without house and contents on board the figure 8, stops, starts, U turns and quick S maneuvers as these will save your arse and your sanity on your trip. 

Today we have stopped, Ellens foot is not good so we will probably bunk down for a few days to give it a sporting chance to start healing, I have had a look at the bike and done some more straightening and fixing, the two locks that took a hit were not in good shape but I managed to straighten and recover one, the other will be just for show. 

Hobbit and Chiwi relaxing in the courtyard



The biek needs fixing again so I will glue the marker lights back on and straighten the Barbuster back out, these took a kingpin hit and stood up well but will still need repairing.



The rest of the damage is rashing so won’t effect the function, the key thing is to get Ellen back up and sorted at this point. 



Mazatlan day 2, Jim (going south on ADV) arrived in Mazatlan which our chains and sprockets, and our seal head for my rear shock which has all but stopped leaking after Batoplias!!!

We were invited to stay and with working space and a access to tools etc turned out to be a real plus, we shifted our gear over then went back to Abels for tea, Abel and his bro cooked up a beautiful feed, laughter, food, drinks good times.

Our host Abel



Abels bro and Abel with the food .... YUM



The following morning was straight into bike work, new chains and sprocket the order of the day, I got out my new Motion pro chain breaker with my task on hand, one turn and my chain breaker broke!!! WTF it is brand new!!, it had a dark patch on one side so it appears it had a floor in the metal and just gave way .... I am stuffed.

I used the disc grinder to then grind right through the link to essentially cut the chain in half, we had to do this on both Ellens and my bike which made the task a lot harder.

Mmmmmm new Ti chains and sprockets 



My front sprocket was seriously on its last legs after having 32500 km on it, now the bike is nice and smooth again.



I glued Ellen LED light back on and straightened everything out, tweaked the steering back into line so it is ok now.

That afternoon we visited Abel at his work and had a coffee, was very nice coldie in the heat, on return to the unit we had a swim and relaxed a bit again to help Ellens foot. 

SR and his good lady were in Mazatlan that evening so we all organised to meet down and a local taco stand, beers, wines, food and chat, it was a great night out and great meeting the guys who have helped us, Stephen (SR) gave us pointer on good riding roads, places to stay and buy food, information you cannot get of a GPS or maps! 



Jim and I chattin





The one thing we did find out though was the Mayor and the Police and a shootout and hostage taking session the day we went through Santa Maria del Oro, be fair to say we were unaware of this until Stephen told us.