BC to Panama on a KLR

[Lonewolf]

Hey guys, I started a ride report thread on ADVRider.com but Figured I would cross post to the local forum here too! http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=568139... Watch for updates.
:hb: -Pat

 

[Lonewolf]

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My name is Patrick, I'm 25 and have been wanting to get out and do some adventure touring since I found this site 3 or 4 years ago. Unfortunately I always managed to find a reason not to go; be it work, school, women or money there was always an issue.

Well, it seems my time has come! Fresh out of trade school with no job to go back to, no steady girlfriend to speak of and a windfall of a tax return there is nothing to keep me from committing to some serious adventure touring!

Tax time; love it or hate it, this year, it's set me free!

Last weekend I bought a 2004 KLR650, she's been pre-loved by another inmate and had just returned from a trip through the US/Mexico/Belize and Guatemala. When I got home and unloaded the bike I immediately started tearing her apart. A few things needed to be changed before I set out on what I hope will be a 20,000+ KM ride.

Chain and sprockets, bearings, brake pads, valves, oil/filter, fork springs and oil and of course a few electrical demons (I HATE HATE HATE accessories like heated grips installed on constant power, forgetting about them and coming back to a flat battery)... No expense spared when it comes down to reliability and not having to fix things on the side of the road

My Trusty Steed when I bought her:

As she sits tonight:

I will leave home (Vancouver Island. BC, Canada) and head south near the end of April, probably keeping to the coastal route. I will ride Baja (hopefully seeing and experiencing all the great stuff I've seen in everyones ride reports) to la paz and cross to mainland Mexico (Mazatlan?) via the Baja ferries.

I plan to NOT PLAN... as much as humanly possible anyways. Who knows when and where you'll find a place to relax for a few days or when local knowledge might lead you on to something great you never would have seen otherwise...

As of now I'm riding solo but I've been talking to another adventurer from San Diego who has a similar idea and may end up meeting up with him for some of the ride. If anyone has recommendations on what to see or where to stay (cheaper the better) please chime in!

Pat
[email protected]

 

[klrobert]

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Good luck on your trip, it will be amazing.
You might want to check out these books if you are camping in mexico.

http://www.rollinghomes.com/Mexico Book.htm

very good info on campground status,

http://www.ontheroadin.com/index.html
an online campground listing and ratings also indespensible.

Once we put up a picture of Lady Guadaloupe out front the police never stopped us. Believe me that is your best farkle!

Enjoy every moment.

 

[Erronous Monk]

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Man. I wish I had seen your plans about one month ago. I was in southern US looking for something to do. I chose to ride back up and try for Panama next year.

You definitly picked the right bike for the job. Eagle Mike is in San Diego, and I have stopped in at his shop on several occasions, just to shoot it, or to solve some sudden problem with a minumun of fuss.

Have a great trip. I wish I could be riding along side.

 

[franhoser]

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Have great trip Patrick. Keep us posted on your adventure.

 

[04klr]

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doo the dooo

do the subframe

replace the cush drive (eases the burdon on the chain/sprockets/bum)

do stop for scenery/bevvies

"my plan is to not plan", you're already on the right track!

 

[Lonewolf]

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04klr wrote:

doo the dooo

do the subframe

replace the cush drive (eases the burdon on the chain/sprockets/bum)

do stop for scenery/bevvies

"my plan is to not plan", you're already on the right track!

The Doohicky has been done...Subframe bolts replaced with stronger stuff... Cush Drive? I hadnt heard of any issues? does it just get loose or what?

Finishing a valve job and new front/rear suspension this week.

 

[04klr]

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it's not an "issue" just that at a (presumed) 20+ thou on the bike now, +20k it'll be done. They're about 40 bucks and a verysimple replacement procedure,and as stated makes for a smoother drive train, you said money was no object ;}. One of the main ridability differences between a "real" dirt bike and a D/S street bike is the cush drive.

also, doo the carb "T"vent

 

[sagot]

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Two friends did this trip. Lots of good info, including shiping across the Darian gap! Not that you are going that far...
http://www.crashdavis.ca/South America MBike/index.htm

 

[Lonewolf]

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Day 1 - Sunday April 24th
450KM - 1 Border

I was awake at 3:45 this morning knowing that I had to leave the house by 4:15 at the latest in order to catch the first (5:15am) ferry off the island. I load up all the gear that I had only packed the night before all the while wondering what I had forgotten. A quick goodbye to the parents (no idea why they'd get up that early to see me off...) and I was on my way! The air is cool but not so much so that it bothers you once you are comfortably numb. At least it's dry out, though it hasnt been for long as evidenced by the muddy road and wet pavment leading to the highway.

On mornings like this I thank the heavens above for heated grips and electric vests.

I make it to the ferry terminal in record time but feel bad for pushing the KLR so hard, I'm sure this feeling will pass. The early morning boats are usualy deserted aside from a few truckers trying to earn a buck. I roll into the ticket booth, pay the man, collect my ticket and ride past all the other traffic to the front of the line. One benifit of moto travel, first on, first off on every ferry I've been on.

The 2 hour trip passes to quickly, it seems just as i've had some breakfast and managed to doze off to sleep momentarly the announcement comes over the speakers to return to our vehicles and prepare to offload.

Unfortunatly the weather has turned for the worse during our crossing, the rain's coming down hard and sideways now. The USA Border was only a 25 minute ride away and towards what looked like lighter sky's.

The rain followed me as I sat in the boarder line up for nearly an hour, when I pulled up to US Customs the agent asked the usual "where are you headed and why" questions. He got a little snippy when I answered "South" and got suspicous when I elaborated that I was hoping to get to Panama. When asked "why Panama?" he wasnt overly satisfied with the answer "Well, thats where the road ends..." a full search of my bags and I was free to continue on my way.

I straightlined it south on I5 so that I could make it to The Dual-Star.com shop where I would install some new fork springs and an oversized rotor kit that was supposed to have been deliverd to my house a week ago so that I have had everything installed before I left, unfortunatly the package was returned to sender. Chris, one of the employee's made himself and the shop available to me when they would normaly be closed, THANKS CHRIS!

Fresh farkles installed I headed west to catch a ferry across Puget Sound and made my way towards Port Angeles where I would stop to refule and pickup a New jacket and pants at the UPS Store courtessy of Motorcycle Superstore. Heading west along the 101 rewarded me with a great section of road around Crescent Lake followed by alot of long boring road and into Forks, WA.

Now, Forks it seems (and maybe Im just out of the loop), is banking on its small roll in the (really bad) teen movie "Twilight". Every shop in town is flaunting the Twilight books, poseable actionfigures and anything else they can pawn to the crazy fans. There are literaly four dedicated "Twilight Stores" on the same block, even the chineese food place (excellent!) I ate at after finding (an overpriced) motel had life size cardbord cutouts...

Its all just a little too much.

Thats all for now, Im going to head down to the "Twilight Lounge" (yes, the bar is named after the movie too) and entertain myself by watching some people try to kareokee.

Hasta luego!

-Pat

 

[motorambler]

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Awesome stuff -- keep it coming!!!

 

[Mollygrubber]

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Have a great time Pat, I'm totally jealous! Looking forward to your reports. :clap:

Peter

 

[islandswede]

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Hey Pat,
Now you can enjoy the rest of the trip, the worst part is already over. That would be to run into the same gentleman at the Blaine crossing that we did last year on our KLR. After 5 minutes of increasingly more stupid questions we got the "Where to" question. Answer "Winthrop". Question "Why". Answer "Why not" and the dance was on.....

 

[BigCrank]

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Hey Patrick, fellow Islander here. Girlfriend and I are down in Mazatlan till May 10th, and would like to offer anything if you need it. If you are down here around that time, feel free to pm me. Safe travels!

 

[Lonewolf]

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Day 2
398KM

I woke at 7:29 this morning, its weird how you can set an alarm and always wake up before it, but if you forget to that you will sleep right through whatever you were supposed to be up for...

I'm sore today, but I guess its been a while since I've don't a 450KM+ day on a bike. I started the day off with some really bad "make it myself" hotel room coffee followed by a decent (and cheap!) breakfast across the street at a shady looking little diner. After a quick chain adjustment and lube in the hotel parking lot (that the owner wasn't happy about) I got underway.

Its overcast, but the threat of rain lingers in the distance. It would be great to stay dry today!

The road out of Forks is decent, with enough corners to keep my mind occupied before it straightens out near the coast where the views can take over. I live on an Island in the pacific ocean but save for a few select spots (Tofino & Uculet) the Beaches and coastline are nothing like this. Oceanside cliff's, crashing waves and windswept trees & beaches make for some awesome scenery.

A little dirt road shortcut

I travelled south stopping for photo op's as necessary. I stopped in Aberdeen, WA to grab some lunch at the grocery store, with a less than great selection I ended up with a banana and and a chocolate bar, which I ate outside the store taking great amusement in the line of questioning from a local after noticing the Canadian Flags and British Columbia licence plate on the bike.

"Are you from Canada?" he asked.

"Really, how did you guess that" I thought to myself before, like any good Canadian, very polity responding "Yes I am, and what a beautiful state you live in".

Ignoring my comment he proceeded to dazzle me with his profound knowledge of Canada and stated "Yep, if I Lived up there in the snow I'd be headed south too"...

Wow, no offence, but I guess sometimes the stereotypes are true. I'd had enough and without another word got on the bike and left Captain America wondering what he had said to piss me off.

I meant to stop and get fuel before leaving Aberdeen, but with my mind occupied by the previous comments and traffic heavy I forgot which will actually end up leading up into today's big event. Raymond, WA was the next decent sized town, I pulled off at a Chevron, refuelled the bike and used the washroom. As I was getting back on the bike I heard a horribly noisy car or two approaching, I turned around expecting to see some 1990's Honda with a coffee can muffler and a guy wearing his ball cap sideways but instead I see two fully decal'd Subaru's go past, full factory rally car's! The lead car is wearing number 199, now, number 199 may not mean a lot to many of you but to those who do much dirt-biking, or watch freestyle motocross you'll know that 199 belongs to the one and only Travis Pastrana.

Could it really be him? why would he be here? Well, what could it hurt, I didn't have a schedule, so I decided to follow these guys for a bit. After hastily putting on my helmet, forgetting to buckle my tank bag and making a few completely illegal passes I was in pursuit.

We continued a few miles out of Raymond, the pungent smell of race gas filling my nostrils with each downshift of the high performance machines in front of me until suddenly turning into an unassuming little bay-side lot in South Bend, WA.

Little did I know I had just found the finish line for the 3rd round of the Rally America race series and that I had just pulled in behind the top two finishers. I parked the bike and followed the herd that had started moving towards the winners circle where Pastrana had just parked.

Mr Pastrana (1st again?!)

Mrs. Richard (A Canadian in 2nd Place!)

Enjoying a well deserved beer after the race.

The Podium and the champange spraying.

Mr Dave Mirra

VIDEO

Autographs were signed, pictures taken and champagne sprayed on the unsuspecting. Travis Pastrana and Dave Mirra were both very cool taking some time to talk, let me get a photo or two and asking about my trip. A signed helmet, some good conversation and an up close look at these no expense spared cars makes this stop totally worth while.

After the crowd got to big for me to want to deal with I packed up and got moving south again, making my way to Cape Disappointment state park for a look around and a walk down to the lighthouse that warned passing ships of the shallow and treacherous waters at the mouth of the Columbia River to the south. The lighthouse here looks to be ready to fall off the cliff should there ever be much of a storm. The walk was nice and the weather warm, getting off the bike for a while was a welcome idea (no wonder people buy aftermarket seats for the KLR's)

Moving again, towards Astoria, OR I stopped quickly at Fort Columbia state park. Barracks, Gun batteries, bunkers this place has it all, too bad it was 15 minutes to late for the last tour so I only got to see the parts above ground. Very interesting and a lot of great history though.

One of the old bunkers with gun emplacements on either side.

The one intact gun left at the fort.

Crossing into Astoria, I guess I expected more... Everyone had said what a nice place it is. I felt the city was dirty and unkempt, to each thier own I guess. I didn't stop, straight through to a food store on the outside of town to pick up some groceries for dinner. It was about 6pm now and I needed to find somewhere to crash...

Around 7pm I found Nehalem Bay State Park. Stealthily I snuck into the cyclist and backpacker camping area and set up camp hoping to avoid paying fee's. Once sleeping arrangements had been taken care of it was time to get some food in me, I was starved. The banana and chocolate bar for lunch just wasn't enough to hold me until 8pm.

Oregon Coastline

Camp

Dinner consisted of some Cream of Asparagus powdered soup, a couple buns that I bought and a banana. Half way through preparing dinner Two worn out fella's rolled in on their pedal bikes, I remembered passing them about 40 miles back earlier in the day.

After tossing down their tiny tent the boys rummaged around the small pannier bags and pulled outa bottle of water and a couple bagels for dinner... I poured myself a cup of soup and wandered over to offer them some. They jumped at the opportunity for a hot meal and thanked me immensely.

Turns out Nathen and Jared are from Southern California. They rode the train to Seattle and are pedalling their way home down the coast. for Pedal biking these guys are making good time, they covered just over 70 miles yesterday, Yikes! I know I couldn't pedal 70 miles through rolling terrain on the coast.

Grouped around a campfire, we spent an hour BS'ing about pretty much everything before deciding to retire in favor of getting a good start in the morning. Tomorrow's plan: South...

Untill Tomorow... Ciao

 

[Lonewolf]

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Day 3
242KM


Short day today even though It didn't feel like it! Only 242KM...


I was awake early this morning, I can only figure it was about 4am, when I work up shivering. It had gotten cold overnight and I obviously wasn't wearing enough layers in combination with my lightweight sleeping bag to keep warm.


With a fresh pair of socks and a fleece i managed to shiver my way through a few more hours of “sleep”. When I couldn't take it anymore I rolled out of bed and got to work making some camp coffee. Nathan and Jared, the two cyclists from last night followed shortly, most likely because of all the noise I made taking down camp and cooking some coffee. I offered each a cup of joe which was gladly accepted.


I sat down to type out yesterdays ride report while sipping my coffee and listening to the birds sing. The pedal pushers packed up and were on their way with plans of pushing another 50 miles south before the days end. I would pass them an hour later after loading the bike.

Rolling through Tillimook, Or I decided to stop for a quick coffee and some Wi-fi at a Starbucks in Fred Myer. Hopefully I could finish writing day 2's ride report, upload some photo's and catch up on some e-mail. A couple riders on a Goldwing GL 1500 pull in and we BS about some good roads and where we are each headed.

Sometime during my conversation and e-mails a torrential downpour had started outside and it didn't look like it was going to be quick to pass over. I figured I could send another e-mail or two and flirt with the cute starbucks girl for a while to see if it would let up.

The rain stayed fairly constant and soon I felt I had to get moving, I geared up and braced myself for what was to come. After a few miles headed south I spotted a huge airport hanger with the words “Air Museum' plaster along the side just off to the east of the road.

Soaked already I figured why not, a good reason to dry out and wander around. The idea of making any distance today had vanished long ago at that Starbucks stop.

This museum is amazing, the tallest all wooden construction building in the USA. Originally built to house US Navy observation blimps during world war 2 and now containing many WWII planes all in FLYING CONDITION. There's a lot of history in the informational plaques and video's, and some very well preserved (though well used) military aircraft.

My favourites were the P51 Mustang, the US navy Corsair and the German ME-109.

The last couple hours of my afternoon were just spent making up some ground, I hunkered down behind what little bit of fairing and windshield I had and fought the wind and rain to keep the bike upright.

Florance OR, seemed as good a place to stop as any. I found a little motel right on the main road and bartered myself a decent price. Pulling into my parking spot I see four fully loaded bikes parked in the next stall over. From whats showing under the bike covers I could tell there were two BMW's a KLR and the fourth was a mystery to me.

After unloading, having a shower to warm up and setting all my gear up to dry out an Aussie named Lou stopped by and asked if I was the one riding the KLR, where I had been and where I was going. It turns out that he, his wife and his sister / brother in law were the group on the motorcycles.

Lou asks if I have eaten and when I say no he invites me to join them at a nice little Thai restaurant behind out hotel. These four had been on the road for seven months! Their bikes were flown into Southern Argentina from Australia and they were headed to Alaska. We had a great dinner and some awesome conversations about what to see and do, advice for a new traveller etc...

It was really great to meet some fellow adventurers, the information and contacts they provided will be invaluable in the weeks and months to come.

California tomorow?? Or maybe some dunes riding on the KLR?!

 

[Lonewolf]

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Day 5
466KM

I slept in today, I had meant to get an early start to make inroads into northern California without riding into the lake evening, this wouldn't work out for me. I walked across the street to get a coffee and a breakfast sandwich. I take a moment to lube and adjust the chain before loading my gear and checking out.

I see only Jenny of the four Aussies before I head out, Dez is still sleeping off his bottle of wine and I assume Lou & Lynn had gone for a walk. We say our goodbyes and promise to stay in touch via E-mail and help with contacts and suggestions along the way.

On the other side of town I see signs for the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area and decide to go have a look. Rolling down a narrow winding road that had obviously needed repaving for the last 10 years I end up looking out onto some amazing sand dunes with one lone quad riding around.

I rolled to the end of the parking area where a sand access leads out to the dunes and I get an idea that sounded good to me at the time. “I've been riding off road for years, lets just go up to the top of that dune and get some pictures”This would prove not the smartest idea I've ever had. Turns out that a fully loaded KLR with half worn TKC-80's wont climb even the smallest of hills when the sand is bottomless and soft. After a little tip over and a couple of stucks I turned around and considered forking over some cash to play on buddy's quad for a few minutes. I'll come back to the dunes sometime, with a real dirt bike... This looked like way too much fun!!

Heading south again I dodged showers on and off for the next few hours. The bike is running well except that when its really wet out it seems to stumble or surge somewhat. I haven't done the research but I assume this has to do with sucking water into the carb vent hose. It's a common mod with the KLR's to Tee into this line to prevent stumbling and stalling during deep water crossings. I should take the time tomorrow to find some parts and fix this.

I stopped in Gold Beach and had a delicious muffin to tide me over until later in the day. The barrista was gorgeous, and had all sorts of questions about the bike and my trip but couldn't have been more than about 17 years old, cant go getting into that kind of trouble this early on. EDIT: I know I failed you all by not getting her picture, I'll try harder next time.

Around 30 miles north of the California state line I found some great roads cut into the hillsides above highway 101. The area was listed as Carpenterville on my GPS, some of the best riding yet! No traffic, nice tight technical riding, my favourite.

The View down to Hwy 101 from my Carpenterville road find.

This should just say "Fun Road Ahead"

I had planned to camp at redwoods national park, but had not stopped to get any food prior. It was still raining so I figured no big deal and pushed on hoping to find another decent park further down the road after I would have a chance to stop and get groceries. I bought groceries and soon found a park that fit the bill. Patrick's Point Park would do me well, I drove in and found a decent site. The Park attendant followed me in and asked if I had self registered and payed the $45/night fee... $45 a night?!? to camp?! I hadn't in hopes of getting away with it and I wouldn't when I could stealth camp or have a motel for less. Needless to say I put the bags back on the bike and was gone.

I rode until 8pm tonight, finally ending up in Fortuna, CA where I sit sipping a big bottle of beer typing today's journal entry. I'll probably head inland tomorrow, I'd love to ride HWY 36 into red bluff again, its a great road. And I'd like to hit Yosemite National Park for a few days before I have to meet up with my riding partners in LA on the 3[sup]rd[/sup].

Tomorrow is another day.

-Pat

 

[Loz]

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Hey Pat, Nice reports. Reminds me of the trip I took down the coast to Big Sur. I ran out of time there and had to turn back but I have a few recommendations for you.

Turn off highway 101 from Leggett in the big redwoods out to the coast on hwy 1 to Fort Bragg and follow that down to Sanfrancisco. It's the most awesome road.

Another is to stop at a pub on the right in Big Sur where they have excellent barbeque. It has a few motel cabins and a general store all on the road side.

Cheers

Loz

 

[Lonewolf]

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Loz, I hit the lost coast yesterday! the roads were as you said... One word, Amazing! Thanks for the suggestions, Im currently sitting at the Pine Cone Diner in Point Ryes just north of San Fran. !

Here's yesterdays report:



Day 5 – April 28[sup]th[/sup]


The alarm clock shook me awake by 8am this morning, I had made a point of setting it to kill this habit of sleeping in before it took hold permanently. A peek out the door leads my to think that I might stay dry today, its overcast and the ground damp but there are blue patches of sky in the distance.


I packed up, showered and loaded the bike eager to get under way forgetting the coffee I had just brewed on the table and locking the bike keys (AND the keycards) in the room. A quick walk to shame to the front desk had me a replacement key card so I could retrieve everything. About a mile outside of town the heavens open and the downpours begin. I cover about 100KM before stopping for my morning coffee and a fresh scone at some tiny little town off the side of the highway.

I travelled through the“Avenue of the Giants”scenic route which got me off of 101 for 30 or 40 miles. What a nice chunk of road during the week when there's no one else on it!


I head south to Leggett where I pull out my tourist card and follow the big signs to the “Drive Through Tree”. I pay my $2 to get in, roll down the road, take a couple pictures in the tree, learn a little about it and I'm headed south again (or west to get south in this case)

The road from Leggett to the coast is amazing, tight, technical, scenic. As an added bonus I think I only saw about 7 cars on the drive. Keep your eyes open for decreasing radius corners and your foot ready to drag some rear brake in case you get a little too enthusiastic. I would have killed to have my old Honda RC-51 on this road, but alas, the KLR is handling pretty well and we are gelling.

By the time I hit the coast the downpour had lightened into a drizzle and the sun shone through some small openings in the cloud. I made my way to Fort Bragg where I stopped to pick up some groceries for this evening and then crossed the street for some lunch. During my lunch the rain caught up with me again (Just because I'm from BC doesn't mean it has to keep following me ) After I finish eating I reluctantly suit up and head outside again, luckily this time I soon got past the rain and onto some sunshine!

I find myself some interesting spots on the way south and stop for picture breaks as needed before pulling into whats looks to be a decent campground at Bodega Dunes. I'll be one of only 2 parties in the campground tonight, the place is deserted and I don't see a campground attendant so I risk not paying once again in an effort to make up losses on hotels for the past couple nights during the rain.

My first real moments of sunshine, just stopping to enjoy it.

A great chunck of road literally carved into the seaside cliff's

I saw this little driftwood hangout pearched on the cliff and had to stop and check it out!

Nothing wrong with a little mid day nap right?! just getting ready for mexico and points south



Dinner consists of a banana, some just add water soup and a loaf of jalapeno cheese bread cooked to perfection over a MSR camp stove. It fills the gap but its time for me to start making some better food in the evenings.

I build a fire and play around with some night photography before crawling into the tent to type this update and pass out.

Tomorrow's plan is to see the Golden Gate bridge and San Francisco before heading inland towards Yosemite Park. Goodnight@!


Pat

 

[Mollygrubber]

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:hf:



Nice work, you're GOOD at this Pat! This is gonna be a great thread! Can't wait for the Central American border crossings...