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beemerdons said:
https://www.azbeemers.org/forum/index.php?topic=1762.0 Buenos dias, Chris_D. Here are some more pictures of Brian "El Jefe" Boles and I riding offroad bikes in Mexico, this was the Ride to Real Catorce and Santiago we rode together last April.
Yesterday I mailed off an hour long video presentation of Real trek to ShinyPartsUp, film was shot by amigo Barak Naggan; who'll also be our Tour Guide on Copper Canyon Ride-Creel to Los Mochis, Culiacan, Mexico; MM will forward DVD to you. Thanks Don and Mike I look forward to seeing it!

1) Si, anything happens to your bike: Moto-Discovery will get it back to your departure point of origin. For example, AZ Beemers Member Clint Alston, he'll be at FJR Forum Death Valley Daze 2010, fractured a rim on his BMW R1200RT on the road from Mazatlan to Durango by hitting a pothole. Clint and his Beemer were transported back to Tucson in support truck. Excellent that's what I wanted to hear.

2) I might as well mention this now, since we are all adults and fully realize that operating motos does have its safety risks.

AZ Beemers Member Levi crashed his BMW R100GS at bottom of Copper Canyon in February 2007 and broke his right collarbone. Levi and his GS were loaded into the support truck; Levi was driven to Chihuahua where he received medical treatment. He had purchased the Med-Ex insurance, which I highly recommend, and was offered the option of being flown back to Phoenix. Levi did not want to miss out being with his AZ Beemers buddies, so he and his GS then rode in the truck. This insurance sounds like the way to go, does Moto Discovery offer this or is it through someone else?

3) You can't go wrong with either a KTM 690 Enduro or a Husqvarna TE 610; both machines are fantastic and perfect for CC! I don't know about the 690 now because it is so darn expensive. A used TE 610 isn't price to bad but you can't get a larger tank for a 2008. Anyway I guess I'm back to the drawing board.

Do you mind taking some advice from your Old Irish Mutha-Papa Chuy? Buy these machines used, don't buy them as new! Thanks for great advice! I have learned this with the KTM (which was luckly purchased used) that you can't buy a DS and expect not to drop it.

Take my word for it, somewhere on this trek you'll drop your bike; I have been there, done that and have the damn T-shirt! Me too since owning the KTM I now can fill a closet with shirts :rolleyes: That poor gurl of mine has been down on her side way too many times.

4) Si, Amigo: There's plenty of great off road riding in Arizona. I would be happy to be your tour guide for a week after CC! I really appreciate that! I just found out that my wife's mother's house is located in Rio Rico. Do you know where this is?.

5) As my hero Steve McQueen always said: Any motorcycle ride you don't take, is one you don't make. RIP Amigo SteveM! Steve was right, so that's why I'm going call tomorrow and give them my deposit :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

I'm really looking forward to this, Thanks!
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Outstanding Chris! Glad you're coming along!

:yahoo: :yahoo: :clapping: :clapping:

With Dons permission, I'm going to try to make a couple copies of the vid he is sending, I'll send the original back to Don, keep a copy for long winter nights to watch and mail one off to you.

Any idea how many slots will be left after Chris signs on Don?

 
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1) Chris, very glad to hear that you will be joining Brian, Mike and I. When you call M-D make sure you mention either FJR Forum or AZ Beemers to get your $200 discount. If there are any questions about this $200 trip discount: Skip's personal e-mail is [email protected] and his phone number is 1-800-233-0564. My personal e-mail is [email protected] and my cell phone number is 480-440-4666. Please use mi nombre: Don Stanley. This is my fifth trip with Moto-Discovery.

2) Insurance is through https://www.medexassist.com Wait until Nancy Mascorro, Skip's wife, sends you enrollment forms; this will include a discount for going with Moto-Discovery. Also use this company when I ride M/C in Alps and New Zealand.

3) Know where Rio Rico is; between Tucson and Nogales, pass it on my way to Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco, MEX!

 
Just great Chris and Don! Nice to see plans moving along.

My own news: I didn't want to stress out, but work was giving me a VERY hard time about vacation. However, today my vacation from Novembaer 1, 2010 to November 25, 2010 was approved :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :clapping: :clapping:

Grand Canyon, Copper Canyon, Sea of Cortez and points between are in my sights!!!!

My Los Robustos belly and man-boobs were jiggling as I danced at work this morning when I found out...

 
Shiny, I do believe I retired at a perfect time. All I hear from fine folks on our Forum, and from my friends back at Metro Mechanical, is how hardass N. American companies are becoming regarding letting their workers taking scheduled vacations!

 
beemerdons said:
Shiny, I do believe I retired at a perfect time. All I hear from fine folks on our Forum, and from my friends back at Metro Mechanical, is how hardass N. American companies are becoming regarding letting their workers taking scheduled vacations!
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It's the gumint for ya. Two of five prescribing providers in the clinic retired in June and July respectively. Just as the VA announced more Viet Nam era veterans were eligible for services (read PTSD problems often) and with two active wars going on producing casualties, the management in it's wisdom decided not to (or is dragging its feet mightily) replace the two psychiatric providers. Consequences? 40% fewer workers seeing 30% more patients = me not being able to get earned vacation time with more than 13 months notice. <_< I don't think so. And I can't get into what I think it does to vets.... I better shut up before somebody reads this and I get in trouble. I will remain positive and say they saw the error of their inital decision in my case, and took corrective action.

So to stay on topic: My morale is very good and anticipating this trip will keep me going for a long while. Thanks Don! :clapping:

 
CHRIS_D: Do you get Rider Magazine? In the December 2009 issue there is a great 5-page writeup on the 2009 KTM 990 Adventure and on page 37 there is a 1-page review of the 2009 KTM 690 Enduro. Rider was wondering the same thing that is puzzling me, why hasn't KTM brought out a 690 Adventure, with that oh so sweet 7.4 gallon fuel tank? Perfect for Mexico!!

 
beemerdons said:
CHRIS_D: Do you get Rider Magazine? In the December 2009 issue there is a great 5-page writeup on the 2009 KTM 990 Adventure and on page 37 there is a 1-page review of the 2009 KTM 690 Enduro. Rider was wondering the same thing that is puzzling me, why hasn't KTM brought out a 690 Adventure, with that oh so sweet 7.4 gallon fuel tank? Perfect for Mexico!!
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No I don't get Rider Magazine. However it sure would be nice if they came out with that. Supposely KTM only imported a couple hundred of 690 Enduros and have no plans for an Adv.

Well I been jumping all over the web deciding on what bike to buy. It may be this one here if it all works out: https://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread....49#post11237949 This should be a bike after your own heart Don (being the BMW king)

The only thing that stinks is that I have to buy this tank. I haven't found anything cheaper then this: Touratech fuel tank

What do you all think?

Also how long should it take to get a confirmation from MotoDiscovery? I haven't received any email other than the web site generated one.

 
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Chris, I'm definitely a BMW Addict: Blue und white BMW Roundel tattoo on my ass and I drink liters of the ever so delicious BMW Kool-Aid at a time! But replacement parts for BMW motorcycles are $$$ outrageous, kind you will break in a get off!!

However, unless you have disposable income, you still may want to consider a $2K+- Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha or Honda!!

Your call, of course Chris: It would just break my heart to bust up a $5K machine, versus busting up a rental, or a $2K one!!

 
From https://www.azbeemers.org If you wanted to go on this ride, you had better move fast! There are only four openings left and the latest spot has been grabbed by my www.fjrforum.com friend: Chris Duncan of Atlanta, Georgia; a KTM 990 Guy.

A special thanks shoutout to AZ Beemers Member Seamus MacTreinfhir! Chris normally rides a KTM 990 Adventure offroad, but that machine would be much too large for these goat trails we will be riding in Copper Canyon, from Creel to Topolobampo.

Chris has been looking at buying a 2007 BMW X-Challenge from the ADV site. I knew that Seamus owned one of these bikes, so I put those two together via e-mail posts. Seamus did an incredible job of walking Chris through his BMW orientations / recommendations on this M/C! Great machine for this trip at only 333 lbs. - but needs to extend fuel to 4+ gallon capacity!

 
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CHRIS_D said:
beemerdons said:
CHRIS_D: Do you get Rider Magazine?... on page 37 there is a 1-page review of the 2009 KTM 690 Enduro. Rider was wondering the same thing that is puzzling me, why hasn't KTM brought out a 690 Adventure, with that oh so sweet 7.4 gallon fuel tank? Perfect for Mexico!!
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No I don't get Rider Magazine. However it sure would be nice if they came out with that. Supposely KTM only imported a couple hundred of 690 Enduros and have no plans for an Adv.

Well I been jumping all over the web deciding on what bike to buy. It may be this one here if it all works out: https://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread....49#post11237949 This should be a bike after your own heart Don (being the BMW king)

The only thing that stinks is that I have to buy this tank. I haven't found anything cheaper then this: Touratech fuel tank

What do you all think?
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The KTM single-cylinder Adventure is kind of a 'rare bird' -- not too easy to come-by.

Early in 1998 I attended the local IMS m/c show and there, on display, was a 620 Adventure Rallye Replica, down-pipes, center-stand, Dell'Orto carb (all the stuff I wanted) -- I wanted it! Luckily, I had just sold my ride and was shopping.

Well, as it turned out, getting that KTM model wasn't that easy -- and, as the months went by, I nearly scored a slightly used model of that same bike (but, it ultimately didn't work out either). So, I ended-up buying something else...

I already had, at the time, a dual-sport bike and had just sold a road bike -- so, I bought a new road bike (I was planning for the KTM to be my only bike). Since that time I acquired a used DR650 with many nice aftermarket enhancements already added -- not the least of which is a 5 gal. IMS fuel tank. For dual-sport adventure touring -- that one feature, alone -- a big fuel-tank makes back road/forest road cross-country riding so much more enjoyable and worry-free. My DR (re-jetted) gets around 50 mpg -- so I'm good for a safe 200 miles.

I've been to Barranca del Cobre and the Sierra Madre Occidental area dual-sport riding and have friends who ride regularly in the Copper Canyon area -- one thing that seems to be important is, not only the reliability history of the m/c, but the ease at which to affect a patch/repair to keep you going. If you can't jury-rig a repair in the bush -- or, limp-in to a remote village with limited repair facilities and make it go again; you're looking at either hauling it out or leaving it there. One thing they've begun to learn about all that is that: although many exotic/prestigious bikes may make the trip, its often the more plebeian/'cooking' model bikes that end-up handling all the travails of back-coutry adventure riding without needing much attention. Another thing they've noticed is that big engines/bikes/hp isn't really an advantage (most of the time) -- in fact it can become, in some really tough places, quite a dis-advantage.

Different bikes -- different riders -- it's all part of the mix. But a modern medium-sized single-cylinder dual-sport bike can reliably take you to many far-away places.

 
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Nice pictures Don! Thanks for the feedback charismaticmegafauna

Well I finally heard back from the inmate with the X-Challenge and the Ohlins/seat are set up for someone that weighs 180# :eek: . Which I don't think my 215# ass has ever been (maybe when I was born :lol: )

Anyway as Don has politely stated in different ways, I really do need to get this cost factor back into perspective. So in the mean time I have been talking to this guy with a DR650 on ADrider https://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=517178

Great price, but I would still need a tank, engine guards etc (maybe $800 worth stuff). So I'm looking at maybe a $4K investment, minus 1k I would of spent on the Mex rental, this means I would need to sell it for at least $3k or more to break even. Of course that's if I did get rid of it this time next year.

My question is to would I have as much fun riding the DR as I do my KTM adventure? I know this probably sounds crazy or petty :unsure: but I don't want to do this just have a bike sit in my garage that I won't ride often because I prefer the ADV instead.

charismaticmegafauna,

What's your take? Would you buy another DR? Is she a keeper? Is the suspension adequate on it or would I need to upgrade that also? Does $800 in upgrades sound about right to get the bike where I need it for this trip?

Thanks

 
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Chris, this would be a wild ass shot in the dark; but, perhaps you may want to PM Ignacio and see if he has any interest in selling his Honda DR 650. I remember when Matt bought it, he posted a number of photos, and it had all the right MEX gear!

 
CHRIS_D said:
Thanks for the feedback charismaticmegafauna
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You're welcome.

CHRIS_D said:
My question is to would I have as much fun riding the DR as I do my KTM adventure? I know this probably sounds crazy or petty :unsure: but I don't want to do this just have a bike sit in my garage that I won't ride often because I prefer the ADV instead.
charismaticmegafauna,

What's your take? Would you buy another DR? Is she a keeper? Is the suspension adequate on it or would I need to upgrade that also? Does $800 in upgrades sound about right to get the bike where I need it for this trip?
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Well, having never ridden a KTM 990, I don't know how much help I can be...? If I had one, I think I would want it as my only bike -- I just don't know...? (probably why, as much as I like looking at them, I don't have one...?)

I did ride my DR650 2K miles, on black-top, to Eureka MT (Can. border) to begin riding the 2800 mile Cont. Div. D-S Ride.

Altho I surely think the DR650 is a fine bike, I've found that whenever I've bought another of a bike I've had, it didn't satisfy like I thought it would -- so, I'm sort'a side-stepping that question (would I buy another?).

I think the rear suspension of the DR650 is just fine -- adjustable everything. The front doesn't have as much adj. and may need some massaging for rider weight/preferences/etc.? -- but, that's kind'a normal. :unsure:

The DR650 is, of course, built-to a price-point -- but I've found it to be an excellent, reliable, and (still) satisfying bike -- I've put abt. 13K, mostly off-highway, miles on it. Since I have an FJR, I don't normally ride it long distance on the highway -- but, often ride it up-to 50~100 miles on black-top. I prefer to ride it on forest roads/trails. When I got my DR650 (used & nicely set-up) it would indicate 100+mph on the speedo -- I geared it lower (something like 5~7 more teeth on the rear sprocket?) and just left it that way (I liked it better); even for the Divide Ride trip.

I certainly don't think it would be like riding a KTM 990 Adv, tho?

I'm afraid I'm not much help -- still your dilemma... :rolleyes:

 
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Yes I'm one happy camper!! :yahoo: :yahoo:

Just talked to Skip at MotoDiscovery. I explained the situation and how I would really just prefer to take the 990. He has no problem with that, he said the bike is very capable in the right hands and to check out the Rockies and Canyon Land videos to get an idea of what type of terrain we will be riding on. In fact he said in the worse case scenario that I could just throw the gurl in the back of support vehicle for a few miles if I do get in over my head.

Now, I just need to worry about saving for trip, getting my skills up to par and making sure my big old Katoom is ready before Nov of next year.

I will say, this is reason I brought this beast and I really can't wait now :yahoo: :yahoo:

Thanks everyone for your support and setting this up!

 
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