Motorcycles

Bajavet wrote:We are new to the forum and are considering a relocation to the Lakeside area in about 5 years.  We have not been to the area yet, but are coming for a week in April.  My wife and I are avid motorcycle travelers.  I was wondering if anyone on this forum rides or could comment on the safety/feasability of traveling western Mexico via the backroads.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Mike and Darcey

We have a local group of serious riders, including a sub group that does a lot of off road stuff. Some have the big GS, some the smaller 700 and 800 BMW GS. At the age of 70, I'm strictly a pavement rider but I get around those roads pretty quick.

If you're riding here, we can definitely hook you up with the local guys for some off road fun or some touring. A couple of our guys are like human GPS units, we just feed them a burrito every now and then and they're happy.

Riding in Mexico is fantastic. Yeah, the roads do tend to be a bit crappy but they mostly lack those speed traps that are everywhere up there and there are fantastic twisty mountain rides in central Mexico. And when you get to someplace, there's almost always something really cool to see.

There's a big BMW club in GDL and we run into them practically every weekend. We also have several great shops there who really know how to fix your bike without bankrupting you. The attitude at the local shops is so much better than that you normally find NOB, they really are customer friendly.

PM me if you'd like more information. We'll definitely make you welcome when you come.

Bajavet wrote:We are new to the forum and are considering a relocation to the Lakeside area in about 5 years.  We have not been to the area yet, but are coming for a week in April.  My wife and I are avid motorcycle travelers.  I was wondering if anyone on this forum rides or could comment on the safety/feasability of traveling western Mexico via the backroads.  Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Mike and Darcey

I am betting that you are going to love riding in Mexico! I have been riding for over 40 years in the U.S. from the east coast to the west, and now in Mexico for four years. Nothing in my past experience quite compares to Mexico. First of all, the riding is year around. Yes, there is a rainy season. But the rains come more often late at night rather than daytime. I have been caught in the rain twice in four years and I ride at least 4 times a week every week year around. One of those times cost me a half hour under a shelter (rather than bothering to put on my rain suit. I knew the rain would be short-lived. It is usually less than an hour).

And yes, there are cobblestone streets. But cobblestones have been a non-issue for me. I rarely find myself riding on them (they are mostly found in villages and I ride mostly on the highways which are paved tarmac). When I am riding on them, I go very slowly because that is all the village streets allow. And despite riding an 1150 cc BMW road bike, I have no problem negotiating the village streets even with a passenger aboard. I just go slowly and carefully.

Topes, speed bumps, are something you must learn to be very cautious about. But I have found them much easier to see from a bike than a car. It is true that some are unmarked and hard to see. But you quickly begin to know where to look for them - in populated areas in villages and in tourist areas where you find a lot of foot traffic. Speed bumps are a pain in the butt, sometimes literally, but you learn to deal with them. Generally where there is one, there will be more.

But once out of towns and villages, on the open road, Mexico is beautiful - sometimes breath-takingly so. And surprisingly so. On my last Sunday ride, I drove to and through a town I know quite well and discovered that just the other side of it, there was a bridge crossing a small river I had never seen or heard of. Once across the bridge, I began switch-backing up a canyon on good, paved road. Once reaching the top of the canyon wall, I discovered huge mountain meadows filled with wild flowers and wild horses. When they heard me coming, the group of them, about 10, began running alongside the unfenced road with me until they turned off and headed into yet another canyon. This was less than 30 minutes outside a town I have known well and driven through for over four years. That's what motorcycling in Mexico is like. It's all about discovery.

Here in the Lakeside area where I live and where you apparently plan to visit, there are at least a hundred riders spread out among 3 or 4 groups and clubs. There is always a group going somewhere either for a Sunday ride, longer tours or extended weekends at rallies that occur across the state or neighboring states within a day's ride. And the rallies will give you some idea of how big riding is here in Mexico. It is huge; there are over 60 riders clubs and organizations in Guadalajara alone and thousands of bikers that show up at dozens of events year around.

Bottom line, Mexico is a great place to ride. If you want a place to ride, this is one of the best, if not the best, I have ever experienced. All kinds of bikes. All kinds of bikers. The brotherhood is alive, well and very well-developed here. C'mon down and experience it for yourself. Bring your own, rent a ride, or sign up for a tour group that provides everything but an airplane to get you here. You're gonna love it. Don't believe anything you have heard - not even from me. But most importantly, don't believe anything you are likely to have heard north of the border about the gangs and murders and violence. It's here, just like it is there in every big city in America. But it is not likely to touch you or effect you any more than it does there. C'mon down and discover why over 10, 000 of us have made just this one little place in Mexico a new and frankly kind of wonderful home. Don't believe anything. Come and find out.

You will probably have a thousand questions and need some help making contacts. Write me at simplysaid@inbox.com. I will hook you up.

excelente post pogo!

Couldn't agree more, Pogo! Great post!!

As for topes, I find that standing up on the pegs really helps go over them a lot faster and with less jarring.  Just as the front wheel reaches the tope I give it a firm yank upwards.  One of the GS guys with hundreds of thousands of miles riding in Mexico taught me that one.

The other thing you have to get used to are decreasing radius blind curves.  Best to go in conservatively and accelerate out once you can see the exit.  Sometimes we find some real doozy potholes in those curves too.

I'm putting a set of premium rebuildable shocks on my bike to help with the topes, rougher roads and twisties.

This really is the most fun riding I've ever had.  Rarely do I have to wear more than summer weight riding gear. No more heated grips or gloves or long johns!

If you want to chat about life here, email me at houck1022(at)gmail(dot)com.