Day 7: Riders and Bikes

Today is a rest day. I'm in the loung room at the hotel in the picture below. This hotel is not in any town, and is about an hour ride on a dirt road from the nearest town. Tomorrow will be a long 250 mile ride about half dirt, gravel, and sand road. It is also supposed to rain. It will be a long rainy day. Everyone is resting and just hanging out today. Today's post will be about the mororcycles we are riding and pictures of the people on the trip.

Heare are some pictures of the hotel. It is a main building and out buildings where the hotel rooms are.

First the bikes. All the motorcycles are what are referred to as Adventure Motorcycles. This means they are meant for a combination of pavement and dirt road riding. Two guys are riding these BMW 1250 cc GS bikes. These are the opposed twin boxer engines, which are the classic BMW design. They are the largest and most powerful bikes on the trip. They weigh about 550 pounds before adding the saddle bags and gear in those bags. They are probably close to 600 pounds loaded. Our heavier waterproof duffle with most of our luggage goes on the truck. We bring gear, packed in the saddle bags, we may need during the day and a change of regular clothes and shoes etc for when we first get to the hotel each night, in case the pickup is late arriving.

The next largest bike is the Triumph Tiger 900 cc adventure motorcycle. These have an inline 3 cylinder engine. The weight is 503 pounds, plus about another 50 pounds for the luggage. Four guys are riding Triumphs.

The third largest bike is the BMW 700F GS, 700 cc. Their weight is about 460 pounds, plus another 50 for luggage. They have an inline 2 cylinder engine. Two guys are riding this motorcycle.

The smallest bike is the one I'm riding, a Honda CBX 500. It has an actual displacement of 470 cc from an inline 2 cylinder engine. It weighs 438 pounds, plus about 40 pounds for luggage, since it has smaller saddle bags. It also has the lowest seat height. It has less power than the others. However it is adequate. I just shift gears more frequently than the others. It should be more manageable when we get into deep sand conditions. It's a trade off. One of the guys wanted this bike for its size, but only one was available and I already had it booked.

Now the people on the trip. Most of us are in our mid to late 60's, with one guy who's 71, and a couple in their 40's and 50's. So similar ages for us.

First is our guide, a retired Los Angeles policeman.

Next is our chase pickup driver. He is a professional motorcycle mechanic, who also does about four of these trips a year. He lubricates and adjusts the drive chains every night. And he's behind us in the chase pickup each day in case there are any mechanical issues. We are in good hands.

Now pictures of the 8 riders on the tour. Two guys are from the UK, one is from Mexico, and the rest of us are from various places around the US.