So up to now it’s been a very very nice trip. But it’s not really an “adventure” until the unexpected happens and you have to figure out how to deal with it. I’m now in Mexico, so I’m expecting the unexpected!
First up – I was told by Al Jesse that the east coast of Baja was nicer than the west, so when I was leaving Ensenda I pointed the GPS to San Felipe. I stayed a night there, then continued south. For some reason I didn’t know that some of the road south of San Felipe was unpaved… I think I searched for info about it some time ago, didn’t find it, and just forgot about it. A more thorough search would have been in order eh?
So needless to say I was a bit surprised when the road ran out just after the first bridge construction site. Considering it was used for the Baja 1000 2 days prior, it wasn’t in such bad shape. I think if I’d known it was dirt for 70 miles I would have still taken it, but would have given myself more time. I was planning to stay at the legendary Coco’s Corner, and I arrived at Coco’s at dusk.
Here’s the end of the road
But then there is a sandy section. I was doing alright, staying in the mainly-straight wheel ruts left by cars, but then there was this one wiggly one left by an earlier bike. I gave it half a chance, and my front wheel decided to take the wiggly one. Pretty soon I was into the berm, and over the top of it. It’s funny how the tiny wheel track left by the other bike will take the front wheel, but it went straight through the foot-high berm.
Fortunately there is plenty of traffic on that road, so it wasn’t long before Baja racers returning home came along and helped me drag the Tenere out. Unfortunately, I didn’t get photos or video of the funniest part. We decided it would be easier to surf the bike down the face of the berm to some solid ground off the side of the road, then ride about 50 metres where I’d be able to get back on the road. Well I haven’t practiced my berm-surfing skills for a while. We righted the bike with me in the saddle, with the idea to ride diagonally across the face and get down the 3ft or so to solid ground. That didn’t go so well… I started to move forward and almost immediately stuck out my right foot, of course there’s no ground there, and the bike toppled over while I did a superman dive down the bank.
Now the bike was laying on its right side almost upside down on the bank. I wasn’t too worried – I just thought “hmmm, I think I’m going to have to get used to the sight of the Tenere in unusual positions”. From there we just dragged it on its side down the bank till we go to level ground. No damage apart from a few scratches.
I headed off to Coco’s again, dropping the bike on the way after losing my footing on an off-camber bit of road when I stopped to take a photo. I was happy to be getting close to Coco’s but in the last 5 miles the rear suspension started feeling very weird. It was bouncing off every bump and dip, a couple of times getting the rear of the bike airborne. Zero damping, apparently. I got to Coco’s and the body of the shock was too hot to touch. The stock Yamaha shock couldn’t take that load on that road, for 70 miles. It’s not like I was going fast or anything, average speed was probably 30-40mph.
The rear shock was one thing I’d thought about a bit during the prep for this trip. When I was at Phil’s place discussing my stock rear suspension and whether it’s adequate for this trip, my comment was that I don’t care so much about ultimate performance as long as it’s reliable. I hadn’t heard of any stock shocks failing, so that was good enough for me. Didn’t take long for me to break it! Hope the Ohlins is better.
So now on my way back to San Diego to take delivery of an Ohlins (and Sonic Springs while I’m at it – thanks Chris), and make a claim with Yamaha for a new shock. I thought going back to SD would be less messy and cheaper than having the shock shipped to La Paz or somewhere in Baja. I wound up the rebound damping to the max and it’s rideable on smooth roads now.
It’s actually lucky that the shock failed this early in the trip. Now I know it’s crap, and fixing it now is a lot easier than if it had failed in Bolivia…
Will have the shock fitted by the weekend, then I’ll be turning around and back to Mexico. May change my route though, now that I have seen at least part of Baja. Mexicali and south-east from there?
