Secret Missions, Moto Colombia, Baja, Tutorials, Service Manuals, and more…

Wow, there is a lot happening.   I’m going “wings in the wells” in a few days on another secret mission…this time to Singapore.   It’s 22 hours to get there, and 25 hours to get back.   I’ll be catching up on a lot of reading!

Singapore!

Moto Colombia, my book about the recent adventure in Colombia, is nearing completion.  I finished the first draft last weekend and I’m in the polishing phase (you know, correcting errors, adding photos, and that sort of thing).    There were many things about the Colombia ride that made it special, including the camaraderie and the conversation.   During one of our dinner conversations, my good buddy and guide Juan told me his interest in riding started almost at birth.   His Mom had a moped, and every where they went, they went on two wheels…

Then and now…Juan on the shores of the Caribbean during our recent Colombia moto adventure, and riding with Mom as a wee one!

I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed writing any book as much I have enjoyed writing Moto Columbia.   Colombia was one hell of an adventure and I found myself reliving it as I wrote the book.  You guys will love the book, and it will go to press before I leave for Singapore.

If you enjoyed 5000 Miles At 8000 RPM, you will love Moto Colombia!

Baja! 

The Mission in San Ignacio, one of the many cool places we’ll visit on the CSC 2nd Annual Baja Run!

Ah, on to the next adventure!  Baja is coming up quickly, folks.  If you’re riding with us, shoot me a note (jberk@cscmotorcycles.com) to confirm your participation.   We’re not looking for any “I’d like to go if…” or other conditional inputs….if you’re going, you need to let us know.  We have a couple of openings due to folks dropping out, and we’re finalizing the participant list now.  It’s RX3s only on this ride (we’ll do another ride later for those of you who want to do Baja on your TT250s).

Here’s our Baja itinerary:

Here’s a list of what I think you’ll need for Baja:

• I’m recommending you bring $800 to $1000 with you.
• You’ll need a US passport.
• You’ll need Mexican insurance.  Your US insurance won’t do you any good in Mexico, and if you are stopped by a police officer and you cannot show that you have Mexican insurance, you’ll be in a tough spot.  I always get my insurance online, and I always use BajaBound.  You can get to them at www.BajaBound.com.
• You’ll need to bring any spare parts you think you might need.  I’m bringing tubes, a small tire pump (we sell the electrical ones), tire irons, my tools, a spare clutch cable, a spare throttle cable, a spare headlight bulb, a chain master link, a countershaft sprocket nut, steel wire, and chain lube.  You’ll need to bring your own spares.  The important thing is that you have your own spares and you will need to address any issues you have with your bike while we are in Baja.  We won’t have a chase vehicle.
• Regarding tools, I always have the stock RX3 tool kit under the rear seat, and I bring along a few extra things.  I’ll have a large extension and a socket for quick chain adjustments, 10mm and 12mm wrenches, a few sockets and a ratchet, a combination Phillips head/flathead screwdriver, and my Gerber multitool (it’s like a Leatherman multi-tool).
• My advice is to put a new battery in your bike.  I would not go to Baja limping along on a battery that’s getting old.
• You’ll need good tires.   If your tires are worn, don’t assume you can get one more trip out of them; they go really fast once they are worn.
• If you are on the stock (original) chain and this 1800-mile trip will take you past 6000 miles, you should probably put a new chain on your bike.
• I’d advise bringing along some Immodium.  If you’ve never been to Mexico, you might want to have something in case your digestive system reacts poorly to the Baja bugs.   The good news is that if this happens, it’s a sort of an inoculation for future trips.   You probably won’t get it again.
• I’d advise bringing a real camera.  A cell phone camera won’t do justice to what we are going to see.

If any of you have any questions on the upcoming Baja ride, feel free to email me.

One last topic, and that’s the recent flurry of TT250 tutorial activity.   Gerry and I have been super busy on these.  We have a few more going online in the next several days.   It’s been fun doing the TT250 tutorials, and it’s been enlightening.  Getting into the guts of these new motorcycles and seeing what the engines look like inside is reassuring.   The TT250 is a quality motorcycle, folks, and it will go the distance.  At any price, it is a fantastic bike.   At $1895, it’s incredible.  You’re going to love the bike.  We’ve had a lot of compliments on the tutorials from you and we appreciate your kind words.  One more bit of good news here:  We’re assembling our TT250 Shop Manual, and everyone who buys a new TT250 will get a free copy.

That’s all for now, my friends.   Hey, I don’t know about you, but I’m getting out for a motorcycle ride this weekend!