Mother of All Mexico Dirt Bike Rides - March in 2015!

[UberKul]

Just spent some quality the with the WR450 out in the garage ...to be continued....

Following. If you need a new jug 480cc's wouldn't suck.

Thanks for the report Bill. I'm sure sunshine and scantily clad senioritas are awaiting you on your next trip down.

 

[yamafitter]

I have added the Director's Cut of the Mud Section just outside of Geleana at the start of the third day. I have added some video of Jim trying to pick up the DR Suzuki for some extra jockularity.

https://vimeo.com/123157665

 

[yamafitter]

After a long ride in the backcountry on the third day we worked our way over to the west trying to beat the sunset. We almost made it but rode most of the last 24 kilometers of cobblestone road leading into Real de Catorce in the dark. We then had to wait at the entrance of the tunnel that takes you into the town since the direction of traffic alternates on about a 15 minute cycle.

we pick up the ride as we get clearance from traffic control to head into the tunnel....

https://vimeo.com/123161464

Good thing the tunnel was lit since the stock headlight on my WR450 is pretty much useless.

 

[yamafitter]

Continuing with the Post Mortem on the WR450 after the trip....

Got the motor out of the frame after much finagling and gave the motor a bath in my parts washer before disassembly....

Pulled the cams and its pretty obvious my initial suspicions about valves issues were correct....

At this point I'm almost scared to look but we're into it now so it's no time for the faint of heart. This explains the loss of compression....

and this explains the antifreeze in the oil....

Usually for something to be this fuked up BikerGeek is involved but I did this to my poor little thumper trying to ride Interstate speeds for hours on end and finally it gave up the ghost.

I worked up a parts list to fix it. Are you sitting down??
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That's using the Ron Ayers website so the prices are in US Dollars and that is just the obvious stuff at first glance. I figure it will be about $2000 to fix it doing the work myself and I don't know if a seven year old dirt bike is worth the investment. I'm heading up to my dealer to see what a shiny new fuel injected WR450 will set me back.

This is very rare for a WR450 to fail like this but then most folks don't take a WR450 on an adventure ride to Mexico either. I just pushed the bike beyond its design limits.

Me bad.....

 

[Fontanaman]

While most of us simply had a bad trip due to rain, Bill had a bad trip and ruined his motorcycle. Good grief.

 

[Fontanaman]

I have added the Director's Cut of the Mud Section just outside of Geleana at the start of the third day. I have added some video of Jim trying to pick up the DR Suzuki for some extra jockularity.
https://vimeo.com/123157665

As Bill can attest the DR650 is not a lightweight motorcycle!

Thanks for helping me pick up the thing.

 

[Tanker]

Thanks for letting us follow along guys.

Bill, your going to really enjoy that new WR on your next trip to Mexico.

No matter how you guys felt during the trip, it was epic in its own right and you have many memories to share. Great Stuff!

 

[yamafitter]

This video is a montage of photos that I took along the way....

https://vimeo.com/123251664

Still more riding videos to come in between work sessions breathing new life into my WR450F. Upon reflection I think I will be going ahead with a rebuild and put a 480 kit in the bike. Then I'll be able to smoke those damn Beemers on the Interstate roads.

 

[yamafitter]

Mike from Austin on one of the Beemers put together this montage of the trip....

https://vimeo.com/123232298

Enjoy.

 

[escapefjrtist]

Very nice montage Bill.

Looking forward to more of the (wet) riding vids. ;-)

--G

 

[Niehart]

Loved the "Filmed on location in sunny Mexico."

 

[yamafitter]

Back in post # 299 I made the statement that BMW GS riders are a bunch of Jam Tarts and I have the photos and video to prove it. I showed you the photos now here is the video evidence as this video opens with a Mexican truckload worth of AZBeemer Jam Tarts getting a ride up the hill since the road was deemed too tough for the daffodils....

https://vimeo.com/123272230

It goes without saying that it was raining once again in Sunny Mexico.

 

[RossKean]

I looked at 'Fitter's parts list and thought for $1400++ why not pick up a decent low-mileage engine on Fleabay? Had a quick look and saw a few candidates of dubious history going for around $2000! Why so much for a single cylinder low displacement engine? With a little patience, you can get a low mileage FJR engine for half that!

 

[Fontanaman]

Back in post # 299 I made the statement that BMW GS riders are a bunch of Jam Tarts and I have the photos and video to prove it. I showed you the photos now here is the video evidence as this video opens with a Mexican truckload worth of AZBeemer Jam Tarts getting a ride up the hill since the road was deemed too tough for the daffodils....
https://vimeo.com/123272230

It goes without saying that it was raining once again in Sunny Mexico.

Jam Tart who me? At this point Bill's WR had dropped a valve. Tired of all the rain, and with a bit of sore back I told Bill to ride the DR up to the top of this hill. Also a day off the bike would give my gear a chance to dry out. Now I am a Jam Tart cause I road in the back of the truck.

Actually the road up was not as bad as advertised - there was only one muddy section - hell kids on 125 cc motorcycles were riding this road. The truck ride up was harder because I had to hold tight to avoid bouncing off the damn bench - in fact my left wrist was a bit sore after the truck ride. It would have been easier to ride the DR up there and let Bill ride in the truck with the Jam Tarts.

 

[Niehart]

Billy, give us your thoughts on the Suzuki and how it compared to your Yamaha dog.

 

[yamafitter]

Billy, give us your thoughts on the Suzuki and how it compared to your Yamaha dog.

Brakes are way too touchy on the Suzuki. They were like having an on/off switch. I was using my pinky finger on the front brake lever trying to get a feel for modulating the brake. The rear brake was hopeless to get any feel for. I just could not stop locking the rear brake. Throttle response to me seemed slow.

The Suzuki DR first gear is too tall and there were times the motor was really lugging in low speed situations. The bike was also on heavy pig to pick up. The bike was good at highway speeds but top gear almost seemed to be like overdrive and you had to drop a gear to overtake.

I am very use to my WR450 and have done numerous mods over the years to make it right for me so I'm very biased towards my Yamaha. Five decades of riding enduro bikes have given me the experience to ride pretty much any kind of terrain and there are not many situations that I find impassable. I've crossed everything from peat bogs in the Massasauga Enduro to the rock setups on Green Mountain at the Corduroy Enduro with varying degrees of success.

One thing I can say for sure is that having that Suzuki DR stuck in a deep mudhole would make for a bad day.

Jam Tart who me? At this point Bill's WR had dropped a valve. Tired of all the rain, and with a bit of sore back I told Bill to ride the DR up to the top of this hill. Also a day off the bike would give my gear a chance to dry out. Now I am a Jam Tart cause I road in the back of the truck.

Not you Jim. I know you were sore and wet but I was getting tired of listening to the whining from those Beemer Jam Tarts about getting a speck of mud on their boots after riding through some micro mud puddle. If they kept their feet on the pegs where they belong instead of paddling their feet every time there was a droplet of moisture on the ground maybe they would have kept their pristine BMW designer gear clean.

I came to ride and I was not about to be scared off by Alberto saying the road was too rough. In the town of Alma Cima Juan told me it was going to get more difficult but once I got through the mud section in town I thought the rest of the ride up was actually pretty easy.

If they were going to get a couple of pickups up that road I knew I could certainly get a bike up there.

 

[Fontanaman]

Bill's spot on about the DR.

 

[CHRIS_D]

Bill's spot on about the DR.

Jim, I just order a case of those ear plugs you suggested. They're selling on Amazon for $29 for 200. Good plugs!

 

[beemerdons]

Laughing, Bill is one hell of a mud rider, with lots of practice in the semi-frozen tundra and he has great fun at our "heavy bmw's"expense.
But it's and apples to oranges comparison. As such the 4 little Beemers, logged over 5000 trouble free miles, none of them took dirt naps,
or flung large metal parts down the road and most importly played like a happy German Shepard and ROAD IN THE BACK OF A PICKUP TRUCK! The moutain ride he refers to was on a DR650 loaner bike. So to make the ride it took 2 bikes that combined, weigh a lot more than my F800GS! But hey it is all good! All those days on slick wet roads, slick wet cobble stones and MUD we all got home safe and sound, met some wonderful friendly people, saw stunningly beautiful scenery, amazing history and architecture, ate delicious food, drank cold cold beer and frozen margaritas, Hell, Aberto only got our ***** lost 3 or 4 times, including the first day. I loved this ride and those like it, they are battery chargers to my sole! Can't wait for the next one! JSNS!
~BEAR

What a hoser ! Just like his Yamaha, his Alta Cima Video stops running about 1/5 of the way in.

And I don't pretend to know WTF a "Jam Tart: is, but I can say that this Jam Tart never dropped his bike. Never. I might have been paddling like a spastic duck some times, but all of my mud was on the wheels ! ~ BRIAN

 

[yamafitter]

I will admit that I completely Carverized my WR450 and have been properly chastised for my Jam Tart rant.