South America and back on a 250 Super Sherpa Minimalist Adventure

Hola Silviu,

Thanks so much!! I hope to see you down the road in Venezuela if you're around. Glad to have you along for the ride. All the more reason to get the Sherpa on the road so I can visit bonita Venezuela. With gas prices like the country currently has, what minimalist ADVrider can resist.

Thanks so much for the Sherpa rehabilitation money. I really appreciate it!!

Saludos,
Juan Turbo

Hola Roberto,

Thanks so much! Glad to still have you along for this saga of eternal torment. Better than reality TV I think.

It will be interesting to see if I can fix the Sherpa for less than the bright guys who took the sailboat option.

Saludos,
Juan Bey Essa

Juan:

I am here every day. I read your every word. It's just that I don't comment much

but right now you are my hero and you are making me think that someday I could manage to do a trip like
this. You have a way of making these huge problems seem like little ripples on the road

hoping you get rolling soon

bob

What a jump of the Gap

Really too bad the guys duffed the offloading but like others have said Colombia is one of the best places in the World to have bike trouble, they are experts with moto repairs. Also in Medellin is where some of the best manual machine shops that I saw in SA, your in excellent hands. Let me know if you need a good way point for a Medellin machine shop.

Goodluck Juanito.

Hi John, I just got back from my ride thru Mexico and Central America, My 03 Sherpa is sitting in the garage now, Its no problem to go out and pull any parts you need, I also have brand new front and rear brake pads, wheel bearings, and sprockets I'd be willing to donate so you can finish the trip. Guess the only hard part would be figuring how to ship them to you from the Seattle area?? Anyway whatever you need just let me know.
Regards, Dan

Parts can be sent easily enough through the US if need be using a freight forwarder out of Miami to bring stuff in a lot easier. Each of the larger cities in Colombia seem to have their best forwarder. Could be the fastest way to return the Sherpa back to original condition if you have a hard time with the repair, but being in Colombia you ought to be okay.

Nice thought CaptDan

Hey Sherpa brother,

Thanks so much for the offer, but I think I've got it handled. Importing parts into Colombia is expensive and time consuming. I like the frankenbike look. My Sherpa is going to kick ass when I get done with it. God knows it needs some love after getting the shite kicked out of it for the last 12,000 miles. I have done dick-all maintenance since I left Throttlemeisters pad in Oklahoma three months ago other than change the oil 4 times, fix a few flats and replace the rear tire. I have lubed the chain 0 times and the sprockets still look good. The front end, not so much.

Glad to hear you got out riding in Centroamerica on your Sherp. It's an epic bike. But don't tell anybody. I might need to buy another and I don't want people jacking up the used prices for girls bikes.

Saludos,
Juanito

Hi TM,

Always an option. We'll see. I should listen to your advice more often. I think I remember you telling me to boogy through Central America and avoid the harsh winter winds crossing the gap.

I'm a slow learner.

Saludos,
Juanboy

It's Tuesday Night PubCrawl in Tulsa again with the Zoombie Fest crew and you will be a topic of discussion

Everybodies got to do their own thing and you look like your doing a good thing in my book, even with the bike troubles, just let me know if you want to trade places for awhile

Giver hell and goodluck!

If there anything you need that can't be repaired give me a shout and I'll pull and figure out how to get it to you.
I pulled a bonehead move and stripped the case out of the oil drain plug down in Lake Atitlan changing the oil, sealed it up with teflon tape and jb weld then rode all the way back to Sacramento:eek1 then thru it in a uhaul to get home.

Well John, if you insist on doing that locally.... then I sent another donation to Sherpa Restoration Fund well, I think that might suffice to get you some nice forks

Keep us posted Reading with great interest during that 'nice' Central European winter...

mario33/Mariusz O.

Just look for Hispanic stores near where anybody lives and see if they do "ENVIOS". Easiest way to ship parts and wave customs. You just declare it with the shipment. I've sent small car parts that way. It takes 1 to 2 weeks which Juan Paisa could use as a break, doing minimalist pedestrian adventure in Medellín

Looking forward to seeing some gnarly weld beads and neck bolts on your budget bike. I know we can count on you to document the process here.

"Cheap Way 'Round" ??

You give me hope, Brother.

Hola Juanito,

Like so many others, I have added a little to the Sherpa recovery fund. While I have no doubt you'll get everything sorted without braking a sweat, hopefully we can collectively cover some unexpected expenses and help you keep this ride report going as long as possible.

Hey bro,

Say hi to the Tulsa crew for me. Giverhell happens to be my middle name.

I may need the name of the machine shop in Medellin if I need to remove the steering head bearings and press out the Sherpa steering stem and press it into a new triple clamp lower. I'll let you know.

The Sherpa zombie will rise from the dead to fest at Carnival in Baranquilla if I have my say.

Saludos,
Hermano Juan

I spent the afternoon watching the world go by here in Turbo and listening to music from the park across the street. Lots of conga and maracas with horns and trombones along with salsa Colombiana vocals. I'm really liking this place. Hate to leave tomorrow.

There are virtually no cars in this town. Just thousands of 125 motos. My kind of place. I went down the block to improve my front end moto vocabulary. I found out the following Spanish words that will come in handy:

Fork tube= barra

Fork leg= botella de escopia

upper triple tree= orquilla superior

lower triple tree= orquilla anterior

brake rotor= freno disco

rim= rin

spokes= radios

axle= eje de lantero

bearings= balineras

hub= campana

brake master cylinder= bomba de freno

brake caliper= pinza de freno

at least that's what I was told the Colombian names are. If anyone knows different let me know.

more later….

John, heres the 'moto dictionary' I found useful while travelling. Its multilingual but Spanish is there too. Sorted by English terms:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/gear-up/motorcycle-translation

Theres also spreadsheet version avaialable - ideal to download to your computer but I dont know if your Mac handles Excel...

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tech/biketranslation.xls

Here's also what mr crashmaster recommends: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16193454

They can fix any damn thing in Medellin
Al

Hi Cap'n,

Thanks for the kind offer. I need a parts bike about now. A case of JB weld would be nice as well. I'll have to see what I find in Medellin. I have no idea how easy or hard it will be to find solutions down here.

Having a torn apart bike in Medellin doesn't sound so bad though. Good excuse to hang out with the locals and enjoy Colombia. I sure like it so far.

Muchas gracias,
Juanito

Cheap Way Round sounds like a good name for my next ride report. It has a nice ring to it.

You need to keep slowoldguy company down in Mexico. You've been working too hard Señor Schizz. Time to head out on the highway.

Glad to have you along for the ride.

Saludos,
Juan Turbo