South America on knock off Chinese bikes and no $$$ - Page 5

Airhead Wrangler · 02-10-2012, 08:46 AM

Way to go. Yeah ruta 40 is not terribly enjoyable riding-wise. It was windy as shit when I was there too - about the same time of year. Try to log some quality time next to the abundant wood stoves down there. It helps cure a case of the "cold-n-shitties." Carry on, gentlemen.

cliffy109 · 02-10-2012, 11:37 AM

This thread just cracks me up. Y'all are nuckin' futs. Great job.

Colombianito · 02-12-2012, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cliffy109

This thread just cracks me up. Y'all are nuckin' futs. Great job.

Agreed!! This ride is fun to read about! Kind of wish i were tagging along!

El Explorador · 02-13-2012, 08:11 AM

I love the transition from the flashy intro to the grim dirty reality of shoestring travel. What an adventure, I hope an unexpected windfall keeps it going for all of you!

Zack_Attack · 02-14-2012, 05:00 AM

Hi. I am one of the three bikers this thread is about, and I´ve writen about some of our adventures on a couple of my more recent blog posts.

http://www.thesouthamericandream.blogspot.com/

More posts to come, including the Carettera Austral in Southern Chile and Route 40 in Argentina to Ushuaia.

cliffy109 · 03-02-2012, 11:44 AM

Been a while since we've heard from these boys. I hope they made it.

Runninonadream · 03-04-2012, 05:01 AM

Hi all, I´m the third member of the trio. After the last update we spent some time trekking in the Torres del Paine national park, an amazing place and definitely worth a visit. My chain had been in very bad shape for 1000kms or so and I was hanging on until Punta Arenas for a new one. Unfortunately, during the ride back from Torres del Paine the chain came off at around 70km on a dirt road, a fairly normal occurrence but this time it mangled the adjustment brackets and forced the axle out of the swing arm. It fortunately got wedged in by the guard, the chain and my rear brakes and I controlled a pretty intense lock up with no ill effects. It was a little sketchy to get back on the bike and ride another couple of hundred k´s without being able to fix the actual problem! From here we headed down with almost no incidents. My chain was so bad it would fall off every 500m on the road to Punta Arenas so I sat by the side of the road and within 1 hour my bike was in the back of a very friendly man´s pick-up. Finally got some parts in Punta Arenas and we were on the road to Tierra Del Fuego!

We didn´t hit the road on TdF until quite late, due to a late afternoon ferry but we decided to ride on until Rio Grande. Nick had no headlight so we rode with him in the middle wearing his headlamp. a few k´s out of town Nick managed to get a flat front tire. His financial situation meant that Ushuaia would be the end for him and he had a flight to B.A. that we had to get there for. It was quite late so we just rode in to town on the flat and found a place to crash. Instead of searching around and trying to get the tire fixed, Nick decided to sell the bike as is in Rio Grande. A sign on the tank and the bike on a busy corner and we had it sold in 2 hours with 200 bucks in the pocket!

nihiriju · 03-08-2012, 10:43 PM

Well the trip is over for me, I am back home in Canada. Tom's engine gave out about 3,000km north of Ushuaia, and I believe Zack is still going strong, but I haven't heard from him for 5 days. I am working on mapping our route on google maps and putting some stats together.

As a rough estimate we camped for about 50 days,
I spent $930 to buy the bike and roughly $1,800 on gas, food, liquor and the odd accommodation.
We drove from Sucre, Bolivia to Ushuaia, Argentina down the Cartel de Austral and route 40 after Chile Chico.
My bike had 10,283km on it when I sold it for $900 Pesos in Argentina.

Here are some pleasant photos from my real camera.

Uyuni Salt Flats

Some highlands near Sucre

Camping near Potosi

The route from Tupiza to Ollague

Christmas eve, ran out of food, gas, money and water. Squatted at a salt mining camp while Zack borrowed money from a miner to hitch hike into Calama for supplies.

The most lifeless place on Earth.

My fav shot from Dakar, Tom and I back tracked 800km to see it.

Wind break!

Caves near Constitucion we drove through.

Epic meal time! If we had a fire we went all out and cooked nice sauces as well as boiled our pasta at the same time. Living in the lap.

Squatting in the abandoned airport hanger in Chaiten.

Tom found these kids boxing gloves at the abandoned airport, which quickly became his new riding gloves.

The road to Chile Chico!

I have a bunch more if people want to see em. It was a great trip! Thanks for everyone's support and all the amazing people we met along the way!

Nick

cliffy109 · 03-09-2012, 08:12 AM

Friggn' awesome man. Thanks for the story and the pics. I'm betting you miss it and if you don't, you will soon.

Adv Grifter · 03-09-2012, 09:10 PM

Good show boys! I'm sure Austin Vince (of Mondo Enduro, Terra Circa fame) would give a tip of the hat and buy you a pint! I do hope someday ya' all get a chance to return and take more time, drink more Beer and enjoy Argentina a bit more.

Cheers!

Zack_Attack · 03-19-2012, 10:59 AM

In case anyone was wondering I (one of the three riders) made it back to Bolivia on my bike. After 16,309.8 kms, I think I have proven that shitty chinese 150CC bikes are certainly adequate for some crazy adventures.

cliffy109 · 03-19-2012, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zack_Attack

In case anyone was wondering I (one of the three riders) made it back to Bolivia on my bike. After 16,309.8 kms, I think I have proven that shitty chinese 150CC bikes are certainly adequate for some crazy adventures.

Is that what was proven? LOL. I was thinking there was now proof of something else, but if you say so...

Great job man. Y'all are nuckin' futz and I salute you for it.

Llamaha · 03-19-2012, 04:27 PM

It's possible on a bicycle, a scooter, an R1, a BMW or a moped, anything really. As long as you can get the paperwork done it just depends on your budget and how much time you'd rather spend on the road vs your destination. Some people even walk all over the globe.

In the end it only matters that you had a good time and have some good stories to tell :)

Hache_arg · 03-20-2012, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zack_Attack

In case anyone was wondering I (one of the three riders) made it back to Bolivia on my bike. After 16,309.8 kms, I think I have proven that shitty chinese 150CC bikes are certainly adequate for some crazy adventures.

Zack... you guys just prove that is not the tool, but the person that's the main ingredient for the adventure.

I'm proud of being at least a little helper on the trip

Hache

Zack_Attack · 03-22-2012, 12:43 PM

If you want to heart about just a handfull of our adventures, check out the recent posts on my blog: www.thesouthamericandream.blogspot.com

02-10-2012, 08:46 AM	#61
Airhead Wrangler More tacos than you Joined: Mar 2008 Location: Manzanillo MX, occasionally Seattle Oddometer: 5,103	Way to go. Yeah ruta 40 is not terribly enjoyable riding-wise. It was windy as shit when I was there too - about the same time of year. Try to log some quality time next to the abundant wood stoves down there. It helps cure a case of the "cold-n-shitties." Carry on, gentlemen. __________________ R80ST Gets The HPN Treatment Ducati Pantah 500SL Rebuild Seattle to TDF on an airhead WTB R100R Mystic sidestand and mount.

02-14-2012, 05:00 AM	#65
Zack_Attack n00b Joined: Feb 2012 Oddometer: 4	Read more about our adventures Hi. I am one of the three bikers this thread is about, and I´ve writen about some of our adventures on a couple of my more recent blog posts. http://www.thesouthamericandream.blogspot.com/ More posts to come, including the Carettera Austral in Southern Chile and Route 40 in Argentina to Ushuaia.

03-08-2012, 10:43 PM	#68
nihiriju ^OP Adventurer Joined: Nov 2011 Location: Born PNW, currently Sucre, Bolivia Oddometer: 32	Well the trip is over for me, I am back home in Canada. Tom's engine gave out about 3,000km north of Ushuaia, and I believe Zack is still going strong, but I haven't heard from him for 5 days. I am working on mapping our route on google maps and putting some stats together. As a rough estimate we camped for about 50 days, I spent $930 to buy the bike and roughly $1,800 on gas, food, liquor and the odd accommodation. We drove from Sucre, Bolivia to Ushuaia, Argentina down the Cartel de Austral and route 40 after Chile Chico. My bike had 10,283km on it when I sold it for $900 Pesos in Argentina. Here are some pleasant photos from my real camera. Uyuni Salt Flats Uyuni Salt Flats Some highlands near Sucre Camping near Potosi The route from Tupiza to Ollague Christmas eve, ran out of food, gas, money and water. Squatted at a salt mining camp while Zack borrowed money from a miner to hitch hike into Calama for supplies. The most lifeless place on Earth. My fav shot from Dakar, Tom and I back tracked 800km to see it. Wind break! Caves near Constitucion we drove through. Epic meal time! If we had a fire we went all out and cooked nice sauces as well as boiled our pasta at the same time. Living in the lap. Squatting in the abandoned airport hanger in Chaiten. Tom found these kids boxing gloves at the abandoned airport, which quickly became his new riding gloves. The road to Chile Chico! I have a bunch more if people want to see em. It was a great trip! Thanks for everyone's support and all the amazing people we met along the way! Nick

03-22-2012, 12:43 PM	#75
Zack_Attack n00b Joined: Feb 2012 Oddometer: 4	More stories about our adventures If you want to heart about just a handfull of our adventures, check out the recent posts on my blog: www.thesouthamericandream.blogspot.com

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02-10-2012, 11:37 AM	#62
cliffy109 Beastly Adventurer Joined: May 2009 Location: Spotsylvania, VA Oddometer: 1,280	This thread just cracks me up. Y'all are nuckin' futs. Great job.

02-13-2012, 08:11 AM	#64
El Explorador Radical Explorer Joined: Apr 2011 Location: Guatemala City, Guatemala, and going down! Oddometer: 169	I love the transition from the flashy intro to the grim dirty reality of shoestring travel. What an adventure, I hope an unexpected windfall keeps it going for all of you!

03-02-2012, 11:44 AM	#66
cliffy109 Beastly Adventurer Joined: May 2009 Location: Spotsylvania, VA Oddometer: 1,280	Been a while since we've heard from these boys. I hope they made it.

03-04-2012, 05:01 AM	#67
Runninonadream n00b Joined: Mar 2012 Oddometer: 1	Hi all, I´m the third member of the trio. After the last update we spent some time trekking in the Torres del Paine national park, an amazing place and definitely worth a visit. My chain had been in very bad shape for 1000kms or so and I was hanging on until Punta Arenas for a new one. Unfortunately, during the ride back from Torres del Paine the chain came off at around 70km on a dirt road, a fairly normal occurrence but this time it mangled the adjustment brackets and forced the axle out of the swing arm. It fortunately got wedged in by the guard, the chain and my rear brakes and I controlled a pretty intense lock up with no ill effects. It was a little sketchy to get back on the bike and ride another couple of hundred k´s without being able to fix the actual problem! From here we headed down with almost no incidents. My chain was so bad it would fall off every 500m on the road to Punta Arenas so I sat by the side of the road and within 1 hour my bike was in the back of a very friendly man´s pick-up. Finally got some parts in Punta Arenas and we were on the road to Tierra Del Fuego! We didn´t hit the road on TdF until quite late, due to a late afternoon ferry but we decided to ride on until Rio Grande. Nick had no headlight so we rode with him in the middle wearing his headlamp. a few k´s out of town Nick managed to get a flat front tire. His financial situation meant that Ushuaia would be the end for him and he had a flight to B.A. that we had to get there for. It was quite late so we just rode in to town on the flat and found a place to crash. Instead of searching around and trying to get the tire fixed, Nick decided to sell the bike as is in Rio Grande. A sign on the tank and the bike on a busy corner and we had it sold in 2 hours with 200 bucks in the pocket!

03-09-2012, 08:12 AM	#69
cliffy109 Beastly Adventurer Joined: May 2009 Location: Spotsylvania, VA Oddometer: 1,280	Friggn' awesome man. Thanks for the story and the pics. I'm betting you miss it and if you don't, you will soon.

03-09-2012, 09:10 PM	#70
Adv Grifter on the road o'dreams Joined: Jan 2010 Location: Passing ADV Stalkers On The Inside Oddometer: 5,384	Good show boys! I'm sure Austin Vince (of Mondo Enduro, Terra Circa fame) would give a tip of the hat and buy you a pint! I do hope someday ya' all get a chance to return and take more time, drink more Beer and enjoy Argentina a bit more. Cheers!

03-19-2012, 10:59 AM	#71
Zack_Attack n00b Joined: Feb 2012 Oddometer: 4	In case anyone was wondering I (one of the three riders) made it back to Bolivia on my bike. After 16,309.8 kms, I think I have proven that shitty chinese 150CC bikes are certainly adequate for some crazy adventures.

03-19-2012, 04:27 PM	#73
Llamaha Gnarly Adventurer Joined: Jun 2010 Location: Melbourne Australia Oddometer: 345	It's possible on a bicycle, a scooter, an R1, a BMW or a moped, anything really. As long as you can get the paperwork done it just depends on your budget and how much time you'd rather spend on the road vs your destination. Some people even walk all over the globe. In the end it only matters that you had a good time and have some good stories to tell :)