Bahía de los Ángeles, 2017 ...

[brichter]

Wow that oasis looks amazing! I'm looking forward to taking these alternate routes to San Ignacio next year! mighr need to find me an xr400 for next year or start working out now!

Thanks for all the pics!!

You were riding your BRP? The ~40 lbs made that much of a difference? BTW, what size tank do you have?

 

[1962siia]

You were riding your BRP? The ~40 lbs made that much of a difference? BTW, what size tank do you have?

I've had both bikes in the past at the same time and the xr400 feels a lot lighter and in general is easier to ride on technical terrain. Single track, sand, hills, rocks give me the 400 any day and I'll be less fatigued after riding.

Don't get me wrong, I love the brp but after three trips to Baja I'm looking forward to doing it on a smaller bike next time and the xr400 seems like it will be in my budget.

I have the ims 4.6 gallon tank and it has been perfect.

Regardless of what bike I take I need to strengthen my core and arms. I was also sick this year pretty much the whole trip but the real deal is that I'm in lousy shape and need to do something about that if I want to ride the fun stuff no matter what bike I ride.

 

[SFMCjohn]

BOLA sunrise
View attachment 491549

... great pic, Eric ... good luck with your
wheel/steering bearing rehab ... :thumbup

 

[SFMCjohn]

I lost my SPOT device near the turn off for Las Animas
and went back the next day to try to find it ... it was
30 feet in front of the bike ... unfortunately I spent an
hour walking up the road behind the bike before finding
it just as I was about to give up ... :laughing

a view of the fruitless walk down the road looking for the SPOT ...
this pic was taken near where the SPOT was finally found ... :nchantr

... some of the scenery just to the south of BoLA on the main road ... :ride


As a getting-over-Baja-blues aside:

... just getting back from a car-trip to Mercey Hot Springs ...
we got stuck at MHS for an extra day because the water on J1
was raging in the vados near the Cal Fire Station at
Willow Springs (the paved road north of Mercey to I-5
was under construction, so that road was closed to upgrade the
bridge for the solar farm debacle, which has finally begun ... )

Stopped at the Panoche Inn and met the new business owners ...
fun people who let us use the phone to extend our Zipcar reservation ...
the guy who owns the organic ranch near there finally purchased the few acres of Panoche Inn land and
is renting the inn building/business to keep the bar going ... arty
we enjoyed one of the Inn's famous sandwiches while we were there ...
... should be epic wildflowers season in Panoche Valley
in a few weeks ... :thumbup

 

[SFMCjohn]

... the sign to look for east of
Ensenada on the way to San Felipe
to find the Horsepower Ranch ...
"Children's Playground" I think ...
it's still an adventure to find the
very nice hotel from here ... :laughing

... the bar and dining room, decorated
with Baja desert racing and ranching
history ...

... old pic west of Catavina on the
way to camp at Punta Blanca ...
god bless Baja! :ride

... and pouring rain on the Bay Bridge,
back home again ... : |

... pics don't do Baja justice ... one's
memory fades ... used to make the huge
effort to go to Baja every year, and the next thing
I knew years had gone by and I hadn't been
there ...

 

[SFMCjohn]

... got to spend a lot of time with Kalle--the coolest
motorcycle guy I know--
who signed right on when I told him
I was trying to join the BARF Baja 2017 gang ...

Kalle's Indian Chief Projects on ADVrider

... he rebuilt his KLR's top-end before the
trip, and I'd never have gotten the top-end
on my KLR done without his cheerful assistance
(and the loan of his tourqe-wrenches, ha) ... :thumbup

... both of the KLRs performed flawlessly (defined
as getting us back to BoLA and the mighty Tacoma pick-up) ...

Neither KLR required the addition of any oil over the
1000 plus miles we rode, which is a big KLR deal and the
main reason for all the top-end work we did ...

... Kalle lost the radiator fan on his KLR
half-way through the trip, my KLR refused to start at
one point (a loose battery terminal, quickly fixed) and both
KLRs survived being tossed to the ground multiple times ...

... my wonderful KLR ... god bless Kawasaki ...
both these pics courtesy of my friend Merlin,
who I plan to emulate more ... he's a bad-a$@ pic-taker,
ride report writer and veteran of the Window Rock single track
on a DR650 ... respect! :ride

 

[SFMCjohn]

... and here is Merlin's map of the trip, basically ...
five days ... BoLA, Mulege, we camped above San Javier,
San Juanico, San Ignacio and back to BoLA ...

... can't say enough about the BARF Baja crew ...
they rock! Not my place to promote this ride,
but BARF Baja has been inviting BARFers along on
their Baja adventures for three years now ...

... guess I've said it before, but it bears repeating ...
we know a thing or two about group riding in general
and group riding in Baja in particular, and BARF Baja 2017
covered themselves in glory ... organized, great attitude and
handled all sorts of adversity with dignity and grace ...
super impressed ... :afm199

see you around
the campfire,
-- SFMCjohn

 

[Eric B]

More great pics and words John. :thumbup:ride
This thread has been a treat to follow. Thanks for posting.

 

[HadesOmega]

Was great riding with you and Kalle. You guys rock on the KLRs =) I'm amazed how you guys were up at the crack of dawn ready to roll while I'm still "YAWN I dont really feel like putting my gear on..." =P

Good to know the 685kit worked out well for you its on my list of to do things in the KLR. How was the power? Besides the oil problem power is the other drpartment that my klr needs.

 

[SFMCjohn]

More great pics and words John. :thumbup:ride
This thread has been a treat to follow. Thanks for posting.

Thanks, Eric, it was a treat riding with
you and seeing what a real desert rider
packs to be properly prepared for
routine trail-side fixes ... :thumbup

Was great riding with you and Kalle. You guys rock on the KLRs =) I'm amazed how you guys were up at the crack of dawn ready to roll while I'm still "YAWN I dont really feel like putting my gear on..." =P

Good to know the 685kit worked out well for you its on my list of to do things in the KLR. How was the power? Besides the oil problem power is the other drpartment that my klr needs.

... if you rode as slow as I do you'd
start your day's riding before sunrise, too ... :laughing

and, hey, we didn't get up so early that
we all didn't get to explore Las Animas together ... :ride
... happy Eric got this pic of me out there,
almost looks like single-track ... :rofl

... wish you had gotten the chance to ride
Kalle and my KLRs back-to-back ...

they feel like two completely different bikes ...
mine makes about stock power with a thicker than
stock head gasket to keep the compression ratio
near spec ... it feels like a wet rag ...
Kalle's bike has snap, with a pipe, higher compression,
and some carb tuning that gives him 38mpg
compared to my 50mpg ... his KLR is much
more fun to ride ... arty

 

[HadesOmega]

Yeah its a compromise my DR650 used to get 50+mpg and when I put the pumper carb and hicomp piston it really woke the bike up but at the cost of MPG. I get like 40mpg now, its thirsty riding through the rough stuff.

 

[Lunch Box]

I averaged about 43 mpg on my 690 this year. Not too bad at all. It must be because I take it easy and don't use the throttle too much. :teeth

 

[anytwowilldo]

I averaged about 43 mpg on my 690 this year. Not too bad at all. It must be because I take it easy and don't use the throttle too much. :teeth

Right.:rofl

 

[SFMCjohn]

It must be because I take it easy and don't use the throttle too much. :teeth

Right.:rofl

... passed me like I was standing still ... :nchantr




:laughing

 

[1962siia]

Someday I'll get a speedo and odometer. :laughing

 

[HadesOmega]

I averaged about 43 mpg on my 690 this year. Not too bad at all. It must be because I take it easy and don't use the throttle too much. :teeth

Yeah right when I watch my video clips of you in it I always just hear BRRAAAAAP

 

[kalle]

... Kalle lost the radiator fan on his KLR
half-way through the trip

My Speedometer also failed. At the time we noticed the cable drive missing. Today I switch my wheels back to street tires and found the speedo drive had failed. So even if we would have found the cable it likely wouldn't have worked. Baja Pro Tip: bring a gps.

Kalle Hoffman
San Francisco, CA

 

[Lunch Box]

Minor issue. Speedometer? Who needs it?

 

[Haaank]

Great thread and pics John. Loved seeing baja from your POV.

 

[kalle]

So my sandy low side in Baja left my right peg a bit limp. A past fix of the foot peg bolts and nuts (damn after market center stand) the pegs mount weaken. So today I welded in repair patches. And I must say the peg are Hella Stout now. Here's a few pictures of my fabrication and welding skills which relay heavily on my die grander and sanding skills.

Welding over head is tuff. So the bike goes on it's side.
______________________________________________________________

The threads on the nuts failed years ago when I had a center stand on the bike. My fix at the time was to slice off the bottom of the peg mount and side in nuts. Worked fine but left the mount weak.
______________________________________________________________

Scrap soft steel patch. I tacked the nuts in place so that if I ever remove the peg bracket the nuts would stay in place.
______________________________________________________________

Some aluminum paint and voila! Good thing this is under the bike and nobody will see it. Well assuming my handlebars never touch the ground again.

Kalle Hoffman
San Francisco, CA