Motorcycles
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@motojobobo Just checking in to see how the tour went/is going? Any more pictures to share?
Our weather is just reaching riding temperatures again and I hope to be on the bike within the next few weeks.
Hey @goosehd ! Thanks for your reminder buddy. I was lame posting daily updates because the internet links were really slow in several of the areas we stayed. Anyhow, I got back yesterday after a 17 day trip. A most excellent one. The weather was perfect…we were told that April is one of the best months weatherwise to travel northern Argentina. The country is still cheap for travelers as the unofficial dollar (they call it blue dollar) trades at twice the official rate. I spent a total of 1000 dollars US during the 17 days, this included lodging, food, plenty wine, gas for the bikes…everything! A bargain.
Hope your good riding weather arrives on time!
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Border town in southeast Bolivia called Villazon where we crossed into Argentina into a town called La Quiaca on that side.
Nearly got my phone impounded by the ‘gendarmes’ as taking photos of our bikes in front of customs and immigration offices was frowned upon.
This pic describes surreal Bolivia…if you look at the background line of people on the bridge pushing carts…they are carting Argentine products into Bolivia: soap, flour, barbed wire, wine, everything you can think of. You couldn’t drive a truck across the bridge loaded with the stuff, that would be illegal; but if you do it piecewise it becomes legal alright. It does create jobs for sure, unloading trucks and loading other trucks at the other side. In addition, the pushcarts charge a fee for their service providing a source of income for locals. Many of these workers are women.
First stop in Argentina, town called Purmamarca at about 2600 mts. Having a beer while wearing IHSH 157 and PIH5DCS pieces! -
This cactus growing in a helicoidal pattern struck me as very unique. I remember learning at forestry school that most plants live in a constant struggle for light with respect to other plants, so not growing in a strictly upward fashion would be disadvantageous.
I guess deserts have sunlight in excess and plant densities there are low so some plants can afford to grow this way, but it must be the first cactus the I remember doing this. Every other cactus species I’ve seen goes straight upwards.
Anyhow, thought this was interesting as there are several plant-people on the forum. @Matty123 went to the same forestry school as me so he may have something to say here. -
This curvy road is called ‘Cuesta de Lipan’l and climbs up from Argentina to the border with Chile in the Andes. The highest point on it sits at 4070 mts. Driving this mountain road is pure pleasure on a bike. This is the second time I get to do it and I doubt it will ever get old. Up and down adds up to 140 km…highly recommended!
Another type of mountain road up there, amongst mountains but longer flowing curves.
We also had some very deserted, flat stretches of road towards sunset that day as we rolled further south into Argentina. This shot was taken as we neared a town called Belen, where we would stay the night. This road is part of Argentina’s renowned “Ruta 40” as a very scenic road. -
@motojobobo Outstanding and that Cactus is as curvy as that road. I really appreciate you spending the time and effort sharing this. Living vicariously through your photos and write up.
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Eventually we reached Mendoza, Argentina’s most important wine producing region. This was one of my favorites!l It was pricy at 30 US a bottle, given the vast array of options of very good wines for a third of the cost of this one.
Aconcagua, in the background, is S. America’s highest peak. Heavily visited because you can pretty much walk all the way up without it requiring a technical climb. I’ve never done it. This viewpoint sits midway on the road between Mendoza (Argentina) and Santiago (Chile).Another pic with IH gear, this is IHJ 79…a wonderful piece of gear. I wear it under my KLIM mesh jacketl when it gets cold. I’ve managed to ride comfortably with the IHJ 79 + a merino layer + a long sleeve tee (all under the mesh jacket) in 10 deg C weather, which is enough for a large portion of the winter rides where I live.
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The rancher in me gets excited whenever I see a corral, so I had to get a pic of my bike acting like a working horse.
This white is one of my favorites…it retains the fragrance of the Torrontes grapes but does away with most of the sweetness and is dry enough. If you find it in your area, I recommend you give it a try.
We finally made it to Termas after all that wine…my brother is with me with the motogp circuit in the background. It is the ONLY race in South America so we try to always make it there. Covid negated the last two versions of it so there was no way we could miss this one. It was exciting to see Aprilia take the win with Espargaro doing a brilliant job!
After 5020 km during 17 days of no-shave travel, this is what made it back home! A most wonderful trip! -
Do the bikes run well and the computers automatically compensate for the higher elevations? Do you have to run a higher octane?
Agree about the 79. Essential kit when riding in cooler temperatures and does a very good job at what it's designed for.
Also, can't believe that you pulled off a 17 day trip for $1000. With the way prices are for gas in Canada and U.S., you would blow that just in fuel.
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@goosehd these fuel injected bikes perform flawlessly at altitude. I believe the oxygen sensors in the exhaust let them know when the mix is oxygen poor and they compensate by reducing injected fuel.
Many years ago I did a similar trip on a 1981 Honda XL250R which had aspirated carburation. The high altitude was VERY noticeable on it. She would turn unbearably sluggish at more than 2500 mts. The locally recommended patch was to put a piece of electrical wire running alongside the fuel entry pipe into the carburetor (and fold it on the outside to keep it anchored), thus blocking up a percentage of the area available to feed fuel. A very seat-of-pants fix, but it was a surprisingly easy, cheap and reversible solution!
Did you have a different solution for high altitude bike sickness?
Argentina is a megabargain right now. Their best fuel, Infinia, is 98 octane and runs at 135 arg pesos which is about 66 cents of a dollar/liter. So about 2.5 dollars a gallon. I used a 95 octane fuel on my bike which was about 55 cents/liter.
It would be great to put together an IH bike ride in Argentina while prices are low. The tricky part would be sourcing bikes for rent.
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@motojobobo Thanks for the info on high altitude riding. I haven't ridden high altitude or dealt with those kind of issues. The only issues I have dealt with are cold weather (-30/-40c). Fuel gets a little tricky with the cold temperatures (especially diesel) which starts turning to a gel at those temperatures.
Side story: When I was in the military we flew a C-130 Hercules Aircraft to the Canadian AFB (Alert) located at the top of Ellesmere Island (deep within the Arctic Circle and very close to the magnetic North Pole). When we landed the Air Temperature was -50/-60c with wind chills of -70c.
They did not stop the propellers from spinning (even during refuelling) and as soon as possible the plane took back off again. If the plane shut down it would be there for months until they would be able to get it unthawed at those temperatures.
a lot of chrome to clean bet it takes a while.
