San Diego to San Ignacio on a XL600R

[DesertDrifter]

Don't really know how these reports go, but just finished up a quick baja trip and thought I'd share some details.

I'm new to the whole dual sporting thing, this trip was only my 5th-9th days of off road riding . We did a litte over 1500 miles in 5 days, i'd guess about 600-700mi of that in the dirt. Couldn't have been happier with the bike given it's a 25 year old dual sport. Had no problems save for some gps wiring (good vehicle prep = more riding less fixing)

Here's a little background on the bike and gear:

Bike:

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I picked up this 87 Honda XL600R with 11k for $950. Added a used Clarke Desert Tank (not pretty) and a TCI Products Rack took it out for a couple weekend trips to Big Sur and in the hills north east of Ojai, Ca.

The bike did great, so I tore it down to the frame to get to know it and prep it for mexico.

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In the process of the rebuild I added a new rear tire, new chain, new rear sprocket, and a Lowrance 480c mounted to the bars (i know, its a bit large but I already had it out of one of my trucks)


Gear: I wanted to keep it minimal, I get being prepared, but any more stuff and we would have missed some of the best remote riding. In retrospect I would have ditched the tent (and 2.5lbs) for a light tarp or one of these: http://www.polerstuff.com/the-magic-tarpit/

Sleeping bag
Tent
Pad
Jetboil
Headlamp
Matches
Minimal Tool Kit
Socks
Jeans
Bordies
2 Shirts
Sweatshirt
Waterproof shell
Chest Protector
Gloves
Helmet
Goggles
Boots
Spare Fuel Bottle
Small First Aid Kit
Spot Emergency Beacon
Sat phone and iphone
15L Camelback BackPack w/bladder
Baja Atlas
Coffee

Bike Packed to Go:
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Here's roughly the route we took:
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Day 1:

San Diego To San Felipe

Lots of riding, rolled in after dark...good sunrise and a quick rewire of my bike's gps.

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[DesertDrifter]

Day 2:

San Felipe to Bahia de Los Angeles

Solid day of riding. Down through puertecitos trying to hug the coast and avoid pavement, then cocos corner through the wash and infamous sand whoops and into bay of LA just before dark. Minor stops to re-install my buddy's rear sub frame with vibrated loose along with some wiring repairs.

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Enough for one night, i'll post the rest tomorrow.

[dmXJ159]

well done, looks like a killer trip

[Scott Brady]

dig the sunset shots. Nicely done with the bike- an affordable, fun and adventurous trip!

[laylow]

My jealousy burns. That's the way to do it.

[DesertDrifter]

Thanks guys. Amazing what you can do with 2 days tacked on to a long weekend. We did it on the cheap too with med and vehicle insurance we did the whole thing for about $400 each.

Day 3

Bay of LA to Punta San Francisquito

We took it a bit mellower on day 3, road less and drank and ate more. Anything on the sea of cortez south of bay of la is getting in to the sweet spot of baja. A quick morning repair of my buddys front axle bolts and then a some great riding to punta san francisquito for beers and fresh fish tacos with ranch hands on a local ranch.

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[DesertDrifter]

Heres some quick unedited videos from the trip:

[Crom]

Bad ***! Fast and light. Looks like a great trip.

[SWbySWesty]

Freakin' cool! You can cover SO much ground on a bike!

[dannytuned]

Thanks for posting, looks fun!