I am one of those planning a long south trip since I was 15... and well, I don't loose the hope. What I can tell you about the bike is that having a bike too new and too nice is not always the best. For one it goes into 'flying under the radar' thing. Is not the same to ride around with an older honda/suzuki etc than a brand new and shinny BMW. The other thing to consider is that even modern bikes break down, and finding parts in the middle of Central america, or in a small town in Argentina is not easy. Almost anybody can fix a carbureted 90's japanese bike.
I agree with pretty much all the comments about the dangers in certain areas. But it is true that danger is everywhere and for everyone. Is all about being smart, reduce the risks, and skew the chances in your favor. Is all what we can do. Javier. On Wed, Jul 2, 2014 at 11:59 AM, Melissa Hickson <[email protected]> wrote: > I have AAA motorcycle coverage and used one tow when my carbs gummed up, > but other than that I've just fixed it wherever I happen to be. Sometimes > catching a ride to an automobile store or whatnot. Thanks for the reminder > about insurance though. > > I've played around with the idea of doing a big south american trip too, > but I don't think I'll do it on this bike. It'd be nice to have one that > was at least a decade newer, with lovely little perks like a shaft drive > and fuel injection. > > Of course, the nice thing about having an older, less-valuable bike is > that if all else fails, (and as much as the idea breaks my heart) Pony and > I can part ways. It's certainly easier (and probably cheaper) to use public > transit to move around the world. So I wouldn't be truly stranded if the > bike broke down beyond what I could repair. > > From my understanding, things get better and better the farther south you > go in Mexico. I don't have a ton of interest in northern Mexico anyway... > if I do decide to winter down there, it'll be in Chiapas or something. I > really appreciate all the advice! I certainly am not a reckless > thrill-seeker; I just like to adventure. I've traveled through Mongolia, > China, and Brazil alone. In fact, dealing with scammers and thieves and all > kinds of craziness in Mongolia is what gave me the confidence to take this > road trip on! If I do go to Mexico, I'll certainly take lots of precautions. > > In some ways, it is more dangerous to move through the world as a young > woman. We are seen as more vulnerable and there's always the specter of > sexual violence - that can't be denied. But on the other hand, we have some > advantages. People trust us more. We are less intimidating and more likely > to evoke a protective reaction. When I hitchhike, I get picked up by moms > in minivans who would never normally stop, but they feel like if they don't > then someone dangerous will pick me up (probably an unnecessary worry in > today's paranoid world). When I stopped for gas on this road trip one > evening, the lady running the station noticed I looked tired and offered to > let me spend the night on her business's side porch. If I'd been more > intimidating, I might have been forced to ride on searching for a camp site > in the dark. Even in Mongolia, I was the target of a lot of > pickpocketers... but I could push them off, snatch my things back, I even > slapped one across the face and split his lip. Each time, the pickpocket > faded away into the crowd and I could walk on. Male friends got hit by more > violent scams. A common one is for a young Mongolian man to walk up to a > young foreign man and sucker punch him to start a fight. While the fight is > going on, the Mongolian's friends pickpocket the onlookers. As a woman, I > didn't have to worry about that kind of violence; in spite of the fact that > I'm foreign, if someone attacked me, the crowd would interfere. They don't > jump in to defend a man. > > As a woman traveler, you need to be smart. As ANY traveler, you need to be > smart. You need to be savvy, you need to avoid flashing wealth, you need to > be aware of the neighborhoods that you are passing through and respond > appropriately, or just avoid areas altogether. Probably the only extra > precautions we need to take is when associating with the opposite sex. We > have to navigate any interaction carefully to strike the right balance > between being polite and leading someone on. That line changes with > different cultures and is always a delicate balancing act. > > Past that, while female traveling is certainly different than male > traveling, it's no more dangerous. It's just different kinds of concerns. > > And for me in particular, I have a superpower. I'm not sure if the > pictures show well enough, but I have dark coloring and somewhat almond > shaped eyes. I can camouflage in any south american country and even in > many Asian ones - certainly in both China and Mongolia I regularly flew > well under the radar. In fact, in Mongolia I was safest when I was alone! > Every time I got targeted by a thief, it was when I was with western > friends. I got hit twice in 20 minutes while walking between two > 6-foot-plus men who were "guarding" me.... but I could spend all day in the > black market completely alone without a single incident, because I blend in > as long as I keep my mouth shut. :) > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/nighthawk_lovers. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Nighthawk Motorcycle Lovers!" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. 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