i crossed from urique-mesa de arturo to choix last week. there is a bridge over the rio fuerte where we crossed. all of the roads in the area are passable, they are after all mining and logging roads and if a loaded mining/logging truck can do it a motorcycle should be able to do it. i was on a klr and traveled very light so the one time i dropped my bike i was able to pick it up alone without having to unload anything. injury was my main concern since a broken hand or foot could make getting out of there really interesting. at the gas stop in cienegitas, the next village after mesa de arturo, the guy warned me not to stop for anyone after tubares because of the risk of assault but i was not that worried about robbery. i saw a police patrol heading up the mountain, locals claimed the cops were responsible for most robberies. two way radios with in helmet speakers were key for us in this area to keep tabs on each other and i would advise using them. if i can figure out how to post my gpx route i will or can email it to anyone interested.

I will also be going that way in January. I will leave Austin somewhere between Jan 14th and 18th. I am going all the way to Baja via Creel/Batopilas/Choix.

I did the same route last year with very little offroad experience. It took me 12 full hours of riding with a 2 hour break due to sheer exhaustion. I ended up dropping the bike 8 times while climbing the 7 miles of switchbacks out of the canyons. Don't get discouraged though! I wasn't nearly as prepared as I should have been.

This year I will carry more water, I will fill the tank before leaving Batopilas (6 gallons is just barely enough to get from Creel and coast into Choix) and my bike won't be geared so high for extended highway use.

If you're interested in meeting up, let me know. There are a few turns, that if you miss, will take a lot of interaction with the locals to get back on track. I'm pretty sure I remember most of them!

Can you post any more info about this route? It sounds like you went from Urique west to Mesa de Arturo then south down to Tubares, then...??? And ended up in La Reforma and on to Choix? I haven't been to the area but am headed down in 6 weeks and am trying to gather info. I'm comfortable in the dirt but will be alone on a loaded KLR so I don't want to take too many risks.

Thanks!

-Luke

that's the route exactly. la reforma is just a spot and choix is the first big town you'll come to. there are some steep sections where being loaded down could whip the old back end around because of the sand and loose rock or the dreaded front tire wipeout, you choose. my handguards were money very well spent. how long will your trip be? and are you going to do the baja crossing on the ferry?

haggeo, I would love to have your gps route, please email me. What tires did you use for your ride and how did they do?

tardypizza, we don't have a definite start time yet, we were discussing earlier in the month, I will keep you posted. We are planning on crossing the border at Douglas and riding from Agua Prieta> Huachinera> Mesa Tres Rios> El Largo> Tutuaca and then probably to Creel.

I am not really sure how to get to Urique, but would like to explore that area as well before doing the Batopilas> Choix route. The other 2 guys are planning to go further south, I don't have the time so I will blast out on the pavement probably.

Not for an RT !!! But awesome.

I was solo on a loaded 1200 Adv., and so was very apprehensive about dropping the bike in the river (water just below the knee). If I flooded the engine there I would truly have been stuffed without any help to get it out of the water. Walked my Jesse's and electronic items accross the river just in case. Got round in around 6 1/2 hours, and was feeling very pleased with myself after crossing the river etc., with about 18 miles (of 80) to go, and hit a couple of bumps when I should have been paying more attention and dropped it! Also, I actually had to stop and let the bike cool down on the long climb nearing Batoplias - my temperature gauge was in uncharted territory.

Slept very well last night, and rode up out of Batopilas early this morning - awesome road - tonight in Parral.

Incidentally, you couldn't wish for a better place to stay than the one I did at Cerocahui:

http://www.rosensrides.com/html/hotel.html

Justin, who runs the Moto Lodge in Cerocahui and rides a KLR650, is a nice guy who gave me plenty of tips, and also orgainses trips/tours from Arizona to the area.

If anyone would like a GPS (GPX) file of the route let me know.

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You got me nervous again... I live in fear of having those oh-so-nice boxes on the bike break my leg.

The trip is going to be almost 2 months but I plan on going all the way down to Yucatan so I unfortunately won't have a lot of time to play in Copper Canyon. I'm not going to Baja--I'm coming in from Texas at Presidio and going through chihuahua, hoping to hit the coast somewhere south of los mochis. I'm not interested in planning much of the trip in advance, but I'm delighted to hear I can get through to Choix... CC was what initially lit the fire for this whole trip, after all.

Thanks

-Luke

guia roji has a route from copper canyon that comes out south of los mochis. i don't have the atlas here but i remember thinking that would be the last resort if we couldn't find a way out from mesa de arturo. the western flanck of the mountains here have a few routes going to the coast it's just a matter of getting close to where you want to cross and asking the locals. many people told us it was impossible but these were people who live in towns along hwy 16 that runs between chihuahua and hermosillo. they said we would have to backtrack west on hwy 16 to a road that heads south toward ciudad obregon, then down to the ferry at topolobampo! most mexicans do not travel very far from their own towns except for medical treatment in larger towns or other exceptional reasons. in san juanito we could not find one person who had been down to urique but the owner of the hotel asked every delivery driver who came in that morning if they knew of a route west out of the canyon and they all said they'd heard of such a route. of course the owner's brother said "no...imposible" and we all had a laugh after he left. many times we were directed to the paved roads because they assumed that americans would not want to travel on the discomfort and danger of terraceria, at the military checkpoints this was often the case. everyone will help you in any way they can especially in the back country where they will help you the most. city folk are useless for any information about the outback.

what kind of tires will you be on?

Yeah, I have the Guai Roji right here (I'm fighting off a cold, giving me the perfect opportunity to actually start preparing for this trip of mine). They show a brecha going south about 40-50km to Mesa Larga and then you can pick from several routes to the coast... I just would rather do it as "interestingly" as I safefly can.

I'm going to be giving these much-talked-about Mefos a shot... which is another iffy thing in my mind because I've never had anything less knobby than K270s on it. The Mefos are better than straight street tires but not that knobby, and I've never ridden them. They'll be almost new at that point, though, since I'm changing tires in a hotel in Texas before crossing the border... I figure most of the trip will likely be on pavement so I wanted something that is fun, not just doable, on tarmac.

Thanks for all your help.

-Luke

haggeo, what tires were you using?

IanC, what tires were you using?

We are debating over full knobs or TKC-80's. For the length of our offroad trip full knobs would probably be best...the other 2 guys would have to change tires somewhere for the rest of their trip.

Thanks... Dan

I was on TKC-80's

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I ran some kinda Dunas rear tire made in Brasil, like a Scorpion AT or Trail Wing, and was OK between Bat and Urique.
I get wood over these posts, so y'all need to....keep posting.

Just some steep and loose road sections to deal with. No rough 2 track.
If it was really wet, I'd want knobs....and a friend.

IanC, how many miles did you get out of your TKC-80's?

Dan

I ran TKC 80s on my R100GS last February from Batopilas to Tubares, and they saved my arse...

This year we'll likely do the Tubares to Batopilas route, and I'll have TKC 80s on my R1150GSA for the entire Mexico Trip...

I get about 5-6K out of a rear tire, and 8-10K miles out of the front.

Running 32psi front/36psi rear for highway travel.

-H-

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With a little love and luck, we will get by.
2003 BMW R1150GS Adventure
1983 FJ45 Land Cruiser Troop Carrier

H.
Do you have any rubber left when you return home to the driveway? I can't get 5K miles on anything but Tourances. Be careful on that BIG hp'd new bike! It will eat those TKC's. Have fun.
Allen.