South America on a Transalp - our story in a video
 

Hi guys,

So Suzpot and I went on a motor adventure through South America last year for something more than six months. We started our trip in Buenos Aires and when there, figured: why not by a GoPro and film/edit the whole thing? Well, the filming was easy, the editing however far easier said than done... Some time ago I started editing and well, this is the end result :)

We drove a Honda Transalp XL600V from 1987 which we bought here via the HUBB and well, the HUBB community helped us out more than one time. Especially since it was our first motor trip after just getting a license back home, we started out with no knowledge. Thanks for that guys! Hope you enjoy the video (and, moreover, I hope it inspires some of you)!

EDIT: Just found out that the embed video under this post stays small, so here is the YouTube link for glorious HD :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR1NPwvcCT8

Great job on the Video! Fun to watch! :funmeteryes:

Why "No GPS" ?

Everyone seems to say you can't live without it?
?c?

Thanks mollydog! bier

Well, for starters we didn't have the money for a GPS... and then we figured, why the hell not just maps and ask around! And that got us into so many fun and interesting situations we wouldn't have encountered otherwise. We always had to ask around if we searched for a specific address, took roads that in the end appeared to be wrong but still brought us to places we wouldn't have seen with a GPS and just met so many nice people who helped us on the way!

This experience actually convinced me to dump the GPS next time around as well! Only thing is that time estimations are very hard without a Garmin :innocent:

Thanks for the reply! You guys look so happy all the time in your video!
Very uplifting attitude! :thumbup1:

I agree about cost. GPS units are expensive and not getting cheaper. (I may buy a used one). :confused1:

Other problem: I'm a moron with such devices, clueless regards the need to constantly ?download/upload? new maps, then ?update/upgrade? software. No chance i can do this myself.

Main interest for GPS for me is getting around in big cities. Travelers say it's much easier with a GPS. I've got turned round in cities before ... so could use some help in that area.

Paper maps are good ... but I wonder if you add up the costs of all the paper maps you buy over a year of travel, how much would it be?

I found paper maps in S. America expensive (more than in USA), sometimes hard to find. Also, paper maps don't last long ... getting them wet ruins them. So not a perfect system either.

Thanks again for putting in all the WORK doing the video. Very well done!:thumbup1:

Well, the maps are really not that expensive and to be honest it's quite fun to actually figure out your own route in the sense that you know where you are riding and what you are passing :) I think we bought maps for five countries or something and spent 50-60 dollars? Depends a great deal on where you buy them and the maphunts are really fun, especially in countries like Bolivia where a good map is hard to come by. Still have them, think I'm gonna use them to decorate a wall back home, although you're absolutely right in saying they are a bit torn up!

However, I fully agree on the cities thing. As you saw, we drove with two and intercom. If we needed to find a specific place (and we figured that out some time before) we would sometimes load in google maps on an old iphone, so that GPS could help us further. Was handy, but only if you're riding with two on a bike I guess so that one's able to check it. But mostly we just got to know the city streets really well (a bit too well I guess) in search for a place to sleep. For the small places more than fine, for the bigger cities however, a bit annoying, especially if there is traffic, the engine overheats so you turn it off every time you stand still - old motorcycle - and it's freaking hot :mchappy: ).

But the benefits of getting yourself into interesting situations and meeting new people just by asking around (actually learned a lot of Spanish that way) weigh heavier for me! We got invited into people's home and in the evening waved the kids and grandparents goodbye with the whole family as they went on the bus on vacation, found ourselves way past sunset on a pass above 4000m in the fog with no idea where the next sleeping place would be, drove the most wild offroad only to find out we took a wrong turn 3 hours earlier and had to drive back the whole way, took an officially closed road as shortcut which locals told us we could take because we were with the motor (turned out, no way anyone could have done that road and turned back after a couple of drops)... and I absolutely loved all of these things in the end! I mean, you could bring a Garmin only for cities, but who are you kidding when you don't know the route anymore and are tired and soaked or something? Probably other people would disagree with me though. If you are to use a Garmin, I heard there are many community maps available with the better routes on it!

Well, this is starting to become quite a long post :clap: So what are you planning? And you said you also rode in South America? With paper maps? Love to hear about it!

What a great video, really inspiring.

Thanks for the video - really very nicely done with lots of great camera angles. The stop motion map is a cool idea :thumbup1:

So true about how many new doors are opened to you when you have to reach out and ask for help. You've got some great memories ... and wonderful stories to tell your grandkids someday! :clap:

Just some short rides into Mexico for now. I lived/worked in Cent. and South America for 7 years in the 1970's. I only got to ride in Mex, Guat, El Salvador and on a borrowed Vespa in Peru'! :rofl: But did see all countries save Guyanas. Also worked two years at US Antarctic research station, many trips to Ushuaia and Punta Arenas. So glad to see you really enjoyed your trip. Your video really shows the joy! bier