BikerDave7 Stranded in La Paz, BCS, Mex
 

Hey guys, Bikerdave7 on this site blew up the motor of his 08 Kawasaki KLR650 on the way into La Paz Sunday night, I've been doing my best to help him source a replacement (he ran it out of oil, an entire engine makes things easier) but not having alot of luck and I have to keep moving south or I wont be able to complete my trip in the alloted timeframe.

Is there anyone in the area??

Any ideas on where to find a replacement motor or how to get it here?!

even someone just fluent in both english and spanish could be of great help as my spanish is pretty bad and Dave's is worse...

I'm on the boat to mazatlan tonight, but I will make sure Dave checks here for any idea's/help/info you guys can offer...

Much appreciated,

Patrick

Patrick & Dave,
There is a small motorcycle community in La Paz. Check over on ADV rider in Latin America section. Put the word out. Dave is not the first to blow up in La Paz.

My advice would be to try to find a nice Canadian/American tourist with a rig big enough to carry the KLR. My buddy got a lift from around Mulege' to the border and the nice Cannuck's would NOT take money! There are tons of tourists coming and going constantly. Hang out, ask around. Also look for American dirt riders with a big truck, trailer or Toy hauler. Offer gas money.
With luck, could work out!

It will be much easier to sell, fix, burn (or whatever) once back in the US.
I have some other quasi legal solutions for Dave. He can PM me if interested. Don't give up Dave, this is no big deal. You'll get back and get back on the road. Good luck! :clap:

This isn't immediately useful, but might be helpful somewhere down the road. I'm gathering that Dave bought the bike used. I'm gathering that he ran it out of oil, suggesting that it used an unconscionable amount of oil on the highway. If so, this is a known, warrantied defect on some of the 08 model KLR's--although some dealers deny this, there's a fix kit and warranty code for changing out the faulty rings. Furthermore, if so it's unlikely that the previous owner was unaware that his/her bike burned massive amounts of oil. Of course, the warranty stuff only applies in the States.

One place to study up is in the DSN yahoo group. Lots of helpful folks there, and a workable archive and search function. DSN_KLR650 : DualSportNews' KLR650 Discussion List

If this is not applicable, or if it's totally irrelevant, I apologize for the brief thread hijack. And yes, best bet is to figure out how to get the bike back to the States--people do hire pickup trucks for this purpose. It's not the end of the world, though undeniably frustrating.

Hope that helps.

Mark

Dave seems to like the idea of getting the bike in a truck to San Diego, were going to try to find someone headed up... Does anyone have a place he can stay for a few days when he gets there while he tried to figure out the bike situation?!

You might contact Eagle Mike (very knowledgeable, totally connected and famously all-around nice guy) for a So-Cal reference. Eagle Mfg & Engineering

Has Mike resolved his dilemma of last week, found a ride to Tijuana border hence into San Diego? Hope so , from similar experience only a bit farthernorth, I with a bike once got a ride in the back of a van to Tijuana with no great waste of time. There usually are some Mexican businesses running a truck or van to the border zone to pick up cargo for La Paz, the Cabos etc.
Would be nice if folks would let us know how their problems on the road are are solved, we could all pick up some useful pointers then.