South America by Motorcycle

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Dan Ricker looks out over the road to Abancay in central Peru as the Crazy Gringos head into the mountains toward the end of their trip
Dan Ricker looks out over the road to Abancay in central Peru as the Crazy Gringos head into the mountains toward the end of their trip
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Ron Klima unpacks Neale Bayly’s Kawasaki upon arrival in Guatemala City.
Ron Klima unpacks Neale Bayly’s Kawasaki upon arrival in Guatemala City.
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A little bit of heaven — smooth highways pave the way to Honduras.
A little bit of heaven — smooth highways pave the way to Honduras.
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The Crazy Gringos’ bikes lined up outside the bar in Costa Rica where they “lost” Joe.
The Crazy Gringos’ bikes lined up outside the bar in Costa Rica where they “lost” Joe.
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Ron rewires Dan’s 550 after his harness fried riding across El Salvador’s rough roads.
Ron rewires Dan’s 550 after his harness fried riding across El Salvador’s rough roads.
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Heading for the Nicaraguan border.
Heading for the Nicaraguan border.
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Ron working through typically dense traffic somewhere in Colombia.
Ron working through typically dense traffic somewhere in Colombia.
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Ron squeezes past a crowd burning a car in Ecuador.
Ron squeezes past a crowd burning a car in Ecuador.
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Snow-capped mountain outside Quito, Ecuador.
Snow-capped mountain outside Quito, Ecuador.
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Freshly tarred road outside Loja, Ecuador, felled two of the Crazy Gringos but didn’t stop them.
Freshly tarred road outside Loja, Ecuador, felled two of the Crazy Gringos but didn’t stop them.
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Military check point in the mountains of Ecuador.
Military check point in the mountains of Ecuador.
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Out of gas, Dan gets a pull from Ron across the Peruvian desert.
Out of gas, Dan gets a pull from Ron across the Peruvian desert.
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The road from Nazca, Peru, heading up to the Altiplano, the high plateau that spreads from Peru to Chile and Argentina.
The road from Nazca, Peru, heading up to the Altiplano, the high plateau that spreads from Peru to Chile and Argentina.
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Father Mike (in black leather jacket) gets ready to ride Neale’s bike as Father Gio (in sweater) and a local band look on.
Father Mike (in black leather jacket) gets ready to ride Neale’s bike as Father Gio (in sweater) and a local band look on.
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The Crazy Gringos take a break before Neale sets off to find gasoline.
The Crazy Gringos take a break before Neale sets off to find gasoline.
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Dan, Ron and Neale at Machu Picchu and trip’s end.
Dan, Ron and Neale at Machu Picchu and trip’s end.
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Customs Office, Guatemala City, Central America: Each of our four Kawasaki 550 motorcycles now has 31 different sheets of paper, ranging from photocopies of passports to typed forms with VIN and registration numbers. Thirteen people at 13 desks had to stamp each piece of paper. Mercifully, not all of them needed to be bribed.

The strain was beginning to show on our faces, along with the sweat. Maybe we had made a big mistake; maybe our motorcycles would be stuck in Guatemala City forever; maybe we should have just ridden down through Mexico.

The idea had seemed simple enough: Buy four beater motorcycles, ship them to Guatemala, and tour Central and South America by motorcycle riding as far south as we could in five weeks, but sometimes things don’t quite go as planned. Spending two days in the middle of an expensive Latin American paper chase was not the start we had envisioned in Florida during the planning stages.

Getting started

The story actually began for me in 1988. Having returned to the U.S. after riding around Australia, I was working on a new motorcycle adventure to South America. An industrial accident requiring two major spinal surgeries to correct put an end to that trip, but not the dream. Fast-forward to 1995, and while working at Precision Cycle in Sarasota, Fla., a new motorcycle tour was planned. Ron Kilma (owner of the shop), Dan Ricker, Joe Eriei and I bought four $300 mid-1980s Kawasaki 550 motorcycles and made sure they were mechanically sound before sending them on ahead to Guatemala City. With each of us riding a similar motorcycle we could carry one set of spare parts that fit all, minimizing the amount of equipment we needed to carry.

  • Published on Jun 10, 2010
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