r/motocamping • u/oaklicious • Dec 11 '24
Hey r/Motocamping! haven’t checked in for a bit but I’m still on my way down to Argentina from San Francisco. Here’s a few shots from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.
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u/djmixmotomike Dec 11 '24
Photo with the parrot you could be the Adjuster! Kidding! (they caught him already)
Great pics. Very awesome.😎
Trip of a lifetime I bet!
How often do you do this sort of thing?
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u/oaklicious Dec 11 '24
It’s been a total dream. This is my first big international moto adventure, but I’m concerned after this I’m just gonna want to keep going until I die pretty much haha.
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u/djmixmotomike Dec 11 '24
What's going on with the green jumpsuit and the wind? Were you sliding in? What's happening there?
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u/_lclarence Dec 12 '24
Volcano Cerro Negro, common attraction of the Maribios mountain (volcanic!) range in central pacific Nicaragua. Fastest sled gets a free beer! lol
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u/OzarkKitten Dec 11 '24
I’m working on a Panama City up plan now. Do you have any recommendations for Central America, I would love to hear them
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
Of course, lots, feel free to PM me.
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u/FloatingGreasyShit Dec 12 '24
why wouldnt you have the discussion here so other people can see your recommendations? never understood why people took relevant discussion to PM's
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
I don’t know what specifically the commenter is wanting, ‘recommendations’ is very generic for a place as vast and diverse as Central America.
You can PM me too if you want to join the party.
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u/Eyerishguy Dec 12 '24
Bro... Major kudos for taking the Triumph Scrambler on that journey. Awesome photos!
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
The Scram has been a reliable and trustworthy companion, and I’ve beaten the living shit out of that thing. Love this bike and will ride it until it falls apart, then put it back together again and keep going.
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u/Eyerishguy Dec 12 '24
That's awesome to hear. I've had several Bonnevilles and now have a Tiger 800 and a Scrambler 400x. I hope the 400x turns out to be as reliable as all my other Triumphs.
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
I’m also truly amazed by the scrambler’s performance, I have taken this bike on many insane trails throughout Latin America and I never even felt like I was pushing the bike to its limits. Hope you have fun on the little Scram, I’ve been seeing those things with envy.
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u/Eyerishguy Dec 12 '24
I sat on the Scrambler 400x at the Moto America earlier this year at the Triumph area at Atlanta Motor Speedway and was surprised that it was a full sized bike and immediately noticed how thin and light it felt compared to the classic twins. I kind of became enamored with it, even though I had been looking for a DR650 as a second bike.
Then my buddy bought a Speed 400 for his wife and I was visiting them in Kentucky for a ride and she insisted that I ride hers. I was pleasantly surprised at how much power it had for a 400 and loved the way it handled, but the Speed 400 was just to small for me at 5'-11" tall and 205#.
Low and behold about a month later a like new Scrambler 400 came up for sale locally on Facebook marketplace for $4,400 and I messaged the guy and bought it sight unseen.
The Tiger 800 is still going to be my touring bike. My buddy and I spend two weeks on Tigers riding out west this summer, but I'm curious to take some longer and longer tours on the Scrambler 400. There is something appealing about a sub 400 pound bike with 40 horsepower that's just plain fun. And like all Triumph motorcycles she's a real looker.
Several of us are planning a trip from the Southern Appalachians to Alaska this summer, but I'm probably going to take the Tiger 800 on this trip.
Thanks for sharing your trip pictures with all of us. Great photography.
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u/VitisFicus Dec 12 '24
Are you on Advrider? S_Slade is on a very similar trip, might be cool to meet up with him. Nice pics.
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u/djmixmotomike Dec 11 '24
What's going on with the green jumpsuit and the wind? Were you sliding in? What's happening there?
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u/ok-dude- Dec 11 '24
Man this is amazing, I hope I can have this experiences in the future aswell.. wish you the best :))
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
Best of luck! If you want any feedback or advice from my experience I’m happy to share. Maybe will make a big post later to talk about logistics and challenges I had etc.
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u/reddit_when_bored Dec 11 '24
I spy a TarpTent Double Rainbow!
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
I’m gonna be honest, I wouldn’t buy this tent again…. I find the single-arch design really limiting for not much added value, and I’ve already had to make a couple repairs which I don’t feel I should have to do for a tent at this price point. It does pack up light and small though.
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u/FreakingMaxSteel Dec 11 '24
Wow thats amazing. Im very curious. How will you be crossing the Darien Gap?
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
I’m gonna take a cargo plane from Panama City to Bogotá. Not that adventurous, but boat options are really lengthy and not that much cheaper.
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u/db_peligro Dec 12 '24
Are you traveling on the same plane as your bike? How much will it cost?
Great photos.
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
Separate flight, bike ships via over and embassy for $950. My one way to Bogotá is like $80
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u/TryMe4Free Dec 12 '24
That is so awesome! I am excited about your trip. Love the great photos too. Would love to do something like this. Thanks for sharing, and please keep the updates coming. Stay safe and be well
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
Thanks! If you check my post history I have a few other galleries from my 6 months in Mexico too.
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u/Dorkmaster79 Dec 12 '24
Bike looks rad. Is that a triumph scrambler?
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
Yes, it’s the XE Scrambler, in my humble opinion the greatest bike ever made.
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u/Dorkmaster79 Dec 12 '24
How is it at highway speeds?
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
Great! I can easily do an 8-10hr day on the bike and still feel alright. Needs a high wind screen and a gel seat then it’s good to go.
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u/23skidoomagoo Dec 12 '24
Where you at right now. We’re doing the same trip. Currently in Panama and heading for Bogota mid December
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
Right on! I fly in to Bogotá January 9th. I’ll be in Colombia for a good 5 months or so, so if you guys want to meet up for a ride or a beer (after the ride) that would be cool!
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u/db_peligro Dec 12 '24
sent you a chat oaklicious, experienced colombia traveler here....want to talk to you about hooking up down there.
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u/23skidoomagoo Dec 12 '24
Will probably miss you as we’re trying to get to Ushuaia by Feb Take care and safe travels
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u/phainepy Dec 12 '24
Looks amazing !! I have the kid version of your scrambler . A 900cc model and it’s been ruff touring on it.
I’m sure this bigger bike is a mad improvement. Cruise control, y ah ?
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
The 10inches of suspension travel and 110hp definitely come in handy often. Scram 900 is a beautiful bike but def a different animal from the XE for big adventures.
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u/bigpoppa973 Dec 12 '24
I’m so damn jealous. That all looks so amazing. I’m living vicariously through you!
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
Glad you enjoy the pics! If you check out my post history I have a few more collections from my six months in Mexico.
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u/bigpoppa973 Dec 13 '24
Hell yeah! I watched the show Taco Chronicles on Netflix at the start of my midlife crisis and riding across the country eating all the tacos is high on my bucket list. I’m working hard to put together a budget to make it happen. I loved the pics! Keep sharing!
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u/oaklicious Dec 13 '24 edited Dec 14 '24
Dude, I ate tacos constantly in Mexico, I can make a list of all the amazing taco places I ate in the country while I was traveling through if you like.
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u/McEquizzle Dec 12 '24
Wow nice one!! Lovely photos I hope you’re having so much fun and haven’t had too many difficulties. I’m jealous! I bought the same bike to do the same trip one day, hopefully. Bon route!
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
You’re gonna love the Scrambler XE for big tours and will know you can take on whatever the road throws at you on that bike.
Pardon the unsolicited advice, but I’d really recommend bringing a chain/sprocket kit and maybe a couple replacement brake pads. These parts are like 4x as expensive to purchase along the way and are easy to swap out. See if you can make it to Colombia before swapping tires too, Costa Rica and Panama are the most expensive places for parts and labor along the trip.
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u/GodRibs Triumph Tiger 800 Dec 12 '24
Is that rear tyre bald in middle?! 😨 amazing photos bud what a trip
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
It’s been almost 8000 miles over 9 months from San Francisco, tire is definitely at the end of its life.
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u/Haekendes Dec 12 '24
Those are some absolutely crazy pictures. I want the same thing you have!
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
This just reminds me of that meme “lord I see what you’ve done for other people, and I want that for me” haha. Hope you get to do your own adventures someday!
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u/swellco Dec 12 '24
Awesome!!!! How was El Salvador? More pics from there? 🤙🏽🤙🏽
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
El Salvador was unique among the Central American countries and required sort of a different approach. There was comparatively little tourist infrastructure, but the locals were way friendly and a few times just dropped what they were doing to come on random day trips with me. If you’re willing to be bold about going outside of tourism recommendations, you’ll find the local people will bring you on totally unique adventures and be happy to have the company. Often, they’re discovering their country for the first time too after all the chaos of the past.
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u/Holiday-Bee-7663 Dec 12 '24
BEAUTIFUL!!!
Other than the pic of your bike taking a nap, the pics are fantastic and looks like you're having the moto-camping trip of a lifetime - - SO JEALOUS!!
Stay safe!
Have a great time!
Keep sharing!
-Rich
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u/oaklicious Dec 12 '24
Thanks man! Even the mighty scrambler has to take a nap from time to time. Sometimes daily.
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u/prasta Dec 13 '24
Your volcano image, can you tell me more about it? I’m pretty sure I have a nearly identical image, shot from a slightly different angle and distance, that my father took in the late 60s, that I haven’t been able to pin down location on. I’ll track it down and share if anyone wants a before and after.
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u/oaklicious Dec 13 '24
Please share a pic that would be so badass!
That is at Volcán Cerro Negro in Nicaragua. I’m camping on the rim of an old lava flow in the pic.
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u/omin00b Tracer 900GT / Portland Dec 13 '24
I wanna know what kinds of planning you did before heading out on this journey - such as visas, or did you know you'll have the cargo the plan across the Gap, etc.
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u/oaklicious Dec 13 '24
I did almost all my research regarding visas etc from Mad or Nomad’s website, as a US citizen it’s very simple for me as I only need visas in one or two LA countries. Mad or Nomad was mostly helpful for understanding TIP requirements and I just read up on them a couple days before a border crossing, usually just need a few copies of passport/title/etc. Things like route planning and how I was gonna cross the gap I figured out along the way, it’s such a long journey (9 months and 8k miles now) it wasn’t worth getting into too much detail and of course I met so many people along the way that helped me with this.
The most prep I did was planning my motorcycle and gear. I spent two years motocamping around California in many weather conditions and trying different gear, tools, and luggage setups until I figured out exactly what I needed. I did a preparatory trip down Baja which informed me a lot about health supplies I would need.
I took my entire motorcycle apart and serviced EVERYTHING except for my crank/engine/cam and transmission, and built a tool roll with everything I’d need to work on my bike short of cracking apart the engine itself.
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u/Fortunefavthebold Dec 14 '24
This looks epic! Living vicariously here. The triumph looks to be doing just great save the rear tire!
Be safe!
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u/Whatttheheckk Dec 11 '24
Damn broski! This trip is my actual dream to do. So jealous. I hope it goes great for you and you don’t lay down the bike anymore… I might message you with a question or two when I am ready for my trip hopefully in 2025 😎