Lessons Learned During a Chilean Excursion

I attended a presentation by a gentleman who rode from Santiago, Chile to Tierra Del Fuego. The event was sponsored by the BMW Riders of Oregon and hosted by Premier Motogear.

The presentation was interesting for a few reasons:

• The first thing out of the presenter’s mouth was (and I paraphrase): I rode a bunch in the 60s, had a wreck that caused me to put it away, got bitten again 40 years later, bought a bike, and there I was.
• Almost all of the riders in the group were on very large bikes (R1200GS, KTM 990, etc). Hey, sounds like an ADVRider event!
• It became quickly apparent that the folks in this group were in way over their heads.

Now, I’m not one to criticize another rider’s trip and I’m not about to start now. These guys were taking a trip a lot of people only dream about, and they had the time and the money to make it happen. If you had that kind of opportunity, would you take it?

After 35 days, 5300 miles, three med-evac flights, and one impounded motorcycle later, the group returned home with mangled bikes, memories to last a lifetime, and some hard-won knowledge like:

• Small bikes excel in the dirt, no contest. The bikes that had the least problems were the Suzuki DR650s and BMW F650GSs.
• High-quality insurance like MedJet is worth it. Do your best not to find that out the hard way.
• The lighter you pack, the happier you’ll be.

Coincidentally, a group of riders just happens to be taking a similar, but much longer, trip from Tierra Del Fuego back to Oregon. After seeing tonight’s presentation, I’ll be following this thread with interest: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9129181.