A carbureted, single-cylinder adventure bike built for exactly this kind of trip — light enough for rough roads, simple enough to fix anywhere. She's been through nine countries and counting.
Ximena, a name I gave her after our formative adventures in southern Mexico, an homage to Oaxaca. I felt like I wanted to get an X in her name. I got her with 4.8 thousand miles and currently she sits at around 18,000. She doesn't sound so pretty and can struggle with the load I put her under, but she always starts up and is ready for what I put her through.
Major Service History
- New steering bearing at 7k miles in Austin, Texas — note to anyone heading to Mexico: avoid doing service in America; it's way cheaper and better south of the border.
- New clutch at 8k miles in Oaxaca, Mexico, because I burned the clutch using car oil (big mistake).
- New chain at 10k miles in southern Mexico, and new sprockets at 11k in El Salvador.
- New cam chain at 13.5k miles in Bogotá, Colombia, after hearing a terrible mechanical banging/clashing sound for about 1k miles at high rpm/high load. This didn't end up fixing the sound — research seems to point to a loss in oil pressure causing the noise.
- Full new top end at 15.5k miles in Cali — new piston, cylinder, valves, and oil pump. No longer burns oil.
