Strongly considering a one way ride from Texas to Progreso,Mexico and could use some advice

Hello all!

The lady and myself have decided to flee the US for a more scooter friendly environment.

We were hit head on by a large vehicle, on the swing, about 8 months ago. Still alive, but want to keep it that way.

In general, there are many reasons we're packing up, but the accident settled us up enough to move. The swing is my daily in an extremely dangerous place to ride (95mph on the freeway or get rundown), so we're gonna go somewhere with a slower pace.

Problem is, after having my first swing totaled, I refuse to lose the one I found, after. Not really wanting to ship it either, especially when I could ride it down.

I've done a few semi long rides across Texas, with 6+ hour days of 70+mph in both mid 30's and 100+.

But Texas is pretty flat, mostly, and the roads are usually pretty well maintained.

And those are 2 day trips.

Ive read not to drive along the gulf coat of Mexico, as it can be very dangerous, so I am considering the tollways on the West Coast.

If anyone here has experience riding this far, for more than a week, through varying elevations, on a silver wing:

What advice do you have? How does the swing handle climbs and drops in elevation? Did your bike have any problems with being run so hard so long?

With a long ride through Texas, once, I had the rear nut loosen slightly, which gave quite the wobble. Best I could find was that the metal could contract and expand due to heating from the bike, in cold weather. But I never would have considered that before.

Does anyone know of any other issues like this?

Will be taking spare belt, gas can, torque and such, and probably rear tire (though I've yet to get the trick to work for manual swap).

Is there anything else in the bike related breakdown kit I should take?

I have an idea on how to make a pannier rack, but I have some givi expandable bags and a top case, and with all else going on (prepping house to rent or sell, job swap, etc) if I don't have to mess with it, I won't.

Are hard panniers worth it for a trip this long?

And, finally, is this even a feasible trip? I trust the bike. My last one took me 50k miles all over Texas, and this one's only got 6k on it, but for someone who has only done trips lasting a couple days of riding, what am I gonna need to know ahead of time?

Thank you in advance everyone!

Personally, I have my doubts of this trip. 2000 miles through a country with major cartel problems? Our government suggests we NOT visit Mexico at the moment due to violence... But if you must, my thought is trailer the SWing down. Buy an inexpensive trailer to haul it with then sell it when at your destination.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

First trailer bikers suck---ride it, spare belt nice, tire repair kit nice. Gas up every time tank is one half. Insurance buy in US after several bike trips into mexico, I just buy a year's worth in US. I have made Mexicontrips with BMW R75/5. Helix, Suzuki GS500E and Burgman 400, Silverwing No trouble. Ride slowly their speed bumps are hell! Today SilverWing is old bike----blows up just leave--junk anyway Leave with fresh quality tires!

I once had to race from Brussels (Belgium) to Dieppe (France) to catch a ferry. Rode at around 80 - 90mph with pillion and light baggage. It took a while to get used to the high engine note but the SW behaved fine. No real problems with undulations and slight hills etc. Fuel consumption was akin to a Saturn V rocket.

The engine seems no worse for wear but I wouldn't want to do it for your kind of distances. 70mph should be fine with occassional increases for overtaking etc.

As it turned out, we got our times wrong and had a 2 hour wait at Dieppe before we could board the ferry!

john grinsel wrote:

First trailer bikers suck---ride it, spare belt nice, tire repair kit nice. Gas up every time tank is one half.  Insurance buy in US after several bike trips into mexico, I just buy a year's worth in US.   I have made Mexicontrips with BMW R75/5. Helix, Suzuki GS500E and Burgman 400, Silverwing No trouble.   Ride slowly their speed bumps are hell! Today SilverWing is old bike----blows up just leave--junk anyway Leave with fresh quality  tires!

John, silver wing is a seasoned and time tested bike, but otherwise, thanks for the encouraging words!

GHM-PM wrote:

Personally, I have my doubts of this trip. 2000 miles through a country with major cartel problems? Our government suggests we NOT visit Mexico at the moment due to violence... But if you must, my thought is trailer the SWing down. Buy an inexpensive trailer to haul it with then sell it when at your destination.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Cartel issues are a concern, depending on route, but this visit is more of a move. I've visited the place I intend to arrive, and found it to be far safer than Houston Texas. We have serious gang problems here as well, but certain areas are safer than others.

Any thoughts on the other aspects?

[/quote]

Cartel issues are a concern, depending on route, but this visit is more of a move. I've visited the place I intend to arrive, and found it to be far safer than Houston Texas. We have serious gang problems here as well, but certain areas are safer than others.

Any thoughts on the other aspects?[/quote]

I have ridden in Mexico before but it has been quite a while. A couple of things, gas can be hard to come by so take extra if possible, I assume you will have a chase vehicle? As John says have new tires and fresh fluids, speed limits are in KM so bear that in mind and watch out for potholes! Most problems (crime etc.) happen at the border so just remember that. For such a move I stand by my original suggestion of a trailer. But have fun whatever you decide!

I've ridden down Baja and up the west coast of the mainland, down the middle to Monterrey and down the gulf coast to Belize, then kept going until I got to Ushuaia, but not on a Silver Wing. I actually bought the Silver Wing I ride now for another trip, but haven't taken it. Take your title. At the border, you will fill out paperwork where you promise to leave with the bike. They will put a big sticker on the windshield. When you exit, most of it will come off.
Toll roads are pretty safe. Don't ride at night. In the evening, entire towns empty out onto the meridian to socialize and sell passing drivers snacks. Kids will run out into the road for no apparent reason. Pack tampons or pads on top of whatever bags you don't want gone through at the checkpoints. When you get to a roadblock, go around the line of cars and right to the front. The kids with Uzis manning the checkpoints might want you to rev up the bike, but usually they will wave you through. As long as you can outrun a Nissan Sentra, you shouldn't have police issues. Have a dummy wallet with about five dollars in ones, and some expired credit cards in your pocket. Carry a couple gallons of gas. You won't need much more than that. Mexico isn't miles and miles of no gas stations. Every town has a plaza, usually the safest parts of the town are closest to the plaza. If you are caught with a bullet, even if you don't have a gun, you are going to jail. Use caution around blind corners, there might be a donkey, family or old truck going ten miles an hour in your lane. Try to avoid the topes, or speed bumps. Some of them are brutal. Pass slow moving traffic any time you get a chance. Lane split in cities.
Have fun.