Getting the bike
through customs was easy thanks to Sandra from Dakar Motos. We went up to the
airport in a cab with a load of documents and copies of documents and
all I had to do was shell out cash at appropriate times.
The problems started
when I tried to leave. I packed the bike, unpacked it again so
customs could give my stuff the once over, re-packed it, put my gear
on, started the bike and it died as soon as I put it into gear. I'd
noticed the switch on the clutch lever had come loose when I was
taking the bike to the airport so I assumed it had something to do
with that. Many phone calls back to Dakar and I ended up riding with
the neutral indicator lead shorted to earth and the neutral light on
all the way. Turns out there's another switch on the side stand and
both that and the clutch switch had died. Shorting them both out
solved the problem.
Took a day trip out to
Tigre, just west of Bueons Aires to try the bike out. Didn't do
much, just lunch in a pavement cafe and a bit of a potter around.
Loving riding in shorts and t-shirt but feeling vulnerable. Packed
the bike on Wednesday evening, set off Thursday morning into 40
degree heat. The bike was handling like a bag of spanners and I had
no idea why until I stopped in Canuelas to visit a cash point and saw
that everything had fallen backwards and all the weight was hanging
off the rear of the bike. Soon fixed with a couple of packing
straps. I put riding gear on because it looked like rain.
Fuck, did it rain. I
tried everything; following the storm, riding through the storm but
nothing did any good. I was soaked through within 10 minutes and had
to do around 280km across the Pampas. The Pampas is flat and
featureless. You keep thinking you're about to go into a town but
you're not. There's no shelter, few petrol stations and fewer places
to get a hot drink. I think I tried all of them.
When I finally got to
Azul, the place I was heading had already closed up. I had no phone
number for them and no credit in my phone. I failed to find the
municipal campsite (I didn't look very hard, I must admit), the Ruta
3 Motel appeared to be abandoned and so I found a moderately priced
hotel in the town. My stuff is currently spread all over the room
dripping onto the floor, maps and banknotes included. Hopefully it
will be usable tomorrow.
The bike held up pretty
well, I've had problems with water before and it did start
spluttering during some of the heaviest rain but it held together.
Short of breaking the speedometer cable it behaved very nicely all
day. I now have another item on my todo list, this needs to be
sorted because without the milage counter, I have no idea how much
petrol I have left.
Right. Finish my beer
and off to the restaurant downstairs.
Oh yeah, another thing
for the todo. All my documents are soaked through. Passport,
vaccination certificates, IDP, temporary import permit for the bike.
Put them in a plastic bag.
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