Well I don’t know if it was a good decision or not but I spent the majority of my cash ($900) on a 1995 Yamaha DT175 enduro motorbike.
I cant tell you how much I loathe spending 4 hours on a chicken bus to buy groceries, a screw, a chip brush, or masking tape.
The bike weighs less than I do and I can easily hoist it onto Splendid’s deck and take it with me through the Pacific or wherever I go. It will be really cool to have transpiration as I travel to take photographs and video on small remote islands. I know the motorcycle doesn’t really fit into my minimalistic philosophy but it is what it is. I’m UBER-DONE with the chicken buses!
I’ll be able to fix up splendid allot quicker now that I can take a nice ride to the ferritera (hardware store) whenever I need to.
I couldn’t finish my paper work at the DMV today as I didn’t have my passport. I need return to Splendid tonight and be back on the 6:30 (4 hour) bus to PC in the am. I paid and extra $40 for the guy to put on a nice (used) trunk on the back of the bike and he threw in a helmet. That in conjunction with my large backpack will allow me to haul lots of stuff (paint, supplies, food, etc…).
I took the bike for a spin and it really has a lot of power and runs smooth. The guy who sold it to me owns a bike shop and also gave me a three month guarantee on everything (Motor/trans/whatever). He just rebuilt the bike and feels confident its all in order. There are a lot of cheaper Chinese bikes around but they seem like real crap. This bike is 16 years old, and I think it will run for another 16 if I take care of it. Parts are available everywhere, they are cheap, and the bike is really simple. My friends tell me the Chinese bikes fall apart after a few years and are useless.
I did manage to buy all the parts for my SCUBA/pneumatic spray paint system and I did get my flip video camera today. I’m shooting video like mad :)
I don’t know if this was the right call or not but I made it today.
Peace, Love, and VAROOM!!!
alex
Good call on the bike…in my opinion. Take it from someone who has owned many yamaha’s and has fixed many Chinese knockoffs….there is noooooo comparison! That bike should be faithful to you for quite some time..I cant speak for what the high seas may do for you as far as the salt and effects on the magnesium and aluminum but I will pay attention because I have thought about the same thing when I head out. Good luck!
Barry.
Barry,
I’m going to make a water-tight cover for it and threw-bolt some eye bolts in the deck for it, then I’ll ratchet-strap her in place. I’ll probably remove the chain and tires and store them in the lazerette. I’m thinking to keep a spray bottle of diesel/WD-40 in it’s trunk to keep her from rust as much as possible.
I’m pretty good at looking after my things and restoring as opposed to letting them go to $hit. I’m excited like a 16 year old kid :) I’m calling this my early b-day present and haven’t bought something for myself for a while.I think it was the right call. I’m really psyched to have a flip video camera again and will post some vid soon :)
I’m also thinking of painting as much of it as I can with zinc-cromate paint to fight corrosion & rust.
Cheers
Congrats Alex! You now have some wheels! Should be fun and still is simplistic / minimalist. Look forward to some video of where it will take you.
Cheers,
Mark
Good call on the bike Alex! It will give you a special freedom when you need supplies plus the adventure of it all. Now, get some vids posted for purchase!!! I will be standing by.
Positive on the bike purchase. I have just bought my boat, a 46′ Morgan 462, in the Sea of Cortez and have thought long and hard about a motor bike as well, but the rust and corrosion concern me. I have a Honda 230 4 stroke which I could probably find room for on my deck. What are your plans for the water proof inclosure? Lay down or stand up?
Regards Steve
Great move Alex with the bike. You know it is really impossible to live in the western world as a total minimalist. We can all improve our wastful habits by recyling, finding alternative energies and not wasting energy. we can choose to drive eco friendly cars and smaller fossil fuel vehicals and all do are part not to waste.
In my profession i have to drive a vehical. I live in Canada where rapid transit is not always available or practical.
Te bike was a great move. It will privide you with more freedom and more ways to share your life style. Even financialy it is a good move. When the time comes to sell the bike you will always get at least half of what you paid for it. It all makes sense. Good move.
Live free and ride far.
I wanted to post another question to you and here it is.
Alex, I want to say that i really admire your life style and i am sure many of us do.
I am the same age as you and i know my earnings are probably make 10 times more then you a year. Why is it that i have far less then you finacially in life?
Perhaps here is the answer? I make a fairly good livng in the profession that i am in but there is no way that i could go out and buy a used 16 year old motor bike. It costs so much to survice from month to month in our society. Between my rent, food, utilities, house hold expenses, taxes, insurance and basic monthly spending it costs this single 45 year old guy $5000.00 pr month. That income gives me the ability to go on a basic canned vacation once a year for 2 weeks. If I really watch my spending i can save $3000 dollars a year for my retirment providing the market doesn’t crash again. Which we all know it will. I would love to be in the position to set sail, and live as free as i can be. Today when i got home from work there where three monthly bills waiting for me. Hydro electric bill $72, cable and internet $129.00, heating bill, $54.00 and cell phone bill (basic plan) $122.00. I purchased $100.00 in groceries, filled my small trucks fuel tank for work $89.00 and paid my monthly car insurance bill $110.00. That is $700 in one day. Why is it that i make 10 times more then you and i can’t even afford a used 16 year old motor bike? I would do any thing to be where you are but there is one big thing i can’t seem to get out of my head. What would i do and where will i be when i am 65 years old and have no retirment savings? I worked it out the other day that during my working life i would have paid our federal goverment $1,495,000. in federal taxes. For that they will give me $645.00 a month when i am age 60 and an additional $345.00 when i am 65. If i dont save for retirement then i wil be old and unable to look after my self. Can you please give me your prospective on this? What are your plans when you are too old to sail or work? What will you do to survive?
You have done more with the money you made from your short working stint then i am able to do with a years worth of income??????
Curtis
Curtis,
remember I was a stock broker & financial advisor, my branch manager and I had very differand ideas of “security” we will get into that later.
I will respond in lenghth tomorrow. Is 10 something and I just got in, got to get up @ 5am and haul my ass back to Panama with my passport so I can get my ride :)
long day 2morrow and a long bike ride.
Cheers
Curtis,
It’s 5:11am. I was up most of the night psyched about my bike and thinking about your words. In my humble opinion it’s not about numbers, it’s not about $110 car insurance, or $122 cell bill. I’ve said it a hundred times and I’ll say it again. In my humble opinion, it’s about asking for how little you need, and not how much you can get from life. I believe this is the path to freedom (financial, spiritual, and physical). It’s about minimalism.
I watched my mother die in a crappy (no health insurance) hospital room when she was 42, I was 20 at the time. A sat in a terminal cancer ward watching young and old people drop off like flies for more time than I should have. Ultimately however, it has a massive and positive impact on my life which helped set me free.
I followed the path of “success” and money (numbers) in Hollywood, then as a stock broker. I was never satiated and it drove me, well…., to my New Years blog, and I never want to be in that place again.
As you all know I’m not a big fan of the “system” and I know for certain it doesn’t have my best interest in mind. Ultimately I want people to know this and I try and live my life very simple, honest, and by example. I know Project BlueSphere has had a positive impact on more than a few people and this makes me quite happy, actually it’s my spiritual food. It makes me feel like Neo freeing souls from the matrix, or at least showing them the door.
Our system is based on fear. Fear of communists, killer bees, black people, yellow people, brown people, swine flu’s, poverty, terrorists, psychos, and not being helped when we are sick. CNN, Fox news, commercials, sitcoms, TV is all advertising that makes us buy insurance, pay massive tax’s and super consume everything we can. It’s the machine. It’s the glue that binds us to something I just don’t believe in.
If I die on the steps of a hospital because the people inside wont help me do you think I would trade that moment for all of my experiences over the last decade? Do you think I would trade it for sailing into Bora-Bora with a huge bull mahi-mahi on the hook, or spending a quarter of my adult life spear fishing and sailing in paradise? Not for a million dollars m8. Funny, that would mean I would trade the last 10 years of my life for 100k a year. Not a chance in hell, my life isn’t that cheap, nor is it for sale.
I certainty don’t have all the answers. All I know is I need to follow my instinct (heart), and not my head. I’m not the smartest guy on the block but I think knowing my path is my gift. Right now I think a 16 year old motorbike will take me where I need to go, perhaps not?
I guess, for me, it all boils down to the fact I don’t want to life for ever, I just want to live for now.
It’s late, got to run. I hope the bike doesn’t break down on the long ride home ?
Cool bike. I remember my Virago 780 v-twin ran perfect all the time. Got me every where I wanted to go.
Rice burner cooool.
I have the money for just about any bluewater boat I want (older boat) up to a 35′, just need to finish restoring my boat to sell it. I figure I’ll go shopping next spring yahoooooooo!
thumbs up on the bike ….when i was in ecuador i bought a chinese knock off , rode it 5 mo and sold it lost $400….within 1 1/2 months it exploded on the new buyer….while i owned it i changed oil and replaced sparekplugs and dealer serviced….bottom line it was a pices of crap….@@@STEVE i sold a morgan 452 1 1/2 years ago in guaymas…there was a 462 in la paz, is that the one? they are bullet proof, and the hull is about 1 1/2 inches thick….alex spent many evenings eating dinner with us in colombia, san blas , panama and panama city….hope you enjoy they are great boats.
It’s late just got home but had a glourioous ride back. What fun, fun, fun !!! I write ove coffee in the am as usual ;)
I’m back in the system!
Man, I spent over half the day yesterday dealing with bureaucracy. It wasn’t bad enough the lady from the Muinicipio (DMV) made me come back to my boat (7 hour trip) for my passport when all she needed was my passport number which is on my Panama mariner’s visa, which I had. But for 5 hours yesterday I went from one government office to the next making copies for everyone in various copy shops (why don’t they do this themselves?) and going to a notary. I haven’t dealt with government bureaucracy like this in…, well…., about a decade, since I owned my very cool jeep scrambler which is in the first film. My driver’s license is expired but my buddy Eric turned me on to getting an international drivers license online. That’s what he did when his expired and he said it works fine here. I put a couple holes in mine like my dog chewed it which hides the expiration date. It doesn’t matter so much here tho. Last time I was in Panama (5 years ago) I rented a car at Avis with it and it was expired back then.
Finally by 3pm I got the keys to my bike and drove off. It’s unbelievable to me that people think what I do on the sea is dangerous. Driving on a motorcycle in Panama City or even a car is sheer madness in my opinion. You have to be a bit aggressive and have a death wish or your toast. I need to get a better helmet, mine is the open face kind, and I want to get road armor (waterproof padded pants & jacket), with spine protection. All the over-lander’s (camper travelers on jeeps & motorbikes) on motorbikes all swear in having good spine protection as well as a good helmet.
The drive out of the city to the autopista (freeway) is beautiful and a two lane cut through thick jungle that runs parallel to Lake Guaton and the Panama Canal.
Once I got to the autopista I was worried about maintaining enough speed. I really felt like I was winding the bike up to do 100kph (60-65mph). The bike is revving at 6000rpms which is half way in the green, the RPM gauge goes into the red at 9000 RPM’s. It’s not really a street bike and perhaps I should have gotten a street bike? The thing I like about my bike, and my initial thinking behind it, is it is really light (air cooled 2-stroke) and I can take it with me easily. The Suzuki 125 or 250 street bikes everyone has around here are a lot heavier. I don’t know that my bike is so good for the 50 miles or so necessary on the autopista going to Panama city (but doable), but it is really perfect for the 2 hour ride to Sabenats (Ray supermarket), Quatro Altos (mall), and Colon ($#!t hole), but a good place to find supplies and parts.
When I got home to Han’s restaurant everyone came up to see the bike and went on about how good of an idea it is, I heard “freedom” spoken in multiple languages. I took my buddy Aaron for a ride and he swears he’s going to get a bike next week so we can go tool around and explore some of Panama. The actually have another identical DT175 for the same price at the shop where I got mine.
I have to find a safe place to park it where it won’t get stolen, and I have to get some thick chain & cable, and a really good lock. Hans will let me keep it at his hose for a few days but doesn’t really have the room. I’m going to spray the bike with 2-part Zink-chromate paint which will help protect it from the elements and make it really ugly as well (chromate green). I like ugly as it is less likely to be a target for theft. It jacks my resale value but I’m not really looking at this as any sort of investment.
Its going to be a little harder to work on the boat the next couple days, I really want to go riding : – )
cheers
alex…congrats, i know the feeling of wind in your face. get a smaller sprocket for the back….bike will have higher top speed (lower rpms ), and you won’t need a different chain. if you go larger sprocket in the front you will probably need a longer chain, unless you add only one tooth…..both are available on e-bay…i just got an oiless (o-ring) chain for my harley. if you think panama is crazy, take a ride in cartagena……enjoy…..G
Cool on the bike. I’m surprised you haven’t done that earlier!! I always figured when I get out there, I’ll have a bicycle to get around with. But in your situation, a bicycle just won’t help on a 4 hr ride to PC.
I’d be a little concerned with rust and corrosion from the salt water. Maybe protect exposed metal with petroleum jelly or something. I remember as a kid, we shipped a car overseas and the shipping company put something like that on the bumpers, wheels, etc.
Gary,
I would gladly sacrifice some bottom end for top end, can you point one out on ebay? I’ve had the bike about 24 hours and put just under 400 km on it. I had to run to Colon this morning. It was so nice to get up, not worry about the bus, stop to look at a nice view, and enjoy the ride :)
I tell you tho, the bussed come around the corners in the wrong lane, they are outof their minds :(
Dave, I’m going to make a full enclosure for the bike and keep a spray bottle with diesel on it.
Alex:
Well let me give you a thumbs up on your purchase too. I’ve been busy and haven’t been up here for a few days and there you are with a new ride. Nice going. It will make your life a bit better and faster.
Watch those busses. You don’t want to be a fly on the bumper.
Take care of yourself and enjoy the ride.
Capt Paul
s/v Panacea
alex…count the teeth on the rear sprocket and e-mail me…………G
hey…. from what i can tell the dt175 was discontinued in 1981 in the u.s. but available in other countries ……rear sprockets are about $20 and kits with both sprokets and a new chain are $42-$60….the larger the drive (front) and the smaller the rear the more speed. ride safe….g see ebay…. yamaha dt 175 sprocket
shop.ebay.com/i.html_from=R40&_trksid=p3984.m570.l1313&_nkw=yamaha+dt+175+sprocket&_sacat=See-All-Categories
link did not work sorry…..go to ebay and type in yamaha dt 175 sprocket…………………………….g
Hey Ally, I’ve been reading your Logs, they’re great…. Love, MOMMA D