Copper Canyon Ride Report

By simon, 23 March, 2002

Copper Canyon Ride Report

on behalf of John Marshall

I think making that trip the first time is damn impressive. Usually you don?t get the crud from the water until you get back. Did your friend eat something bad? I have stayed away from anything that is leafy and don?t drink the water and have not had any problems on the last few trips. Tequila consumption is beneficial too.

What hotel did you stay in while in Batopilas. I have always stayed at Martins near the bridge on the road to the mission. $35 per night for a room but very quaint.

The best western is the best place to store a vehicle in creel. They have a night watchman and a locked gate. They are about 45 per night for a room and real nice people. They probably raised the price last year. The owner is Mexican but went to school in France and is real interesting. We have never had them charge to leave vehicles there. I would be more afraid of leaving one at the border. Their dinning facility is first rate for Mexico.

If you take the road out of Batopilas by the mission you can head south and then north ending up on the ridge over Urique. This is the road I want to take on one of my future trips.

I have most of the GPS coordinates for the trip to Alamos, El Fuerte and back. Unlike you, we were lost some times on the first trip and those got logged into the gps too. Mostly on the roads west of Chinipas. My friend Dan did the first run and logged a lot of the turns and I added a bunch on my first time. I retraced his lostness for a whole day in the desert. It is a sinking feeling to realize that the utility poles have disappeared and you can?t determine where the road is in front of you. Usually you just follow the utilities and they will lead you to the next town.

The climb out of Chinipas is about the same length as the climb out of Urigue but the terrain is much more difficult and steeper. The trip back is another story. The climb out of La Reforma is real brutal for a 51 year old like myself. It is 125 miles of dirt back to Cericauhi although we had a couple of hare scramble riders that seemed to breeze through most of it. I was on a KLR and feel that the KTM is going to be a real equalizer. I feel that my riding style has improved dramatically since getting the new bike.

I did the same route you did on my first trip and I was riding an r1100 GS. I tried to do the low road to Creel and then on to Batopilas in one day. We got caught in a real bad rain storm and it turned dark while descending to Batapilas. I was riding with another partner and he slipped over and cracked a rib. Less than two minutes later a truck with a bunch of Mexican kids came by it was raining like hell and they heaved Dan and his bike into the truck and hauled him into town. They never asked for a dime. I rode the rest of the way into town with out lights and the front wheel was caked with mud so bad that you could barely see through it. The water had shorted out the breaker on my pias and the head light gave up due to the vibration. My KTM will never pucker my but as bad as the GS did that night. That is when I realized how poor of an off road bike the GS is. Stupidity on my part for even trying this. I dodged many falling not fallen but falling bolders that night and rode through water that was over the top of my boot. Well the wake was.

I have been swimming and in the river at Batopilas several times and lived through it but it is very cold. Of course it could be the reason I can?t spell while typing any more.

Here are some picts that I took about 14 months ago on my last trip. I posted these once before. My friend Dan had started a tour company when he wasn?t working as a dentist and died while we were traveling near Deloris Hidalgo June 2000. I helped keep the tour business going and I helped lead this group on the basic canyon ride in October of 2000. His step son has taken over the reins and moved the company to Arizona. I would recommend taking the tour on your first trip to that area. But if some one wants to leave from Presidio Texas I am willing to go too. I have two KLR?s that I just can bring myself to sell if some one needs a bike. I can show you the cheap places or the expensive depending on what you want to spend. I like riding slow and enjoy the scenery and can move at a pretty good pace too. Just depends.

If you haven?t noticed I love taking about Mexico. Gets my mind off of a long hard day of working today. My wife is recovering from cancer surgery and that has left me dry docked for a year. I can?t wait to get back. I loved the pictures from Greece and would love to see picts from others. Thanks for listening.

John in Austin.

Thanks

Thank you for this post! Very interesting!

Best regards from germany!

News Topics

Ride Reports

By Jim Bessette.

Starting in January, a couple of other guys and I discussed riding to Copper Canyon. I decided to go, and to ride the KTM (1998 620 RXC).

MODIFICATIONS:

I thought about a number of modifications to make before the trip. Here's what I modified:

Replaced the original tank with the 20 Liter tank.
Replaced the modified Quicksilver carburetor with a 40mm Dellorto. Jetting and set-up took quite some time (this being the first time I ever have messed with a carb other then my R100GS).
Put on Metzeler Sahara 3 tires.
Had custom aluminum "bags" made by Happy Trails. I already have Touratech mounts that I use for Pelican bags.
Had Bitchin' Stitchin' in Longmont CO customize my seat. I brought the bike to him and was there for most of the work. It was made wider and a gel insert was put in. Then a new vinyl cover (a little darker than stock).
Added a Touratech tankbag
Put an "O" ring in the space on the right grip to give me a "throttle lock" I tried an aftermarket throttle lock, but it made the grip too short for my hand. It was too annoying and would rub.
Cranked the preload just about all the way down on the shock (I'm 6'4" and weigh 180-185lbs.
Safety wired handgrips
Stainless steel oil filters (both kinds) from Dual Star
KTM toolbox added to rear fender.
Aerostich (Rider Warehouse) tank panniers (which I already had).
Added cigarette lighter adapters for my GPS and Valentine 1
RAM mounts for the GPS and Valentine 1
Brought a 14 tooth front sprocket with me and changed it out when I got to Creel (top of Copper Canyon), and switched back to 16 for the way home.
Sidestand (I had only a centerstand)

Other things I had already modified/added on the bike:

Headlight cover from Dual-Star
Fender bag (for tube and levers) from Cycoactive
"Number plate" bag (I think from Cycoactive) (Holds a tube and pump, and some other small stuff)
Added KTM rear rack
Touratech bag mounts
Removed passenger footpegs
Acerbis handguards with turn signals integrated into them (removed original turn signals)
Removed "horn" from airbox and the charcoal cannister
Added metal KTM bash guard for the 620 - not the cool LC4 one that's wider

THE TRIP (in a very small nutshell):

Thursday evening Feb 28th - trailer to outside Santa Fe Friday - trailer to El Paso. Barnett Harley Davidson allowed me to leave my F250 and trailer in their parking lot for the week.

Saturday morning we left El Paso taking the Zaragosa (sp?) Bridge into Juarez. Made the required stop for Visa and Vehicle Permits and made it to Chihuahua before dark. One blip on the Valentine for a cop coming the other direction.

Sunday - Chihuahua to Creel. All paved.

Monday - Creel to Batlopilas - About 1/2 paved, 1/2 dirt.

Tuesday - Batopilas to Satevo (6 miles) and then some exploring on the road toward Tubares. Stayed in Batopilas another night.

Wednesday - Batopilas back to Creel via mostly dirt roads. No map shows the road we took and it was quite nice. We went up to about 7500 feet from down in the canyon in Batopilas. Very scenic.

Thurday - Creel to Urique, via the high road to Bahuichivo. Road to Urique from Bahichivo/Cerocahui was quite cool.

Friday - The plan was to go to Chinipas, but one of the guys was very sick, so we took the low road from Bahichivo to San Rafael and then onto Creel (again!).

Saturday - Creel to El Paso

Sunday - trailer home.

WEATHER:

Briefly, we were both cold and hot. Elevation gain/loss was quite severe (into/out of Urique was 5000 ft in 10 miles). Creel was cold in the mornings (less than freezing), Batopilas was quite warm. Riding to/from Juarez (El Paso) from Chihuahua was cold at the ends of the day (morning/evening). No rain. Got some sunburn down in Batopilas. Water crossings were very shallow.

HOW WELL THINGS WORKED:

The bike performed very well. I had absolutely no problem with it at all. On the way from El Paso to Chihuahua on the very first day, I ran out of gas exactly as my odometer read 200 miles. This was not surprising. I had never run a tank full and since I had a brand new carb, I really didn't know what my mileage would be. So I hung on the side of the road while the 2 guys (on their KLR 650s) went to get me some gas). It was only about 8 miles away. So, the new 20L tank was great. Now that I new my range (at pretty fast highway speeds anyway), I knew when to fill up. The tank holds just over 5 US gallons, so at highway speeds (like 75-85 MPH) I was getting about 40 MPG.

The new carb was great. As has been said on the KTM list for quite some time, dump the Edlebrock Quicksilver.

The Metzeler Sahara tires were good. I used them once on my GS, but now use Avon Gripsters (for better mileage). Gripsters don't exist for my KTM.

Happy Trails bags - I had these custom made. The top was supposed to be attached with a hing, but in a mix up, the hinges didn't get installed. I used a stainless steel wire with loops and a lock to insure the lids did not go flying off if for some reason I didn't lock them down. This was an idea from Story Leavesly (with whom I was riding). Good thing I used this wire. The first day, I didn't get the lid latched properly, and Story waved me down to tell me my lid was flapping - but not LOST!

The bags themselves worked well. On one side I have almost nothing but my camera gear. They stayed tight the whole trip. I was concerned about breaking the mounts/bags on the roads we were riding. The left bag weighed 30 pounds, the right 34 pounds (loaded, including the bag). No problems.

The custom seat was great. NO WAY I could've made that trip without it.

Touratech tankbag - much like the BMW tankbag (zips on/off) was really great. I'm very happy with it. I can fill the tank without removing it and it doesn't interfere with the tank hose.

"O" ring as "throttle lock" - My hand got tired, probably because I had to continually "fight" the friction of this, but I think overall I'm glad I did it. I could remove my hand from the grip for highway riding.

Suspension: the bike felt great at all times. I was impressed with the suspension.

Stainless steel oil filters (both kinds) from Dual Star - who knows. I haven't changed the oil yet.

KTM toolbox added to rear fender - never really had to get to them, but I like them back there. (I had move tools in a Dual-Star roll in my tank panniers).

Aerostich (Rider Warehouse) tank panniers - Having a 40 inch inseam makes reaching the ground from this tall bike EASY. However, my knees also push on the tank panniers all the time. I would use them again if I need the space.

Valentine 1 - The V1 caught only one signal the whole trip which may have saved us a ticket. We were going probabaly 70 MPH in a 50 zone. I didn't use it off the highways at all. I like the RAM mount.

Garmin GPS III+ - I've had this unit for a few years now. It's always performed well, as it did for most of this trip. I think I vibrated the crap out of it though, as for some reason, it kept turning itself off on the last day. Since then, it's doing the same thing. No, I didn't use batteries at all in it. I like the RAM mount.

Sprocket - Used the 16 only for the long days of highway droning. The 14 tooth was GREAT for the rest of the trip. In the dirt, the 16 is miserable, as I always had trouble between 1st and 2nd - 1st would be too low, 2nd too high. With the 14, I stayed in second on the dirt most of the time, going to third sometimes. First was for climbing and steep descents (both of which there was plenty).

Lastly, the sidestand was invaluable. Sure glad I didn't have to put that thing on the centerstand all the time.