Storing my bike in Peru when I return to Brazil

 I have made a separate page about "My Bikes" (link here My bikes) but the only way I could "add" posts to that page was by commenting (there may be another way, but that is beyond my skillset). I added a comment last year about how Oli, my Ronco Demolition, had been abused in my absence and how it had cost a lot to get repaired. I had tried to get to Trujillo to a mechanic there, but the logistics of that proved difficult, and a local motorcycle spares shop recommended a Venezuelan mechanic, who had set up shop at a street corner. Eventually he rebuilt the engine for me, and all appeared well.

I didn't use Oli much last year, mainly to get me back and forth to Trujillo for medical appointments as Chip was occupying most of my time, so never gave him a decent run, but he did appear to be running fine, and I had no real concerns. Towards the end of my stay I was considering where to leave him this time, as I was rather reluctant to go through the same drama again, and happened to notice that a mechanic's premises was open again. I had used this young man extensively in the past, but thought he had given up as I never saw any activity at his workshop, but stopped off for a chat. He had opened a second premises a short distance away, and had been working from there, but was running out of space so had returned. He offered to store Oli for me, and then prepare him for my return the following March.

Three weeks before I was due back I contacted him and asked him to give Oli the once over and prepare him for collection when I got back. However when I arrived he said there was a "noise" in the engine which concerned him, and though it was running he would like to investigate further. 4 days later the pandemic hit, everything shut down, and work ground to a halt!

I was under complete lockdown, due to my age, and for the next three months only "essential" workers were allowed to go to work, and people were only allowed out for food purchases, or medical reasons - and the mechanic was unable to work as most motor spares shops were also closed.

Early June some restrictions were lifted and he said he would be able to continue the repairs, but was till finding sourcing parts to be difficult as inter-provincial transport was still restricted to "essential services" only, predominantly food supplies. I did manage to see him at the end of June, and he told me that when he opened the engine he found some damage, and some issues that had not been resolved the previous year, specifically that the counterbalance was missing! It had clearly broken, and caused some "non-fatal" damage inside the crankcase, and never been replaced - apparently the engine will still run without it, but just runs a little rougher, with more vibration.

Crankcase, showing damage right of centre

These pieces were sitting at the bottom of the crankcase, but fortunately had not done any further damage

Oli, stripped and looking sad

Despite being told the engine had been rebuilt the previous year the mechanic said that many of the damaged parts implied this hadn't been the case, and Oli needed a new crankshaft, piston, connecting rod, clutch and, of course, the missing counterbalance! The damage to the crankcase was not severe enough to require replacement. I gave him a substantial advance to cover parts he needed to buy and left it with him - he also offered to re-paint Oli as corrosion was bad in places.

He contacted me a couple of weeks later and said he was having difficulty sourcing the counterbalance, but that the engine would run fine without it - it would just run a little rough due to increased vibration without the counterbalance - and he should have the bike ready soon, once he managed to get the paintwork done.

I was given a series of collection dates, each which came and went with no sign of completion - paint wasn't dry, there were some missing bolts, a new bearing was needed, gaskets couldn't be sourced, and so on - "nothing major"! Eventually I went round and found him there - he had been ill, but was now getting close, but had had to repaint everything as the varnish he had used had not dried, and caused the new paint to run, and was now waiting for everything to dry!

I was given a new collection date, but when I went round the pieces were still hanging like in the pictures. Now there was a new problem, or rather two - the tank had been sandblasted (all the frame had been) and because of corrosion this had revealed some pinhole leaks, and he was unable to find anyone who could repair it, so I would need a new tank, and also the wiring loom was a mess and needed replacing. This last one threw me as the Venezuelan mechanic had told me he had to replace the loom last year as it had burnt out, but clearly had done nothing of the sort! I was beginning to realise I had been well and truly had the previous year! More money for parts changed hands, and I was given a new collection date.

That, too, came and went, and I was given another - "Guaranteed, I give you my word, I need 7 - 10 more days!" On the tenth day, last Saturday, I went round, and was told it would be ready later that day, but I could collect it on the Monday. I tried contacting him before going round, just to make sure, but received no response, so walked round anyway - only to find out that he was closed until Tuesday (turned out it was his daughter's first birthday and was a big deal), but he did message me that evening apologising, and told me that today, Tuesday, he was going to Trujillo for the final part he needed - a bearing for the handlebars - and would message me as soon as Oli was ready!

It is now 9 months since I first made contact informing him about my return to Peru, and 5 months since I was so confident of getting Oli back that I renewed my SOAT (compulsory insurance). I am currently 2 months past the expiry of my tourist visa (but due to the pandemic and state of emergency here Immigration has allowed all over-stayers to remain until we can leave once the borders re-open), and have spent goodness knows how much on taxi fares into Trujillo for medical appointments, and still, as of this moment, do not know exactly when Oli and I will be reunited!

Getting ready to travel

I realise that I haven't really kept this Blog up to date - I tend to post new stuff when something occurs to me, rather than in any chronological order, and I haven't worked out how to/whether I can organise the posts, so it is a bit higgledy-piggeldy.
Back in 2014 I bought a new motorbike in Peru - which I posted about at the time - the intention was to use it to visit out of the way beaches here for fishing, but I soon realised that it was better than I anticipated, and decided I would try some touring on it. The engine - 250cc - was powerful enough to maintain decent speeds on good roads, but one concern I had was fuel capacity. It only had a 12 litre tank, which would take me around 300kms, and I was unsure about frequency of petrol stations in the remoter areas, so felt I needed to carry spare fuel with me - the problem being how to do this.

Ronco Demolition 250

Being what they call a Todo Terreno (all-terrain) bike it wasn't really designed for touring, and accessories like panniers almost impossible to come by here, so I decided to see if I could have a custom-made carrier built so I could securely carry a jerry can of petrol. I found a local welder and drew some scale plans, and took along the jerry can when I met him for the first time. I wanted the carriers to be detachable, so for town use I wasn't hampered by the wider boxes attached, nor the additional weight, and explained all this, as well as it being written in my design spec. He wanted me to leave the bike for a few days and return later.
When I went back work was well under way, but it was obvious that he intended to weld the twin boxes directly to the rear carrier, which I didn't want - so eventually he agreed to make a detachable bracket so they would be bolted into place when needed, though when I saw what he had done had serious doubts about the strength of this. He had spot-welded the mount to the bike's carrier, which was made of metal tubing, and, although I am no engineer, I had concerns about this, but he assured me he was an expert and it would all hold together. It was not quite "square" - on one side the mounts were a centimetre or so shorter than the other - but it felt solid, and looked as though it would serve its purpose. The idea was to have the jerry can one side, and some essential tools the other, with my bags strapped to the seat behind me.

Fully loaded and on the road with carriers!

I did a test run locally to get the feel of things and then started planning my first adventure!

Buying motorbike tyres.

After almost 9000 kms on tarmac roads the dirt tyres (very knobbly) that came with my bike were well past their best. They were great on the rough stuff - even in sand - but on tarmac roads, apart from being incredibly noisy, they were not that good. The "knobbles" translated a lot of vibration through the handlebars, in the wet the lack of surface contact made riding a bit slippery (not a nice feeling round hairpin bends in the Andes!), and I felt that the top speed, acceleration and fuel economy were also probably adversely affected.

"Oli" the Ronco, showing dirt tyres

I decided to leave buying new ones until my return to Peru in March this year (seemed silly to put new rubber on and then store it for 6 months), and that also gave me plenty of time to research the best options. And this is where I hit a huge snag - Oli has 17 inch wheels front and rear, and I was unable to find any manufacturer (let alone one that had representation in Peru) that made a front 17 inch "mixed" tyre! There are plenty available that are dirt tyres, or road tyres, but not in a dual-purpose format, which is what I felt I needed. I trawled the internet looking for a solution, and joined a couple of forums ("fori"?) asking for advice, and nothing sensible was forthcoming ("You bought a what?"), although one suggestion was that I bought a rear tyre and used it on the front.
Now I feel here I must include some technical stuff about tyres and what they do. The rear tyre comes into it's own during acceleration, putting maximum grip to the road when you open the throttle, and conversely the front tyre does most of it's work during braking, or deceleration, when it need maximum grip and control to stop you. OK, there is a lot more to it that this, but this explains the need for a different tread pattern front and rear. Tyre construction is made up of layers, running in different directions, and the joins being "glued" together depending on the wheel rotation - most tyres have an arrow indication which way it should be mounted. Thus it is potentially possible that a rear rotating tyre could de-laminate if rotating forwards - it is highly unlikely and more probable on high performance, high speed machines, but still not something you would want happening - and most manufacturers stress this on their websites. I did, however, find one or two, who did acknowledge that you could use a rear tyre on the front - "as long as you reversed the rotation", i.e. ignored the "arrow"! Unfortunately neither of these manufacturers made a suitable 17 inch rear tyre (or rather they only did one size, and it is better to have a narrower front tyre).
I have Pirelli MT60 tyres on my Honda 150 in Brazil (17 rear and 19 front), and they are very good on tarmac, and adequate off-road, and Pirelli do different widths in 17 inch tyres.

Pirelli MT 60's on a Honda 150

So I emailed Pirelli, and followed that up with a message on their Facebook page - and 3 months later I am still awaiting their response! As I know from my Honda that the front and rear tyres have identical tread patterns - other than they face in opposite directions - I decided to see if I could get a set upon my return to Peru. I started in the Ronco dealership, and the motorbike salesman there gave me all sorts of advice (they didn't stock MT60, but could order them - delivery schedule unknown!) - including mixing tyres from different manufacturers (a big no-no!) and massively different tread patterns (a bigger no-no!) - I think he was just trying to sell me a pair of tyres he actually had in stock! 
I left him still trying different combinations and walked a few yards down the road to a motorcycle spares shop, who had MT60's in stock - and different sizes - and asked for a pair. The salesman even explained that they were both "rear" tyres, which impressed me - the first time I had come across someone who seemed to know about products he was selling! But I took them anyway, and then had a long argument with my mechanic about mounting the front tyre with the arrow reversed! He finally agreed and I after 300 kms I am extremely pleased with the result. The road noise has vanished and so has the vibration, though I will need to run the bike for a few more miles to tell if fuel economy, top speed and acceleration are improved. 
Is it safe? I honestly don't know - I do know that the tread patterns are mounted correctly (even with a direction arrow pointing the wrong way!), and most of my riding will be done at gentler speeds (it is after all a dirt bike I am using as a tourer!) and on halfway decent roads, so only time will tell!

Buying a motorbike in Peru

Before I returned to Peru at the beginning of 2014 I decided to research motorbikes. I had decided that I needed something a bit bigger than the 150cc I had borrowed the previous year, so started looking on the internet for ideas - and soon realised that Peru has not really taken to internet commerce!
I started in classified ads, and soon found a vendor in Trujillo who appeared to be selling a few large bikes, some suitable for touring, at what appeared to be low prices (first warning, I guess!). Often vehicle adverts in Peru have the prices in US dollars (which is legal tender, and even cash machines will dispense them), and occasionally a price will show Peruvian Soles, but is in fact dollars (2.5x  greater!) so can catch out the unwary. However these adverts were showing dollars already and I decided to try and make contact. There was a "reply to advertiser" button, as well as an email address and a telephone number, so I tried that first - as expected no response! So I emailed (2 different adverts) and again, no response. As a last resort (as I was in Brazil) I tried phoning and my cell provider did not recognise the number!! So I made a mental note to try again once I arrived in February.
I had, in fact, experienced this lack of response to internet ads before, when apartment hunting - I must have contacted a dozen advertisers online and only one ever responded to me. It made me wonder why they went to the bother, and sometimes expense, of placing an online advert in the first place!
In my research I had spotted a rather nice looking 350cc bike - the Regal Raptor SPT350 - manufactured in Singapore, but the only dealership was in Lima, a long way from where I was in the North, and there were no agencies anywhere near. Despite the fact that they assured me I could get servicing done "anywhere" I was a little concerned that any warranty might be invalidated, and that I would be unable to find anyone suitable skilled while touring.
All imported bikes are very expensive in Peru, and they hold their secondhand values too, so I was finding myself priced out of the dedicated touring bike market, and also the "larger engined" market! There is a huge motorbike market in Peru, heavily skewed towards imported Chinese machines, and none bigger than 250cc, so I started researching this market, and decided I needed a trail bike, for my fishing trips, but that might be suitable for long distance cruising.
A problem I soon encountered was that fuel tank sizes were very small (at that stage I wasn't sure how easy it would be to find petrol stations while travelling in rural areas) - usually no bigger than 3 gallons, and these are US gallons, so 3.7 litres rather than the Imperial 4.5. The second problem was that most of these "trail" bikes had a maximum top speed no greater than 55 mph (88 kph), so touring was going to be very slow and tedious, and potentially dangerous on highways where you would be among the slowest moving traffic.
Armed with rudimentary knowledge I went to Avenida Peru in Trujillo, where all the bike shops are, and started asking questions. I started with Ronco (the same make as the 150cc I had used before), as I had seen one there the previous year, and it looked the part, but they had no technical data for it other than tank size (12 litres - 3.25 US gallons, or 2.7 Imp gallons), but "thought" it would do 120kph (75mph)! I visited various other companies, and they all had visually similar models (in fact at least one appeared identical other than brand name and stickers), and was even showed one that had a built-in MP3 player and speakers on the mirror stems! Technical data was again in short supply, with wild claims being made by the salesmen - most of which were seriously at odds with the data I had found from the manufacturers' websites!

Ronco Demolition 250

Eventually I decided on the Ronco Demolition 250, mainly because it was the best looking of the bunch, and I knew the shop and the mechanics from the previous year! At the prevailing exchange rate the bike was just under £1000 - on the road! This also included plates, registration and a crash helmet - oh, plus a small t-shirt, and a litre of oil for the first change!

I was expecting a long drawn out process to get the registration and paperwork done, especially since a foreigner is supposed to go to Immigration and get a document allowing him/her to sign contracts. But the shop simply gave me the receipt, and the (unsigned) sales contract and told me I had to go to a Notary and get it authenticated. I had no idea what the process was at the Notary, but went to reception and explained I was there about a bike purchase and they pointed me in the direction of an office at the back, where there was quite a queue. One of the two employees attending then went for lunch, and this delayed things further, but eventually after over 2 hours it was my turn - and I was in the wrong place!! This was for transfer of ownership from private sales, and all I needed was to go to the front desk and get my identity authenticated!!! They looked at my passport, checked it was me, signed the sales contract and then I had to pay a 15 soles fee, and was done!!

I went back to the bike shop and handed the papers back in - and they gave me the keys!! I asked about registration and plates, and they simply said I just need to show the bill of sale to prove ownership and tell them that the rest was on the way - but I did need to go and get SOAT, the compulsory third party insurance. So it was on my birthday, February 14, 2014, I walked into a bike shop at 10.00 am, and then rode away on a new bike at 4.00 pm (would have been quicker if I had known what I was doing at the Notary!!). Two weeks later they called to say the plates had arrived, and 5 days later the bike registration (like a credit card) was ready. Compared to Brazil it was a piece of cake!

Driving in Peru

June 2013

Not long after arriving in Peru I decided I needed some form of transport – there is ample, regular cheap public transport here in the form of buses and taxis, but for my fishing trips I wanted to go a way out of the town to find empty beaches to fish from. Nothing to do with being anti-social but swimmers, surfers and fishing are not a good mix!

Mountain bike

I bought a mountain bike and used it a few times to go up to about 3 miles out of town along a little-used dirt road, and found that to be OK. However a neighbour of mine, an American, offered to sell me a motorbike when he left! I did not need asking twice! There was one snag – he had not completed the paperwork fully when he bought the bike, but thought it would just be a formality for me with the previous owner. We agreed a price and he said that I didn't need to pay him till the paperwork was in order, but as he was leaving I offered a deposit, which could be counted as rent if anything went wrong with the transfer.

Ronco Pantera 150

As with anything official here in South America transferring ownership is nowhere near as straightforward as in the UK, and it turned out that all three of us would be needed in person to effect the transfer. As he was now in Sweden this was not going to be possible, so I have the use of the bike till I leave then will have to find somewhere to store it for him (he is hoping to return at some stage).

The bike is not brilliant, only 150cc, and does need a bit of work doing (which I am rather unwilling to do if I am just “borrowing” it), but it is certainly better than having to rely on the public transport system! At first I was a little apprehensive about driving in Trujillo, the large city of almost a million people just a few miles away, but decided I had to give it a try. In fact the actual road surfaces (potholes, raised manhole covers, and speed bumps everywhere!) are more hazardous than the other drivers – and that is saying something in South America, where driving standards are appalling! At a rough guess I would say that 60% of the vehicles on the road are taxis and buses, so driven by “professionals”, but as they are always looking for fares they do tend to stop suddenly, and without warning, anywhere they see a likely patron – and this includes in the middle of junctions, and even in the centre lane! But despite all that I am enjoying being able to drive around at will, though finding somewhere to park is a mystery still to me, as you are not allowed to park in most streets (though everyone appears to ignore this, and all other traffic rules!), but there are plenty of “Cocheras” (parking garages) where they charge 1 sol, or 25p, an hour!

I must admit that my bicycle has not been used as much as it should have – I need the exercise – but I do intend to use that more around Huanchaco from now on till I leave (I can get further afield faster on the motorbike for fishing). Just have the small problem of finding somewhere to store it, and some other belongings, for 6 months when I leave, until I return early in 2014.