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want to buy a motorcycle - "moto"


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i am looking for a motorcycle, 450 cc or bigger, used and in very good condition. Would like to find: Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda. - 650 - 900 cc best. BMW fine if not to pricy. Cruiser/touring bike please.

If there isn't someone wanting to sell such a bike, is the best thing to take a bus into Guad with a list of dealerships, addresses, and taxi to visit them?

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I think the guy who runs the car wash in Riberas, north side of the street across from Maganas, may have a Honda 650 cruiser for sale.

However, be prepared to pay considerable more for a larger displacement moto here than in the states. Scooters are cheap but real motos aren't.

Also, frankly, because of the poor quality of the roads and the numerous topes, cruisers are not the best choice here. Most people ride dual sports like KLR 650, BMW GS, KTM, that sort of thing.

Your best bet is going to be finding something in Guad. Not many bikes available locally. A good place to check is Ride Endless, a very good dealer in GDL.

http://rideendless.com/motosEnVenta

The BMW dealer on Lopez Mateos also has some nice used bikes but, again, not cheap.

Also look here:

http://motos.mercadolibre.com.mx/

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My friend tore out a casting on the bottom of his big 1500cc cruiser on the topes. Had lots of experience it wasn't a newbie thing about bikes or Mexico. Might want to think about Mainecoon suggestion about dual use bikes if you are tall enough. I can't touch the ground with my foot some are so tall.

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Only bikes I've ever seen at S&S are high mileage beaters. I think they are more about cars than motos.

I think the guy who runs the restaurant in La Floresta may have a R700RS sport tourer for sale. He gets some pretty clean bikes there from time to time. He's also one of the local riders.

I'm riding an R850R with beefed up suspension. Even that is marginal on these roads. I bought that bike several years ago. It was very low mileage but a 2006. It cost me at least $3-4K more than the same bike would cost NOB.

However, the taxes and hassles of importing make that totally not worth while. I thought about importing a mint KLR650 from Texas several years back. The cost nearly doubled the cost to buy the bike in the first place.

Mexico makes sure they protect car and moto dealers from competition, at your expense. Prepare to pay through the nose or drop the idea of riding here. Which would be a shame because, rotten roads aside, the great weather and scenic riding makes it a real blast.

BTW, if you consider the BMW GS, the best of the bunch is the R700GS which is really an 800 cc dual cyclinder machine with tons of punch and very good handling.

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Every Sunday bikers who ride cruisers,choppers,etc. meet on the sidewalk down from the church in Chapala and some of them have what you want for sale and can steer you in the right direction. Contrary to what a couple of posters have said there are more road bikes in this country than dual use and off road motos. I know about 1000 bikers through belonging to a Mexican MC.. Last time I was at the gathering place there were 8 Harleys,2 Honda shadows and several Kawa,Yamaha cruisers, 2 BMW dual use. Oh and a 50's BSA 650 and a '67 BMW road bike. Yes you have to be extremely careful when going over some topes but I know several bikers with motos that only have about 5 inches clearance.You might want to go to another local board whose link I can't seem to do for you. "Insidelakeside". there are at least 2 long term road bikers on that web board with plenty of experience here.

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If you want to be able to ride a lot more routes here, dual sports are far better than cruisers. We see these cruiser guys on the main routes and rarely anywhere else. If you are satisfied with that, a cruiser will suffice. There's a lot of twisty, semi-rough mountain roads here that offer very enjoyable riding but they are much better handled on bikes made for that kind of riding.

I can't speak for the entire country just what I see when we ride around Jalisco and beyond. Once we get away from the main roads, we don't see many cruisers. Most dual sports are ridden only on paved roads but their stiffer suspension and taller clearances make them very suitable for the many more marginal roads.

You'll have to decide what kind of riding you want to do. With the group I ride with, mainly BMW, cruisers just really can't keep up or do the more rigorous roads. If you're happy with the kind of limited riding the Chapala bunch does, I agree you can probably be happy with a cruiser here.

Aside from BMW, the KLR 650 or the Suzuki V Strom are both excellent choices IMO. The KLR is a great off pavement or on pavement bike, depending on your choice of tires.

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Now that's funny especially since most of the cruiser and chopper riders are Mexicans who meet in Chapala. I also know some gringo riders here who all ride Harleys and have left here and ridden around the lake in about 5 hours. They ride to moto events all over like Leon,PV,Mazatlan and go like a bat out of hell.You have only been riding here for about 2 years and only with fellow dualies-no?

Besides that, riding fast does not an expert make. So,can you explain why there are more road bikes in this country than what you ride. By the way a friend of mine didn't mind buying a $40,000 Harley in Texas and riding it down here from Houston at a great rate of speed.

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I ride the kind of bike that no one has mentioned here, sports bike. It is what you call Crotch Rocket in the States. I ride it on paved and NON paved roads. The key is the weight of the bike. Sports bikes are VERY light, easy to maneuver and fast as hell.

You have to ask yourself, how old am I, how flexible am I, how good am I and what I want the bike for?!

Naturally, dual purpose bikes make it much more comfortable to navigate any roads. For me they are not as much fun as sports bikes.

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Now that's funny especially since most of the cruiser and chopper riders are Mexicans who meet in Chapala. I also know some gringo riders here who all ride Harleys and have left here and ridden around the lake in about 5 hours. They ride to moto events all over like Leon,PV,Mazatlan and go like a bat out of hell.You have only been riding here for about 2 years and only with fellow dualies-no?

Besides that, riding fast does not an expert make. So,can you explain why there are more road bikes in this country than what you ride. By the way a friend of mine didn't mind buying a $40,000 Harley in Texas and riding it down here from Houston at a great rate of speed.

Are you a rider?

I didn't think so.

BTW, I've been riding since I was 12 years old. I'm 70 now.

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I ride the kind of bike that no one has mentioned here, sports bike. It is what you call Crotch Rocket in the States. I ride it on paved and NON paved roads. The key is the weight of the bike. Sports bikes are VERY light, easy to maneuver and fast as hell.

You have to ask yourself, how old am I, how flexible am I, how good am I and what I want the bike for?!

Naturally, dual purpose bikes make it much more comfortable to navigate any roads. For me they are not as much fun as sports bikes.

Agree, lighter is better and we see a lot of these bikes on the road as well, usually going a lot faster than we can.

I just can't handle that bent over riding position at the age of 70. Sport bikes are a blast to ride and they corner like bandits. Good for you if you can really ride one.

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cglane2007, I sent you a pm. Sometimes members here forget to check their mailbox. I've got a Kawasaki 650 for sale, plated Jalisco.

I would not rule out Harleys, my Harley friends are quick to remind me that 90% of the Harleys manufactured are still on the road today, (... the other 10% made it home).

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Kiko, is that Kawa a KLR?

You should consider putting it on the classified here.

Even though I've been riding a long time, I've found the roads here often require upgrading skills and downgrading speeds. For example, most of the mountain roads in Jalisco and surrounding states feature nearly totally blind curves often, if not usually, with decreasing radius. Tight hairpin curves are really common as well.

You'll be doing a lot of passing, hence strong power and torque is important.

As an added bonus you can go into one of these twisties and find a 6 inch deep, 3 foot across pothole and/or loose gravel to enhance your riding pleasure. I've found it necessary to really work on my cornering skills anew and not over-ride my line of sight. Decades of riding in the U.S. didn't fully prepare me for Mexican roads.

For good and wide pavement and nice sweepers you can't beat the road to Mazamitla. We do that one a lot and then circle around to the east and come down to the lake west of Sayula. The road back along the south side of the lake is moderately challenging and super scenic.

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Maincoons, I spoke/e-mailed you before about riding with your group. You asked me what type of bike I ride,,,,,and then,,,,,,,, I never heard from you again :)

I only ride fast when I am alone,,,,,,with a group,,,,I am always the trailer. Because then, it is all about "the group".

BTW, I have been riding since I was 11 (50 CC Honda trail bike!).

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Kawasaki Versys 650, Motorcyclist Magazine bike of the year upon introduction 2008. This is mine, however, I have since changed out the front 19" wheel for the OEM sized 17" wheel. I listed it for sale a few months ago after I bought another bike but let the ad lapse.

VersysAdventure022_zps13c37339.jpg

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Are you a rider?

I didn't think so.

BTW, I've been riding since I was 12 years old. I'm 70 now.

Perhaps you should think again.I Designed and built a 50cc trials moto at the age of 20 and still do my own mechanical 90% of the time. I have been riding here a lot longer than you as well. The iron sheik seems to know about group riding like a real rider does. The majority of riders that i hang out with are Mexicans and have been here riding a lot longer than you or I.I defy you to tell them how much more of an expert you are than they, especially the ones that build bikes.

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behnwau and his beezer would be considered more biker than rider by those who differentiate.

I know the owner of the beezer but I am not he. Considering his infirmities he does just fine especially since his moto is not a sofa on wheels. We have to kick start it for him but once he's on it he rides.

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I sold a kickstart only 650 a few months back. Once in Jocotepec, I pulled over to the side of the road to visit with a friend. Out front of his tienda was a work crew of Mexicans working on the careterra. One of the young men came over and took a look at my 650 dirt bike and remarked "that's not a moto for an old man". So I invited him to ride it, his eyes lit up and he jumped on the 650 and kicked for 20 minutes until he gave up. I got on the bike, opened the throttle to clear it out, kicked slow twice to find TDC and then let it rip. Fired right up. Now that the bike was running I turned to him and said go for it. He made it about 20 feet and fell flat on his ###. I guess it wasn't a bike for a young man either.

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I know the owner of the beezer but I am not he. Considering his infirmities he does just fine especially since his moto is not a sofa on wheels. We have to kick start it for him but once he's on it he rides.

Dissassociation aside. I'll rephrase.

behnwau and his not beezer is more biker than rider.

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Maincoons, I spoke/e-mailed you before about riding with your group. You asked me what type of bike I ride,,,,,and then,,,,,,,, I never heard from you again :)

I only ride fast when I am alone,,,,,,with a group,,,,I am always the trailer. Because then, it is all about "the group".

BTW, I have been riding since I was 11 (50 CC Honda trail bike!).

PM me your email and I'll make sure you get emailed when we're riding. We're not a formal group, just guys who go out every few weeks. The two "lead" guys in the group are mega experienced in general and on these roads. And they are fast, you might have fun running with them. They're too fast for me. :)

I've been trying to email everyone when someone proposes a ride but I'm not by any stretch of the imagination the organizer.

As to the OP, you have a lot of good leads to follow up here. I'll stand by my recommendation that you avoid pure cruiser bikes and instead opt for something that rides higher and has a strong and well controlled suspension. You'll have a bike that is better suited to the more difficult roads that are really enjoyable in many respects even if the pavement is pretty poor.

Apparently the Suzuki dealer in GDL is also not only a superb rider who leads a lot of rides out of GDL, he runs a great dealership and might have some bikes that would work for you. You might want to follow up on this as well. I can get you contact information if you'd like.

Sure any bike can be ridden on any road. However, some bikes are more suited for good pavement and some bikes are more suited to off road or poor pavement. Some bikes can get over the topes better, handle the potholes with more safety and stability and around the curves on mountain roads faster. The roads here are more challenging and I'm simply suggesting that you consider rides that are better suited to them than the average cruiser.

Different groups tend to form around different riding styles and bikes. That is reality. People with faster bikes who like to also ride faster on more challenging roads don't mix well with, for example, Hog riders. That's why they tend to group as do other styles of riders, such as the crotch rocket guys, groups of whom we see a lot when we go out. Usually end up looking at their tail lights and I haven't noticed any Harleys riding with them. :)

People who like to cruise, like to cruise. That's how my brother rides and he rides with people who like to cruise. Some of the Chapala guys used to ride with us but they apparently decided they wanted to ride differently. I don't feel they are lesser riders because they decided to group with more compatible people. They are welcome to ride with us at any time so long as they recognize we aren't riding at cruiser speed. Instead, frequent stops are made to regroup.

That's how we group ride. I can understand it if some don't like that style and would prefer groups that stay together pretty much all the time.

I'm usually the guy riding in the back and I'll probably be watching your tail light most of the time. :D

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