Hello, there
I'm riding down Baja from san diego to la paz in my motorcycle in March.
Does anybody know what locations may have dirt or gravel detours? And the severity of them? I need to prepare mentally for them. rhintransit - 1-22-2017 at 06:53 PM
Long stretch out of San Vincent, one north of Constitucion, and pretty bad long, long one north of La Paz.
And potholes everywhere.
But things can change by March. Except the potholes. Sorry...
[Edited on 1-23-2017 by rhintransit]ehall - 1-23-2017 at 04:46 AM
There were several between Ensenada and Santo Tomas in november. Doubt the road work is finished yet.ljprusko - 1-23-2017 at 05:45 AM
I was just gonna post the same question. We're leaving on Harley road bikes March 3 for 2 weeks, gonna do Hwy 1 TJ to Loreto or Cabo return. Did this
trip April 2016 and the road construction wasn't bad, then did the trip again October 2016 and the detours were really bad on a road Harley. Worst
detour was north of La Paz, it was about 3 miles, really rough, rocky, hilly, at times soft sand. Second worst was south of Ensenada, about 2 miles of
a rough rocky detour road. Coming back took Hwy 3 from Ensenada to Tecate, and again ran into about a mile of detour, again rough and rocky. Lots of
big pot holes for a few hours around Catavina, but what I was most concerned about was cattle on the side of the road. You can come around a hilly
corner doing 55 and one will be right on the side of the road and you don't have much time to react. I ride a 2016 Road Glide Ultra, and when I got
home I put new tires on it, and also had to replace a bearing in the transmission and put a new clutch in, am wondering if it was because of all these
detour roads. I love riding Baja though, we're still planning on going the first two weeks of March, hope some of the construction will be completed.
If the construction is still going on north of La Paz then we may only go as far as Loreto this time. Any updates on road construction would be
greatly appreciated. Thank you.
What are you riding Lloydsteve, what's your plans? lloydsteve - 1-23-2017 at 08:23 AM
Thank you all for the incoming replies.
I'm riding an ultra limited and my final destination is all the way down to La Paz. Or Cabo. El Jefe - 1-23-2017 at 09:58 AM
As long as the cow's head is down it is safe to pass her. Once her head comes up, look out. She is going to move.
I'm driving the car down late February and will try to remember to update this post as to Harley-ability of Hwy 1 once I get home south.
My ride is a 650 Burgman scoot. Hey, its almost a Harley! What is a clutch?
[Edited on 1-23-2017 by El Jefe]Sweetwater - 1-23-2017 at 10:13 AM
My Mexico bike is a KTM 690 Enduro for exactly these reasons. A bigger dual sport can also be used but one of the reasons I enjoy Mexico is that it
reminds me of my youth in Wyoming before pavement took over. Many smaller communities were only connected by dirt roads which are also weather
dependent. If conditions are not ideal, the right tool is a vehicle that can deal with those real world conditions. And cows are another of those
complications, my take is that yes, heads up is a warning but remember that calves and yearlings are another. Most of the cow strikes that I've been
around have been younger bovines and knocking the chite out of them is more than a figurative result.Lee - 1-25-2017 at 10:38 AM
My Mexico bike is a KTM 690 Enduro for exactly these reasons. .
I wouldn't ride a street bike down here though I'm sure it's possible. Not much mention of the construction South of CC. Just dust and bumps but
it's a long stretch.
The stretch N. of La Paz was bad. The hilly section was slow going with big bumps. Traffic going N. in this area had some large trucks and
semi's. Extreme care is needed in this area. It looked like the construction would be going on and for a long time as there's lots of road to
widen. Take your time and go slow. I came through last month.lloydsteve - 1-26-2017 at 04:36 AM
Hey, Lee
Thanks for your reply. ljprusko - 1-26-2017 at 05:26 AM
Appreciate the updated feedback on road conditions. Thank you.
Motorcycle friendly detours?
lloydsteve - 2-20-2017 at 10:22 PM
Hey guys, a big favor.
If you're doing Mex 1 and have spare time to upload some pics. I invite you to do do.
Life is a Highway...MulegeAL - 2-21-2017 at 09:21 AM
Lloyd,
From riding pals last Sunday on big dual sports:
"We knew that there is some road construction going on south of Ciudad Constitucion, but we were not prepared for what was waiting for us. They are
rebuilding the existing Mex 1 into an elevated roadway and traffic is rerouted just below on the west side of the construction on a dirt road. The
rains from yesterday had turned that detour dirt road into a mud bog, some places almost a foot deep. It was utter chaos stuck RVs, stuck Cars, fallen
over Harleys, 4wd trucks dodging everybody, spraying mud everywhere. Awesome!
We chose the under construction roadway, sneaking by construction equipment and finally , with the help of some Harley riders that had commandeered a
huge roller to smoothen the torn up dirt for their bikes (it's the truth, you just can't make stuff up like that) , got back to the black top. "
What is a mud hole on Sunday will be moondust by Thursday. Just be sure you don't get caught behind a watering truck on the detours!bajalinda - 2-21-2017 at 11:56 AM
Ditto what MulegeAl says about south of C. Constitucion. We drove north through there on 2/16 and it was a deep sand pit - there was a group of
motorcycles having a very hard time getting through it. Driving back south the next day, the sand was gone and the detour wasn't too bad. But I can
imagine what a muddy mess it must have been after the storm on Saturday. Seems that section changes day to day.
As for north of La Paz, there is road construction going on between kms 38 and 55. We never have to drive that section, so I'm not sure how many
sections of detours there are - but have heard it's slow and tough going in parts.
lloydsteve - 2-23-2017 at 07:33 AM
Thank you, for the info.
Because March is around the corner and I don't think the road will improve in such short time, I have decided to postpone my road trip. Thank you all,
again for the feedback.
I will try again passed summer.
rhintransit - 2-23-2017 at 07:37 AM
Loreto to La Paz report. As of two days ago...not too bad now. One fairly short one south of constitucion and the ones north of la paz are much
improved but individually fairly short, mostly around culvert construction.
[Edited on 2-23-2017 by rhintransit]El Jefe - 2-27-2017 at 07:49 PM
Go now! Don't delay. I just drove south in my car and I was so wishing I was on my bike. Passed many riders on all kinds of bikes, big cruisers
included. The dirt sections are relatively short and totally doable with a little care.
The wild flowers are in bloom, and the air temps are perfect for riding. If you don't go you are just a big chicken. So there!
Disclaimer: I went down the east side via Tecate and San Felipe. I wouldn't go that way on the big bike due to the 23 mile dirt section. And I don't
know what the current storm has done to northern Baja.MMc - 3-1-2017 at 11:37 AM
I was on the road yesterday, there were 2 large groups of road bikes on the road. This was right after the big rains, the road from SQ was doable but
a bit muddy.lloydsteve - 9-24-2017 at 11:04 PM
And how about water crossing.
Does anybody know, How many water crossings are there? And where?
I doubt there are any water crossing on any of the highways at present. Near Catavina there is one north and one south but not much water unless it
rains. Only if it rains then the vados can be full.lloydsteve - 9-26-2017 at 08:29 PM
I doubt there are any water crossing on any of the highways at present. Near Catavina there is one north and one south but not much water unless it
rains. Only if it rains then the vados can be full.
