Job Discussion Forums

[ls650]

This one's rather off-topic: does anyone else here ride a motorcycle in Mexico? Before I got into TEFL and left Canada, I was very much a motorcycling enthusiast. I owned about half a dozen different bikes over a dozen years, and commuted, rode day-trips, and did some fairly serious long distance touring overseas. I'd guess that over that dozen years I rode maybe something like 150,000 KM.

Once I moved overseas, I dropped out of riding. For about the last year, I've putt-putted to work on a little 50cc scooter, but recently I've had a hankering to have a bigger motorcycle to do some more serious riding.

Well, about two or three weeks ago I finally broke down and bought a 'real' motorcycle, a 200cc sportbike. It's a lot of fun, and I'm really enjoying being back on a motorcycle.

Anyone else out there have a motorbike? Do you have any favorite rides in Mexico, or interesting stories?

[Samantha]

That's a nice bike! Red, good colour, very visible. We ride and go to various events whenever possible. (I'm always the one in the full helmet!) Usually our club does short tours to go for shrimp along the beach on Sundays and always for a ride on Friday nights along the malecon to finish at a popular local spot in the tourist area. There is a gringo moto club here too but we haven't joined yet. It is more organized so has it's good points. The week after Easter Sunday is Mazatlan's annual Moto Week. It's way too much fun when vendors and riders come from all over the US, Canada, Mexico to attend. This year was the 11th annual (if I recall) and there were some rather nice bikes (and passengers) in attendance. If you can skip out of school and make it to Mazatlan for motoweek, you will have a great time....we'll make sure of that. Check around because there is certain to be a local moto club for you to hang out with. We have several here. If there is more than one, pick the one with the best "taller".

[gpars]

Great to see this topic started! How much do sport bikes sell for in Mexico? What's the general attitude toward bikers from other drivers on the road? We have heard it's pretty dangerous, like a pecking order, they'll run you over if you don't get out of the way!

[delacosta]

Hey B how's your bike working out? I'm thinking aobut getting one once my 85 Dodge Caravan dies, which shoudn't be too long from now. What kind of moped did you have? I'm not sure if a 50cc would be able to make it up and down the hills around here, it's nice and flat where you are.
The prices are so low that it's quite tempting even now just to stop driving a car.
I have a friend who has distribution rights for a Chinese imitation vespa in Canada and we were chatting about maybe doing some business in Mexico, but when I told him what they're being sold for he said he didn't think he could compete. This was about 2 years ago just right before their use seemed to explode around here, not sure about the rest of Mexico.
ALong with tons of bikes on the streets there's now a plethora of bike repair shops, before there were none. THe prices are so low I really wonder about the quality.
Part of the popularity I guess is the low monthly payment options being offered at places like Electra,although I did the math for one that was going for around 8000 decontado and with payments it worked out to almost 17,000 over a couple of years. I don't think many people around here do the math.

[Samantha]

Gpars, where we live, it is motorcycles that cause the confusion and accidents. For some reason it is quite acceptable to pass a car on the right or drive inbetween the two lanes of cars if you are on a moto. Many are supremely reckless, especially the delivery bikes. Stopped at a stop light it is not uncommon for at least 4 motorcycle riders to squeeze between cars or pass on the right (while the cars are stopped) to make their way to the front of the intersection. The transitos have put on motorcyle safety classes here and no one attended. They try to hit the motorcycle crowd during the regular driving test. The cop that conducted my test was explaining to the class that a motorcycle is not meant to be a 4 passenger vehicle and that helmets were supposed to on the heads instead of dangling from the back of the bike. The law in our state says that ONE rider (or driver) must wear a helmet. I guess the other two or three passengers will be fine without one! It is a big safety problem but the motorcycles that obey the rules of the road (and there are still a few around) do just fine. The others have many accidents and they are usually always at fault. They have a separate license for driving motorcyles here. I haven't paid attention to what is involved in getting that but I suspect not much.

[Ben Round de Bloc]

[Samantha]

I don't trust anyone signalling here, no way! It usually means the driver accidentally activated it 4 kms ago ....actually the deal is that signal lights and headlights drain the battery (don't shoot the messenger!), plus it costs money to replace worn out bulbs. Thriftiness 101???

[Guy Courchesne]

[ls650]

[MELEE]

[cwc]

[stillnosheep]

My Chinese 125 was about 600 dollars US new. Then again I bought it in China.

Mexico? Pah! A bastion of sanity.

In China horns are for signalling that you exist, and that you are coming through. Motorbikes are for deliviring people, not pizzas. Driver+2 is the legal limit for a 125 motorcycle taxi, driver+3 is more usual outside town centres. There are no rules of the road. Crossing onto the oncoming side of the road to pass a police car straddling the entre line is common, moving over even farther to pass oncoming cars on their near-side is not uncommon. This is when driving souped up electric golf-cart-busses with ten people up.

Car ownership is exploding exponentially; at any one time 50% of car drivers have been on the road for less than a year, and drive accordingly. Many motorbikes, and agricultural vehicles, don't bother with backlights or reflectors at all. Roundabouts can be taken in either direction. One local legal quirk is that you cannot be held responsible for an accident if you did not see the other vehicle - so everybody enters, crosses, and u-turns on major roads without looking or signalling - accidents are always the fault of the driver driving straight ahead, as he should be looking to the front.

With cyclists (almost always unlit), unlit motorbikes, three-wheeled agricultural vehicles with trailors (top speed about 25 kph), tractor taxis and speeding tour busses and long distance lorries all sharing the same unlit roads the possibilities for fun are endless.

Drivers lean on their horn as though their life depends on it. Often it does.