BMW Mottorad Archives

I woke up this morning thinking how will I get my motorcycle to Bavaria Motors in Guatemala City from Antigua.

Before my accident I had already booked an appointment there for Monday to repair a leaking fork seal. Now both seals were totally gone, at least one fork tube bent, my tire rim bent, and I had a destroyed tire.

Hotel San Jorge

The staff at the Hotel San Jorge were great during my stay in Antigua. Now I needed them more than ever. I asked them if they could find a truck for me to haul my motorcycle and me to my hotel in Guatemala City.

Within a hour they found someone that would do it for 500 Q, or about $100 Cdn., without an invoice ha ha ha. I really don’t like that because obviously he is trying to avoid taxes. But I didn’t need an invoice and I did need a truck. So I accepted.

Trip to Guatemala City

At noon the guy showed up to pick up my motorcycle.

Off we went.

It isn’t far to Gautemala City from Antigua, only 43 km. Soon we were at my hotel and had unloaded my bike.

Another successful day of getting my motorcycle and me to our next destination. There was just one more trip to get us to Bavaria Motors.

Bavaria Motors

I had specifically chosen my hotel because it was close to Bavaria Motors. So the next day I walked to the Bavaria Motors and explained my new predicament.

They arranged to have a truck come, take me back to my hotel, pick up my motorcycle, and bring us back.

The truck was small. But it made it easy to load my motorcycle 🙂

Back to Bavaria Motors we went.

They have an interesting set up there. The mechanic shop is actually on the second floor and they have a lift that takes the motorcycle up there.

I walked away from the dealership with a sense of relief and a smile. I did it. With the help of lots of people I managed to get my broken motorcycle from the side of the road by Lake Atitlan to the BMW mechanic in Guatemala City!

The Estimate

My smile was short lived though. I walked to Starbucks to celebrate :-). But while there Bavaria Motors sent me the estimate for the repairs – 28,833.48 Q or about $5,340 Cdn!!!! I was in shock! This was A LOT of money! I suppose I could afford it, but it would do serious damage to my budget. But what choice did I have?

The break down was as follows:

1) Change of front rim – 650 Q or $120 Cdn
2) Change of front bars – 500 Q or $93 Cdn
3) Change of front light bulb – 50 Q or $9 Cdn
4) Replace front brake pads – 150 Q or $28 Cdn
5) A new front tire rim which had to be ordered from Germany – 10,000 Q or $1,850
6) CdnBulb 19.26 Q or $4 Cdn
7) Front Shock Absorber 8,099.35 Q or $1,500 Cdn
8) Front Shock Absorber 8,099.35 Q or $1,500 Cdn
9) Front brake pads 1,265.52 Q or $234 Cdn

What to do Now

In this situation I know some would haggle, yell, scream etc. to get the price down.

Others would tell me to take my motorcycle elsewhere. There are a lot of corner mechanics around in Guatemala.

And I did receive the suggestion of flying to the US, finding a BMW motorcycle used part place, buy the parts and fly back to Guatemala with them to save money.

Contrary to what many believe, I don’t believe there is a single right way to respond to this situation. There is only the right way FOR YOU. And I don’t believe in being critical of people who choose the way that is best for them.

My decision may turn out to be a mistake, but it is my mistake. Everyone has their own mistakes to think about rather than criticizing my mistake. If it even is one.

So what did I choose to do?

I stayed with Bavaria Motors because they are use to working on BMW motorcycles and have the parts. Plus they have a good rep among adventure motorcyclists.

For me I like to be nice and develop a relationship with people so that they will want to do the best they can for me. I believe that Bavaria Motors should make a reasonable profit, and that I should receive a reasonable deal.

Sooooo after the initial shock I responded to their email saying it was expensive and did they have a used rim available to put on to lower the price.

The response back was that they would do their best to lower the price.

For the next couple of days I went in to say hello and develop a relationship with them. We’ll see what the final outcome is. Fingers crossed.

My Route for May 28, 2017

My Location for May, 29, 2017

My hotel is where the blue dot is. So close to Bavaria Motors.

Upon leaving Oaxaca I had two priorities, get my motorcycle serviced and get out of Mexico by March 28 when my Temporary Import Permit expired.

Servicing my motorcycle is especially important for me since I really know nothing about mechanics 🙁 I know, I should have taken a course or something before I left. You are right. But right now prevention is the key.

There are BMW Mottorad service departments in Puebla and Mexico City. But I have been to those cities already. There is also one in Veracruz which isn’t too far away. So off I go.

The Road to Veracruz

It was very weird to be on my motorcycle again after 3 and a half months! It was also nice though as I was back traveling again.

I decided to take the toll roads to Veracruz. This was to avoid topes, turns and slow riding that all put additional stress on my core and my hernia repair. I also planned on stopping every hour to rest.

It was a nice ride. Toll roads in Mexico have little traffic on them. I am guessing it is because they by-pass villages and the tolls are fairly expensive. I spent about $19 CDN for the trip.

As is my usual method of operation, I got to my hotel, Hotel Oliba, at around 2 pm.

This gave me the opportunity to do some exploring before dark. I specifically chose this location because it was close to the BMW dealership, a couple of malls and the sea.

I looked around and grabbed dinner in the mall before heading to bed.

BMW Vecsa

The next day was reserved to service my bike. I walked into BMW Vecsa and hoped someone spoke English. I waited for a bit before a young woman with a nice smile approached me. I was in luck, she spoke English. The only one there that did. I must have looked like an English speaker ha ha. She ended up being my interpreter as she directed me to the Mottorad office and the service technician. After explaining what I wanted they said it would be ready by 6 pm. Lots of time to kill.

When I was at one of the malls the day before I noticed a Starbucks. Of course! That is where I headed. I spent the whole day there relaxing and taking in the views of the Caribbean. Sooooo relaxing.

While it may seem like it, I am not a big coffee drinker. For me, Starbucks is a piece of home. It is not the coffee but rather home that I like Starbucks.

The day went fast and it was time to pick up my motorcycle.

When I arrived I was greeted by another young women with a great smile. I don’t know what the servicing is like, but the smiles certainly put me at ease and are welcoming. She told me that she was there when I came in in the morning but was in a meeting. They had called her as there was an English speaking guy there ha ha. But she couldn’t come.

My bike was ready.

As I drove away I noticed a couple of problems right away. First, my ignition switch was sticky 🙁 And second, the right front turn signal was still not working. Although regarding the turn signal, they advised me that they may not have the bulb for it. I guess they didn’t.

Oh well …. I’ll have it checked out again in Merida or perhaps Guatemala City.

Made it to the Mechanic – Bavaria Motors, Guatemala City