Made it to the Mechanic – Bavaria Motors, Guatemala City

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.

bike-flat-deck

Off we went.

in-flat-deck

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

confort-hostel

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 🙂

confort-hostel

bmw-truck-4

bmw-truck-2

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.

bavaria-motors

bavaria-motors

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!

bavaria-motors-5

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

antigua-guatemala-city

My Location for May, 29, 2017

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

Guatemala-City

Motorcycling Serviced in Veracruz

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.

cafe-veracruz

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.

hotel-oliba

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.

veracruz

veracruz-2

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.

My Route for March 21, 2017

Oaxaca-veracruz

My Location for March 22, 2017

Oaxaca-veracruz

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