Kelsey & Gabe’s Pan Am Mission RR-2: Heading to the Bottom of the World!

Rider Report #2 (May 1, 2019)
Kelsey & Gabe’s Pan Am Mission:
Heading to the Bottom of the World!

 

Leaving Santiago Thursday felt good as the cool Andes mountain wind engulfed my motorcycle riding south on Route 5 South to Puerto Montt. We had only ridden half a day with planned intentions of staying in Temuco, Chile since we were not needed for the ferry boarding that was scheduled for Sat morning. Marco Price, my ex-military buddy who served in the Chilean Army for 14-years, rode down with us partial route for about 4-hours before turning around back to Santiago, Chile. Kelsey and I left some things in his home in Santiago as to not be bogged down with weight since we have planned to stay at his home on our northern trek for an oil change in Santiago.

Marco is very respectful of the Christian Church so when he saw these nuns at a Copec gas stop, he invited them to take a pic with us and the bikes. At first the nuns didn’t want to, but Marco convinced them with his smooth-talking style. They were very nice and wished us blessings on out worldwide trip.

We arrived at Temuco, Chile that is the halfway point between Santiago and Puerto Montt. We were somewhat tired from the festivities of the night before and decided to take a hotel. We arrived at a hotel for the night.  After Kelsey and I unloading our bikes the young boy at the reception desk asked us for “the paper” that immigration gave us when we entered into the country. I had no idea what he was talking about. He then was going to charge us more $$$ for the room without the immigration paper. I first thought he was trying to get one over on us to pocket some money. I got upset and placed all the gear back on the bike to head out to look for new place to lay my weary head.

 

I ended up at a nice place for less $$$$ and they brought us a hot breakfast to the room. This hotel was not interested in so called immigration paper. It was not until we arrived at the Holiday Inn Express in Puerto Montt the next afternoon, we were confronted about the immigration stamped paper again. I had no idea what that woman was taking about, but she replied that the paper was in my zip lock clear baggy. I asked her to pull it out and hold and behold an immigration stamped paper that looked like a damn receipt. I guess I was wrong about the boy in Temuco, Chile.

I showed this to Kelsey, and he search all his belongings for the receipt with no success. Kelsey says he is not one to save receipts. That he most likely threw it in the garbage without thinking about it. After asking advice Kelsey and I will go to Immigration in Chile to replace that stamped receipt because he can’t leave the country without it. We currently have planned to hit up immigration in Puerto Natales, Chile.

If that was not enough the winds Saturday were strong as hell in Puerto Montt with the cold rain to boot coming in sideways. This bad weather caused the local ports to close leaving the NaviMag “Evangelista Ferry” docked in the harbor until the weather subsided. You could see the ferry right outside our hotel window in the safe harbor. Another unexpected delay in our trip due to weather. We were on stand-by and decided to pay for the room one more night. At least we had a staging area in the room to fix our gear for the road. We also wanted to cut the fat because we both had TOO MUCH weighted gear. We took a serious look at what we possessed asking the question: “Can I live without this on this awesome trip?”

The ferry company NaviMag provided dinner for the passengers waiting to board the ferry right at our Holiday Inn Express hotel. Kelsey and I were given the instructions to present our bikes at the ports at precisely 11:30 PM that same evening and we did. When we go to the port everyone was envious of our motorcycles because Harleys are few and far in between. The Chief Inspector of the boat was a Harley guy itching to talk motorcycles with us both. The boat was being loaded with trucks, containers, and cars so we caught up with the chief later.

One of the main modifications that I quickly placed on my bike was a skid plate to protect the under belly of the bike. This way bouncing rocks cannot crack the soft aluminum oil pan that could potentially cause a leak. A leak would be extremely bad causing me to be stranded where it happened. I say this because as I rode the LONG steep ramp up into the ferry there was a 6-inch bump that connected the ramp to the ferry. Flying up there 10-15 MPH my back end went 3-inches in the air after scraping the bottom of my bike. Pre-maintenance and prevention are important for these long trips and my skid plate saved the trip for more delay in the cold.

Another modification was making my crossover pipe smaller. I have HD Screaming Eagle performance pies and manifold on my bike. The true duels crossover pipe was hanging down about 3-inches below the frame of the motorcycle. I knew before hand with the experience of completing the run once before that the low hanging pipe had to be corrected or a bad event would eventually happen on the run. I went to a muffler shop in Hollywood, FL that quickly pressed the pipe smaller. I took the bike to Peterson’s Harley-Davidson in Miami North, Florida who dynode the bike into top running performance. Any changes to your air intake, fuel intake or exhaust is best that you place the motorcycle on the computer to achieve your goals whether its performance or fuel economy.

I will stop here and share the trip about the boat ride in Rider’s Report #3 the boat ride. But for now, I need to you donate some $$$$$$ for the American Legion. If you read my previous reports you know that I am riding for my local So-Flo veterans through the American Legion (Post 180) located in Plantation, FL. The American Legion completes 100 years in service to our vets and their families. Post 180 does what they can to address the needs of our veterans within their reach in Broward County, FL. It is for this great cause that I am riding and asking you now to donate what you can.

I generally ask for you all to donate a minimum of $20 but if God has blessed you donate more like $50 or $100! I ask you to donate what you can.

A) Quickest Option:
You can donate digitally right now at: www.GoFundMe.com/Go-Gabe-2019, or

B) Snail Mail Option:
You can mail a check made payable to: “American Legion Post 180” to:
Attorney That Rides
1600 West State Road 84
Suite B
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315; or………………

C) The Ride in Option:
You can bring a check or cash to Café 27 on Thursday Night Bike Night or Saturday during the days and see Three Fingers (Brian) at the Attorney That Rides tent set up there. Brian is a member of Post 180 and helps me set up at Café 27 and other biker events. Just drop it into the donation jug with a smile on your face knowing you giving to a local cause!

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