We ended up riding the Hondas for 19 months, visiting 71 Countries/States/Provinces between Yukon and Tierra del Fuego covering more than 60.000 km in the process. There were a couple of issues for us to deal with during the last leg of the ride.
Just after crossing the border from Ecuador to Peru the rear of Katrine’s bike collapsed just as she passed a speed bump. It turned out that the bottom aluminium spring retainer on the Race Tech rear shock had cracked. We found a local smithy that could manufacture a replacement in steel and get us back on the road within 2 days. I contacted Race Tech about the issue. It was not unknown to them and they offered me a reinforced replacement part. When I told them my bikes had the same shock they sent me 2. I only had to pay for the shipping. I received and replaced the parts a couple of months later.
In Peru the Gidibii chain oiler on Katrine’s bike started behaving like a geriatric, leaking when it shouldn’t. It came with a replacement O-ring that fixed the issue.
We also experienced our first and only puncture on the whole trip while in Peru.
A rock had sliced the rear tire on Katrine’s bike. It was a good opportunity to replace the tire. When we couldn’t get any of the tires I wanted I decided, on advice from locals, to give the Chinese brand Timsun a go. They were a positive surprise. There was nothing in their behaviour or longevity that suggested we had bought tires that cost less than half compared to more known brands.
Later we tried the Brazilian brand Rinaldi with much the same result.
Katrine’s bike had been running great since the rebuild in Costa Rica that I mentioned in the 12 months review. But 5 months and 12.000 km later her bike suffered a catastrophic engine failure.
We were crossing The Chaco in Paraguay on a day with strong winds and temperatures reaching 46℃ (115℉) when the bike suddenly died. I had to tow her to Filadelfia in the sweltering heat. We were lucky to find a good motorcycle shop in town to help troubleshoot and fix the bike.
It turned out that the engine oil hadn’t been able to lubricate the cylinder wall sufficiently, leading to the piston rubbing directly against the cylinder wall and destroying both.
A thorough investigation didn’t reveal any other issues with the bike and in the end we had to put it down to poor/wrong engine oil.
We had 5.000 km on the engine oil when it happened and had been running Motul 7100 10W40 since Costa Rica. With a recommended 12.000 km service interval I expected the oil to be in good shape, but our mechanic, Matthias, suspected otherwise.
He told me that engine failure due to overheating is a common issue in the Chaco. The recommended oil viscosity for any bike there is 50 or 60. The extreme heat breaks down oil faster, so they also recommend reducing the oil change intervals significantly. 3-4.000 km was suggested for our bikes. Another reason for the oil/engine failure could be that we may have been running fake Motul oil produced in China which I learned is becoming a big problem in South America.
A new piston and cylinder solved the problem and after that the bike was running great again.
We initially picked the Rallys because of their light weight, style and perceived reliability. I’m a more skilled and experienced rider than Katrine, so it was important to choose a bike that she felt comfortable handling in challenging conditions. The Rally was at the top of her list in that regard.
The bikes have really delivered on that account. They have made things easy that would have been a challenge on a heavier bike and allowed Katrine to handle things that were on the edge of her abilities. The bike has helped her become a better and more confident dirt rider.
300 cc and 27 hp has proven to be sufficient on a journey like this. The engine was never a limiting factor. We have been able to go where we wanted at whatever speed that suited us.
The bikes have been very comfortable with a relaxed riding position for both sitting and standing.
The only area where the bikes have fallen short of our expectations is when it comes to reliability. There might be a good explanation for at least the last of our 3 engine failures, but it was something we hadn’t expected to have to deal with on softly tuned modern water cooled Honda engines. We have not been flogging the bikes and I have been on top of service from day one.
I would like to say a few words about why we ended up selling the bikes in Punta Arenas before leaving the continent.
After having travelled on a motorcycle for 19 months straight it was starting to get a bit tedious.
We had seen and done everything we wanted in the Americas this time around. That moved New Zealand to the top of the list of places we wanted to explore. Shipping the bikes to NZ would have been pretty straightforward, but selling them there legally would not be an option, and shipping onwards could become both complicated and expensive.
We considered shipping the bikes directly back to Denmark. It would be rather expensive considering the value of the bikes and even more so if we later wanted to plate the bikes in Denmark as imported vehicles are heavily taxed. On top of that, the 300 Rallys are not the bikes we want to ride back in Europe where the roads are generally in great shape and the traffic moves much faster than on this side of the pond.
The last nail in the coffin was that we were offered a reasonably good price for the bikes. The model is not sold in most Latin American countries, which makes it popular and sought-after by people wanting something special.
Despite being twice as old with 7 times as many miles on the clock compared to when we got them, we lost less than $4.000 on each bike.
When we add to that the money spent on wear parts and service (including 3 engine rebuilds) the total cost of ownership has still been less than 1 Dkr/km or 22 cent/mile. Fuel is not included in that calculation!
I’ve been keeping track of our fuel consumption during the whole trip and we ended up with an average of 32.82 km/l (77.20 US MPG) between the two bikes. Amazingly good mileage at altitude was offset by less impressive mileage at sea level and in strong winds.
Reaching the end of the road in the Americas was also the perfect opportunity to change things up to keep it interesting. We decided to camp out of a car during our time in New Zealand to open up new opportunities and make us less dependent on seasons and the weather.
Motorcycles have always been my favorite means of transportation, and still are, but it was time to change our modus operandi for a while.
And now to the million dollar question: Would we choose the same model again?
Katrine would answer yes without a second’s hesitation. She loved the bike from day one and her affection has only grown since then.
My answer would be more nuanced.
With the options we had back in 2023, and on the premise that we had to ride on identical bikes, I would choose the Rally again.
Objectively I think the 300 Rally is one of the best tools for exploring the backroads of the Americas. It’s Capable, comfortable, economical and with good range. On the other hand the bike has never excited me and in the long run that isn’t viable for a passionate rider like me.
Katrine’s skills have improved during the journey and new models have been introduced.
If we had to do a similar trip again now, I would consider the Triumph Scrambler 400 X or maybe give BMW a chance to show if they mean business with the new F450GS – the concept looks production ready and freaking awesome!
I would under no circumstances pick a bike weighing more than ≈200 kg/440 lbs for a trip like this. A lighter bike just makes life, and the riding, so much easier and allows you to go places you would think twice before taking a bigger bike.
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