Today is day 10 of 30 here in the Philippines.
Here’s a new one on me: scooters with modified exhausts!! A fair amount of scooters here (SWAG — maybe 10%?) have loud aftermarket exhaust systems. Too funny.
Well, if they’re using two stroke engines, a custom exhaust can really do a lot for the power of the engine.
And weight saving.
Jackson, or Kirkwood? Get back home safe.
Well, a good two stroke exhaust is often heavier than the original. The first ones were just a pipe. Adding a good expansion chamber to that may actually make it heavier. But yeah, since the whole thing is mounted on the swing arm, any chance to make it lighter is probably welcome.
How about the Volcano Union Pub & Inn in Volcano?
I’m Googling that now…
Discovered these from another rider.
Lowest profile I’ve ever worn …and super inexpensive. They are available on AlienExpress for waaaaay less and free shipping
I just bought a pair..they have no right sounding as good as they do. Instructions suck but pretty straight forward to set up …both my Mac and my iPhone paired easily.
Not sure there is enough volume for riding butt maybe I will have an xmas day ride tomorrow…,will be quiet on the roads.
That looks great! Set up a Doper Event!
Sounds good. I can set it up, if needed. Let me get home first. I land in SFO on Wed 14 Jan.
Today is day 11 of 30 for me here in the Philippines.
My first gas stop today, 150 miles ridden, 2.726 gallons ➙ 55 mpg. Not bad. Like Oregon, they fill up your gas for you here. I tipped the guy ₱100, about $2. I’m told that’s a good tip here, and he seemed genuinely happy with it.
Gas was ₱56.70 per Liter or $3.64 per gallon for 95 octane. Only the good stuff for my iron thoroughbred racehorse. And the prices are much better than in California. I need a full tank for tomorrow’s ride to Tagaytay, Taal Volcano, and Taal Lake, a 50 mile ride south of Manila.
Oklahoma tech: I fashioned a ‘top case’ of sorts from my backpack and using some 550 paracord and my carabiners. In the heat and humidity, and with a heavy load in my backpack, this really helps.
You can also see my water bottle hanging with 550 paracord and carabiner from near the gas tank. I thrive on 550 paracord and use it all the time. That water bottle also doubles as my coffee cup.
At home for my R1200GS, I haven’t yet bought a tankbag for it. I know there are some that are perfectly molded to the BMW’s tank but I think this rental experience is teaching me to buy a generic tankbag that I can strap to different rental bikes. When I get home I’ll have to shop carefully and see what options are out there for me.
→ Because of this, does anyone here have any tankbag recommendations? Links appreciated. ←
My first morning coffee outing was to ALTITUD café in Las Piñas, ▲ 14.4264, 121.0125. The destination was no great shakes, but the outing allowed me to explore some of the local area.
It was a nice enough café and I thought I’d return the next morning, but then I realized I can use different café destinations each morning to explore different areas. In the next 2 days I found two gorgeous destinations for my morning coffee along the different coasts / shorelines near Manila.
Onward!
Those look great @MacDoc . I’ll check them out, thanks for the tip.
Wow I’ve been enjoying my vacation so much and haven’t posted in a while. Since that first café ride I’ve gone to a couple of other cafés in the mornings. It’s a great way to explore the area before the family gets up and get going for the plan for the day. I’ve found some beautiful spots.
After flying south for a week with my son and brother to visit the other 2 (of 3) main island groups, the Visayas and Mindanao, I came back to a flat rear tire. I’d picked up a small nail. So yesterday after borrowing a bicycle pump from my cousin I limped over to some tire stores. I’m finding out that my humble Honda NX500 is, for here, quite a big bike and nobody has a 160/60-17 rear tire. They have tons of scooter and moped sized tires. And nobody has a plug kit to plug the hole. I finally found a new tire and just bought it. $140, and the prices were from a published list of prices so I think I paid an okay price for it. I don’t think I got raked.
We all decided to treat my mom to a luxury hotel here, the 5 star Manila Hotel. So we’re all here for the night (it’s 0745 Monday morning now here) and we’ll all enjoy a nice breakfast together before people depart on their own schedules.
With a new rear tire and with the rest of my family flying out soon to go home (we’ve since added 7 family members here; a total of 11 of us came here for this family reunion for my mom), I’m packed for a week’s long ride and I plan to head north and explore Luzon, the other main island here. Today (day 22 of 30 here) I plan to ride 200 miles north to San Fernando City to visit some former coworkers from California, a ride that’ll take me via Valenzuela, San Fernando, Angeles, Tarlac City, Dagupan City, Santo Tomas, Agoo, Aringay, San Fernando City, and San Juan to the San Juan Surf Resort where I plan to spend the night tonight.
My plan is to ride only during daylight hours, if I can help it. I want to see the road quality as I go, and also any critters big or small that may be crossing the road. Last night it was nighttime when I did the short ride to the Manila Hotel and even in the lights of the city, I realized I want to see the pavement better.
I don’t have much in terms of rain gear. Only a rain jacket from The North Face so it’s not even made for motorcycling, but fortunately the weather here has been mostly decent with only a few spots of heavy rains. I have that and a Levi’s jeans jacket, and my gloves are leather work gloves I bought here at an Ace Hardware, so those will have to do for the ATGATT strategy.
I’ve got my gear packed in the ‘Oklahoma tech’ top case that I fashioned out of my backpack.
Well I am a Marine, so maybe they are brass and big, or maybe I’m just not as smart as I like to think I am. I look forward to that beer with you. I’ll reach out when I’m back in California.
Ride on!
Yesterday’s 200 mile ride from Metro Manila north to San Fernando, La Union was, simply put, a good test of riding skills. Going through Northern Manila in the Monday afternoon commute traffic was another Manila streets challenge. I’m convinced that if I do have a fender bender run in with another vehicle, it’s going to be with a scooter. The scooter pilots swam like piranhas on meat. Then I was out in open country for many miles before the sun set at 1730. I still had 2 more hours to go and out in the provinces it is pitch black darkness. I kept my eyes peeled on the road surface because they don’t mark road work very well. At one point on a 2 lane road, the right lane had a large rectangular block cut out of it (about 10’ x 10’, and 2’ deep), and the only marking was one faded orange traffic cone, no reflectors, right at the hole. That’s why I’ll try to avoid riding at night.
Anyway, it was a good test. For the rest of my riding up here I should be able to ride during daylight. In the coming days I plan to ride north 200 miles to get to the northernmost cities and towns on the island of Luzon. Then on the way back I want to swing by Mount Pinatubo to see the mighty volcano that caused so much devastation and destruction in its June 1991 Plinian eruption.
Today’s ride north will be along the west coast of Luzon in the Ilocos Sur province, known as the ‘Big Sur coast of the Philippines’. I’m looking forward to this ride.
The Honda NX500 has been a great way to get around, not just in the heavy traffic of Manila but also out in the provinces where there aren’t many highways and where the provincial roads take you through the small towns and the local traffic jams there.
Most of the provincial roads have one lane, and also a shoulder which often has (but not always) concrete. That concrete shoulder is almost like a ‘scooter lane’ used by scooters, trikes, and motorcycles for getting around slower / stopped traffic. You have to look far ahead, though, as the shoulder can have cut holes, obstacles like light posts, pedestrians, animals, and also stopped vehicles. The truly weird thing is that sometimes ONCOMING TRAFFIC uses the shoulder as well(!). Oncoming scooters, motorcycles, trikes, and even cars and trucks will be there.
Riding here can be a good test of riding skills. And survival skills!
That said, I’ve seen a lot of beauty here and the motorcycle allows me to see more, travel more, and use my time more efficiently here.
A coffee run one morning, out in Taguig along the shores of Laguna de Bay —
Another early morning coffee run, to Cavite City along Manila Bay —
They pump your gas here, and every one of them tops up your tank right up to the rim —
One week, I flew south to the island groups of Visayas and Mindanao and when I came back the rear tire was flat. I’d picked up a nail for a slow leak. Searching for a tire repair shop here was challenging. The hole could’ve been plugged, but I couldn’t find a shop for that. I decided to buy a new tire, but it was hard even finding a shop that had a 160/60-17 rear tire. They had lots and lots of scooter tires, but not ‘big’ motorcycle tires. I finally found a place and I just paid for the replacement —
Out in the provinces, I’m heading north on the big island of Luzon —
The towns and provinces all have welcome arches —
Here is a dinner spot right on the beach —
One of my hotels was right on the beach off the West Philippine Sea —
Another morning coffee run, and the scenery was nice —
I met up with a former coworker who grew up here, moved to California to work for about 5 years, then moved back a long time ago now (22 years!); we went for a ride on some of his local roads —
The ride took us along a river and through local farm lands and fields of corn, rice paddies, and other crops. The landscape was beautiful —
Continuing north, my ride took me north through the province of Ilocos Sur, a coastline that is sometimes called the ‘Big Sur of the Philippines’ —
The city of Vigan, Ilocos Sur has remnants from the 16th century Spanish colonial town; it is a UNESCO World Heritage site —
I entered the northernmost province in the Philippines, Ilocos Norte —
Pagudpud is one of the northernmost towns in all of the Philippines —
The San Agustin Church of Paoay —
As I headed back south to Manila, about 375 miles away, I found some secluded beach areas —
Another morning coffee run found me at a beach with some special natural beauty —
I should be back in Manila later today. The Honda NX500 has been treating me well so far. I’ve put about 700 miles on it.
Verge announces their production E motorcycle with a solid state battery. 200 to 370 miles of range depending on model, recharge to 80% in 10 minutes with a fast DC charger. 737 lb ft of torque? What could go wrong?
@Tride that looks very promising!
Back to motorcycling in the Philippines, in my 3 weeks here so far I have not seen any BMW motorcycles. Until yesterday when I saw about 15 LEOs riding R1200GS Adventures oncoming towards me. I believe they were R1200GSs, but they could have been 1250s or even 1300s. They were going too fast for me to be sure.
I don’t think they have Highway Patrol here. Maybe they were federal police or possibly provincial sheriffs. I highly doubt they were town police.
In a nation full of mopeds and scooters and trikes, often 125s, and where my rental 500 is considered a big bike, it was impressive to see and hear.
I just returned the rental bike. I put about 900 miles on it in my month here. The Honda NX500 ran flawlessly and served me well. I fly home tonight. It’ll be good to be back home.
At the rental shop they also have Honda 750 TransAlps. If my wife joins me when I return we might rent one of those to ride 2-up.
Back to Verge, they’re offering test rides so I just submitted a request for one. I’d like to check them out.
Verge TS Pro extended range, up to 370 miles on a single charge
➜ Test ride the TS Pro - Verge Motorcycles ■
Meh, that’s the slow one. The Verge TS-Ultra is 200 hp and 1200 nm of torque. It’s only $15,000 more. You only live once and that will probably shorten the experience.
But it will be an action-packed adrenaline-fueled finale!
Seriously there @Bullitt thanks for the great travelogue. I envy your adventuring.
Same for me Bullit, I enjoy the pics and reading. I do motorcycle vacations myself (with Edelweiss Bike Tours) and also post my daily travel log on Facebook. At least some people seem to like it 