Motorcycle Tour in the Dominican Republic

[TRNewtown]

After a long Winter, I am happy to start packing for a motorcycle tour in the Dominican Republic. I fly out next Sunday and by Sunday afternoon expect to be in 80+ degree weather. We had snow today and the ST looked a little unhappy with a coating of snow on its cover.

I took the South West Tour with the same tour company (MotoCaribe) two years ago and really enjoyed the experience. The bikes are all 2008 Suzuki VStrom 650's and I am taking the North Coast Tour this time. The WeeStrom's are well suited to the Dominican roads which can turn to gravel without much notice.

Just one week to go.

 

[scootac]

Sounds like fun, have a good time!!!

 

[TRNewtown]

I am in the Santiago airport waiting for my flight back to the states. I had a great tour in the Dominican Republic and will write a ride report when I get home. The weather has been in the mid 70's to mid 80's all week. Managed to keep the bike upright the entire time.

 

[scootac]

Will be looking for the report, with pics I hope!
Glad you enjoyed the warm weather....
that you left behind!

 

[Al Gully]

Looking forward to your report.
Al

 

[TRNewtown]

I am still working on downloading pictures, but I thought I would start this ride report.

Day 1 (March 8th)
The trip began 3 am Sunday morning heading North on the NJ Turnpike to Newark Airport to catch a direct JetBlue flight to Santiago Dominican Republic. I packed my helmet , overpants, and tank bag in my suitcase. I wore my boots and mesh jacket on the plane. The plane left on time and I managed to get a free "extra space" seat because the flight was not full. Upon arrival, non Dominicans (only about 5 of us on the plane) had to pay $10 to get a slip of paper and then walk about 50 feet to hand the paper to another official. After clearing customs I saw Robert and Alida (the husband and wife MotoCaribe tour guides / owners) holding a very large MotoCaribe sign. Temperature was around 80 degrees

Next we were headed to Santa Domingo to pick up another rider (Manuel from Spain). I had never been to the capital city before and traffic was relatively light on a Sunday afternoon. On the way back to Jarabacoa we ran into some riders in full gear on sports bikes - not a common sight in the DR. Then on to Jarabacoa to the hotel, where the entire group (four riders) had dinner, and sat through an information session. No riding today, but overall a pretty good start to the trip.

Tom

 

[rulbe]

Tom
Glad you had a great trip! Hope to read more about the trip!

Randy

 

[TRNewtown]

Day 2 (March 9th)
Today is the first day of riding. After breakfast Robert picked up all four riders in the van and headed to "MotoCamp" across town. MotoCamp had a high level of security including razor wire and Toby (a great dane). The bikes had been set up to each rider's specifications. My 2008 Suzuki VStrom 650 has been lowered and I was able to flat foot in the driveway. There are 9 bikes in all, all the same year and model, and all very well maintained. With Robert in the lead, the four of us followed him across town to a parking lot to get comfortable with the VStroms. Everyone seemed to adapt to the VStroms pretty quickly. Our usual rides were a Honda ST1300 (me), a Suzuki Hayabusa (Ray), a Yamaha FJR (Kim), and a KTM (Manuel).

The morning ride was to a local water fall. Lunch was at a hilltop restaurant run by a former Navy Seal. Then we travelled local mountain roads to the end of the paved road. Further up the mountain coffee beans were being grown. Then back to town to a tour of a coffee bean processing plant. Not a lot of miles for the day, but everyone gained confidence with the bikes and with the Dominican roads.

Tom

 

[TRNewtown]

Day 3 (March 10th)
Today begins with some work to the bikes. There was a parking lot drop yesterday (not me) and a clutch lever had to be replaced. Cost to the rider was just $25 - the price of the part. The stock grips were too small for me and Robert installed a pair of grip puppies on my bike.

This was one of the longest travel days of the trip. it took about 9 and 1/2 hours to travel from Jarabacoa north to the North Coast and then east along the coast to the Samana Peninsula. We took mostly back roads and made several stops along the way including a picnic lunch on the beach. The route for the day was only about 200 miles. We started in the mountains and got our first glimpse of the coast.

Along the way we met a rider from France on a Ural with sidecar in the middle of a ride around the world. He had his bike shipped from the US (Florida I think) to the Dominican Republic.

We ended the day at a very nice resort (Grand Paradise Samana) where we would stay three nights. The resort was the size of a small town and most of the guests were from Europe (France, Germany, Spain).

I am still trying to get additional pictures to share. One of riders in our group took over 3000 pictures during the trip including many taken while on the bike.

 

[TRNewtown]

Road quality varied greatly. I didn't see much evidence of pothole repairs on the smaller roads - people would put palm branches or tree branches on the road to mark the larger potholes. Being on two wheels, the best choice was to do your best to avoid them. Sections of smaller roads could turn to gravel or dirt at any time. At times the combination of poor roads and road hazards (small motos, children, dogs, slow trucks, fallen rocks, missing man hole covers) required your complete attention.

We travelled some newer mountain roads that had a great asphalt surface and were very smooth. Most of the highways (Autopistas) were in pretty good shape, but the concept of limited access appears not to exist in the DR. You could be going 110 kph down the highway and a 50cc motobike with a familiy of three carrying a very large propane tank could pull out in front of you from the median. The good thing about the toll roads is that motorcycles pass free of charge in a special lane to the right.

Group riding in the Dominican Republic seemed to work OK. Our group was comprised of a lead bike (Robert), three bikes in the middle, and then a sweep (me). On back roads we could spread out a little bit. Heading through larger towns we rode in a pack and the "freight train" rolled as one. Most of the other bikes, cars, and trucks could recognize the freight train (five 650cc VStroms with riders wearing all the gear) and allowed us to pass as one. From time to time we were passed by SUV's travelling at a faster pace. I would just stay to the right and wave for them to pass. Following the bikes was a E350 Ford support van pulling a trailer with a spare VStrom, driven by Alida. She was just amazing taking the van and trailer down some pretty rough roads without any issues.

 

[TRNewtown]

Day 4 (March 11th)
Today was a mix of coastal riding with some mountains thrown in. We toured the Samana Peninsula riding coastal areas, some mountains, and then back to the coast (starting and ending at the same place). We stopped in a town called Las Terrenas which is a coastal town with an interesting vibe. I would have liked to spend more time there exploring the town. 20 some years ago Las Terrenas was a sleepy fishing village mostly cut off from the more populated areas of the Dominican Republic. It is rumored that visitors from Sicily would spend a few years in Las Terranes to chill and then re-enter society when things had settled down. Not sure if that is true, but it does look like a good place to spend some time.

We took an alternate route (aka a goat path) the last few km's back to the resort. We toured a cave and a blow hole (Boca del Diablo). Boca del Diablo was incredible with violent blasts of water shooting up in the air. I am still trying to get pictures from the true photographer from our group and will share those photos when I get them.

 

[TRNewtown]

Day 5 (March 12th)
No riding today. We took the van to the beach. Palm trees, warm clear blue water, white sandy beaches, pina coladas - not a bad way to spend a day.

It turns out you don't need a blender to make a pina colada - just a pineapple, rum, ice, and some coconut milk.

 

[dtcoleman]

Great pictures and information about your trip. Thanks for posting.