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ADV NewsSouthbound: From LA To Tierra Del Fuego On Suzuki DR650s

Southbound: From LA To Tierra Del Fuego On Suzuki DR650s

The new video series takes a more pragmatic approach to RTW travel.

Published on 07.12.2024

Grab a big box of popcorn folks, you’re in for a treat. There’s a new moto video series out on YouTube, and it’s one you’re going to want to take the time to watch. Called Southbound, it’s the story of three friends who set out on a dream journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego, stirring up all sorts of adventures along the way. 

But this wasn’t a “we sold everything and hit the world” adventure. Like most of us, these guys lead busy lives with time and financial constraints. And while their initial dream was to ride all the way from California to Tierra del Fuego in one go, it quickly became apparent that wasn’t going to work, so they opted instead to divide the journey into manageable parts, riding one month per year until they get to Ushuaia. 

Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650

The first leg of their journey takes them from LA to the border of Guatemala across treacherous trails, deserted Baja coastlines and beautiful mountain passes. There are flat tires and busted bikes, crashes and fixes and an armed cartel scare outweighed by the warm hospitality of Mexico’s gen pop. Episode 1 is a feature length of 1 hour and 18 minutes, but don’t let that scare you away. Instead schedule it like a Netflix and chill night, only this will be YouTube and inspiration. 

Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650

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Because inspiration is the key element here. Southbound was created by filmmakers Danny McGee and Jonah Levine, who are joined on the ride by friend and “supreme mechanic and navigator” Jesse Evers, all in their mid twenties. When they left California only Danny had ridden off road prior to the trip, so they were in for a steep learning curve. As Danny tells ADV Pulse, “We all loved motorcycles and traveling so this trip seemed like the perfect combination of both.” 

Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650

The bikes, all DR650s which Danny says are equipped with “bigger tanks and more comfort seats” could be stored at Mexico’s southern border until their 2024 Central America Part 2 journey. He says they chose the DRs because they knew they could find parts just about anywhere. “They’re bomb proof and have been for decades, so they seemed like the perfect fit.” The guys also wanted to ride the exact same model so that the spare parts they carried would be a universal fit. 

The film kicks off during the prep phase, with box after box of gear arriving and being unpacked. It looks like a free swag fest, but in reality their only sponsor at the kickoff was REV-IT!, which supplied the crew with Sand 4 H20 jackets, pants and gloves. You’ll also see that Mosko Moto jumped in to help mid-trip after the guys bargain soft luggage gave out. Otherwise the guys paid for this adventure out of their own pockets. 

Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650
Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650

As they depart Southern California they are met with a surprise cold snap that brought wind, rain and hail. This is the moment you realize how new these guys are to adventure touring as they admit they’d never owned proper motorcycle gear and found it “weird to be warm riding in hail.” 

Right away you’ll feel the moments in this film as much as see them, and that’s thanks to Danny and Jonah’s cinematography skills and an especially generous amount of drone footage. The rich imagery is dubbed with moving audio, both via the narration and the film’s bespoke background music. 

Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650

The crossing into Mexico is met with an overlanding classic: rejected bike papers, but soon enough they are on their way, Jonah and Jesse being treated to an off-road trial by fire as they navigate Baja’s sandy backcountry tracks. As we know, remote trail riding can bring many challenges and straightway the guys have their first of many, many flat tires. As they change the tube on a San Felipe street corner a mariachi band suddenly materializes, playing loudly enough to turn the scene into a comedy. 

Those who’ve been down Baja know it’s stunning, vast and mostly empty. The guys had used Google Earth to search for destinations and research pays off as we’re treated to pristine beach camping spots, massive stands of saguaro cactus, rugged mountain trails and green, mica-laced cliffs. Even a full, sun-bleached whale skeleton is happened upon and documented with a sense of profundity carried throughout the film. 

Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650

There are tacos, more flat tires, mud and get-offs before the friends barely make it to their pre-booked ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan and Mexico’s mainland. Now on day 12 of their journey, Danny says “We are quickly finding out that bike trips take a lot longer than any other type of road trip.” They also realize this is not only the burden, but the beauty of motorcycle travel as they meet wonderful, generous people along the way.

By now their sporting good store-style duffles and cheap saddlebags are falling apart and the bikes need new tires and parts sent from home, so they take some much-needed rest in the beautiful city of Zacatecas, with its rich silver mining history and ornate churches and colonial buildings. It will be Mosko Moto that comes to the rescue regarding luggage, sending duffles, panniers and racks that can withstand true adventure. 

Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650
Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650

Danny and Jonah’s drone work throughout the film is world class but it really shines in this stunning city. As an aside, if you’re at all interested in drones and using them, much of Danny’s YouTube channel is dedicated to teaching the art. 

The friends also see some of the darker sides of Mexico, including a violent protest that forced them to shelter in place, as well as the passing of The Beast, the infamous train that migrants ride atop, often with deadly results. 

As is the case with motorcycle travel, the guys had met another rider on this journey, Miguel, who instantly went from stranger to trusted friend. He had told them where it was safe to ride on the mainland and where it was dangerous, and of course an umpteenth flat tire happened in the worst of places, the third flat in a single day, but they do a pit-style tube swap and later that night make it safely to Miguel’s home for a visit. 

Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650

This is just one of the many things so exclusive to motorcycle travel, the meeting of other riders who immediately go from stranger to “I want you to come to my home and meet my family.” 

Afterwards, instead of visiting Mexico City, the guys end up doing something truly epic, hiking to the top of a 16,500 foot volcanic mountain peak after stashing their bikes and bags in some brush. These scenes play like film within a film, like a bonus story that is riveting, both because of the austere beauty of the location and the daring and extreme fitness level of these young guys. Truly, their trek up the mountain makes the physical work of motorcycle travel look like child’s play. 

Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650

Food is a funny element in the film, mostly for the lack of it. Peanut butter with smashed bread is a mainstay, as is tuna from the can. Plain tortillas are another staple, though tacos do punctuate most days, to the point that by the end of Southbound Danny says he’s excited to “just have tacos as a Tuesday thing.” 

Another funny thread is Jonah’s pillow, a small luxury his friends give him a hard time about when they head off, and of course, the pillow goes through a lot as we follow its side story. 

Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650

On the ride out of the mountains after their trek on foot, Jonah crashes hard, spraining his wrist and breaking the shift lever right off his bike. But these guys can Macgyver, with Jesse using JB weld to affix a bracket from the old luggage rack to the shift lever. As for the sprained wrist? Duct tape will do. They limp along for a bit and are shocked that the first sign they see is for a motorcycle repair shop. Unsurprisingly, more friends are made and a homemade mezcal, shared. 

“By this point in the trip we’d realized the interruptions were the journey,” says Danny. “When things go wrong, or not according to plan, that’s where the adventure starts.”

Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650
Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650

At this point in the film the crew needed to head to their end point on the border of Guatemala where a friend of their new friend Miguel would store their bikes until they returned a year later to dive into Central America. 

On the way there was a reality check, a frightening scene where a group of men in three trucks, presumably cartel members, surrounded the guys and their bikes, jumping out and pointing assault rifles as they shouted questions. Listening to the guys tell the story you can see it was a powerful wake up call, but not enough to outweigh the “insane” amount of hospitality they’d felt during the rest of their travels. 

Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650

“Mexico isn’t a country without issues,” says Danny after the incident. “No country is without issues. Parts of Mexico are dangerous, just like parts of the United States are dangerous. Even after going through the situation on our last day, we felt an overwhelming sense of warmth and hospitality from our time in Mexico.”

As there were people in the States telling them they were crazy to go to Mexico there were people in Mexico warning them not to go to Guatemala, but that was 2023 and happily the guys have already ridden through Central America with Part 2 of Southbound on the way by the end of this year. 

Motorcycle journey from Los Angeles to Tierra del Fuego on Suzuki DR650

“It’s always important to be cautious,” says Danny of the dangers of riding south of the border, “but if you live your life letting that initial fear keep you from going out and seeing for yourself, you might miss out on some of the most incredible things life has to offer. 

Photos by Danny McGee and Jonah Levine.

Author: Jamie Elvidge

Jamie has been a motorcycle journalist for more than 30 years, testing the entire range of bikes for the major print magazines and specializing in adventure-travel related stories. To date she’s written and supplied photography for articles describing what it’s like to ride in all 50 states and 43 foreign countries, receiving two Lowell Thomas Society of American Travel Writer’s Awards along the way. Her most-challenging adventure yet has been riding in the 2018 GS Trophy in Mongolia as Team AusAmerica’s embedded journalist.

Author: Jamie Elvidge
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John
John
July 13, 2024 1:30 pm

Good stuff, These guys have the right attitude…..Keep going!

Bob
Bob
July 17, 2024 8:25 pm

We really like these guys. I would def enjoy sharing a beer with the.

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