Ken Shappert Travels The World
Ken Shappert Travels The World
Welcome to my KZread Channel, I'm Ken Shappert.
My whole life I've been passionate about motorcycles (and all motorized vehicles, really) and equally curious about the world. I've owned a number of motorcycles, including several Bultaco's to Ducati's, and travelled fairly extensively to over 40 countries around the world.
I am now combining my passions and exploring the world on the back of my trusty steed Molly, my 2020 Honda CB500X modified for long distance travel. I've learned that I enjoy making videos sharing my experiences with and (hopefully!) entertaining you.
Currently: South America
Lets go!!
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Пікірлер
Well done Ken, cool to be following you on your journey. I’m from Canada myself, and just started my Central America tour, crossing into Mexico tomorrow, I’m excited, thank you for your videos!
Amazing mann I guess your in mexico now, but I will say the most nervous I was in my entire trip was the day before I crossed into Mexico. With everything that you see in the news (plus the less scary but very real first person reports we hear) I was second guessing my decision to go in alone. That lasted about three days. Mexico is incredible! Just don’t do stupid things and you will have an amazing time. Savour every moment
@@kenshapperttravelstheworld8845 that was exactly how I felt, I was at the border of McAllen and Reynosa, I couldn’t really sleep the night before, and I was doubting myself wether i should be going in alone. I crossed at the pharr Reynosa intl bridge, that was a breeze, everything went smooth and no mess. Im in Veracruz now, will be going to Oaxaca mid week. Thank you for your videos, I really enjoyed the chile and Argentina series. How long have you been on the road for now ?
Hey Ken, I love your channel!! I recently travelled from Vancouver to Panama on my bike over a very slow 8 months. I fly back from NZ in December to collect my bike from Alejandro at the Overland Embassy and then onto Ushuaia to continue my journey. I love your route and thank you so much for showing us all the way! Keep it up! :) James
Ah brilliant! Slow is the way to go, if you have the luxury of time. Alejandro is a great guy, I’m jealous you get to do it all for the first time now! Haha
Did you find Hitler while you were there? 😏
If I was an Austrian Nasi not German scientist, I would've fled to Regina. It's the last place that anybody would think to look for an Austrian Nasi not German scientist who may/may not have discovered the secret to fusion power.
Maybe some did 🤔
I buy all of my tires at Canadian Tire. They've met all of my needs at affordable prices & legendary customer service. If you're at their location in Alberta be sure and ask for Jon.
😂🤣👏🏼
I am surprised that you found them to be noisy. Thats quite disappointing.
Yeah I mean they weren’t crazy, I’ve had worse. But they weren’t as quiet as I thought. I’m honestly not much bothered by the noise, it wouldn’t really factor into my decision; all the other things would however
Thanks, Ken. I was considering these as a more onroad-oriented tire. Now I think I'll stick with the tkc80 ones, which are awesome.
Yeah, the TKC 80s are hard to beat for a true 50/50, it’s just the lifespan that hurts. I was pleasantly surprised by an Anakee Adventure rear I got as it was the only thing available. Not as good off-road as TKC’s of course, but did some gnarly dirt roads just fine and went for around 15,000kms (!) and was noticeably smoother on road. I would hesitate to go near sand or mud with it though
Still enjoying. Thanks for sharing. I'd heard so much about Bariloche and when the bus first got there I was shocked at what a big city it was. When I found San Jose de Los Andes I could have stayed for weeks. Enjoy!
You and me both!
The same thing has happened to me on Yamahas and Triumphs in regards to the head tube bearings...
Interesting! From the feedback I’ve received there is potentially a bit of negligence on my part for not ensuring it was done on the 1,000 or 12,000km checks. But I’ve never had a brand new bike before, and didn’t know that was something that could happen!
Nice video, Ken. What a crazy, sandy road. When was that? I'm thinking of riding it with pillion, do you think its feasible? Haha. Greetings from Brazil!
Hey! Yeah, it was quite sandy and crazy in parts. It was a couple of months back I was there, I’m slow editing and posting the videos lol. I’d imagine it is very very cold right now 🥶. Most of the road was actually grand, but there were quite a few short sections of some of the deepest and most challenging sand I’ve been on. I hate sand! So I’d say it mostly depends on your confidence/ability to deal with that with a pillion; I’m sure others have done so. Also, they are constructing a nice straight road and while under construction the road in use just kind of snakes along back and forth on either side of the new road (a couple of times I used the under construction new road to avoid sand traps); I’d imagine the road is like a few others I’ve been on where it changes day to day and week to week depending on weather, truck traffic and maintenance/grading. Either way it should be an adventure!
@@kenshapperttravelstheworld8845 What a great report, thanks a lot. Indeed, I'm not the best sand rider. In fact, I sh1t my pants when I see sand, eh. Gotta practice it, because the road seems cool! Greetings from Curitiba-Brazil!
Red cabbage
That’s kinda what I thought it may be, but the texture and taste wasn’t like any cabbage I’ve ever had before 🤷🏽
Too much music!
lol
Wow - that is interesting - not sure rebranding really ever works though - thanks for the tour.
Yeah I found it fascinating (and chilling)
Hi Ken. Not sure but that food could have been fermented cabbage? they eat a lot of that in Germany for good gut health. Keep up the good work. Mike.
Hey Mike! Yeah I thought it may have been sauerkraut as it looked similar (although red/brown), but it didn’t taste like any I’ve had before. The mystery continues lol
Thanks for the story. That is so nuts.
It really is crazy
Did you ever make it to Valdivia during your trip? Perhaps in a future video?
I didn’t make it there, Chile has just been shockingly expensive compared to all the other countries so far so I won’t be spending too much time unfortunately
👍
🍻
That’s nuts Ken!! Wow! Thx for sharing… safe travels, brother👊
🫡
They covered this area & the stories a LOT in the series Hunting Hitler. Thank you for sharing & keep up the great work👍
Ah cheers, thanks!
Hey, thanks for this video! I'm doing this crossing tomorrow - nice to know where to go now & great to hear there are no copies needed, haha! Hope your wrist didn't hold you back in your travels! Those water things are a pain, I had an almost slide today, exactly the same way. Cheers!
Ah great, I made the video hoping it would help someone out. It was an amazing and fun ride! Watch out for that water crossing where I slid out, I’ve since found out that it is semi-permanent and I’m not the first to go down there 😬
Another good vlog. Don't just do "a little bit of the "Carretera Austral". You should ride nearly the entire route to at least Lago General Carrera after starting it in Puerto Montt. It's a top tier road that shouldn't be skipped. From Santiago, ride back to Argentina and head south via RT40 to Bariloche and then cross back to Chile and Puerto Montt.
Decisions decisions decisions haha. Chile is just super duper unbelievably expensive 😬
De qué fecha es esto? Qué día pudiste cruzar? Lleva varios días cerrado el paso!
Sí, en realidad fue en verano, nadie monta, graba, edita o publica videos el mismo día y, por lo general, ni siquiera la misma semana. es demasiado trabajo jaja
Boy, that immigration portal sure could use a Tim Hortons. Nothing takes the edge off of Gov't bureaucracy like some freshly baked Timbits and a hot cup of java.
Woulda made a work of difference for me ☕️ 🍩
1:43 extra ventilation holes 😂
😂🤣🙏🏼
A nice video! Sorry for your headache. They can ruin the day, especially when pills don't help!
Ah cheers, yeah a headache can ruin the day and altitude tends to make them worse. All part of it!
What you are doing is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks so much for watching! 🙏🏼
Please, take a closer look to the country, it has beautiful views and places!!, id be so happy to see that as an argentinian
Ah don’t worry, I spent about 3-4 months in Argentina, it’s one of my favorite countries! Lots more coming up
breathtaking
Yes!
Mendoza looks way better than Sudbury, Ontario. The people seem equally friendly in both places. Thank you for documenting your journey so that we mere mortals might someday follow in the footsteps of the great Canadian explorer, Ken Shappert.
Hahaha, thanks for making me laugh all the way from Sudbury
Thanks for sharing these. I know what you mean - Argentina's so markedly different than what you've crossed through. What a complicated country. Enjoy and am enjoying these posts.
Yes! It is so different from everywhere else I’ve been in Latin America, a very interesting and complicated country with amazing people. I love Argentina, and my thoughts go out to the lovely people in this time of change and uncertainty. Glad you’re tagging along!
Aawh man i love the cb500x. Going on my own travels pretty soon
Yeah it’s a great little bike, you’re gonna have a great time!!!
It's been fun to follow your travels. Living vicariously with a few smaller adventures with my own Rally Raid CB500X up here in the pacific northwest :). Where are you these days? - seems like you're lagging a few months here on youtube.
Ah cheers man, glad you’re enjoying! Yeah, it is quite a lot to do the travel and then also review/edit/post videos consistently, but since I do it for fun and not money my main focus is on enjoying my trip as opposed to the videos; it’s now a lot easier with a bit of a time buffer lol. I just got to Ireland 😬
Does anyone know of better than factory parts to replace honda parts?
If you are a little more specific on what parts exactly you want to replace with better than OEM you will be more likely to get the info your looking for. Cheers!
@@kenshapperttravelstheworld8845 water pump, steering head bearings/timken roller bearing kit.
@@kenshapperttravelstheworld8845 water and fuel pumps, timken roller bearing kit for steering head bearings, live in Calif so can't tinker very much if at all!
FYI, in Belize they don't use liter they use gallon.
🤷🏽
Amazing 👏
Thank you! Cheers!
Hope the guy goes out of business. A real lemon.
It certainly wasn’t the way things should have been dealt with, and I actually left out the worst parts of the story 😂🤣
amazing videos and editing too
Cheers, thank you!!
Great video & I absolutely admire that bike of yours ! My daughter has the same e one & it’s just a die hard !
The amount of people that have told me their daughter is the same bike haha 😂🤣 thanks 🙏🏼!
Welcome to the Jungle. 😂😂😂 guns and roses
We got what you need
Awesome buddy! I just bought a VOGE 650 DSX at Panama city. I am planning a road trip to Costa Rica end of June . Your video is very insightful. With the right mindset and respect for the law, everything is going to be alright ❤. My name is Stephane, from France. I used to live in Toronto. I love Canada and Canadian people. Panamanians are very nice people as well. Very good relationship so far, since 2 months here.
Amazing, congratulations. I loved Central America! The borders can be a bit of a nightmare, but your exactly right with the right attitude it’s just part of the adventure and will be over by days end lol
How I wish to see these reviews for the CF MOTO 450 MT after 60,000 km...
I’m sure someone will do one. If it makes it.. lol
Ken … You have any content dealing with (or documenting) encounters with the sort of on-the-road traveler shake downs Latin America has become so famous for, e.g. cartel roadblocks?
Well… I do have a ton of footage of my interacting with police. I was only shaken down once (colombia) and I was not on my motorcycle and did not have my camera rolling. Probably could have avoided if I had more time that day. Cartel roadblocks aren’t really a thing outside of Mexico, and I didn’t see any in 3 months all over the country. Only twice I felt like I was being pressured for money (colombia, peru), both times I had done something wrong but just kept friendly/polite and made sure my camera was obviously on and recording; nothing happened. And that is three out of probably hundreds of interactions I had with police. The vast majority were professional if not outright curious and friendly. I think a camera recording and a good attitude go a long way to avoiding problems imho, ymmv
Ahora quiero ir a puebla 😭😭😭
Yo también
I'm definitely the most uncomfortable on deep sand. They say to go as fast as possible but damn, that is scary as heck. Great video, Ken.
I knowww, I was telling myself faster is better lol. I was just so freaked out by trucks right behind me and then coming at me head on also, while sliding around hahaha. I won’t forget that road/day anytime soon
Scary.
Which part??
Awesome video thanks, the Mitas e-07 are an awesome tire for what your doing, cheaper than the tkc80
Yeah I’ve had them recommended and taken a look at them before. In Latin America, with a few exceptions, you generally gotta take whatever’s available. I may test them out in the future. Cheers!
Yo man i just want to say i found your channel and its amazing keep doing you and please be safe. May god protect you in jesus name. Thank you for visiting Nicaragua
Thank you so much for your kind words 🙏🏼
How many miles do you have on the CB now?
Over 80,000 😬
Km’s
@@kenshapperttravelstheworld8845 Nice! I've got about 32k kms on mine. This gives me a lot of confidence in keeping this bike for many years to come! Thanks for the response!
i’ll just stay in usa 🇺🇸 thanks
😂🤣
What boots were those?
TCX Blend boot. First set was legendary and the best ever, I replaced it with the updated Blend2 and it was a disappointing waste of money.