my wife and i wil be visiting the farm in piddig, ilocos norte in december coming 2005. we will also be looking for a place to buld or buy a house on the outskirts of loaog. (wil she will be, i will be looking for motorcycles).
i have ridden for years in the states. i havent rode much in the fils as of yet. i am not ready for manila , but i am sure in need of riding around ilocos.
eventually i will be living there in the winters, hopefully bulding harleys or old bmws, triumphs and the like. but for now, i ned to get to know the bikers in the area, the shops, the clubs, mad dog or scooter head, everyone.

i will also need an affordble bike that can handle pavement and gravel/dirt roads. it will also be at the mercy of my brother inlaws while i am back in the usa. i got to december to work this out. so if anyone got contacts, suggestions, whatever, i would appeciate it.

Hi, Hacksaw. John here. I'm a Flip living in Vancouver Canada. I'm from Ilocos myself. I don't have much by way of replying to your post, but I thought I'd let you know I'm here. I vacation in Ilocos every now and then. We have an ancestral farm there. Who knows, I might be there same time as you this year. My current ride is a 2005 BMW F650 GS. Previously, I had a Hayabusa.
Big change, huh?
I was laughing and scared shatless at the same time when you wrote "it (bike) will be at the mercy of my brother in laws when I'm back in the states". What can you do, huh?
That's it for now. Good luck with your plans.
John

hey john,

great to hear from you. which model of 650 gs is that? i kinda like the non dahar enduro. i think it would go well for exploring the provinces. my wifes fsarm had recently gotton a paved road, but there still is a lot of off pavement there.

then of course there are some hot looking ducati monsters available in the fils. i prfer old bms and harleys. but for now, with only a few weeks to play in ilococs for the next year or two, i dont need old stuff breaking on me. once i am retired and can stay 3-3 monhs at a clip. i can build what i want.

vancouver is a cold place. hope they treat you well there. here in CT it was 3 f this morning. sure aint riding weather!

someday we will hook up in the fils. for a ride!

If it's my money, I'll just buy whatever's in Ilocos. Dunno if you're savvy with practices there regarding bike "importation" but they're dirt cheap (to us).
You'll know what I'm talking about (if you don't know it yet) once you get there.
How come you don't prefer the Dakar? Inseam short like me? Mine's the GS.
Vancouver is definitely NOT a cold place. We are shielded by the Canadian Rockies from the rest of Canada. We get balmy weather here is all, 'cos we get the warm Pacific breeze. We ride all year 'round, 'xept the very few odd days there's melting snow on the ground.
I ride to Seattle area often. I also bum around in Honolulu often 'cos I got relatives there who seem to enjoy feeding me.
Right now, I'm recruiting ride buddies to Alaska or the Canadian Rockies in Alberta for this coming spring.
Vancouver has been very good to me. You know us Flips; we're lovable people. We get along fine with everybody.

P.S. I was in Old Saybrook, CT last July allowing my other relatives there to feed me. You near there? Also have rels in Norwalk and Bridgeport.
Dang, we're good at multiplying, ain't we?

ct is small enuff, so yep, old saybrook is close, norwalk is close enuff, and bridgeport is just minutes away. next time,let me know.

a lot of ilicanos in hawaii. marcos set up there in exile i think just for that reason. my only problem with ilocos is that my wifes family, are still big on ol' ferdinand, and the npa came sniffing around a few years back. but i guess they are now back up on the volcano someplace. jusat have to watch where i go. i love dirt roads of into the woods.

i would think buying in ilocos is cool. dont know if ya can do that new bike wise out side of 250cc or so. i have sent an email to a bike shop right near pidig to see what he deals in. if i want new , i have to go to quezon city or makati.

the dakar is to flashy. the bike you have, is it the other enduro?the one i think is perfect for a get to know the area rider.

nice to think about. riding all year. never would have expected that in canada anywhere. god bless you for that!

ct is small enuff, so yep, old saybrook is close, norwalk is close enuff, and bridgeport is just minutes away. next time,let me know.

a lot of ilicanos in hawaii. marcos set up there in exile i think just for that reason. my only problem with ilocos is that my wifes family, are still big on ol' ferdinand, and the npa came sniffing around a few years back. but i guess they are now back up on the volcano someplace. jusat have to watch where i go. i love dirt roads of into the woods.

i would think buying in ilocos is cool. dont know if ya can do that new bike wise out side of 250cc or so. i have sent an email to a bike shop right near pidig to see what he deals in. if i want new , i have to go to quezon city or makati.

the dakar is to flashy. the bike you have, is it the other enduro?the one i think is perfect for a get to know the area rider.

nice to think about. riding all year. never would have expected that in canada anywhere. god bless you for that!

hi,ilocano here.its nice there are ilocanos abroad posting here.u are right, lots of ilocanos are living in hawaii and visiting phils evry vacation.in our town near laoag,some motorcycles came from hawaii..they brought it here by box(chopped into pcs).i saw a quad atv,an 80cc suzuki rm ang lots of honda trailbikes.but i havent seen any bigbike yet.why dont u try to pm Meshrider,he's in US i think..(he is from ilocos norte also)in dealing with your bike if u want to bring it here.hope it'l helps u.. :cheers:

Greetings HACKSAW, we have some biker friends there in Laoag, I can hook you up with the Ballog Laoag Riders there and might give you some assistance. Tell them you got this info from Wolver of Fleet Bikers Inc. Baguio City.
The roads there are quite good ... way good compared to Manila.


Ballog Laoag Riders - +639218053297

i am gong to need to make a list of all these contacts! its kinda hard for me to call everyone that is in the fils due to my 12hr times difference. but i am going to save all of them. especially to call when i am in the fils. thanks,

i think the box of bikes that was seen coming in from hawaii is because they are under a certian cc size, and maybe because they may not have been street bikes.

A LOT, and I mean, A LOT of houses there are virtual appliances/motorcycles/scooters/etc., etc. "private" stores. You just need someone from there to take you around. You will be surprised at what you will find in their living rooms, and bedrooms, and wherever they can store their inventory. No, this is not a secret. Everyone there knows.

BENJIE NICOLAS-09183445424
Jet Riders Club Laoag city chapter(former president)
he can help you around ilocos norte. he is a also a balikbayan who lived in hawaii for a long time.theres a certain group in laoag which is purely on bigbikes..THE ROADRATS..i dont know their contacts but benjie can help you on that.(roadrats,INSA-ilocos norte scooters association,jet riders,laoag city adventurers club,ballogs)

New to this site...found it while looking for flights to LAO. Do any airlines fly to LAO without first stopping in MNL? Can I rent a Harley in Ilocos Norte while I am there in January '07?
I have family in Vancouver...are we related? Do you know Elvie and Dave and Leah and Ryan from Santa Clara, CA?
Good to see this site...

Oh...unsure how this works. My post above was geared toward 29pnoy...

no harley rentals i know of in ilocos norte.


benjie-
yes, thanks. i do know some road rats. i have never met dok, but we share emails and have had phone contact. another RR i know in the usa. and i have actually visited with rikki while he was still with the rats.

i am more of the bigbike type. we shall see.