Thanks guys for posting up such great info! VERY HELPFULL.
To answer some questions:
1) Ride starts 6 am with an orientation meeting in the restaurant of Rancho Santa Veronica. Meeting will include group breakfast, coffee, etc. that George and I will set up. We will all get to talk to the chase team too. Bags will be transfered into chase truck.
I hope to pull out of there, bikes fired up and off we go around 6:45-7am or so. If it snowed the night before, then yeah we might have to deal with that. Chance of snow about 20% based on other rides ive done out of there that time of year! So bring warm stuff. I have
heated grips and a plug for my heated vest, and a fairing....good news is that it will warm up quickly as we go south. But the first day will be cold.
2) No need to reserve rooms other than in Cabo. George and I will deal with the other hotels.... In some cases it will mean getting rooms reserved ahead of time, in other cases we will just get a room when we show up. Some places are too remote to contact ahead of time, but they dont sell out, so its ok. Also--depending on the weather we may need to change the course (flash floods) and so we need a bit of flexibility. Same too if someone gets hurt or lost or serious breakdown.
3) Route
Its subject to change depending on the chase trucks' needs, the weather (flash floods) and other concerns. Most of this is on old Baja 1000 routes.
Tecate
San Felipe
Bay of LA
San Ignacio
Loreto
Ciudad Constitution or La Paz
Cabo San Lucas
4) I keep saying this is a 7 day 1000 miles ride....but its actually more like 1250 miles. Just sayin'
5) Insurance.
For trucks and for bikes liability insurance is available at the border.
I have used Oscar Padilla Mexican Insurance with good results in the past. They even payed to have my broken truck window replaced, after i got home. Baja Bound Insurace is another one. Instant Mexican Insurance another one. Normally one gets insurace at the border, on the US side. We can get it at the Tecate border crossing on the US side at the gas station. Just stop and fill out the papers.
For my chase truck I will get insurance for the F350 and pay for it from the $100 everyone is kicking in.
For my bike i have never gotten it, nor ever been asked for it. But thats just me. I know baja, meaning i dont crash oftern, dont run into things, am very aware of my surroundings. Its up to you, but on the whole i would recommend getting it.
I will say this: If you cause damage to a Mexican's truck or donkey or whatever way out on some dirt road somewhere, they are gonna want to settle right there and then. Meaning you wip out some cash, and negotiate whats fair to pay for the radiator you just smashed or the donkey you ran over. Thats just how its done.
They wont care about your insurance papers, at all.
If you injure or kill someone with your bike or are in a big accident in the towns or on the highway, then yes the cops will want to see your papers, and even with insurance you will be locked up in jail for 1-2 days while they work it all out.
I HAVE bailed a dirt biker out of jail for hitting a pedestrain. Meaning it does happen, but not often. Guy was drunk, stepped backwards into the dirt bike, traveling at 10mph in a town. Not his fault, but bike was impounded and he spent night in jail. He had to pay for the drunks broken arm. Luckily he had insurance, and they came thru big time and helped out.
So there ya go, its very very rare, but does happen.
5) Radios:
There are three main brands of VHF radios that dirt bikers use. All are 5 or 6 watts, and have a usefull range of just a few miles, less in tight canyons. But they are really really nice in a group. Especailly for those "watch out cattle on the road" or "watch out a ranchers truck coming your way around the blind curve"
The link to Johnnieairtime's discussion on radios is helpfull. I am no techy and i will defer to Blake and Johnieairtime.
Let me just say:
Most racers use ICOM radios. They are super beefy. Other good brands are Kenwood and Yeuasu.
You want:
VHF, 5 or 6 watt.
You want external jack for push to talk.
You want to be able to change frequencies for your rides. Meaning a tuner. (some race radios have no tuner, just pre-programmed channels-great for racing, not so good if you show up for a future ride and everyone is using a non-pre programmed frequency)
So along with your radio, you will need a dirt bike remote mic and push to talk.
The remote push to talk and mic is available from:
Baja Designs
or
PCI race radios.
Overall i prefer the Baja Designs units. They are super super beefy. But the PCI unit is also very good, i own both.
6) Dont forget those tie downs!
7) I need your shirt size, and emergency contact info. Please PM me with it.
8) Rooms at the Hotel Bahia are often double occupancy, so if you want to buddy up, you can save some money.
9) Sat. Phones--nice going guys, really helpfull that you guys are taking initiative.. THANKS!. I have the older Irridium, and its a bit bulky for dirt biking. I recomend smaller models to slip in your camelback. I will have mine with me. Its always nice to have. Wrap them in a sock or something in the camelback. They get scratched up.
10) Chase trucks will all have 20-50 watt radios, just FYI.
11) SPOT. I dont know much about them, but maybe its time i did. Seems like a nice way to go-family back home can see right where you are.
12) thats if for now!
. I'll have my stop watch out, timing your calls 
