This ride is inspired by The Scooter Cannonball Run which is a coast-to-coast ride across the United States on step-through scooters.
This Cannonball is an endurance rally rather than a race for the fastest continental crossing. The twist is that we do it on (~125cc) small scooters and motos rather than fast cars or big bikes. This makes simply finishing each day enough of a challenge and it keeps the speeds down to safe levels.
The scoring format is each day is 4 segments --- a starting hotel, 3 mandatory transition points, and a final hotel. In addition, there are about 10 bonus goals along the way. Each segment is worth up to one point per nominal segment kilometer. The participant who finishes the segment quickest sets the nominal segment time. Your points for the segment are the number of nominal kilometers minus the difference between your segment time and the quickest participant's segment time. For example, if the segment is 200 km and José Súper Rápido completes it in 183 minutes, then José gets 200 points. If you complete in 199 minutes, you get 200 - (199-183) = 200 - 16 = 184 points.
You are free to ride any route you want between the mandatory transition points. However, there are typically 2 to 5 bonus goals between transition points. These bonus goals are worth 5 to 80 points each, so generally if you follow the nominal route, picking up these bonus goals, you will maximize your point total. However, some bonus goals are out of the way or on unpaved roads, so not all of them will reward you with more points than the additional time to reach them. You need to plan and decide.
A handicap formula adjusts your time by multiplying your actual segment time by a number calculated from your moto displacement, wheel size, and year. Bigger engines increase your handicap increasing your scoring segment time to keep things fair and competitive. It will be difficult to be competitive on a bigger bike. The nominal moto is something like the Itálika FT125 Motocicleta de Trabajo 125cc with 17-inch wheels which sells for about MX$17,000 or USD$1000.
This ride is limited to single cylinder, cheap, small Moto repartidora nominally Itálika or other 125cc bike you can buy in Walmart. You can ride a Motoneta (step-through scooter) or Moto de abonitos (Itálika, Elektra, Coppel, etc) maximum 250cc.
Something like T250X is the maximum allowed bike, but because of its large displacement and big wheels, it has a handicap of 1.4 adding 4 hours of adjusted segment time to a 10 hour nominal segment time day.
Something like Motoneta Itálika D150 LT with its 10 inch wheels at 149.6cc engine is competitive with something like Itálika FT125 Motocicleta de Trabajo 125cc with 17-inch wheels.
handicap = (0.012969*wheel_inches + 0.842135) * (0.0027036*displacement + 0.61027) * (-0.003077*age + 1.0123)
Some examples:
| Moto | year | Wheels | Disp(cc) | handicap | minutes/day |
| Honda Super Cub | 1975 | 17" | 90 | 0.7759 | -134 |
| Honda Cargo | 2006 | 17" | 125 | 0.9580 | -67 |
| Honda Navi | 2026 | 12" | 109.2 | 0.9146 | -51 |
| Yamaha Zuma | 2018 | 12" | 125 | 0.9344 | -39 |
| Benelli TNT135 | 2018 | 12" | 135 | 0.9611 | -23 |
| Motoneta Itálika D150 LT | 2024 | 10" | 149.6 | 0.9922 | -5 |
| Yamaha S-max | 2015 | 13" | 150 | 1.0046 | -3 |
| Itálika FT125 Motocicleta de Trabajo | 2024 | 17" | 125 | 1.0138 | -8 |
| Elektra Hero 160R | 2024 | 19" | 160 | 1.1422 | +85 |
| Elektra Hero XPULSE 200 4V | 2024 | 19" | 199.6 | 1.2594 | +156 |
| Itálika-Morbidelli T250X | 2024 | 19" | 250 | 1.4087 | +245 (not competitive) |
While some motos might be uncompetitive for accumulating points and the prestige of running high on the leaderboard, they are good "tourist class" bikes for more comfortably experiencing the tour.
Suppose José Súper Rápido completes a 200km segment in 184 minutes 26 seconds riding a Motoneta Itálika D150 LT with handicap of 0.9922. José's adjusted time is 184.44 * 0.9922 = 183 minutes 0 seconds. José gets 200 points.
Meanwhile, you finished the segment in 179 minutes on your Elektra Hero 160R with a handicap of 1.1422. Your segment adjusted time is 179*1.1422=204.454 minutes or 4.454 minutes slower that José, so you get 200 - 4.454 = 196 points.
Tijuana to Merida broken into 10 days of approximately 700km segments
| day | Route | Google time | Distance | |
| 1 | 9h11m | 718 km | ||
| 2 | 9h38m | 769 km | ||
| 3 | 14h4m | 638 km | ||
| 4 | 10h23m | 511 km | ||
| 5 | 7h28m | 580 km | ||
| 6 | 14h10m | 689 km | ||
| 7 | 14h12m | 692 km | ||
| 8 | 12h49m | 583 km | ||
| 9 | 13h3m | 600 km | ||
| 10 | 8h23m | 562 km | ||
| total distance 6342 km | (3941 miles) | |||
Of course a lot of tuning and tweaking is still required as well as defining the mandatory transition points and bonus goals.
The entire Baja peninsula is part of the customs free zone, and a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) is not required to ride there. But if you want to take the ferry from La Paz across to the mainland, you have to have one. While customs at the port in southern Baja will check the TIP, they do NOT issue one, so you must obtain it upon entry at the US border. (If crossing in Tijuana, follow signs for “something to declare” and pop into the office). If you’ve missed this step, you have no option, but to ride all the way back north.
It’s also good to know in advance, that unlike everywhere else in Central and South America, you have to pay a deposit to obtain the TIP. How much that is, depends on your bike and can be found out online. You can pay by card or cash, and the deposit is returned to the same payment method upon exit.
Another good resource for TIP information is VisitingMexico.com.Getting your TIP online allows you to get 180 days (as opposed to 30 day max in person)
The (no-refundable part) fee for the permit is about USD $55.
The (fundable) TIP Deposit depends on the vehicle:
For 2007 and newer vehicles: USD $400
2001-2006 vehicles: $300
2000 and older: $200