Outside of vintage races, Greg Gilson’s 1980 Honda XLS 125 is often one of the oldest bikes in the field wherever he competes. That might also be the case come November if things go according to plan for him.

Gilson hopes to bring the bike to Mexico to compete in the Baja 1000, which will be the longest race that it’s used on. He intends to track his journey through his new video series Road to Baja, with the first episode premiering on Tuesday.

He acquired the bike in 2018 before making various upgrades to it, though most of the Honda is still stock. While the 125cc engine is much weaker than the motorcycles that compete in most rallies and desert races nowadays (the FIM mandates 450cc for rally raids), smaller models have been used in events like the Dakar Rally.

Gilson has also brought the Honda to races like the 2019 Rallye du Maroc, which he finished despite a broken collarbone. In November, he raced the Qatar International Baja to a 42nd overall and 25th in class, with his best run being a ninth in Category 1 in the Prologue. The pilot episode of Road to Baja focuses on Qatar.

In April, he will enter the Morocco Desert Challenge with the Honda.

“It will be our goal for the year to participate in the Baja 1000 in November,” said Gilson on Sunday. “We’ll release one episode per month starting with the Qatar Baja which we did in November. The fourth episode of the year will be huge because we will be in the Morocco Desert Challenge. It is 3,000 kilometers over eight days, 2,600 km approximately of specials and a lot of sand. We will really be in a fight with the 450s, and I’ve been waiting for this for a very long time.”

Despite the similar name, a cross-country baja is in essence a shorter rally raid. On the other hand, the Baja 1000 is a continuous desert race, meaning the bike will be pushed to its limit.

Road to Baja Episode 1 on YouTube

Featured image credit: Adrien Goguet