....Moscow to Moscow......

[James]

Pupster, keep the updates coming; they are brilliant. Very best of luck with the rest of the trip.
James

[bigfatcat]

You've made it past "the Wall" then. Great news.
Hopefully the carb thing will be sorted tomorrow, it doesen't sound too serious
(said by he who is not at the far end of Germany).
I too had to drive with wet pants in London recently, & it wasn't nice, nothing to do with rain mind you, just my involuntary reaction to the local traffic's contempt o't Highway Code - had a bus just pull out in front of me, ERRR!!! - Full Brakes! (er, see forum thread on MT500 and its marvellous drum brakes). Said little incident caused me to create quite a fair sized skid mark, shame my tyres didn't do one too

If you don't have already, it might be worthwhile getting yourself a reel of electricians tape (or similar) as a 'get me home' if the carb inlet hose splits. Bind it with multiple overlapping wraps of tape, making sure it sealed both ends of the hose, then put the jubilee clips over the top (covering and holding the tape loose ends). I had to do this on my MT, in the end it lasted months & was holding fast when I eventually replaced it (took me quite a bit of time cutting it off).

I second James' comment, please keep posting your progress.
regards
BFC

[pupster]

.........Berlin hotel room looks like a chinese laundry!!.......got everything (sleeping bag, tent, panniers, clothes) all hanging up drying!........Going down to the Berlin Harley Dealership in the morning to see if they'll lend me a small corner to work on my bike......

......Met a German with no sense of humour today at a service station......gave him a soaking wet 20 euro note from my pocket......he held it like it was dirt!........

If you're interested in tracking us online.....go to
http://www.plant-i.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
username..... offonaweeride
password...... planti
then click select a group
obviously i'm the harley davidson
you can see all sorts of data in there......

Big thanks to the guys at plant-i for donating their tracking kit for the duration of the trip....

[Thumper]

Even better is self-amalgamating tape which sets like solid rubber. Don't forget to check the air-box side of the carb. I found a split in that hose which caused no end of problems re tick over and back firing or over running.

The Planti tracking data is really interesting, so thanks for including that.

Hope everything gets fixed soon

Ian

[pupster]

……Great day in Berlin……Went over to the Harley dealership……they’d never heard of an MT350 and wouldn’t let me use their workshop but they did allow me & John to strip the bike down outside so took out the air box, the carb, the cables etc and put them all back oiled, cleaner & tidier…..a bird shat on my head while I was working on it which may have brought me luck as it seems to be running better…..I’ll know better tomorrow when I get the chance to pick up some speed……Change of plan….we’re going to try & make Gdansk if the weathers good…..a nicer route than Warsaw really…….It’ll mean trying to get though that small chunk of the Russian Federation through to Lithuania without a visa but it’s worth a go!!......After lunch I spent the afternoon cruising round Berlin on the bike, visiting various places including the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, The Reichstag, The Brandenburg Gate…..brilliant……and the sun shone for much of the day……Roll on Gdansk…..it’s been 18 years since I was there…..





......After putting everything back together, the lights didn't work....I thought oh F*** what have I done......... before Brigid reminded me about the blackout switch I'd bragged about before!

[badboybez]

Keep up the log mate - and keep on going

[pupster]

......God I've got a sore arse!!.......298 brilliant miles today in the Sun Sun Sun!!!.......Left Berlin at 9am on my own while B&J went off to DHL to pick up a parcel & catch me up later on their superbikes.......50 miles got me through East Germany to the Polish border.....punnet of strawberries and coffee to celebrate......10 miles into Poland saw a lady with no pants on by the side of the road.....Thought I should stop and offer her a pair of mine but didn't!........I then trundled up Route 22 to Gdansk!!........Most of the way was through forest.......Made the mistake of yawning wearing an open faced helmet........my mouth was greeted by a bumble bee at 56mph!!......Bike's running better but not perfect.......choke still doesn't seem to do much but hey!!.........Really great to be in Poland again.....I love this place.....Staying in an attic cupboard in Hostel 21 in the middle of Old town Gdansk.......
......So many people appreciate the bike which is lovely......when I'm on my own, people are always coming up to me to talk about the bike........It seems to make people smile!......
......Not sure what's happening tomorrow.......we'll take it as it comes.......hope to head to Kalingrad in Little Russia if we can get a transit visa on the border........I'd like to make it to Riga for the 23rd.......their midsummer festival with naked fire dancing......(I wonder if the Polish pantless lady was on her way there)......!!!.....


.....Must stop making the mistake of having meat and potatoes in the afternoon.....doesn't half make you drowsy!.....

[Thumper]

Great stuff John

Gdansk and Riga are 2 of my favourite places. Sadly I travelled via EASYJET and Ryanair not on my MT350

Ian

[SimmoSub]

Great stuff mate, green with envy!

Good luck and please continue to keep us posted

Cheers
Dave

[pupster]

.....Mixed day yesterday.......Tried to take a shortcut North to Lithuania by shortcutting through Kaliningrad through Little Russia......but couldn't get in........Actually it wasn't the Russians that wouldn't let us in, rather the Poles wouldn't let us out without the appropriate Russian Visa......so skirted round through rural east Poland and stopped at a campsite in Elk last night........
.....Still have a sore arse!.......applied some savlon for some light relief this morning, seems to be working!......I have just begrudgingly temporarily lifted my 25 year boycott on McDonalds in order to use their toilet facilities and free internet in order to keep you all happy!.......Thanks to everyone for your messages of support and thanks to you all who came to the Ace cafe......
.......Bike running well......checked the cambelt yesterday morning and fiddled with the carb......after which I couldn't get it started and then remembered I'd turned the fuel switch off!.....duuuh!......I love these slightly bumpy roads in Eastern Europe.......you can only do about 55 anyway so it suits me fine.......and I love passing through these villages.....I've been practising my Borat voice for my return.......Yesterday was invited in to a lovely shack like home for coffee......the guy's sister works in Starbucks, Aberdeen!......
.......Today.......Lithuania.......Here we come!.......Sun is shining today which makes all the difference....
......Last night reached the 2,500 mile mark on my trip since leaving home two weeks ago......