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

[ellrider]

Keep up the good work. Enjoying reading this thread.

[CADMAN]

Sounds like a great adventure I look forward to your updates I hope the weather stays good for you.
Cheers from Dave.

[pupster]

........Lithuania was crap so carried on through to Latvia!!........

.....Got to Riga tonight after 200 miles of battering side wind and speeding lorries..........that was hard work......Riga's brilliant.......we made it to the midsummer festival but so far I have seen no sign of the promised naked fire dancing.....several fires & lots of cider though!!......I've seen a bit of the city tonight but we're stopping here two nights so I can be a tourist tomorrow.......

......Bike was running great today but a slight possible problem......At the Latvian border, I stopped to take the obligatory border shot when I noticed some fuel dripping from the airbox.....I took the cover off and there was a bit of a pool in there....the air filter was quite soaked in petrol so I changed it .......is it normal for that to happen???.......It had been filled to the brim 10 miles before......Hasn't done it before that I've noticed......it was on it's side stand though when I took the pic.......Any thoughts??......otherwise running great..... and better for changing the air filter.......

[Barrie]

Good pics mate, check your carb, floats ect, although Im no mechanic, could be becase it was on its side, stopping the float pin thing working, so there was a build up of fuel and has nowhere to go but down the airbox pipe?

Anyway, keep us all posted and I wish you the best of luck

[Wirralman]

see this extract from FAQs

4.1 How do I stop fuel leaking out of my MT350 carburettor?

This is a common problem, usually caused by dirt being dragged into the carb, preventing the fuel shut off valve sealing properly. As well as fuel pouring out of the overflow pipe, it may also seep into your air-box and collect in there. If you’re lucky you may get away with doing nothing more than tapping the side of the carb, or riding your bike a bit more to dislodge the dirt. But if you’re not that lucky then drain and take off your float bowl. Give it a good clean with carb cleaner and squirt some cleaner around the needle valve above the float. Then check to see if your air filter is soaked in fuel, if so air dry. With luck this will fix the problem- you may have to do this a few times before all of the dirt is out of the system! If you haven’t fitted an in-line fuel filter, you might re-consider and fit one to prevent having to do this again. Best practice is to switch your fuel tap to Off when not in use, just in case.

If the above doesn’t fix the problem, you need to check the float level and or the needle valve. If the float level is set too high, then it will not cut the fuel supply off before it reaches the overflow level. If the needle valve is worn it may not seal properly- you may be able to dress the needle or lap it to remove any ridges, if not replace the needle valve.

If a sharp tap fixes your problem , but you haven’t cleaned your tank, petcock and fuel line, it may be worthwhile to doing it to avoid this happening again.



Great story, keep it coming and good luck with the trip
Eric

[bigfatcat]

Great progress. I visited Klaipeda in Lithuania in 1985 under Communism. It wasn't great then either.

A simple tip that sometimes can help is to shut the fuel off just as you get to the end of a journey and let the engine empty the carb causing the needle to drop. Then when you turn the tap on the fresh fuel can flush out dirt. However, the dirt then goes into the carb!
You may also have to flush and clean out the tank & filters if dirt is getting down to the carb.

If you aren't already, also turn off the fuel every time you park the bike.
Hope this helps.
Good luck & progress.
BFC

[pupster]

........Thanks for all those carb tips..... I have got a small inline fuel filter fitted but I guess it's not infallible......I'll make a point of turning off my fuel pipe from now on.......It's been lovely having the day off.......I'm staying in the ALA hostel in oldtown Riga which is lovely.......I'm in a 4 bed dorm and so far no-one else is in my room tonight......I hope it stays that way.....It's proving to be costlier for me......The other riders Brigid & John are a couple and always want a double room so no savings to be made for me there except by going in dorms or serious negotiating!.......Celebrated a comfortable stop with clean pants and having my first shave in nearly 3 weeks.......It took all 4 razors I'd brought with me.......Tomorrow we intend to get to Narva in Northern Estonia close to the Russian Border......The others need to do some laundry so I'll try & get a head start on them.......Just really hope it's not raining.......It's nearly 300 miles.......
.........It's been great having some time to relax today.......Riga's a beautiful city.....I really had no idea........I went up the tower of St Peter's Church to take in the city from a great height and have had lots of lovely conversations with people from the city.....It's a very friendly place......








.....Keep all those comments coming......they really help me alot......thanks.....

[Thumper]

Try some of the Black Balsam drink - a Riga speciality drink - 50% proof and tastes like cough mixture

That'll put hairs on your chest ....

[sunnymach]

Hi Pupster. Sarah and Barry here following the Adventures of JP on his MT. Well done mate. Sorry we can't offer much carb advice (it was hard enough registering on this site) but we're rooting for you. Tipping it down here so you're not missing anything but we miss you! xxx from us and Ruby

[pupster]

…….Sadly any hopes of having the four bed dorm to myselfwere soon dashed by the arrival of two Germans…..Hansel & Gretl…….one of whom sadly had a serious wind problem…..the only advantage being the room no longer overwhelmingly smelled of petrol…….A sleepless night ensued interrupted about every 20 minutes by the sound of German fart……so by 6am I’d had enough, got up, showered and was on the road alone at 7am…….destination Narva, Estonia 265 miles away….
….The morning went great 100 miles to the border with hardly any traffic on the road…….Riga was lovely driving through at 7am.....virtually empty, but soon after crossing into Estonia, it started raining hard….very hard…….I was so wet that at one point I took refuge in a campervan owned by a British couple Peter & Barbara who made me coffee and sandwiches….thanks …I arrived in Narva late afternoon……cold and wet……I soon arrived at Alex the Couchsurfer’s who was putting me up and a hot shower & change of clothes followed, then a walk into Narva for a tour of the sights…..I saw the border which I’ll be crossing in the morning, castles facing each other over the border (apparently the closest enemy castles in the world....within arrowshot of each other) plus lots of other less interesting things before having a meal at a riverside bar overlooking Russia on the other side ……
…..I’m starting to get edgy at the thought of Russia…..it’s a bit of an unknown!......I’m leaving Europe behind…….






.......That's Russia on the other side.....!!!......