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

[pupster]

.....Yesterday was brilliant......Couldn't have asked for a better day......Our Moscow Man Maxim met us at our hotel in his monster truck and we followed him for a few miles to his chopper workshop.......Wow!.....It was like something out of "Pimp My Ride"......Not only did he have a vast collection of historical bikes and choppers, he had a trike with a Formula 1 racing car back end!!!!.......Then he swapped his truck for a scooter and off we went on a whistlestop tour of Moscow by bike....at speed!!!.....Had we been alone, we would never have dared drive in the way we did following him....So we saw The KGB Headquaters, Red Square (Lenin's Mauseleum was closed when we arrived), The Kremlin, The Grave of The Unknown Warrior, The Bolshoi Theatre, University Hill and lots lots more before ending up at "Night Train"......a biker bar owned by Maxim which doubles as the Harley-Owners Club HQ......Later on we were escorted safely (at speed!) back to our hotel.....we finished the day off with a great meal and a couple of beers at a local restaurant......

......outside KGB HQ......


......In Red Square.....


...where my dad went to University in 1960....

.....Outside St Basils.......

[badboybez]

Well done!

[frenchy3]

What an acheivement. Well done to all of you.
Steve.

[pupster]

….Had the best of times in Moscow……Friday was spent having a rest from the bikes……Instead we used the Moscow Metro and visited The Kremlin…..Our ride out with The Harley Group was cancelled due to our host being interviewed on Russian TV about the Monster Trikes that he builds…..So while the filming took place we ended up being guests of a Russian TV station…..Maxim then treated us to a visit to the HQ of The Moscow Night Wolves……a Russian Biker Gang……Known as “The Biker Place”, it resembled the set of Mad Max……It was truly awesome and I feel very honoured to have been invited there……..
…..Today we rode 250 miles south to Orel……The day started with my rear brakes failing again after only 2 minutes riding……I rode carefully for a few miles before stopping for some Dot 4 brake fluid and bleeding the back brakes with some new fluid…..While I was at it, I oiled the chain and got the front brake light switch working again……When we arrived here a few people crowded the bike….They’re in a compound now for the night……..
……Tomorrow it’s up early for a 7 O’clock off…….We’ve got over 300 miles to cover to Kiev in Ukraine which involves a border crossing……I don’t know what to expect in Ukraine but I hope it’s friendly faces…….

......changing of the guard!.....

......Stalin & Lenin alive & well in Moscow!......

......The Biker Place........

.......Little & Large.......

[bigfatcat]

Ourrah Pobieda!

[pupster]

.......Clutch cable went today!......We were just driving over a bridge into Kiev in Ukraine when Ping!.......Fortunately I'd reached the top of the bridge so was able to freewheel down to the bottom.......Fortunately I had a spare and Nick at Force had given me a quick tutorial so I was able to fix it......It's a fiddly little bugger......After I'd done it, I thought I'd test it while it was still on it's centre stand by leaning it onto the side stand completely forgetting the centre stand acts as chain tensioner......duhhhhhh!......the chain came off creating some interesting sparks in the process......At this point it was dark and I was working by torchlight under the equivalent of the Hammersmith Flyover!......Luckily the chain didn't break. I tightened it two notches and made it to the hostel where the others had gone to book in while I repaired the clutch.........Otherwise the bike is running better than ever......Most of the roads today in Ukraine have been long and straight and quiet......I touched 72mph at one point!
......Anyway today was spent getting out of Russia and into Ukraine......about a 2 hour border crossing.......£40 for bike insurance for Ukraine bought on the border.....So far really lovely people....Great hostel in the middle of Kiev......Haven't seen much of the town yet on account of breaking down and arriving in the dark but it looks beautiful......Hope to see more of it tomorrow after our trip to Chernobyl.......

....Great looking cafe.....but it was shut ( .....

....endless queue of lorries waiting to enter Russia....

....Dude in Ukraine.....

.....Repairing the clutch cable.....in the rain in the dark....under a flyover!!!.....

[chippy1]

Well done i am really enjoying reading your posts,

Keep up the good work

I have my fingers crossed that your bike keeps on running well.

[pupster]

…..After waiting half an hour for the bus to Chernobyl, John phoned his contact to discover all trips to the danger zone had been cancelled for the foreseeable future by the Ukranian Government so instead had a lovely day in Kiev, went for a boat trip on the river, had some laundry done and planned the route ahead……..This morning set off soon after 7 and drove 330 miles through Ukraine to L’viv….Good roads most of the way, the bike ran well in cool dry air……Got a couple of hours to look round L’viv this evening…..it looks a beautiful cobbled city….give it a couple of years and the tourists will be here en-masse…..As per usual the MT attracted a lot of attention arriving in town….people often photograph it!......Tomorrow it’s 200 miles to Krakow…..but the Ukranian Exit border to deal with…..I love Krakow & I’ve got friends there so really looking forward to it……Also it will mean getting back to the EU where I have the safety net of RAC European Breakdown Cover & fully comp insurance coverage!........Also we’ll gain an hour too!......At the moment we’re 2 hours ahead of the UK…….
.....Grunge Biker.....Ukranian Style....

.....Some dude on a horse!.......

[SimmoSub]

Great update mate, keep it up!

Cheers
Dave

[woodruff]

Well done - you are having a great time.
Funny but out of all the photos you have posted 'fixing clutch cable under flyover' is my favorite for some peverse reason