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

[bigfatcat]

Congratulations, & glad you had a safe return.
It sounds from your blogs that (other than a few niggles) the MT coped well.
Look forward to your report (as I plan to head East this August).
I hope that many forum members here are able to show a little generosity too, as well as the general appreciation of your efforts.
regards
BFC

[James]

Well done.

[bth2bth2]

well done and glad you made it home safe. shame you had some crap weather.

brian

[SimmoSub]

Superb mate, a great ride and achievement.

Great to see an MT doing the business as well!

Cheers
Dave

[Priest]

Congratulations ! I really enjoyed following your trip

Don

[pupster]

......I’m back home in Wales, unpacked and enjoying clean clothes and a real fire again.....It’s been a fascinating few weeks on the road with some great highs and deep lows......Quite a few people questioned my sanity when I decided to do the trip on an MT but I’m glad I did......The bike’s a real conversation starter which is especially lovely in Eastern Europe......I also decided to wear an open faced helmet......Although there were moments in the rain when I wished I wasn’t, people can see your face so a helmet doesn’t act as a barrier......For me, meeting normal people is what makes a trip so the days I spent on my own, I will remember best as it gave me the freedom to stop when I wanted to look at old bikes, interesting shops, slip up an interesting side road or to stop at the strange looking places for much needed coffee without slowing the others down.......
.....The bike had a few problems along the way.......They were as follows:
...The centre stand springs broke causing the stand to trail on the ground.....This could have been dangerous if the chain had come off as it acts as tensioner but it didn’t so was able to fit new springs before hitting Europe.....
....Carb hose split 35 miles into Europe......This was the third time for me repairing this so squeezed a new one into the gap in the rain in Belgium.....A couple of days later, I took out the airbox and did it all again properly.....I still had jerky carb problems afterwards but these righted themselves after a couple of days......Bike wise this was the lowest point in the trip, I doubted the bikes and my ability at that point......sorry!....Then I had fuel leaking out of the airbox but not enough to be too concerned....
.....The back brakes went in Moscow......the next day still problematic, I bought some brake fluid and bled the system....worked as well as they could after that!......
.....Clutch cable snapped in Ukraine......I took that one in my stride.....I had a spare with me and figured it out.....Nick at Force had given me a 2 minute lesson so that was okay......
......The trip stopped working at the start of the journey and the odometer only added 35kms before stopping.....The speedo needle jerked around for the first week and then the needle snapped in half.....it’s been spinning round at various rates ever since!......I used my Garmin for measuring speed & as a milometer......
.....Also I fitted one of those cheap chains from ebay.....bad choice....poor quality & it stretched alot....swapped it for a good O-Ring chain in Poland.......
.....Glad I fitted a lighter socket on my dash....It meant I could recharge my netbook & mobile phone on the move easily......I think I had all the spares I could have envisaged.....Carb hose, clutch & throttle cables, brake shoes & innertubes.....Maybe going on Knobbly T63 tyres wasn’t a good idea.....After 6,800 miles, they’re shagged and need replacing.....Dual purpose would have been better maybe......
......I was never totally happy with my rear panniers.....We cobbled together an exhaust shield and some piping to keep the canvas panniers away from the wheels but would prefer something more waterproof and better looking......The yellow Ortlieb bag kept everything dry in the rain.....really glad I'd bought it......
....I found the politics on the road very difficult....I was travelling with a married couple with much bigger bikes and budgets than my own......On a few occasions I was told that for them “doing 700 miles in a day in France was not uncommon”.....so hearing stuff like that just made me want to be someplace else.....It just got boring hearing stuff like that......Also I was not at ease with McDonalds, I would have preferred more local cafes.....Hearing jokes about my bike every day could get tedious......Still it was always my bike that strangers wanted to photograph and talk about and fortunately not everyone thought the bike was a joke......
.....I saw some beautiful places that I’d really like to go back to........I could easily have spent a week on the road from Berlin to Gdansk tootling along stopping in villages and sharing time with locals.....maybe one day......Riga in Latvia was a joy as was L’viv in Ukraine.....Feel sad not to have seen Tallin in Estonia......next time maybe.....also I dissed Lithuania in my blog but all I saw was a highway and lots of wind.....People do say Vilinus in Lithuania is brilliant.......
......A bit of data here to share with fellow geeks!....
36 nights away......10 with friends, family & couchsurfers, 8 on campsites, 7 in hostels, 11 in hotels
6,800 miles total, 460 litres of fuel used, £543 spent on fuel, Average 67mpg.
Other costs: £130 Russian Visa, £15 Russian Bike Insurance, £40 Ukranian Bike Insurance....
....Didn’t have any hassle on the Russian or Ukranian borders.....nor did any of the horror stories I’d heard of Russian crime etc come true.......
.....Big thanks to Jim Humphries in Berkshire who thought up Moscow to Moscow.....I heard Jim talking on the radio a year ago about his trip to Russia......He was looking for someone to drive a support truck......I offered my services but earlier this year, Jim fell ill and had to drop out of the ride, that’s when I decided to go by bike instead.....
....Thanks for all the comments shared with me over the last few weeks.....Writing the blog helped me on my journey as did your tips.....Any donations to the Poppa Guttman Trust via the Just Giving link from http://www.offonaweeride.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
....Also if anyone’s up for a trip next year maybe a boat to Tallin, down through the Baltic States, Romania, Hungary, Poland, I’m game......But only if you’re on an MT!......and you’re prepared to use squat toilets and keep clear of McDonalds!.......
....With Jim & the other John at the start of the trip.....

....I could have found a use for this on a few occasions!....

.....Carb problems in Arnhem....

......Checking the timing belt in Gdansk.....

.....Feet up riding style in Russia.....

......At The River Volga in Russia....

......Lunch at The Atomium in Brussels on the way home....

......A great sunny day in Germany......

[woodruff]

Great read Pupster, really enjoyed it all.

Cant agree more about the open face helmet and talking to people.

[SimmoSub]

I'm interested in your E. Europe trip. 9 days is probably my limit though. If this fits your plan I'd be happy to come along - on my MT! Please do stay in touch on this.

Cheers
Dave

[ellrider]

Excellent adventure

[Thumper]

Well done John and may thanks for writing this up and for posting the photos

I'll log on to the other site and make a donation