Sibirsky Extreme 2012 - The Toughest Ride of Them All

[gregMo]

Simply awesome! Thx boys!

Things changed in Russia last 30 yrs... I still remember in 1979 you could not turn off of transit route anyway without being chased & stopped & possibly jailed for venturing "off the official path" ... just dreaming that one day all the humans be free w/out the governments & borders, hehe...

...keep on posting, love it...

[XC Rider]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

We woke up ready to resume our journey along the Sibirsky Extreme Track, but a morning inspection of the bikes revealed a small crack in the front subframe of my bike. It would not be wise to continue off road until I got it fixed. I knew that just a days ride away from here (pretty much on our track) there was a good car mechanic I knew who would be able to sort it out.

I made the decision to tie up the front subframe with a strap and stick to the asphalt for the day. I had to get this sorted.

Being an asphalt diversion day from Baymak to YuzhnoUralsk, we didnt get too many pics. Just this one from a fuel station along the way.

Any pics of the crack or repair job? I always love to see trail side fixes, this way I have some reference material in my head for when the same thing happens to me.

[vintagespeed]

Originally Posted by tee bee

...As for photos, i,m afraid i had neither my camera or phone with me.

next trip Terry should be required to wear a head strap goPro AT ALL TIMES.

[lakota]

Originally Posted by vintagespeed

next trip terry should be required to wear a head strap gopro at all times.

+1

[Treadless]

Originally Posted by vintagespeed

next trip Terry should be required to wear a head strap goPro AT ALL TIMES.

Maybe not at ALL times.

There are some things we don't need to see.

[Motorfiets]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

Well you have to be part of the trip to get the Sibirsky Extreme cloth badge / jacket patch. - unless you are GadgetBoy of course ;)

One of these days I'm gonna ride with you for that patch!

Planning same kinda thing your doing all off road... thru south america.... wanna go?





Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Tropical Bird]

I'm interested in the rank insignia on your upper arm there.

Are you ex RFA? That is an RFA (Royal Fleet Auxiliary) Chief Officer's insignia.

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by Eldezento

reading all your ride-reports it seems you like river-crossings a lot, especially without a bridge or ferry. i can´t imagine riding for hours with wet clothes and wet body. Do you have special protection against water, and how long does it take to become dry again?

Yes I enjoy the river crossings. I think its a great part of adventure motorcycling. There is no special protection from water. An earlier question I hadnt answered yet asked if I use waterproof boots of socks. There are no waterproof off road boots. Sidi make an "Adventure" boot using goretex, but its much shorter than an off road boot. much less protection and support. Its more of a touring boot thats capitalising on the "Adventure" name. Any waterproof boots or waterproof socks have a very strict limitation that makes them completely ineffective once the water level is higher than the boot (about 15 inches / 40 cm) ... thats not a lot. Waterproof boots and socks take 20 times longer to dry out than normal boots and socks. So for a day like this, waterproof socks or boots would be a liability not a help.

Note, I do take and wear sealskinz, waterproof socks, on a journey. They are great when its cold and raining, for keeping your feet warm and dry. They are also useful in boggy conditions. But for 2 feet (60cm) and deeper river crossings in good weather, stick with normal stuff. If its really cold (sometimes on Road of Bones for example) I will wear waterproof socks. Your feet still get soaking wet on the first river you wade across, but ... in those cold rainy conditions the boots and socks would not dry out all day anyway. And the sealskinz use rubber as the waterproof layer ... one of the other great properties of rubber, is that its a good insulator. So when you do go wading thru the icy rivers, the water on the inside of the sock is warm, insulated against the icy water flowing thru your boots. So you see there is a time for waterproof socks ... but for warm summers day water crossings like we had in the Urals, they are not ideal.

If its hot and dry (we have a crossing in Kazakhstan coming up in the coming weeks, when it was +35C (95F) and dry air ... you are totally dry in less than an hour.

Originally Posted by Eldezento

When you go in deeper water, makes the minor weight of the bike in the water riding easier or even more complicated, apart from slippery or stony grounds?

The buoyancy effect on the bike in deeper water hasnt struck me, in all my crossings, as that big a factor - tho I suspect it lowers traction due to the lower net downward force of the bike limiting the traction you can get. The current is the main challenge. The force of flowing water acting on a bike is far greater than people imagine. The deeper the water, the impact of current on the bike is increased not just by multiples, but by factors. As for stony crossings ... I prefer them to muddy crossings. Stony crossings usually mean clear water, so you can see the river bed (especially if you are wearing polarised sunglasses - I always take a pair specifically for river crossings). Muddy crossings can not only be sticky and boggy, but you can not see the depth ahead of you ... you are riding totally blind.

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by Tropical Bird

I'm interested in the rank insignia on your upper arm there.

Are you ex RFA? That is an RFA (Royal Fleet Auxiliary) Chief Officer's insignia.

No ... that just came about when Sherri Jo Wilkins came up with the nickname Captain Magadan in Vladivostok in 2010 while we were waiting for the boat to Magadan .... I had the Magadan badge ... just needed a Captains badge. Found those in a Russian badge store, and later found out they are actually rank of a Navy Commander (OF-4), not Captain (OF-5). , so I short changed myself by one bar.

[dashmoto]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

(especially if you are wearing polarised sunglasses - I always take a pair specifically for river crossings)

Cunning. I was vaguely aware of this as a bit of physics (and something useful to fishermen), but had never occurred to me it might have a motorcycling application.


Enjoying the RR so far.

[Tropical Bird]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

No ... that just came about when Sherri Jo Wilkins came up with the nickname Captain Magadan in Vladivostok in 2010 while we were waiting for the boat to Magadan .... I had the Magadan badge ... just needed a Captains badge. Found those in a Russian badge store, and later found out they are actually rank of a Navy Commander (OF-4), not Captain (OF-5). , so I short changed myself by one bar.

Well, actually, an RN Commander would have a circular curl, and USN Commander and a Russian Commander (Captain 3rd rank) would have a star instead of a curl, but I get the picture...

[ROD CURRIE]

A hideously deformed dwarf was labouring in a freezing dungeon to transorm this ugly duckling

[ROD CURRIE]

This ugly duck.

This bike would be joining with its hapless and hopeless pilot at Astana

[ROD CURRIE]

I'd bought the bike in the pic (I hope) below a number of years previously, and it had served me brilliantly thru the Continental Divide in 2007, across the Sahara in 2009, various jaunts to Morocco, Spain etc amounting to about 10000 very tough offroad miles. Durability and reliability are alas capital, not income and after having binned the bike maybe 100 times, cartwheeled it twice (it hurts) and generally beaten the bejasus out of it I thought I'd trade up to something more modern, low miles and that would tolerate fuel with the octane rating of chip fat. Experience in Mali had demonstrated that the 625 just won't take anything less than 91 octane without emitting appalling banging noises that presage the piston striking your cojones. Below 85 Octane it just stopped after a few miles. In some parts of Mongolia and Siberia it was a cert that the only fuel we'd get would be 80 octane so the 625 was out, great bike tho' it had surely been. The wisdom of this choice will be revealed across the next weeks.
Pic location seen in a million posts.

[ROD CURRIE]

Here in the Sahara with a fat bloke.

This has been one great bike