Sibirsky Extreme 2012 - The Toughest Ride of Them All

[ROD CURRIE]

[QUOTE=Colebatch;20266363]
We continued on beyond a small village called Inegen.


Before long the 2 track began to fade:



Walter. This is the bit I missed . You're killing me .

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by ROD CURRIE

Hi Camperdad
It was faulty from the first day but would run sometimes for hours and hours without problems.
In Kaz I would say Terry towed me a couple of hundred miles but maybe someone might disagree. Guys? For sure we got pretty good at it and again, here I was dependent on the good nature of another to keep my trip alive.

I've just worked it out...Its ME..... I'm a feckin' jinx!

Yes I reckon about that ... I reckon in time terms it was about 25% of the time on the road since Astana ... but if you bear in mind that you are being towed at 35-40 km/h (20 - 25 mph) then cause you are going well under half the speed of normal riding, I reckon that 25% of the time translates into about 10% of the distance. And by this stage we had done about 3000 km (1900 miles) since Astana. So yeah mate, about 200 miles probably about right. Often you would be being towed for 15-20 minutes and then the bike would fire up and run.

[ROD CURRIE]

Originally Posted by OhBoy

.
You WANT to save this fantastic trip any way you can.
I've been following your challenges with a vested interest, mine is a 2010.

If you're going any further than an afternoon's ride ... Buy a pump laddie! There's a couple of aftermarket ones now but I wouldn't like to say which is better. Someone will chime in I'm sure. You'll need it at some point-if you happen not to need it you'll Ebay it to another Katoomer double quick for sure.

Despite all the grief, it is as you'll see in the coming weeks a brilliant bike and if I'd just had a spare pump with me the trip would have been totally painless-but maybe not as rewarding ultimately?

[mikecbrxx]

Here is a picture of Viktor taken when I passed through Barnaul a few weeks later.....working on the bike of a rider from Vladivostok who had just come through Mongolia.

[hardwaregrrl]

Originally Posted by hardwaregrrl

Hey Rod, wondering what your plans were when the KTM kept acting up.? Sorry if I missed it but were you guys trying to get somewhere with a KTM dealer, or just hoping the problem would sort itself out? Did you bring a spare fuel pump and swap it in?

Again, loving each and every word!!!!!

I saw 2 fuel pumps fail on KTMs at a rally race. A Super Enduro rider changing his midstage, and a 690 rider who didn't bring one.

[yellowknife]

Awesome. Thanks for doing all the hard work of posting a RR for the rest of us.

[Prutser]

Walter and Terry drove ahead to Aktash while Beamster and me took it easy and did some more birdwatching and scouting the area.





We arrived in Aktash thursday the 5th

This would be the morning scene for a week until Rod arrived on friday the 13th (our lucky day)

[copout]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

It really doesnt get a lot better than this:

WOW!!! Stunning

[RobBD]

Just staggering scenery. Thanks for the RR

[deathu]

The pictures from the Altai region are absolutely stunning... they definitely make me want to visit the area at some point.

Walter, I wanted to ask you, what lens(es) do you carry with you for the D90 on such a trip?

[trailtosakhalin]

I am also a birdwachter

only not in Altai region

[Prutser]

Originally Posted by trailtosakhalin

I am also a birdwachter

only not in Altai region

Than we have even more things to talk about Peet.

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by deathu

Walter, I wanted to ask you, what lens(es) do you carry with you for the D90 on such a trip?

First I would point out that I am posting pics taken by all team members on a wide variety of cameras - so thanks to the other guys for providing so much additional coverage.

As for the D90 - I leave my more expensive lenses at home and take just the stock 18-105 lens with me on bike trips. Its light. Surprisingly sharp for a stock lens, and inexpensive - meaning its expendible. If I lose it in a water crossing I wont need to remortgage my flat. They are less than 200 quid on ebay.

[trailtosakhalin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trailtosakhalin I am also a birdwachter only not in Altai region

Than we have even more things to talk about Peet.

When it is dry maybe we will visit you on saterday afternoon.

[Tracks1]

Originally Posted by ROD CURRIE

Hi Camperdad
It was faulty from the first day but would run sometimes for hours and hours without problems.

Rod,
Wondering how low you run your fuel level before refueling?

FI pumps use fuel for lubrication and cooling and thus repeated low fuel quantity operations which uncovers the pump causes overheating and leads to sticky operation and is generally the initiator of the failure.