Sibirsky Extreme 2012 - The Toughest Ride of Them All

[O'B]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

Hi Mav: The comparison is not valid I am afraid on many levels.

Firstly ... 20 years ago I was a novice rider, and had a bike that I nursed carefully offroad in first or second gear .. maybe 30 km/h across Mongolia.

Now I ride a bike flat out in top gear off road, regularly topping 120 -130 km/h. There is probably 20 times the stress off road at that speed than at 30 km/h. Any bike can and will make it across Eurasia at moderate speeds, and nothing should break. ANY bike. The stress comes in due to the speed of riding, the sheer volume of off road distance to cover and the relentless nature of it. Its not softened by many asphalt sections at all. The way I ride a bike now vs the way I ride one 20 years ago is incomparable. If I tried to take the take the old TransAlp on this trip, it would never have made it out of Ukraine. It certainly would not have survived a single day of my thrash across Mongolia this year. The Hondas have a great engine, but they are way too heavy, have no ground clearance, have terrible brakes, brittle plastics, crap suspension, not enough low down torque for off road riding etc. Where I am now in terms of bike selection and preparation is light years ahead of where I was then.

Remember, I also rode Magadan to Europe (the kinda reverse of this trip) in 2010 on the same bike and had ZERO issues (two bolts). But I pointed out that trip was only 8000 odd off road kms (This trip now is ALL offroad.) A lot of those off road kms were ridden at more moderate speeds too because I was riding with Sherri Jo for part of it. Moderate speeds = no problems. The problems are a result of the stress of speed plus a few issues were related to the battery draining completely after the very deep water crossing near Astana. You cant design bikes to be more ford resistant than the XC currently is. Its about the best bike out there for water crossings. The only design issue that could be raised from that issue is that the starter clutch wears, especially if the starter turns too slowly (i.e. from low batter voltage). Would I take another bike because I need to be wary of the starter clutch wear issue? no.

Secondly: Bolts loosen on all bikes, even brand new Dakar bikes, specifically built to survive the Dakar ... as a result of severe vibrations at high speed. High speed riding on rocky terrain in particular can eventually shake any bolts loose. Ask any KTM LC4 owner owner how much locktite they need to use.

Thirdly ... this is not exactly the type of riding my bike is supposed to be designed for. In fact there is no bike from any manufacturer which is designed for anything like this kind of travel. There is no bike from any manufacturer that is even close to being designed for this kind of travel. Adventure bikes are designed for asphalt use with occasional light use on well groomed gravel graded roads. Off road bikes are designed for regular cleaning service and maintenance after short bursts of a few hours off road at a time. There is nothing designed to do this kind of travel. Thats not even debatable ... the products on the market are so so so far away from being fit for this kind of purpose.

In summary: I know of no other bike I would expect to have taken what I threw at it this year, at the speeds we rode at, and not had issues. Thats exactly why I started to question whether or not the trail is realistically possible. Again if you look back at all my previous trips, things that fail usually result in me or one of the people that help me with bike prep having ideas to fix it, to reduce the risk of a particular failure happening again. Thats why I have a list as long as your arm of modifications to the bike. All making it tougher, more durable. Not this time. With the exception of the prototype front subframe which was easy to recommend a fix to, the rest of the issues are just bike fatigue and or unavoidable (you can avoid a lot of issues with regular maintenance, in a warm workshed, with a complete supply of tools - but, when you are on the road in a tent in Mongolia, and its raining, and you have a deadline, the bike has to make do without the luxury of ideal maintenance - It just has to be as tough as it can be to start with.

If I had ridden at the speed I ride on a stock TransAlp or Africa twin. it wouldnt have made out of Ukraine. An XT600, DR650, etc also would have cracked subframes and numerous other problems if ridden that hard, off road, for that long. I could have taken a bulletproof KTM 690 rally on this trip and broken plenty parts of the bike. As for your question regarding how much prep do you need to do, well it depends how do you intend to ride it. The more aggressively you want to ride, the more prep work you have to do. The more things you need to protect, strengthen, improve. To do this trip in particular, you would need to do a load of prep work and make a load of bike modifications.

Its not a question of bike selection ... its a question of was I being beyond realistic to set out to do this, bearing in mind the speed I like to ride. Any bike can ride around the world. Most can ride around the world without any problems. But I don't believe any bike can take 3 months on this trail, at these speeds without a few bolts coming loose and other assorted issues. The fact that I could hold the bike together with cable ties and ride another 1300 km to Irkutsk, on a deadline, already actually speaks volumes for the toughness of this bike.

At no stage was I thinking I hadnt prepared the bike well enough, or I had chosen the wrong bike for the job.

Was this route tougher than any bike? That was what I began asking myself as problems started to mount in Mongolia.

Right on Walter any disscusion about this bikes abilities not being up to the task is just bullshit. One suggestion on your groups next trip is for you to install a top box that can hold some ice to keep Rod and Terry's martni ingrediants chilled for their truck rides when they come up!

[Beam(st)er]

Originally Posted by hardwaregrrl

Thanks for the awesome pics, Beam(st)er!!! Wondering how your foot was doing the next day?

Hi Hardwaregrrl. Thanks for asking. I managed but I didn't stand on the foot pegs as much as before.
And my foot still hurts but the collarbone I broke a few weeks later gave me something else to think about...

Originally Posted by Packer

Beam(st)er, you make that Mongolian mother look like a child I hope you don't mind me asking but how tall are you?

Hi Packer. She just wasn't that tall I'm only 175 centimeters.

[Drif10]

The biggest thing that speaks to the longevity and the issues Walter was having with his bike was his reference to aircraft and the useable lifespan of the airframe. They can only take so much flexing, before it's time to retire them for safety reasons.

I'd bet that if he'd been able to magnaflux a new X frame and parts, then do his bike before this ride, the results would have forecast the issues like his subframe. But who has the cash to get that done on a bike? I'd love to see the data, but be damned if I could afford to do it.

NDT is expensive, and only used when safety/cost concerns are high enough. Wish it weren't so, but...

[tee bee]

Originally Posted by O'B

One suggestion on your groups next trip is for you to install a top box that can hold some ice to keep Rod and Terry's martni ingrediants chilled for their truck rides when they come up!

OH no,.....i,m watching you......

[Maverick75]

Thanks for the thoughtful replies Walter and Rod. I wasn't at all trying to say that your particular bikes are not up to the task.
Quite the contrary.

Anyhow, the fact that I have followed every post in this report means I am in awe of your work. Thank you for sharing.

[bogriffinrides]

I too have enjoyed reading this thread daily from the beginning. Thank you for the time spent in all aspects.

Comment about the social aspect of getting along:
I would just like to say how good an attitude everyone had on this trip, and even now discussing this trip. It's hard to get a group of folks together, that can get-along for that many days over that type of stress daily. I'm not sure how you did it. There are so many "trying" situations. Language barriers, gender styles, wet bodies, stinking bodies, hungry bodies, cold, hot, bathroom situations, choices of where/when to stop, the list is absolutely endless. Y'all are to be commended. Great job, great time, great example of sharing!

Thank you.

[Mehaniotis]

Hi Purtster. I was sure you had invested in your bike money and time, I just didn't know to what extent
I'm enjoying the adventure and particularly the part where you make time to observe as many wild creatures as you possibly can. Your photographic skills my friend is second to none.
I hope we get to see more.
Thanks.



.

[Prutser]

All of the bikes made it to the other side but these crossings were real time-consuming.
And we had loads more to come



This was another one, Beamster was getting the hang of it and IMHO by now she could call herself an expert



The valley kept showing us loads of moments.




Later we had to take a few steep trails were Beamster came off the bike while trying to do things with her G650 where using a trial bike would have been a far better option.
In this steep climb just before the top there were several huge rocks sticking out of the track.
She made it over the first few, but kinda landed in the wrong place hitting the next big rock which threw her over.
The bike fell right on her foot that was now stuck between the bike and a pointy rock, just as Rod told in post #2294.

[ACP]

Is it just me or does anyone else hit F11 (full screen) and make binoculars out of their hands so they have no peripheral vision other than the image on screen and try to imagine what it would be like to be in these amazing places in real life?

No?

OK, it's just me being a weirdo then...

Don't catch yourself doing it now


Prutser: out of curiosity, what binoculars do you use? Ever since I was a kid I had a love of raptors. I can only imagine the thrill of seeing a wild Saker. I have to make do with the odd Peregrine or occasional very Hobby...

Cheers, Andy

[Rango]

Originally Posted by Beam(st)er

After riding for half an hour we stopped to take a picture of this snow covered peak in the distance.
This is Otgon Tenger Uul Mountain, one of the Mongolian most sacred mountains.
It is the highest peak in the Khangai Mountains in Mongolia. Its summit is currently calculated to reach an elevation of 4.008 meters above mean sea level.
The mountain is located in Zavkhan Province and is the only peak in the Khangai range that is capped with a permanent glacier.

It struck me how the ger mimics the contour of the sacred mountain.

when in a few years that ger has gone, wonder how the mountain will fare.





-"So, what do we do now, Rango?"
-"Now? ... we ride"

[Prutser]

These pictures are still's from video's made with my fruity cell phone. So my apologies for the bad quality.

This shot was taken just after Tee Bee helped Rod to pick up his bike and save it from drowning.



Than Rod tried to jet propel the KTM onto dry land before I could reach for my camera........... To late Mate.



Tee Bee was next to take the bumpy ride.



I know its getting kinda boring, but here is ANOTHER crossing.





The white dots on the horizon were yurt's which we started to see more and more. That told us we were getting closer to Tsakhir which was our goal at the end of the valley.
But before we could start searching for a nice hotel with a hot bath we had to cross at least 10 more streams.
At one point Tee Bee stopped at a river that was at least 60 meters wide. By now we all thought NO NOT AGAIN !!!
The river was DEEEEEP and fast flowing. But Tee bee noticed that the track continued just around the corner of a steep cliff on our side of the river.
That meant we didn't have to cross it, but just follow the cliff and stay real close to the bank trying to keep out of the deep water.

[Lupin 3rd]

Originally Posted by Prutser

The valley kept showing us loads of moments.

Just ... WOW

Just one question: how do you manage when you're back home, far from all this beauty?!?

Wonderful ride report, keep it coming!

[Blackbert]

Originally Posted by Lupin 3rd

Just ... WOW

Just one question: how do you manage when you're back home, far from all this beauty?!?

Wonderful ride report, keep it coming!

Obviously I can't speak for Team Extreme, but when I go through the pictures I have taken on the wee rides I did, I'm there again. Same goes for telling the story in a RR.
After that, I have a look at the pics from previous rides.
After that, it's time to start planning again.

[Prutser]

Originally Posted by ACP

out of curiosity, what binoculars do you use? Ever since I was a kid I had a love of raptors. I can only imagine the thrill of seeing a wild Saker. I have to make do with the odd Peregrine or occasional very Hobby...

Cheers, Andy

Hi Andy,

I took my Swarovski EL 8.5x42 Its not small but i'm happy to carry that extra weight.
Beamster took a Zeiss 8x30 classic which is a perfect size. But the 8.5x42 gives me a so much better view when the light is fading.

Peregrine's and hobby's are not a rare sight in Holland but most of the time they fly by in a few seconds.
Seeing this Saker hunting, sitting and feeding the youngsters was a real treat.

[ciedema]

Originally Posted by Buuurrrt

PS. The luxury cars driving the streets of U.B. is just mind blowing.. You have people living in tents in town and others driving a Maserati. Where does it go from here?

UB is the only place in the world I have seen a 450RR in the flesh. That's a 30K dirtbike.