Sibirsky Extreme 2012 - The Toughest Ride of Them All

[ROD CURRIE]

Terry is so delighted to see a shop he gives us his best Liberace " Thank you...you're wonderful" smile

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Whilst Terry and Walter were getting the battery on Walter's bike sorted we rode on and got a flavour of what was to come.

The tyre in the picture with the twisty piece of fence wire embedded never in fact did puncture-it lasted another 9000miles without mishap.

We rode until we came to this abandoned Soviet collective farm. All the cottages were deserted, and most had never had glazed windows in the aperatures. LIfe on these remote farms must have been incredibly tough in winter.

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Terry is now quite an expert on bike towing -you'll see more of this. But maybe not with this towee. ( is that a word?)

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[ROD CURRIE]

Sorry all.Pics aren't uploading...
I'm out in Norfolk for a couple of days and the Norfolk hamster must have fallen offf the generator wheel. I'll keep trying

[ErwinL]

Use these links to make them viewable with the Insert Image icon:
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http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...Kazpics031.jpg
http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/...Kazpics027.jpg

Awesome story guys, and lady, always checking for new updates!

[bigdon]

[achesley]

Fantastic!!! Neat on the peg to peg pull. Had never thought of that before. Totally wish I had in my younger days .
Keep it coming

[Beam(st)er]

Originally Posted by Mtrain

Hey Beam(st)er, can you give us a rundown on your bike. My wife (Miss jane on here) has an xcountry and we have debated putting a 21 on the front for the deeper sand. Do you have the stock forks? and how did the 21 inch conversion affect the handling on the road?
Thanks
Looks like a fun trip.

Hi Mtrain, This link refers to the mods I have done to my bike. http://advrider.com/forums/showthrea...7#post18379877
A few thinks I haven't mentioned are: vision X led, iron man rear sprocket and odyssey battery.
I still have the stock fork on my bike.
The bike handles fine with the 21" front (and a 18" rear) wheel. Of course it's different but you'll get used to it very quick and I'm really happy with the conversion.
The difference might be a bit bigger if you are using the 17" rear like TeeBee...
I chose for the 18" rear to have more choice in offroad tires and because my boyfriend also has a 18" so it's easier to share tubes.

Originally Posted by Thomas B.

Hi Beemster,

do you know what the seat hight of you bike is with the 21/18" wheels? Do you still have the original suspension travel or did you change that?
I'm asking because the KTM my wife is riding at the moment is getting old and I'm thinking about a replacment.
Since she is not very tall ( the KTM was made lower) the BMW might be an option.

thanks and cheers
Thomas

Hi Thomas, The 2007 version of the XCountry has a seat height adjustable between 840mm to 870mm,
the 2009 version has a lower seat height (nearly two inches), adjustable between 800mm and 825mm.
The seat height of my bike is 880mm with the 21/18" wheels. But that depends on which tires I'm using.
I'm using a custom seat and custom build suspension. My shock is 330mm long and the bike has 240mm max wheel travel.

[D K]

Great stuff!

What camera do you use mostly for the stills (that arent go pro obiously).

D

[catweasel67]

Nice report, I like the style :)

Any chance you could add a few dates in so we can get a sense of "when" you are. as well as "where" you are?

Maybe an occasional note on the cost of a hotel room? price of gas?

I loved the detail used about the water crossing, the problems encountered and the solutions used. With luck, one day, I'll be able to use the lessons you're teaching for in a real situation.

Thanks, to all of you, for taking the very considerable time to write and post this RR.

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by D K

Great stuff!

What camera do you use mostly for the stills (that arent go pro obiously).

D

Hey mate - ypu got a 570Berg? Good man! I am slowly prepping mine.

I use a Nikon D90

[Colebatch]

Originally Posted by catweasel67

Nice report, I like the style :)

Any chance you could add a few dates in so we can get a sense of "when" you are. as well as "where" you are?

Maybe an occasional note on the cost of a hotel room? price of gas?.

This day just finished was 26 June 2012.

Hotels were normally about 15-20 EUR a night per person. In Astana it eas a bit more - I think about 27 EUR per person there.

95 octane fuel was about 75 EUR cents per litre

Meals were about 5 EUR per person

[Colebatch]

The team packed up camp, before breakfast in the truck stop cafe.

[Colebatch]

We hit the trails after a short 8 km (5 miles) on the asphalt highway ... beginning with a irrigation canal that we couldnt cross closer to home base. The boys were having fun ... Prutser getting the front wheel in the air any chance he could.



While Rod shows textbook stance, balance and position as he crosses:

[squawk77]

Yea that's a pretty badass air defense system.. It's the SA-10, maybe SA-20 or newer, still very much relevant and highly proliferated comparable to the Patriot system. But what's interesting here is they've opted for the cross-country setup rather than the faster road oriented semi-trailer version. Massive 8-wheel-drive off road trucks for mobility on the Steppe, who needs bridges anyways? Cool to see in its complete day-to-day layout like that.

Originally Posted by Colebatch

My route has us leaving Astana on the highway for about 35 km (20 miles) before turning off the begin the dirt trail, that went past some sort of small military base. Looked like an air defence battery for Astana.

[Canuk]

Originally Posted by Colebatch

Hey mate - ypu got a 570Berg? Good man! I am slowly prepping mine.

I use a Nikon D90

How would you compare the X Challenge vs the the 570 Berg on a trip such as this one? If you were to do it over would you choose the same bike?

[AtlasExp]

Привет!!! What is the brand of this tent and your opinion on it? Thanks for great RR!!!!!!!!