Getting a bike in Kyrgyzstan
 

Ok, things are closer to me being able to travel to Kyrgyzstan. I plan to live there for a few years at least, in Bishkek. I have never bought a motor vehicle in a country other than the US so I'm not sure what I have to do.

First off, I will have an international driver's license, is this enough?

Secondly, do I need to register it? How does all that work?

Thirdly, where do I go to find a bike? I am making some kind pf assumption that there will be a "market" somewhere...better in Bishkek or Osh or?

Finally, how much should I expect to spend, and how does the purchasing go? Is bargaining customary? Thanks!

BTW, looking like I might put boots on the ground in May.

Planning to get there in June. Will be looking as well. Let me know how you get on.

I'm sure there is a market in Bishkek. David at STANTOURS - Central Asia Travel Resources will probably know where it is. If not, he might know of one in Almaty which isn't that far away, but is a different country which might cause paperwork problems. There is a motorcyle rental outfit in Almaty called Silk Offroad. They spend a lot of time guiding people around Kyrgyzstan and might be a good resource.

Then there is Valentine in Karakol. If you have a bike in KZ, you will end up going to Lake Issyk Kul eventually anyway, so check him out at Yak tours in Karakol. In fact stay at his guest house- it's the best place to stay anyway. The guy is very cool. He used to teach off road motorcycle side car riding for the Soviet Army and is very into bikes and anything else with a motor. You can e-mail Yak tours for advice (a Google search should yield the address). He also leads extreme mountain climing expeditions. He is 70 years old and he can kick your ass! Ask to meet his Yak too.

As for cost, I saw Urals with side car in good condition at the motorcycle market in Tashkent for $US 400

Thanks for the leads, fellas.

Glasswave, you going there to work? We should stay in touch.

I will be on sabbatical year from my college. I guess that means I'm working. ;-)

Right now, I hope to arrive in Moscow around 5/15, head straight to Mongohl, then down to Kazak where I would hope to procure a bike, I want to spend July & August heading down the mountains to Tajik then cross into XingJang & over to Tibet. This itinerary seems ambitious even w/o a bike. I figure I'll ditch the bike if it comes down to it. I hope to spend most of aug & sept in Tibet then cross to Nepal in OCT......

I'd be happy to hook up on my way:

glasswave.......:::::at at at at at at at>>>>>"""""""yahoo............com

typo's inserted to thwart bots.

Email sent. I hope I got the address right, lol.

TonUp

I am an American living in Bishkek and I have desperately been looking for a bike here. I am looking at some used bikes but most are undependable (the Russian bikes may be easy to fix but still a difficult thing unless you are fluent in Russian) or small. I plan on two up riding and I am looking into the shipment of a KLR. The roads here are not that good at all. They are bad in Bishkek and worse out of town. When there are no pot holes there is a lot of debris and still not street bike friendly. The international licensee should be fine and the other paper work once in country is not a problem (as long as you have help with the language).

They also have classified here where you can find a few bikes. Most are about 2k more US than to what they go for back home. I am going to look at a 89 Yamaha 1000 sport tourer this week end that is going for 2500.

Another thing is, make sure you bring all your riding gear with you.
Hope this helps. Send me a PM and I’ll give you my email and cell.

Lubbz

Hmm, what you say is 180 degrees out from what others on ADVrider have said about the availability and cost of bikes there. Of course, I am mostly interested in an old Ural or equiv.

One more post so I can PM...

So you're saying you are paying and extra 2k over the US price? in US dollars? ouch!

You could try these guys:
SilkoffRoad Tours

They were recommended in another thread or...

I would appreciate any in you could offer on buying a local bike: brands, sizes, prices, paperwork and insurance require ments as I plan to be out there soon & looking.

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ghlight=buying

I have found that shipping here is almost imposable for bikes. It may be easier if somebody was from Europe and was able to buy/ship but I did not get that far. Buying and shipping from Europe or Japan was going to be my next step. Fortunately a little bit of hard work paid off and I found a 85 Yamaha XJ900 this weekend and bought it for $2300. US.

I have been looking for bikes locally for some time and the motorcycle community is just not very well “understood” here. There are plenty of scooters 100cc and under but not many other choices. As a foreigner I found the local auto classified somewhat helpful (eventually found my XJ900 in it) but it is in Russian. The pictures in the paper are of mostly newer bikes and since I have been looking there have been two R1s 95 and a 99 priced around 8000 US ea., one GSXR 1000, one 600 around 8000 US a 96 or so CBR 1000; 7000 US, a 04 Kaw. Z1000 10000 US. There have been others but you get the idea.

The older, cheaper bikes are in print and much harder to find with out an understanding of the language. There is the occasional Russian bike at cheap prices but they are usually 70s vintage. There are plenty of parts for them but if you don’t have the place to work on them, are not good at Russian or do not know the right guy to go to it would be an endless headache and could get expensive. I was leery of this because I would rather ride than learn Russian bike maintenance.

After being here for a while I found that the sport bikes would not be suitable for serious riding. The roads are not that good, some may be newer but for the most part it is rough. Back home I would prefer a sport bike but here I would not be able to go to the places that I wanted to. Most of the mountain roads are rough and usually paved but gravel covered or a dirt road. I wanted a dual sport, KLR, because of the roads but the bike I ended up with is light and works well on the rough roads. So yes, they have about every bike here but it depends on what you want to do.

My paperwork was actually very easy. I still have to record the sale to the police but the title transfer was done in thirty minuets. I have an international diver’s license with motorcycle endorsement and that was ok with them.
I have to say though; it would have been imposable for me with my limited use of the Russian language to do any of this if it were not for a good Kyrgyz friend. Without him it could not have been done. Even if I was fluent in Russian it would be hard to do without knowing someone to help.

Are there some decent Urals or IZH's there, or other dirt-style single rider bikes? It of course would be great to have something with some power, but luckily dirt bikes have less power anyway. I can sacrifice speed while in Kyrgyzstan so I can come back to my Triumph Sprint and maybe a Ducati too.

I understand the Russian girls there are...umm..very friendly. Is that correct? Seems like that could be used to your advantage regarding having an interpreter for the bike shopping and purchase, yes?

I have a feeling I will be running into you once I get in-country so maybe you can show me the ropes with this.

Steve

Bikes in Kirgistan
 

Hi there

there is not really any market for motorbikes in Kirgistan. In Almaty, you can find bikes, but they sell mostly new ones and streetbikes (Kazachstan is mostly flat and has good roads). I believe there is i.e. a BMW-shop.
How do I know: cause I brought some bikes over there this winter for (russian) friends of mine - they were desperate to buy something non-sovjet. All in all, transport and paperwork etc it costed about 1000$ to get a bike from Europe to Kirgistan. I charged 300$ freight per bike, which was a friends price.
My friends there asked the professional car-importers, they would do it for 500$ per bike, but the bike would have to be handed over at their loadingplace in Germany or Lithuania.
If you are already in Bishkek (or once you are), you could contact Dima for further information, he owns the only motorbike shop in the car's bazaar in Bishkek and a fancy BMW 650 Dakar: ++996 54 39 15 819. He speaks russian only.

If you want a bike imported, I could help you: I'm driving over again this June with some lorries for sale and my own bike on top (which I need to get back home). I could buy something for you in germany and bring it with me. you can contact me directly (as I am not often on HUBB): treichlerk at gmx dot ch.

By the way: Kirgistan is great for biking! I will be there with my G/S, but this is almost too heavy. There is great gravel and something like a single 600ccm Enduro would be perfect.

CU

Karin moto

Interesting. Seems like there are differing opinions on this, and maybe a sales pitch too. Well, when I get there, I'm sure I'll figure something out. Personally I think I'll be best served with a Ural sans sidecar, an IZH, or some other quasi-dirt bike big enough for just one guy.

I wonder how hard it will be to get to Almaty for me and to transfer across to Kyrgyzstan?