Dreaming of a motorcycle trip to distant climes? This section will help you to plan your trip, whether it's to the next state, country or all the way around the world! Start here!
The Achievable Dream 5-part series - the definitive video guide for planning your motorcycle adventure. Get Ready! covers planning, paperwork, medical and many other topics! "Inspirational and Awesome!" See the trailer here!
You could just get on a plane with your credit card and passport and buy or rent everything you need when you get there. That includes the bike, riding gear, etc. etc.
Gear Up! is a 2-DVD set, 6 hours! Which bike is right for me? How do I prepare the bike? What stuff do I need - riding gear, clothing, camping gear, first aid kit, tires, maps and GPS? What don't I need? How do I pack it all in? Lots of opinions from over 150 travellers! "will save you a fortune!"See the trailer here!
So you've done it - got inspired, planned your trip, packed your stuff and you're on the road! This section is about staying healthy, happy and secure on your motorcycle adventure. And crossing borders, war zones or oceans!
On the Road! is 5.5 hours of the tips and advice you need to cross borders, break down language barriers, overcome culture shock, ship the bike and deal with breakdowns and emergencies."Just makes me want to pack up and go!" See the trailer here!
Tire Changing!Grant demystifies the black art of Tire Changing and Repair to help you STAY on the road! "Very informative and practical." See the trailer here!
With an HU blog, you'll get a lot more readers than in some obscure corner of the web, it's all set to go, no setup required, and it's free! Start your Travel Story Blog right now!
800+ HU Communities in over 115 countries! People who want to meet travellers - yes that's YOU - and can provide local assistance, and may be your new best friends!
Make a DifferenceTips on fundraising or donating time and energy to a cause.
After the big trip - Was the trip the best - or worst - thing you ever did?
Resources and Links
Horizons Unlimited Presents!
Ladies on the Loose! For the first time ever, a motorcycle travel DVD made for women, by women! These intrepid women share their tips to help you plan your own motorcycle adventure. They also answer the women-only questions, and entertain you with amazing tales from the road! Presented by Lois Pryce, veteran solo traveller through South America and Africa and author of 'Lois on the Loose', and 'Red Tape and White Knuckles.'
"It has me all fired up to go out on my own adventure!" See the trailer here!
Meet people who don't think you're crazy for wanting to ride your bike to South America or across Asia! They will encourage you, share their experiences and advice on how to do it!
We're not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown a hobby into a full time job and a labour of love.
When you decide to become a Member, it helps directly support the site. You get additional privileges on the HUBB, access to the Members Private Store, and more. Of course, you get our sincere thanks, good karma and knowing you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. :-)
All contributions are gratefully appreciated and acknowledged.
T-shirts, Calendars, Stickers
T-shirts Cotton or synth sweat-wicking t-shirts with the cool Horizons Unlimited graphic on the front and a snappy slogan (changing every year) on the back.
Calendars Featuring the 13 winning photos from the Horizons Unlimited annual motorcycle travel photo contest!
World Map Sticker for PanniersShow your route on your panniers. Great conversation starter when you meet people on the road!
Travel BooksMotorcycle and travel books to inspire and inform you!
Videos - Watch and Learn!
Horizons Unlimited presents!
Achievable Dream The definitive guide to planning your motorcycle adventure! This insanely ambitious 2-year project has produced an informative and entertaining 5-part, 18 hour video series. "The ultimate round the world rider's how-to!" MCN UK.
"The series is 'free' because the tips and advice will save much more than you spend on buying the DVD's."
Advertisers- Horizons Unlimited is well-established as the first source of reliable, unbiased information on all aspects of adventure motorcycle travel.
We reach a dedicated, worldwide group of real travellers, and are the only website focusing exclusively on long distance motorcycle travellers.
If you sell motorcycles or motorcycle accessories, riding gear, camping equipment and clothing, transport motorcycles, organize motorcycle tours, or have motorcycles to rent, you should be advertising with us!
Ride TalesPost your ride reports for a weekend ride or around the world. Please make the first words of the title WHERE the ride is. Please do NOT just post a link to your site. For a link, see Get a Link.
Search Forums ONLY searches the HUBB, and not well. Use Site Search to search everywhere.
Ch 14 Kuanda to Hani: Frightening road and railway bridges and...
After the little shipping story, the RR is back on track.
Apologies if some of the town names are incorrect and the pics in the incorrect chronological order. I had 2 cameras and a helmet cam. Felix also has 2 cameras, so sorting out what goes where, wasn't easy.
Top stuff, not :-( Good fun in a perverse sort of way!
That one's broke, this one doesn't follow the track anymore and the proper one is behind me
This bridge was once for the railway. Now there's a new one next door
Good nick?
Yep, you've guessed it. That white stuff over my left shoulder is ice.
Memorial to a driver who lost his life at the river in the following video. We saw quite a few of these on our trip. Vodka consumption might have played a part in some victims' road traffic incident demise.
TURN UP THE VOLUME! Bridges, what bridges?! Isambard Kingdom Brunel wouldn't have been impressed! At the end, also a speeded up clip of when I got stuck in what appeared to be an innocuous puddle. And trying to free the bike... Unfortunately at some point the battery on the gopro flattened or the memory card was full. The full story and pics in the next chapter...
Even Evel Knievel might have struggled across this one!
The video to go with the pictures above and below. I remember the name Hani, because we stopped there to get some supplies and the (drunk) bloke wouldn't leave us alone and insisted on showing us his mobile phone address book entry under the name of one Walter Colebatch ! :-) Dude, you made quite an impression on this chap! He thought you were the messiah!
We ended up on our first proper railway bridge, not including the Kuanda Bridge. Once you've done one, you get a bit cocky...
One careful lady owner. Never been offroad.
The perfect vehicle and dog for the conditions :-)
Just a couple of pictures, but they tell a little story
We stayed at the most horrid hotel, bar none, in Chara (arriving in the middle of a rain storm) with no hot water (that you'd expect considering the price we paid) and looking like a building site, where the cafe next door was closed and the restaurant down the road wasn't able to serve up any food either (the favourite word of anyone in the hospitality industry in this godforsaken dump was "niet"). We ended up cooking some noodles on the petrol camping stove in the room. Fire hazard? Health and Safety? Who give a sh!t. We would have done the world a favour if the place had burnt down...
It was still chucking it down the following morning, but we had to leave. Giving the miserable niet-woman on reception any more money wasn't an option. A quick breakfast of (Yorkshire) tea and chocolate and we're off...
After riding 1/2 an hour, it stopped raining a little too
The following video already appears in the previous chapter (14), but the footage from 4 min 18 seconds onwards ties in with the photos below ;-) On the bridge in the background you see a train travelling across from right to left reminds me of a little incident:
We had ridden along the embankment for a little while. There is usually quite a bit of space, because it was built to take 2 sets of parallel tracks, but only one set was ever laid. The railway bridges however are only wide enough for 1 pair of tracks. Felix is up ahead and has crossed already. Where he is, the track curves to the left behind some trees and bushes.
I stop and turn round to see if nothing is coming from behind me. The coast is clear, but I do notice a green signal light that would be seen by any oncoming train driver :-) I'm about a third of the way along riding the bridge-walkway with my right pannier scraping the railing and the left one over the sleepers. Felix is gesticulating wildly! It didn't take a genius to work out why. I think I mouthed to myself "Yeh, I've seen it".
A huge locomotive was heading my way! 5 feet ahead is a little alcove where there's sometimes a life-ring to throw to somebody in the river, or a bucket of salt and grit, if the walkway is icy. I get there with about 2 seconds to spare and lay the bike into the right hand railing, so the handlebars are in mid-air over the river. The train misses my left Adventure Spec Magadan pannier*** by maybe 2 feet. A close shave! The status of my underwear following the incident shall remain undisclosed
I had turned off the gopro 5 minutes before to conserve the battery. So no footage
So we get off the bridge and decide to head down the embankment and back to the main trail. As Adam said in post #74 at Mongolia to Magadan: Any which (the hard) way - Page 5 - ADVrider , "There's no such thing as an innocuous looking puddle in Siberia eh! " He's not wrong! Felix takes the right hand rut and just makes it. I think I'll take the left. Big mistake!
Bollox! I'm well and truly stuck! Get the luggage off and start digging
We had spotted a hut on the other side of the bridge. Felix found an axe in the hut. 3 hours that evening until it got too cold scraping with the axe and a tyre lever to help removing the cement like sludge by hand. This picture is taken the following morning during the next 2 or 3 hour shift. Luckily the air intake, carb and exhaust are so high on this bike! Often the tip of my nose was touching the water as I reached down to get another handful of mud
Are you enjoying this Mr Bright? No, not exactly.
What a great idea to have a good mate along for the ride and to have purchased a tow rope in Severobaykalsk
I was particularly weary of toasting another clutch (we didn't have a spare XC one with us), so made sure the bike was completely free before Felix gave me a tow. He apologises for me flying through the air and falling when the bike launched forwards. I was very happy and really didn't give a toss.
Our boudoir for the night between attempts trying to dig out the MarkII. Felix had some tasty freeze-dried food and kindly cooked. I wasn't in any state to help. We got the wood-burning heater going and learnt that bits of railway sleeper coated in weather preserving kerosene burn really well
*** Am I the first person to ride a bike with Magadan panniers to Magadan?!! Sorry I digress!
i guess those spins down through france on those shiny metal roads are a thing of the past
very enjoyable reading keep it going
Funny you should mention a spin through France. This summer the XC will be heading south on French slab, in search of Balkan/ Alps/ Pyreneean/ Portugese dirt. Ideally there won't be too much mud, but it won't be phased if there is any.
Ch16 Jet-skiing, breaking the law and a stay at the hospital...
Again, TURN UP THE VOLUME. Another compilation video. Suggested titles for the different bits:
Dodging the trains
Getting the mask and flippers out
The relentless dodgy road bridges needing to be negotiated
Brighty breaking the law to get onto the Olyokma River Bridge. Although I did straighten the post afterwards and when we got to the other side the guards were totally cool
Panto season: He's behind you!
I think we'll let him go first…
Sh!te parking job, blocking the whole road!
More compilation. Captions:
Finally the opportunity for Felix to get stuck, rather than me
This bridge really gave me the willies!
Using big words like "perpendicular" and landing on my ar$e!
Will this bridge still be standing next year?
We arrived in Yuktali but could find neither accommodation, nor fuel. People were friendly and helpful, but we seemed on a wild goose chase for both these necessities. A lady in a shop told us to follow a little lad on a pushbike. He led us to the hospital, where we were introduced to the friendly ambulance driver (on the right). We got the gist that we should come back at 6pm. We did and he allowed us to park the bikes in the garage and we slept in a hospital room! Dinner was bread and salami and crisps and from the shop in town. There were neither patients, nor doctors/nurses. Next morning when the admin staff arrived (still no patients…), we paid a nominal amount and I even got a receipt.
The ambulance driver then told us to follow him to the train station to get benzin. While waiting for the big railway station boss to arrive, we took the opportunity to admire the cut of his secretary's miniskirt and take pictures in the corridor:
The Olyokma Bridge before it was repaired
The hazards involved in crossing a railway line on a red signal...
Mr Wright is stuck, rather than me, for once!
Even the rain stopped and the sun came out
I recon this sign says "Trespassers will be prosecuted"
The map of the last western BAM section towards Tynda
Ch 17 The ride into Tynda or... THE CLEAN BOYS MEET THE DIRTY BOYS
Around Lopcha my bike started seriously misbehaving, but I managed to slowly limp into Tynda. We eventually arrived at 11pm. All the downhill bits I free wheeled with no electrics, nor motor and Felix behind me with his lights on high beam and me making sure my shadow didn't ride off the road in the corners!
On the main drag through town, while looking for the hotel, 2 guys flagged us down. THE DIRTY BOYS: A Russian and a Romanian biker who had started off in Magadan and had ridden the New Federal version of the Road of Bones, where apparently their bikes (sheds) were unsuitable, and had considered the BAM, but were now just going to slab it to Moscow.
Why did we christen them the DIRTY BOYS (from now on and for ever in UPPER CASE!!!!). They flatly refused to believe we had ridden the BAM. Why? Because we were too clean! So, apart that it was nearly midnight and they couldn't really verify our cleanliness or not under a dim streetlight and they weren't aware of the effects of rain and standing water on motor vehicles, I must now admit that this entire ride report is a fake and all the images are photoshopped and the videos cgi-ed.
Felix has a puncture. The other thing I was glad I bought in Severobaykalsk, in addition to the tow-rope, was a big mutha of a foot pump, like the one Peter Berry had. It saved our bacon on more than one occasion!
Look and learn, look and learn
Moody mist
More atmospheric stuff
Getting our old tubes repaired at a Tynda tyre wallah. We also ate and (particularly) drank very well.
I desperate needed a new back tyre. The one I was running would definitely not make it to Magadan. We flagged down a biker and he helped us find a jet wash (and oxymoronic concept, considering our bikes weren't dirty ) and then took me tyre hunting…
…Without any luck, so we ended up back at his bike club house. There I spotted a used Chinese MX tyre on about 1/2 life. He called the owner who said yes and I was hugely relieved.
In the clubhouse where were some sport bikes parked. How odd: Do they really have flag holders? “For club pendants at rallies?”, I genuinely thought.
Upon closer inspection: No, for baseball bats... I didn't know baseball was so popular in Far Eastern Siberia Or maybe there were for catching car drivers' attention when they have just cut you up...
I took this at the street sign on the way out of Tynda with a message to remember the great motorcycle traveller Eric Haws of Oregon, USA who passed away just over a year ago. Eric and his lovely wife Gail blazed the trails that other mere mortals followed. In the 1980s, when Siberia was part of the Soviet Union, they were the first to ride the Road of Bones and the western BAM, 2 up, on an airhead Beemer!
Ch 18 The road from Tynda to Yakutsk: DIRTY... Actually just dusty, straight and boring, with some construction thrown in to break the monotony
Just as we're about to ride out of the Tynda hotel gate, my bike won't start. In fact there are no electrics at all when I turn the key. Captain Carpark turns out to be a nice man an allow Felix to use his soldering machine on the connectors on the ignition switch
Aldan is half way between Tynda and Yakutsk (which are about 1000km apart). We're in hysterics when we see the pictures on the wall in the hotel reception. Recognise them? Felix pays homage...
The Sibirsky Extreme Team Sibirsky Extreme | Going where no motorcycle has been before In the middle picture we recognise the chief guru of all things fun in Siberia and Mongolia Mr W Colebatch and the demon dirtbiker Mr Terrance Brown. A local bloke (newspaper journalist?!) took their pictures.
Said man with the camera took our pics the next day too. If anyone passes Aldan, please look in at the hotel if the mugs of Felix and my good self are there too
The ride really was hot, dusty and boring. My mp3 player pumping out the entire back catalogue of Johnny Cash and Hank Williams Jnr made it vaguely bearable.
Here (DIRTY) Felix takes a break in the shade offered by a (pleasant) trucker fixing puctures. These guys are so hard-working. I remember the help that Yevgeny and Todor gave me when I was in deep dudu on the Transalp on the BAM
Hard at work
DIRTY Bright and the black cat. I used to be the part-owner of 2 black cats in the UK. Both were called Dave! It's impossible to get a name wrong if you give twins (actually not related: you could tell them apart as one was fat from eating the other slim one's food) the same name! Here is their Siberian cousin Sibersky-Dave.
On the car ferry across the Lena river (much wider now than it was at Irkutsk)
The former clean (fake) adventure biker was temporarily real and DIRTY, now he's fake again
Mr V I Lenin shows the way, looking over the main square in downtown Yakutsk
Ch 19 Leaving Yakutsk, and an involuntary return (For You Herr Wright, zee journey is over!)
Yakutsk is a great place to hang out, but we only had 2 nights here. Our time schedule was very tight, particularly if we were going to attempt the Old Summer Road section of the Road of Bones. Still plenty of time to dope up on pizza, burgers and . I also got myself a haircut. Not a mullet though...
A concert in the main square.
Snoozing on the ferry back across the mighty Lena river
No idea that's going on there. Hare Krishna outing?
A BMW and a Honda Transalp. You can tell by the logo on the fairing...
Nice views on a nice day. It wouldn't last long
Wow, a local biker. Nope! Phil Kirk from Australia on a 1983 Jawa 250 2 smoke. Riding from Magadan to London to attend a conference. His Australian employer was paying his transport to get there. Most use the money to buy an air ticket. He used it on freight from Brisbane to Magadan as well as petrol and 2 stroke oil!
Phil and the bike made it to London, with barely a hitch. Might be worth considering alternative choices of vehicle when planning long distance travel. It doesn't need to be a real (or faux) "adventure" market niche junket with bling out of the catalogue. I bumped into Phil again on the highway near Irkutsk. I had flown from Magadan to Irkutsk and was riding the Mark I to Mongolia to freight/fly it/me home.
Wot the sign sez
The statue to match the sign
For You Herr Wright, zee journey is over! Felix was waiting for me as I'm riding a bit slower. My steering head bearings and fork seals are fuct. Nothing compared to Felix's bike mishap though. He had noticed that his rear auxilliary tank was leaking petrol. After attempting to seal it, we had a closer look at why it was punctured. The chain had hit it. Broken shock? No. Cracked swingarm? Yes.
I'll only say that it wasn't a BMW manufacturing or design issue or caused by any sort of crash when Felix was riding the bike. I know too much about the real reason why it broke, but I think Felix should comment as he sees fit.
Help was at hand to start 200km the journey back to Yakutsk
Loading the bike onto the next truck. Felix putting a brave face on it. He must have been totally gutted.
I started riding back to Yakutsk too, while Felix followed in the truck, but then the rain started and it got really slippery. It got dark too, so we loaded my bike into the back as well. By 1am we manage to get into a hotel near the Yakutsk ferry terminal. What a day and night!
For You Herr Wright, zee journey is over! Felix was waiting for me as I'm riding a bit slower. My steering head bearings and fork seals are fuct. Nothing compared to Felix's bike mishap though. He had noticed that his rear auxilliary tank was leaking petrol. After attempting to seal it, we had a closer look at why it was punctured. The chain had hit it. Broken shock? No. Cracked swingarm? Yes.
I'll only say that it wasn't a BMW manufacturing or design issue or caused by any sort of crash when Felix was riding the bike. I know too much about the real reason why it broke, but I think Felix should comment as he sees fit.
Nice up date!
The answer to this should be a good one ...
No way to weld that crack up somewhere there? Make it strong enough to finish the ride?
thanks for the update, good to read about your journey.
As you know I am not a Bmw man, but I would have tried to weld the swingarm.... but I dont know what material it is ....
anyway as a Russian friend said: there are so many little stickers on a Bmw, dont put leaded fuel in, wear your helmet, dont put more then 5kgs on the rack, read the owners manual ... and so on ... but there is no sticker ... dont take your Bmw to Russia.
will be back in Russia next year, on a DR350 !!! yuheee
thanks for the update, good to read about your journey.
As you know I am not a Bmw man, but I would have tried to weld the swingarm.... but I dont know what material it is ....
anyway as a Russian friend said: there are so many little stickers on a Bmw, dont put leaded fuel in, wear your helmet, dont put more then 5kgs on the rack, read the owners manual ... and so on ... but there is no sticker ... dont take your Bmw to Russia.
will be back in Russia next year, on a DR350 !!! yuheee
greetings from Switzerland
mika
Hey Mika
The swingarm is aluminium. I'm not a BMW man either. People tell me the only thing BMW about the bike is the badges (unless you stick gaffer tape with "Honda Transalp" written over them ) on the side and the mapping on the fuel injection unit. It's an Italian Aprilia with a Austrian Rotax motor with Swedish Ohlins (rather than the sh!te original part) suspension.
I liked riding it and I've never had a 650cc single cylinder bike previously, so I bought it. I'm heading your way through Switzerland on said RBA (Rebadged Aprilia) in early July. I'm riding as much dirt as possible between Albania and southern Portugal. Drink a ?
Yakutsk is a big enough city to find somebody that welds aluminium, I would say, but I only spend a few days in Yakutsk in 2003 and my Honda did not need any welding.
Good to read your ride report and look at the pictures.
Have YOU ever wondered who has ridden around the world? We did too - and now here's thelist of Circumnavigators!
Check it out now, and add your information if we didn't find you.
Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.
"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)
Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.
Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.
Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!
What others say about HU...
"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia
"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK
"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia
"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA
"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada
"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa
"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia
"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany
Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.
You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.
11Likes
from the shop in town. There were neither patients, nor doctors/nurses. Next morning when the admin staff arrived (still no patients…), we paid a nominal amount and I even got a receipt.
) and then took me tyre hunting…
uhhh
) on the side and the mapping on the fuel injection unit. It's an Italian Aprilia with a Austrian Rotax motor with Swedish Ohlins (rather than the sh!te original part) suspension.
Yakutsk
Linear Mode
