London to NY June 2012

[pympster]

Right well I was planning on going with my brother but something has come up for him. Wondering if anyone was looking to go about the same sort of time?

I'll be 21 at that point, but more mature (old farts) welcome too!



Not sure what else to write really!

[chris]

By boat?

[Cinquegrana]

Tell us more about your trip (bike, route, etc).

If you need any help in NY just let me know.

[somclan]

Sounds good..I may be interested alright. Have you looked at the paper work involved ? I remember I had a little think about the same sort of thing before but when I started looking at the paper work and in particular carnets I think I backed down . I should not of of course but it just seemed so difficult .I would be in the old fart section but dont let that put you off. Experience and youth may complement each other on a ride like this... Let us know how much you have looked into this ?

[pympster]

So planning on either using an F800gs or 1200 not sure which yet...

Route wise:

London, France, Belgium, Germany, Czech Repub, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Russia then Japan or south korea and off to the US/ Canada

I've done as much research as possible into visas shipping import duties etc, I've given myself a budget of £20k but I want to sell my Triumph Sprint Gt to fund most of the bike so actual budget at the moment is looking around the £16k mark, of course I'm hoping that I have over budgeted!

My dad is actually flying out for the American leg, but would be nice still to have some company

oh and for anyone that is interested here is my googly doc of all of my planning and budgeting, hopefully there isn't any personal info in there!!

plan so far

[bushman_uk]

Hi pympster,
Done more or less the same trip this year but headed west from the UK, you seem to have things in hand . If you need any help or advice or just gossip just let me know .
Cheers mate you will have fun Mark

[pympster]

Actually I wanted to know what the road conditions etc where like going Moscow to Vladivostok (or the other way around in your case) how long did it take you too! Oh and since I'm asking almost everyone this, rough times and cost of shipping US to S Korea/ Japan

Oh and what was your budget and time taken for the trip as a whole?

Thanks!!

[bushman_uk]

We set off in April and arrived back in August , we skipped Japan and Korea and shipped from Seattle to Vladivostok that was expesive as we didn't have any one to share the container , if i remember was about $6,500, then you have port fees both ends . The money side you seem to have about right on what we spent , only three nights camping the rest was motels and hotels. No Carnets were required for the whole trip.

There is a ferry from Vladivostok think that was around $800 , the Donghae ferry is very small compared to european standards and space is limited so i would advise to book ahead.

The route we took was south of Moscow through Ukeraine and Romania, crossing the borders was ok and friendly just a little time consuming. I would advise to keep your speed down , as there are a few police around but we only got stopped once on the whole trip and that was just a routine document check, friendly no problems

The roads are usually good and any bike at all can do the trip. The first 4 bikes in from the west that we saw were all Harleys , two finns and two dutch. the further east you go the road works become more bizzare, they will dig up around 2 km and all thats left is shale and mud , but the longest section we did like that was around 5 km

mark bushman's videos on Vimeo

Worldly Matters

Have a read of the blog and look at the video's and come back with any further questions or even meet up for a

[pympster]

thanks very much for all that, your blog has lots of useful info in it!

$6500 seems like quite a lot!! Other people I have been speaking to suggest £1000 is about right :S

If I give myself about 3 weeks to get from Moscow to Vladivostok do you think that would work?

Thanks again

[somclan]

I never thought it would cost that much , but you research cant be argued againest . Well done, Its shows how much you want this trip to happen... I shall remain a watcher of this thread...

[ChrisCole]

Hi pympster,

I will be riding Russia at around the time of your projected ride... and would like to be doing it with somone or to tag along with another group...

About me, well Im on the road now, currently in Alanya Turkey. The plan is to head to Russia or the Ukraine soon, and bunker down untill warmer weather. Then head west across Russia (earlierst mid May). Ive been going since June, started in London,have been camping and self cooking so far, and just zig zagging around Europe till I got here mid December. I ride a Kawasaki ZR7s, pretty slowly lol, and not much off road so far (but planning to buy some more off road type tyres soon).

Anyway, I will keep watching this thread, and let you know of my movements

Chris

[pympster]

Hey Chris,

where were you hoping to go? Date wise I'm planning to be in moscow in the first week of July. Route wise I'm heading off from London around June 19th and be at the Ukrainian/ Russian border around the 1st/2nd of July

here is a rough idea of the route but I'm not going so far into the Netherlands now.

Let me know if you are interested, the main bit I would like to have a riding buddy will be across to Vladivostok, I'm not sure if you are up for that? (maybe extend your route to include America )

Let me know what your plans are!

Enjoy!!

Pympster

[ChrisCole]

Hi Pympster,

The only thing Im really planning for is the Victory Day parade in Moscow, May 7th I think. As for the plan... after that, just to ride across Russia. These are the only two things that are in concrete... in my head!

Unfortunately funds are going to prevent me from heading to America, but I always knew this would be the case.

With such a loose plan, Im really flexible with times and dates... so I guess going forward I will stay in contact... and see how we go

Chris

[pympster]

Originally Posted by ChrisCole

Hi Pympster,

The only thing Im really planning for is the Victory Day parade in Moscow, May 7th I think. As for the plan... after that, just to ride across Russia. These are the only two things that are in concrete... in my head!

Unfortunately funds are going to prevent me from heading to America, but I always knew this would be the case.

With such a loose plan, Im really flexible with times and dates... so I guess going forward I will stay in contact... and see how we go

Chris

Damn, my schedule means I can't leave before, would have been cool to see!!!

I'm really heading straight across from moscow to Vladivostok, so if you're interested in heading east then it would be great to have a riding buddy

Let me know closer to the time when you know your plans!